Hello Yarn & Southern Cross Fiber giveaway for Keeshond Rescue!!

I would like to tell you a little bit about a very special guy.  His name is Theo and he is a Keeshond.  We all call him "Theodorable" and I think it is pretty obvious why!


Theo is 9 years old has suffered neglect for most of his life which has caused him many long term health issues.  He was surrendered by his owner to Keeshond Rescue Ontario (the same rescue group that my Mr. Jiggs is from) and in terrible shape- about double the body weight he should have been.  He had pain when he walked, ear infections, skin infections and poor coat condition, including a 4" wide bare ring around his neck that was probably due to a collar rubbing it for so long.  His teeth were in terrible condition with lots of built up plaque, bad breath and some loose teeth too.  Even through all of this, he maintained his adorable, quintessential Keeshond personality.  I have had the honor of meeting him and he is a true sweetheart!

How can you resist that smiling face?!  (Theo is in the middle, grinning from ear to ear)



His wonderful foster mom has worked miracles with him and he is beginning to show signs of improvement in just over 2 months!  Through vigorous effort he has lost enough weight that the vet will consider the dental surgery he desperately needs. His total dental bill is estimated at around $2000.



The plight of rescue dogs is very near and dear to my heart.  Both of my Keeshonden are rescues who have been spared the terrible conditions that they were in before they were rescued.  Our lives are so much better having them to share it with!!



So, this is where you come in! To help encourage some donations for this important cause, I am conducting a drawing for anyone who donates on Theo's behalf.  The prize will be TWO, 4-oz. bumps of luscious fiber.  ONE vintage Hello Yarn Fiber club (Five Plum Pie on Falklands) and ONE Southern Cross Fibre club (Hunter on Southdown) both are pictured below.  One winner gets both fibers!!  If you are a non-spinner I will happily spin up these fibers into yarn for you.  I'm sure you are dying to know how you can get entered for this awesome prize, right?!?

1. Click on this link 
2. Click on the “Donate Now” button.
3. Enter the amount you would like to donate.
4. THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT:  Please enter your Ravelry name into the “Optional Message for Keeshond Rescue".  This is how I will know who you are to contact you if you win the prize!  note:  Please DON'T donate anonymously unless you don't want to be entered for the prize.
5. Click through the next steps to enter in your email address and credit card information, and that’s it! 

I will hold the drawing on November 30th.  I will contact the winner through Ravelry PM to get your address.

Thank you so much in advance for your support!


Hello Yarn - "Five Plum Pie"


Southern Cross Fibre - "Hunter"

Handspun Shetland + Sweaters = Love

I am so pleased with how my latest handspun sweater turned out!!  Wanna see? 




Here are all of the juicy details!

Pattern: Golden Wheat Cardigan by Veera Välimäki

Fiber:  Dyed by the uber talented David of    Southern Cross Fiber.   Shetland fiber in club colorways "Timber Wolves" and " Bamboo Forest".  I also used a natural Shetland as a third ply to stretch the Southern Cross and give it all a marled cohesive look.

Yarn:  3 ply Aran weight. Approximately 920 yards spun.

Spinning:  Spun on my Lendrum DT on the fast flyer (because I am impatient) at a ratio of 12:1.  This fiber had such a nice long staple length, I was able to easily do a supported long draw. 

Gauge:  14.5 sts/4 in on size 9 needles.





Here are some pictures of the fiber before I spun them up:
(L: Timber Wolves, R: Bamboo Forest)

Finished yarn:



 




I really love how this yarn spun up.  I have been in love with spinning 3-ply's lately since completing the Tour de Fleece.  I finished my Sheep 2 Shoe kit and my Hello Yarn sweater spin and they were both 3-ply yarns.  I really like the way it distributes the colors.

The yarn for this sweater is soft enough for me, but still  retains a little of the rustic wooly feel that I love about Shetland.  I know that this sweater will wear really well and stand up to a lot of use.  I think it will be just chilly enough to wear it this weekend!  ♥

Meet Mr. Jiggs!

So, I have been pretty busy for the past 8 months or so and it is all due to this little guy.  Please say "Hi" to Mr. Jiggs!



He looks like a pretty happy guy, huh?  He is now, but his life didn't start out so great.  Not much of his first year is known.  In August 2011 he was found listed on Kijiji (online classifieds) in Quebec by Keeshond Rescue of Ontario and quickly brought into rescue.  Before we adopted him, I recieved the following information about his past from the rescue group:

"The only history we have is, he was tied up most of his life and has suffered some physical abuse. He did not receive the proper socialization when he was a puppy and has great difficulty with strangers. His fear of being hit was very evident by his behaviour with hands coming towards him. He would cower and flattened himself on the ground and look away from us." Louise Foster - KRO

Jiggs remained in rescue for 5 months for rehabilitation and training.  In loving hands, he finally learned to trust people and other dogs.

We learned about Mr. Jiggs in December of 2011.  We had recently lost our first Keeshond to a type of vascular cancer and I had reached out to my local rescue contact about the possibility of adopting in the future.  She told me that KRO (Keeshond Rescue Ontario) had just taken in EIGHT Keeshonden, 4 adults and 4 puppies, when authorities shut down a cruel puppy mill in Quebec and that they might need fosters or forever homes.  I promptly filled out my application and was contacted about Mr. Jiggs.  His foster Mom wrote me and we had many conversations about his behavior, challenges and special needs.  On January 15th we found out that we were selected to be Jiggs' forever home!!  WooHoo!!  We were absolutely beside ourselves with excitement and immediately begun figuring out the logistics of driving to Canada in January with one dog and coming back across the border with TWO!  Turns out it isn't such a big deal.  You just need their license and shot records.


We arrived to pick up our new baby on January 27th and planned to stay one night and come back the next day so that we could get him acclimated with us before we had to go back to work.  He and Tanuki were fast friends.  This is their first meeting at Jiggs's foster Mom & Dad's house:

Awwwwww!




He has settled in with us really well and become a great running buddy!  Jiggs is still a little wary around strangers, but he is such a good, brave boy and is even working past that too.  I can't hardly remember a day that he wasn't in our lives.  He is such a lively and joyous dog, it is hard not to smile when you are around him.  ♥