u/UnsharpenedSwan

longtime LC admirer. I have several stoneware pieces bur have never pulled the trigger on an enameled piece.

I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I absolutely love the look of the Alpine Outdoor collection. the handles, the matte black enamel…. it’s such a fun design!

I live in Phoenix, home to the one and only Last Chance stores where Nordstrom sends their returns / final sale / retired items for liquidation…. and lo and behold, there she was for $100!

working on my first raglan sweater and I’m just…. feeling proud of how much my tension has improved! I learned to knit in March and have been totally hooked since then.

my tension certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s crazy to see how much cleaner everything looks vs just a few months ago.

also, I know the stripey look of 8-ply yarn isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I find it sooo satisfying to look at! really enjoying the Rust colorway of Drops Cotton Merino.

I learned to knit in March and, after a scarf and some baby bonnets, decided to take on my first garment! Took me just shy of 2 months.

The pattern is the Purl Soho Wrap Top in their recommended Sketchbook Cotton yarn (100% cotton). It was a really fun first garment because it taught me so many techniques along the way — German short rows, mid-project cable cast-on stitches for underarms, seaming, I-cord (standalone, attached, and applied), split hems.

The pattern is super clearly written, and the thick-and-thin texture of the yarn is very forgiving of beginner mistakes haha. Even though this project is knit entirely flat, I don’t notice much if any rowing out — whereas with my current project, a Sabai top with Drops Belle, I’m rowing out like crazy 😅

I’m really happy with how it came out overall! It’s such a cool feeling to wear something that you made from scratch! I definitely recommend this pattern — it’s extremely well-written and a lot of fun to knit. And Purl Soho’s support team was also super kind and helpful when my yarn got returned to sender due to a missing apartment number.

Onward!

So excited — Obi wrapped up his CH this weekend with a WD/BOW major! (Pending AKC approval, of course.) That brings him to 5 majors (plus a single thrown in there in the middle), earned across 3 show clusters.

Both of us are very new to conformation. We took some handling classes starting in August, and our first show was at the end of September. No points from our first 2 show clusters, though one RWD — and lots of great learnings!

We hit our stride during our 3rd show weekend in January with 3 BOWs. Then 2 more majors during our 4th show weekend in February. And then rounded things out this weekend!

We’ve had a ton of fun and are grateful that the vizsla show community has been extremely welcoming and kind!

Also…. a lot of (well-intended, I think) people told me that you “shouldn’t” ever enter the AOH class. But we earned our entire championship that way! (And with a boring plain deerskin leather lead; no fancy braiding or beads, because I’m too frugal haha). So…. seek out guidance, but don’t take anyone’s advice as gospel. Do what works for you 😀

We replaced the sad, uncomfortable, tiny sleeper sofa in our office/guest room with an expandable GLAMBERGET, and it’s the guest room solution of our dreams!

It feels like an old-school IKEA piece. Solid pine that’s sturdy and easy to stain or paint. Unique expandable design that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else at this price point. Clever, functional details like the under-bed drawers…. which also have removable trays that can be used as bedside tables or standalone bed trays!

I love it, our first guest gave it rave reviews, and the dogs love it 😂

Obi very kindly tolerates my photoshoots during his potty breaks