not quite as planned

It's been an odd, unsettled sort of week. Despite mostly great weather, very little was done on my list of "do it NOW!" tasks: collecting plant materials for dyeing, building a more convenient stovewood storage area, creating new garden beds for next year, and so on and on. Almost none of that happened. Other, unplanned chores took a lot of time.

I suddenly had to split the goats into three groups - something I sincerely hope will be temporary, because 1) I like a herd that gets along nicely, and 2) splitting them up increases the time spent doing routine daily chores by about 300%. And that's not counting the time spent moving fencelines and building gates and extra hay feeders.

So why the rearranging?

Because Lily of the Valley was suddenly lame. It was very worrying; one night she was fine, and the next morning she was on three legs. I could not find any sign on a hoof injury or a broken bone, but there seemed to be a slight swelling at one fetlock - so, maybe a sprain.

Stall rest for you, young lady!

Happily, at no point was there anything wrong with Lily's appetite! This is an "after breakfast" picture, and that bucket is clean as a whistle. Always reassuring.

After two days, she still wasn't putting any weight on the leg and my favorite goat vet - who actually stayed in touch with me from her vacation in Florida, just to see how Lily was getting on! - recommended aspirin to relieve the inflammation.

In less than two days, Lily was walking normally, and after five days with no apparent discomfort, I reduced to the dosage to half. I'm now keeping a close eye on her to see if she begins favoring the leg.

Meanwhile, Lily and her daughter Tsuga (now known as Florence Goatingale) are still separated from the other goats, to prevent prematurely rambunctious activity.

While mum rests in the barn, Tsuga blocks the entire doorway - prepared to hold the fort against any and all comers.
"My patient must not be disturbed!"

Clearly Lily is feeling better, but it's not a sure thing that the injury has healed. It may be that the original dosage of aspirin was making her feel comfortable. Fingers crossed there won't be a recurrence with the lower dose, and I'll be able to stop the aspirin completely.

And while I continue to watch for any sign of discomfort, Lily is making up for lost leaf-browsing time. I think she is almost caught up now.

And I feel deeply grateful for a caring vet, and for every Autumn day that means One More Chance to get things done before Winter.

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wordless wednesday

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almost too easy

Autumn light, clear skies, still water. 

Some days, it's hard to take a bad picture.

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baktus, revisited

Following up on the pictures of the scarf progression, I'd like to encourage anyone who has not yet made a Baktus, lacy or otherwise, to give it a go! The patterns are free, and it's a very satisfying knit (or knit-and-purl, or lacy knit - your choice!) in all sorts of variations.

The basic design of this pattern is a triangle, begun at one end and gradually increasing in width until you are satisfied with the size of your half-a-scarf or until you are halfway out of yarn. Then you begin decreasing and creating the mirror image of the first half.

It's pretty neat.

And very simple.

In fact, it is simply neat.

It's the type of pattern where, as you are knitting it for the first time you think, "I'll be making this one again!"

I've made three now, all the Lacy Baktus version but each slightly different. The first was a special gift for a friend at work who was going through a tough time. As all knitters and crocheters (and hand-makers in general) know, it is a powerful thing to put good thoughts into a project, day by day, bit by bit, stitch by stitch. It is deeply comforting to the maker and - one fervently hopes - to the recipient.

This first one was knit on size US2 needles, with a skein of tightly-plied sock yarn purchased at a local fair. It worked up with a lovely drape; soft but dense, and with an almost woven look to the fabric.

And here's a picture of the early stages of Lacy Baktus 2:

I was the very lucky winner in my bloggyfriend Michaela's 2009 birthday drawing, and this very soft, very pretty, bluesy-purply merino/silk blend yarn seemed perfect for something to be worn close to the face. Hmmmm....whatever could it be??

A fun thing about knitting the same pattern multiple times: one is inclined to play. This time, instead of using tiny sock needles, I swatched with a few sizes to see what the resulting fabric would look and feel like, then settled on US8...quite a difference!

And you have already seen the third iteration (same size needles, but with a i-cord edge knitted into the bottom of the scarf this time). It was made with the yarn I dyed way back in February. Remember? Gosh, so long ago!

I am embarrassed to say, this scarf could have been finished months ago, but for some mysterious reason I set it aside when it was within about two minutes of being complete, and then sort of...didn't complete it. 'Til this week. I am shaking my head right now, can you tell? Anyway, I just want to reassure the knitters who may be reading:

You can knit a Baktus in a very short time!

And here are a couple of links that will lead to the free patterns:

Strikkelise's Baktus 

Terhi Montonen's Lacy Baktus

I think Ravelry links will work for everyone, but if not, will someone please let me know? I am often baffled by what works and what doesn't work. For example:

Why does my own blog comment box suddenly have a drop-down list? I don't know...I didn't put it there!
Why can I no longer comment on some blogs that I have commented on in the past? No idea!
Why am I now only getting email "new comment" notices for some of the comments here?
???
I discovered this only last week, and I do apologize if I was slow responding to any of your comments. I really enjoy hearing back from you, and now I am trying to get into the habit of checking the Comments section in the Blogger dashboard instead of relying on email notices.

So, knitters...have you knit a Baktus? or two? or ten? I'd love to see them!

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wordless wednesday

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