TEDDY AND THE TURTLENECKS

Sounds like a retro rock group, doesn't it?

The "Teddy" part is, of course, our new English Cocker Spaniel puppy...we picked him up from the breeders last week in Grass Valley. He's 9 ½ weeks in this photo, and full of beans! He eats, sleeps,plays and nips...those little puppy teeth are sharp, and Dave and I have the wounds to prove it.

Isn't he a handsome boy? His coloration is "Blue Roan with Tan" and his face
portends a real character...

The "turtlenecks" part is due to trying a new pattern, Rise and Fall Turtlenecks by

Papercut Patterns. I found a black and claret striped knit on Etsy that went perfectly with my Paris wardrobe, but I wanted to try out the pattern before I cut into it.

 The first try was in a rayon/lycra knit from EmmaOneSock. This view has a dropped shoulder and is somewhat loose. I used the higher neck from the other view.

The body on number two is a little more fitted, the neck is the same. This is also a rayon/lycra knit, also from Emma One Sock.

And here is the third one in that black and claret stripe...

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Interesting to note is how different the collar is in each top...I wanted the high neck of number 1, but the different fabrics (all rayon/lycra) translated differently, 2 and 3 being more droopy.

Being a parent to a new puppy has curtailed my studio time a little...but I've done some listening...Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool and the sequel Everybody's Fool.,,very good, I do love his writing. Also now listening to The House at the Edge of Night, set in an island off Sicily during WW2. Also enjoyable. I read No Man's Nightingale by Ruth Rendell...love her Inspector Wexford novels, and gave up in the middle of Ethan Canin's A Doubter's Almanac, mainly because I didn't care for the major character and didn't want to spend any more of my time on him!  I read the latest Daniel Silva book, The Black Widow...I am hooked on his

 Gabriel Allon books!

Taking advantage of our plethora of French Plums, I made my favorite Plum Crumble

I make it exactly according to the recipe, except I double the fruit. I halved and pitted 200 French plums to freeze so we can enjoy this several times more. It's that good! Don't eliminate the candied ginger as it really adds to the flavor.

A few more puppy pics because, well, just because!

 The chairs and ottoman I reupholstered...

This dog finds the most comfortable places to sleep...

Come on over to Visible Monday and say Hello!