Knitting with Dog Hair

This is my second post featuring a book about dogs and knitting. The first 'Men who Knit and the Dogs who Love Them' is the most popular blog I have ever posted so here's another really weird one for you. 

Knitting with dog hair : a woof-to-warp guide to making hats, sweaters, mittens, and much more by Kendall Crolius and Anne Black Montgomery. 

"How many times have you groomed your dog, looked at all the fur floating around your feet, and remarked to yourself that there is enough fur for a sweater? Well, here's the guide that will help you turn that remark into a reality. With instructions for everything from "harvesting the fuzz" to spinning it into yarn to patterns for knitting dog hair into sweaters, hats, and scarves, Knitting with Dog Hair is a dream come true for dog lovers who also love to knit. Directories of equipment suppliers and people who will spin dog hair for you are appended, as a thorough guide to dog-breed hair and a glossary of dog-grooming and spinning terms. Instructions are thorough, and the authors' sense of humor will make this an enjoyable book for people new to spinning. Cat lovers shouldn't feel left out--special instructions are given for collecting cat fur, and patterns for a cat-hair pill box hat and a shirt collar are included." 

I think my favourite thing about this book is that the tagline on the cover is 'Better a sweater from a dog you know and love than from a sheep you'll never meet'. I swear to you I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. Enjoy. 

Men who knit and the dogs who love them (seriously).

Men who knit & the dogs who love them : 30 great-looking designs for man & his best friend / Annie Modesitt & Drew Emborsky

Yes, that really is the title of this book.

I don't even know what to say. I mean, just look at the cover - the dog's jumper matches the man's hat! I can't say the dog looks stoked about his little outfit.

I can't decide if this is the best book I've ever seen or the worst. Regardless, we have 4 copies, so request one today!

If this isn't a great start to 2013 I don't know what is. Happy New Year everyone.

5 ways in which dogs are better than cats

"I am not a cat man, but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance - a sharp, vindictive glance."
- James Thurber

Title: Why dogs are better than cats
Author: Bradley Trevor Greive (photographs by Rachael Hale)
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Pub.
Published: c2009

I'm not a cat person. Nor a dog person. Or, in truth, a child-friendly person. This isn't to say that I'm UNfriendly to any of the above. I just don't have strong feelings about them either way. I can take or leave animals and/or kids. Weirdly, this makes them like me more. It's like they can sense my feelings - or lack of them - and want to squish me that much harder (children I meet for the first time), jump on me that much more (dogs and cats I meet for the first time), and find ways to sneak into my room and put their mark all over my things. (Yes, Mr2, I'm talking about YOU). So do I truly believe dogs are better than cats? Irrelevant! The point is, this book's author does :) And here are 5 reasons (from the many) for why Monsieur Greive believes that dogs have oh so much more awesomeness than cats.

Are you a dog person? Or a cat person? OR a child person?

Dogs want love. Cats want fish
Dogs offer us such vast amounts of help and happiness and yet seek almost nothing in return.

Dogs have helped us explore our world and our universe
The heroic actions of dogs are the stuff of legend. Can you even imagine a cat saving you from drowning? How about dragging you out of a burning building? Or digging you free from an icy avalanche? I don't think so. Cats don't rescue anybody - they just get rescued. And they never ever say, "Thank you." (pages 168-171)

Dogs see you as a parent, partner, best friend, and soul mate
Cats see you as a source of warmth and food. (page 71)

Dogs are social, cats are sociopaths
The reason dogs surpass all other species is quite simple: They get people - they really do. It's been this way since dogs and humans first bumped into one another and thought, "Hey, this could work!" (page 61)

There is a dog for everybody
Dogs come in all shapes, sizes, colours, and most important, dispositions - from gentle giants to little dogs with big personalities. This canine cornucopia means that the perfect dog is out there to complement every single human being's personality and lifestyle. Regardless of where you live, no matter how noble your endeavours, or how twisted and shameful your secret quirks, there is a dog that is just right for you. I guarantee it. (page 29)

Letting the fur fly

This piece is not about WEREWOLVES. Fans of vampires and WEREWOLVES should read no further.

No, honestly, this isn't about paranormal stuff, so stop reading now if you really just saw the word WEREWOLVES in capitals and got excited. (Oo, I'm naughty.) It's about books starring animals, which seem to be popping up like meerkats on Viag - er, a phone advertisement.

Yes, they've been around a while, since Beatrix Potter and The Wind in the Willows, in fact. Aesop, if you're going to be like that about it. However, few aside from William Horwood's Duncton chronicles (talking badgers), were actually for adults. No longer. Rita Mae Brown is guilty of the long-running Mrs Murphy series, starring a cat. Stories about a small-town library cat called Dewey, and destructo-dog Marley, caused a non-fiction explosion. Suddenly it was raining cats and dogs. And it still is.

For you animal lovers, here's a special treat.

Sit.