And now...an actual knitting post!

Sophie needs a new sweater. We are going to get quite chilly here in Central Florida, starting tomorrow and actually lasting several days. Sophie has her new pink parka that doesn't fit all that great, that I bought when we arrived in Asheville to light snow in November, but the sweater and coat that she wore when we lived in AVL didn't last. Murphy, poor little skinny thing he is, is actually wearing the red sweater I knitted for him as a puppy, and it fits perfectly again. But Sophie has an ill-fitting coat. She doesn't like wearing it, though she submits with dignity, I know it doesn't really fit comfortably and it's annoying to put it on her, so she needs a sweater too. I have some pink Cascade 220 superwash in the stash, and no dog of mine will wear store-bought.

Sophie is, and I say this with love, an oddly shaped little dog. She is chesty and almost neck-less, and also short from where her neck should be to her tail. She's a blocky little dog, and most dog sweater patterns take a lot of adapting to account for her wide neck and general compactness. So I was totally delighted to do a search for dog sweater patterns on Ravelry and find the Pug Dog Sweater. The XS size measurements are almost exactly Sophie. So I cast on during my Downton Abbey catch-up on Sunday. I've already altered it a bit to add a buttonhole approximately (I hope) where her harness leash hook is located, and I'll probably tinker a bit to make it a bit shorter, as she is quite stubby from neck to where her tail would be, if you could see it without looking for it. (Her tail is inverted, but has never been an issue. Fortunately, it's located safely north of the unsanitary zone.) So I'm on another knitting mission/deadline. We are going to have lows in the 30s this week! AIEEEEE! She needs a sweater, stat!