On Christmas morning, we sat down to eat breakfast. The dogs were on their beds near the nook, and all seemed peaceful – that is, until we noticed that someone had something that didn’t belong to her (instead of her usual XXXL Dinosaur Bark Bone, shown above) on her bed.
The item was a wool hat that I’d knitted on a round loom a couple of years ago. It was a simple piece, quickly created with just a couple of easy stitches and bulky charcoal yarn. It’s the kind of hat best suited to truly chilly weather because it’s very warm. While I haven’t had occasion to wear it much this year, it was my go to hat for frosty days outdoors.
Initially, I thought that maybe just the top had been chewed and that some yarn might be salvageable; examining it more closely, it was clear there would be no reclaiming of yarn for other projects. I can – and do – join pieces of yarn when needed, but this would have required joining many small sections and the “frankenyarn” likely wouldn’t have been aesthetically acceptable in the finished project.
This particular canine has a penchant for stealing socks and mouthing them. Who wants to put on a wet sock? And it’s borderline obsessive: socks in the laundry basket get pulled out, socks being pulled over a foot invite nosing. A few years ago (as a puppy), she managed to get ahold of and chew holes into a beanie hat I acquired at a local microbrewery, necessitating some repairs…but I chalked that up to puppy enthusiasm. She doesn’t eat socks. I guess a wooly and fuzzy hat was too tempting.
There was also an incident several years ago involving a wooden knitting needle (BTW, it never was replaced by Brittany, despite multiple requests and an assurance from the company that a replacement needle was going right out in the mail). Canines can be tough on crafts.
I’m not going to pretend that I was ok with my hat being ruined – I was irritated. But it’s just a hat, she’s just a young dog, and I left the hat where she could reach it. Gaaah!! Fortunately, it wasn’t my favorite hat…and I just knitted another in a slightly different style to take its place. Life goes on.
I’ll be knitting more hats over the next few months and while simple stitches and bulky yarn make these nearly instant gratification, I’m planning to try other yarn weights and more challenging stitches. Hope you’ll come along for some knitting fun!
Looking for a rewarding winter (or summer) project? Knit a quick, chunky hat on a round loom.