When I think of knitting needles I think of some horror movie that I saw when I was a kid where this woman jammed those razor sharp shafts of metal into her eyes and blood squirted everywhere.
Yeah, I'm a little messed up. I don't think of cute little old ladies making beautiful hand mitts or coasters. Just blood squirting everywhere.
With that in mind, I'm not sure I'm the right person to introduce you to this interesting product:
That is a knitted dog. And he's kind'a cute.
You can make this little puppy, as well as many more, by following patterns in Knit Your Own Dog, a book by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne. Owners of an internationally successful knitting company, Muir and Osborne's book features 25 different designs of dogs for adventurous knitters to... well, knit.
Among the patterns you will find these honorable canines: Afghan Hound, Basset Hound, Border Collie, Cocker Spaniel, Corgi, Dachshund, Dalmatian, English Bulldog, English Bull Terrier, French Bulldog, German Shepherd, Jack Russell, Labrador, Miniature Schnauzer, Old English Sheepdog, Poodle, Portuguese Water Dog, Pug, Red Setter, Rough Collie, Scottish Terrier, Siberian Husky, West Highland Terrier, Whippet, and the Wire-haired Fox Terrie. That's quite a pack of pooches to knit!
Included with each pattern are hints and tips for knitting the puppy, color photos of the finished product, and information about the breed itself.
What's even more novel about this book is that you can enter your finished knitted dog in an online competition at the book's website, Best In Show. This site provides not only the contest, but also pictures of all of the completed patterns, information about the authors, and more.
While I'm still somewhat terrified of knitting needles, I must say that Knit Your Own Dog is a unique book that is sure to keep knitters twinning yarn for years to come.
Find out more about Knit Your Own Dog here!
