Chat Back for December 6

Answering questions from comments and email.

Qutecowgirl asked . . .

Totally off topic here but do you have any tips about knitting a sweater with alpaca?

You're very wise to understand that knitting with alpaca is not the same as knitting with wool. With the right pattern and the right gauge, you can knit an alpaca sweater that's every bit as wonderful as cashmere. With a pattern not suitable for alpaca, you can create a sweater you may never want to wear.

I've written up my thoughts on selecting an alpaca sweater pattern here: Thoughts on Alpaca.

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Judy asked . . .

It is beautiful, isn't it?

Some snowfalls are beautiful, some aren't. Some are cold, windy, and nasty.

This picture was taken at 2 pm this afternoon when I went out to the road to fetch the mail. It is a color picture, there just isn't any color today. There is not a bit of blue sky to be seen. It's been snowing all day - not the pretty kind with big fluffy snowflakes, but the small flake, dense snow that is backbreaking to shovel.

According to the National Weather Service, there is 90% probability of at least 4 more inches tonight with winds up to 30 mph. That means drifting. (That last detail is for my warm climate friends. Judy knows about drifting. She lives in Michigan.)

If that happens and the snowplow doesn't come down the road, it's unlikely I'm going to make it to church in the morning.

If that happens and the snowplow does come down the road, it's even less likely I'm going to make it to church in the morning. The plow will create a high, dense pile of snow across the end of the driveway and since we're not expecting temps above freezing, it will need to be shoveled before we can get out.

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Laura from beautiful West Mich asked . . .

Do your dogs get those little ice balls in between their pads when you walk them in the snow? How do you handle it?

All three dogs get their foot hair, including the hair between their toes, trimmed off every six weeks at the groomers. It seems to help a lot.

We do have a problem with the cold. When it gets to about 15 degrees or below, Pappy's little feet get so cold he tries to get all four feet in the air at once and he happily lets me carry him back to the house. The other dogs' feet are a bit more tolerant of the cold, but they have their comfort limit.

We keep our outings short when it's cold. I can't carry more than one dog at a time.

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Kate asked . . .

Beautiful socks! They look perfectly matched. How do you do that?!!!

This is a frequently asked question.

Getting Socks to Match is a entire blog post on the method I use.

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