Happy (almost) Labor Day!

I finished my corset-t last weekend.  Not totally loving it, but at least it's done!  The shoulders are a bit too big and I'm not sure where I can wear it.  I decided to sew the front together and then sew the buttons on so it LOOKS like it buttons up the front, but I don't have to worry about gap-o-sis.  I made it out of Encore worsted, a wool / acrylic blend, (in my defense I didn't know any better when I start it!) and it's really pretty hot for what should be a summer top. 

I finished my cabled fingerless mitts last night.  A little story about those:  I whipped out the first mitt, the right mitt, in just a day (thanks to an all-day faculty meeting).  These are worsted weight, easy mitts...I'm not really all that fast.  I'm starting to feel a little cocky, so I start the next mitt right away at another (much shorter) meeting.  I'm cruising along on that mitt.  I remember to reverse the cable.  When I made the first mitt, I noticed the ribbing at the fingers is a little loose, so I decided to go down a needle size for the top ribbing.  All that's left is the thumb, so I quickly try it on (really, just to admire it and my work)...and that's when it becomes, as the Yarn Harlot says, wine o'clock.  I remember to reverse the cable, but I did NOT remember to reverse the thumb placement...so I now have TWO right mitts.  ::sigh:: (the good news: the smaller needle size has helped to tighten up the top ribbing just enough.)  I cast on the left mitt (really, this time), and manage to knit 2 together in my cable by accident.  This causes me to tink almost 2 rows.  At this point, the mitts go to a brief time out.  It's not a hard to fix mistake, but it's extra frustrating because I've just made these same mitts TWICE.  :: harumph ::  After a brief time out, I finish up the mitt (in just a couple of hours).  At this point, I just wanted the darn things done.  So, did I use smaller needles to make the top ribbing smaller?  No, because I was in a hurry and just forgot!  grrrr.  Oh well, they fit ok.  They're nice and soft and I may try to shrink them just a teeny bit in the wash. 

The chickens are 18 and 16 weeks old now and they are really getting big!  The older girls, Gracie, Hopper, and Ada, should start laying in the next month or so (if we're lucky).  Hopper's comb and waddles are really developing and she's starting to look "grown-up".  She the one in the foreground in the picture to the right.

The little girls, Annie and Dora, (ok, I guess I'll have to start calling them the younger girls) are getting big, too! 

Annie and Dora

Ada and Gracie

My DH finished the trim work on the coop a month ago (or more).  Here, finally, are some pictures of both the coop and the run (which can now be moved separately and then attached to each other).  We find we're moving them about once a week.  The girls manage to dig at least one chicken-sized hole in the grass during that week. 

Finally, a pic of my grand-puppy (older son's puppy who lives with us while DS figures out his permanent living arrangements for his new job) - she's almost 5 months old.

I have yarn for 4 new projects: some pretty red tonal yarn for another Ishbel shawl, some charcoal gray superwash for a vest for my DH for Christmas, some teal green Cascade Sierra (cotton  and wool) for a Miette sweater, and some purple Ultra Alpaca for a Vivian sweater.  Now that the weather is starting to cool off, I feel a MAJOR bout of start-itis coming on!