I would like to send a huge thank you to ChemKnits. In 2009 she made a cactuar chart. This was my first knitted character hat so not having to make a chart really helped me! Here is the link to her chart.
This hat is for a guy. He is in our linkshell on FFXIV and likes cactuars.
Yarn: Black is Impeccable Yarn, Green is RHSS in Spring Green, White is Impeccable Yarn, Brown is Simply Soft.
Needles: Size 8 Circular Neeles...16", Boye I believe.

I cast on 88 stitches using the long tail method.

The inch of the hat (6 rows) I k2 x r2 for the ribbing

After that I knit around (88) 1 time before starting the chart. The chart 5 1/2" tall x 4 1/2" wide. Its really sizeable. After finishing the chart I only needed to keep knitting around for one more inch. I then k6k2t1 around until there were 20 stitches left. Then cast off and sewed the circle closed on the inside.

The close isnt perfect and I have some gapping at a few places where the black and green meet on the chart.

 But I am getting better really fast. I have been knitting for about a month now. I love colorwork so I will be keeping at it.

Name Filet Crochet Baby Blanket with Ruffled Trim

I made a personalized baby blanket for a pregnant girlfriend. She requested it and I agreed happily...before finding out how many letters are in the name. LOL It is SERIOUSLY oblong. I prefer square baby blankets, but there was just nothing I could do. If I had it to do over again I would have made the letters only one row wide. That would have elliminated about a foot of blanket width.

Seeing how wide it would be I wanted to add some interest to the negative space. I found a fun fillet 3D flower pattern online and used that above and below the name...I just placed them randomly. I like the way they came out.
I intended to make the ruffled edge two rows wide. After one row I was "done". This took about 12 hours of work...which is more than my craft ADD likes to commit, too.

Here is my final product:

And a close up...

Thank you for looking!!!

Pickles

We adopted a dog two weeks ago at the local shelter here in Riverside, California. I had taken my husband and the boys several times and we just could not find the right fit for us. We wanted a large dog, but needed someone mellow. I was really leaning toward a girl and older. We just went through the puppy period with our Cheweenie, Hunter, and I did not want to start over from scratch.

We visited the shelter three weekends ago and didn't find our fit. But, something made me drag the boys back the very next day. That is when I saw her. My Pickles.

She is just a doll! Mellow, sweet, snuggly...60lbs of black lab love with a fluffy coat and big brown eyes. They said she was about three years old (a vet visit the next day confirmed her closer to five or six years old, fine by us!). They said she was brought in by someone that claimed her to have just walked up to their door. Maybe. But, she does not have the spirit of a dog that would run away.

The vet said it does not look like she had ever been walked. She was 10lbs overweight and had no wear on her hips at all. She is great on a leash, though! We were given the go ahead to walk (and some antibiotics for kennel cough - poor baby!). In an effort to take the weight off I have been monitoring how much she eats. We divided her portions up into two meals a day so that she can eat with our skinny, Hunter. And the goal is two good walks a day. She loves it...and adores a car ride. Sometimes we can't get her out of the car. It is the only disobedience that we have seen in her so far. She is getting better now that she realizes she will be getting a lot of car rides around here.

This evening we took a little walk in a nearby neighborhood. I snapped some pics! Everyone says she is looking a million times better, healthier, stronger and thinner around the middle ;).

We set out down the block...

Pickles wore her leopard and blue bow this evening. 

 It is so awesome that these are popping up around the city!

Moon popped out while we were walking.

 Mama Duck had a big family this year. 

 More walking. 

 Kissy Break

 Finally the shade! This made Pickles very happy. 

 Happy enough to stop and smell some flowers. 

Time to go home. <3 My baby girl.