The weather here has been ridiculous lately: a brisk 50-odd degrees first thing in the morning that warms to a high of 80 in the afternoons. And not just for a few minutes at four p.m., either. So although I’m broiling in my wool skirts and long sleeves at lunchtime, poor Melba has been shivering when I take her out in the dark mornings.

As you may have noticed, time for knitting is at a premium now, but I had to keep my poor sad little puppy from freezing. So I cut apart one of my own.

My Gigi, knitted out of Panda Wool before that yarn was available in superwash Merino, had been slowly felting for ages, and a recent lapse in common sense saw it really, truly, and properly felted beyond wearability in the washing machine (yes, I have been a yarn snob for far too long to make mistakes like that). But when I stuck a sleeve over Melba’s head, the felted front and extremely shortened body were just about right. So I cut the other half off, tailored the curve of the side (now top) seam, and took in the sleeve just a smidge.

I’m rawther pleased with the result. The long front and the ties remind me of those swoopy Victorian travel outfits. Melba likes it too (she’s already fallen asleep wearing it), although she does not like me putting her down in the dog run and then running off so I can take pictures of her. The first image had to be taken upside down, because every time I tried to get enough distance between us, she’d come trotting back to stand on my feet. I really did have to run to get the second one, hence poor Melba’s look of anxious confusion. Not to worry–after I got my pictures, I picked her up and snuggled the poor sad little puppy all the way upstairs.