Have I mentioned what a fabulous, incredible, loving and supportive boy I have in my life? So supportive he buys me Qiviuk, not once in my life, but TWICE?

This was my prezzie that Chris brought back from his ski trip out to Lake Louise, which from the photos is absolutely friggin’ gorgeous and I have no idea why I haven’t learned how to ski yet, or why I didn’t hide away in his suitcase so I could just hang out and be a chalet bunny regardless of skiing experience.

In case you are going, “kivi-what?!” Qiviuk, also spelled Qiviut (pronounced Ki-vee-uk or Ki-vee-ut) is a very precious fibre spun from gathered wool shed by the muskox in the Canadian High Arctic. It is gathered by the Inuit off the tundra, and used to create some of the most expensive and exquisite garments you’ve ever seen. And it’s sold as yarn, very, very expensive yarn.

Chris brought me back one tiny ball in dark green when he visited the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, I think about three years ago. At the time I had never even heard of Qiviuk, and when I told my knitter friends they went completely gaga about it. And suddenly I was aware of what an utterly committed man I have, to support my addiction by not only buying me yarn, but buying me some of the priciest yarn evar!

Knowing I needed to find something quite special to make with this small amount of luscious yarn, I went out and bought the book Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas. Her patterns are designed with traditional Arctic designs in mind, and with it, I created my first pair of fingerless gloves, with the first bit of lace I had ever knitted. They are sweet little things, and I wear them every spring and fall. The yarn, while very delicate and thin, is incredibly strong and lightweight, and I still have a teeny bit of it left.

I have no idea what these two lovely, precious balls of spun gold will become, but I adore this colourway, and I’m far more skilled at lace now, so I will have to give this some thought. Suggestions welcome!

Tonight, I also introduced my coworker Larissa to Anthropologie. I don’t think her pocket book or her boyfriend are going to thank me! It was the first time I’d made my way to their new store in Yorkville, Toronto. I’d been to a couple locations in the US but I never purchased anything since I’d have to carry it home on a plane, and it’s their house and kitchenware that completely light me up. Now we have a local store, and it is a seriously dangerous place for me. In addition to their home decor items, they carry the most exquisite vintage hardware, and I have big plans to pick some up if we ever get around to doing renovations in this house (another story for another day). Sadly, Anthropologie’s beautiful clothes aren’t really made with full-figured gals like myself in mind. Too bad really, because I adore the clothes too.

What I did pick up however was this fabulous book, Pet Projects: The Animal Knits Bible, by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne. While it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever need to make a doggy coat for Luna (who is supposed to be half Saint Bernard after all), there are all sorts of cute knitting projects in here, ranging from cat cushions and bean bag beds to fancy dog bandannas and toys to adorable horsey blankets!  How could I have left this book behind? No way.

Oh and no, there will be no Qiviuk doggy toys. I’m not crazy you know.

Speaking of Luna, we’re into full bore teething now, as evidenced by her OCD, fanatical rawhide and toy chewing. We’ve also seen a resurgence of the mouthing/biting teeth-on-everything behaviour we’ve been working so incredibly hard to curtail. It has seriously tested my patience and resolve over the last week. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have my boy back home to share the load. Please don’t hesitate to reassure me that this too, shall pass.

Did I mention that at her vaccination appointment last week, the vet asked the technician to re-weigh Luna because she didn’t believe the numbers she was seeing? That a puppy could gain 100% of her body weight in four weeks? That’s right. Apparently the average is 50% weight gain per month. Our Luna grew from 13.5lbs to 26.7lbs in four weeks.

You know that whole notion that we were going for the chilled out, laid back attitude of the giant breed in a smaller dog’s body? I think what we’re really going to end up with here is the complete opposite. Imagine a Tasmanian Devil the size of a bear. That’s our girl!