2017 Oregon Basset Hound Games

When the police car pulled up, I took my attention away from what I was doing at the raffle table. I watched the officer as he stepped out of the car and moseyed over to the ring where all the action was happening. He was a very tall man and one of his strides was probably two of mine.

What have we done?  I wondered.  Did someone call in a noise complaint?

I continued watching him as he stood at the edge of the ring. From my angle at the raffle table, I couldn’t see his face, and I could stand the mystery no longer.

“I’m going to take some photos, ” I told the two people at the registration table. “Can you take over raffle ticket sales for a few minutes?” I said, not really asking.

Camera in hand, I wandered over to the ring where the Limbo was going on, and stood right next to the police officer. He reached into his breast pocket, (Will he write us a citation?) pulled out his phone and, like me, started taking pictures.

“Are you a basset hound lover?” I asked.

“Nah, just a dog lover in general,” he replied.

“Great!” I said. “Enjoy the day. It is good for some laughs.” I moved into the ring to take more photos.

 

 

The Baby Bird

 

The baby bird fell from a tree we had just gathered around before beginning the set up. It landed right at the feet of our group. Startled, a few of us jumped back, and more than one “Oh” was heard. The wee thing cheeped loudly as it hopped in the grass, clearly unable to fly. We looked from one to another, no one quite sure what to do.

“We’ll need to get it to some place safe before we begin setting up and before the people and dogs arrive,” someone finally said.” Let’s get it in a container without touching it. We can try to figure out how best to return it to its family once they’ve all gone.”

The rest of us agreed and we all looked around for a suitable container, finally settling on an empty pop can box , which was placed behind the registration desk that I was to man for the Oregon basset Hound Games, the cause that had gathered us at the park that day. As I organized papers  and other materials, I could hear the little bird chirping and scratching  in the box. I talked to it as I got the registration desk set up, imagining its chirps were responses to my queries and comments. I checked on her occasionally (I had come to think of her as a her), as people began registering.  Once things got busy, though, I forgot about my tiny companion sitting on the table behind me.

The registration table got quiet as the events began and I had time to check on my little friend once more. At first, I thought she was sleeping, finally relaxed in her temporary home. And then, suddenly, I realized my error. The baby bird we’d tried to save had died. Was it something we had done, I wondered, tears filling my eyes? Had she been fatally wounded by the fall? Maybe she had been pushed out of its nest.

Thoughts of my little friend kept a hold on my mind as I enjoyed the antics of the basset hounds participating in the Games. When the Games and the clean-up were over, I took her in my hands for the first time. She was so light, she felt weightless! I looked around the park for a suitable burying place and found one, away from the paths and in a secluded  area. I found a sheltered spot at the base of a tree and buried her there. I said a little prayer for my little friend before I turned and made my way back to my car for the drive home.

 

Princess Me

I felt as powerful as a Queen this weekend as I zipped around town doing last-minute errands in preparation for the 2016 Oregon Basset Hound Games. As you read this post, I am probably on my way to, or already  in, Woodburn, Oregon for the fabulous event and fundraiser for Oregon Basset Hound Rescue.

Adrienne is not a name that appears often in literature, so imagine my delight and surprise when I discovered a series featuring Princess Adrienne, heroine of the Princeless  a Canadian all-ages comic book series by Jeremy Whitely.

The first volume Princeless Vol. 1: Save Yourself,  introduces us to Princess Adrienne  and her plight.

Publisher’s Summary: Adrienne Ashe never wanted to be a princess. She hates fancy dinners, is uncomfortable in lavish dresses, and has never wanted to wait on someone else to save her. However, on the night of her 16th birthday, her parents, the King and Queen, locked her away in a tower guarded by a dragon to await the rescue of some handsome prince. Now Adrienne has decided to take matters into her own hands!

And so, Princess Adrienne escapes, and accompanied by her companions, Bedelia the Blacksmith and Sparky the Dragon , sets off to rescue her six sisters (Alize, Antonia and Andrea, Angoisse, Angelica, and  Appalonia). Their  rescue stories are told in the subsequent volumes. So far, there are five books total.

This excellent series  was nominated for two Eisner awards, “Best Single Issue” and “Best Comic for Kids Ages 8-12”, and five Glyph awards, winning the categories “Best Female Character”, “Best Writer”, and “Story of the Year.

If you are looking for good graphic novels with strong female characters, give Princeless  a try!

 

 

 

2015 Oregon Basset Hound Games

July brings the dog days of summer. Literally. The Oregon Basset Hound Games is always held on the third Sunday in July.

The planning team was a little short-handed this year and the weather was hot, which Oregonians fear and loathe, but the show must go on, and it did with gusto.

As always, the Games opened with the limbo. Although bassets are low riders, their tails prove to be their downfall in this event.

There are several highlights. Everyone  loves the costume contest. Everyone of the two-leggers that is; the results are inconclusive for the four-leggers.

The poor lithe dalmatian in the middle kept trying to remove her hat. Others were more cooperative.

Aside from their sad faces and stubbornness, basset hounds are infamous for two things: laziness and howling. Naturally, there is a Marathon Napping contest.

Some years, there seem to be more barkers than howlers. This was not one of them.

My favorite event is the last event: Synchronized Swimming. The concept is simple. Lead your basset to the kiddie pool. Convince him/her to get all four paws in the pool. Get out on the other side and cross the finish line. Unfortunately, base hounds hate water and most refuse to get into the pool. Watching the owners try to convince their dog to get on the pool is hilarious.

 

 

 

 

Charity Crafting

I finished the sweater on Monday. It took me several hours to sew all the seams, fix the spelling mistake and weave in all the ends. I pressed it for two days and now, it is sitting on my kitchen table ready for Sunday’s Oregon Basset Hound Games.

A few weeks ago I responded to a blog post from Knitpicks asking people about what sorts of charity crafting they do. I sent an e-mail that said:

I got Clara, my first basset hound in 1996. She belonged to my former roommates. Clara & I hit it off from the start. After I moved out, my friends called me and said Clara missed me, would I like to have her. Of course, I took her, but felt sorry for her being home alone, so I took my first step into basset hound rescue and got her a companion, Louie.

When Clara passed away, in 2008, I got Fiona, my first basset from Oregon Basset Hound Rescue (OBHR). Louie passed a year later and I got Lucy, as a companion for Fiona and began volunteering for OBHR.

Every year, OBHR holds summer games in Woodburn Oregon. In addition to the Games, there is a raffle. Four years ago, I started knitting a sweeter for the raffle. I am currently working on my 5th sweater for the Games. It has become a games tradition.

I’m not sure that this is the sort of “knitting for charity” project you are looking for, but I’d love to share more about it, if it seems interesting to you.

 

I got an e-mail asking if I’d be willing to talk about it on their podcast and said yes.

Last week, I called a number and recorded my one minute description of what I do each year for OBHR. You can listen to that podcast HERE.

There are lots of ways you can craft for charity. I hope this inspires you to find your muse.

Basset Games Sweater Problems

The 2015 Oregon Basset Hound Games will take place next Sunday, July 19th. I am madly knitting to finish this year’s sweater. I usually have it finished by now,  but, I got a late start this year. I could blame my Morris Committee work for not being finished, but it is my own darn fault.

You see, I had an idea for a sweater of my own design. But I am not a designer. I planned to use a plain sweater pattern, but knit a basset head on the front and it’s cute backside on the back. I even found an online chart creator to convert pictures into something knitable. But I realized I should knit a prototype to see if it actually worked and I just didn’t want to. So, I opted to reuse a pattern from a few years ago, using the intarsia from this pattern by Peggy Gaffney’s Kanine Knits but on a different sweater than the pattern called for.

I was almost finished the front when I noticed a problem. I guess the first time I knit this pattern I caught the error in the pattern. Here is the first sweater I knit about 5 years ago.

What I noticed the first time, but didn’t this time in my haste to finish the sweater was that the chart spelled basset with two t’s: bassett. Bassset owner see this frequently, and kindly correct it, just as they kindly correct people who call their bassets beagles.

Here is the unassembled front with the spelling mistake.

Fortunately, I can remedy this problem by sewing duplicate stitch over the offending “t”.

Today’s task is to finish the first sleeve and start the second. I have 9 days to finish both sleeves, fix the spelling, knit the collar and assemble the sweater. It is a good thing I am on vacation. I will finish on time and probably be able to squeeze in a book or two before the Games on the 19th.

 

 

Planning ahead

Yesterday afternoon, the Oregon Basset Hound Rescue Board met for our first meeting to plan the 2015 Oregon Basset Hound Games. The mayor of Woodburn was there, too. She is a very down to Earth basset owner and loves that her town hosts the Games. Last year we added a new event, the Senior Prom, a race for senior bassets. It had people in stitches because, as we had hoped, several dogs refused to go anywhere. We are always on the lookout for new events to add. I am not taking any ideas from this book,

Worst in Show written by William Bee and illustrated by Kate Hindley.

Albert has decided to enter his pet Monster, Sidney, in the Best Pet Monster int he World Competition. It had fantastic events like Hairiest Warts, Highest Hover, Most Parasites, Smelliest Fart, and Hottest Breath. “Goodness, the Embarrassment” Albert laments as Sidney loses event after event. But Albert’s embarrassment is turned to joy at the end when Sidney wins Worst in Show for earning the lowest score in 100 years.

This is a fun book that can easily inspire kids to write their own topsy-turvy story. Alas, it won’t inspire any new events to the OBHR Games.

 

Oregon Basset Hound Games 2014

I needed two naps yesterday to recover from the fun I had at the 2014 Oregon Basset Hound Games.

After a week of HOT weather, the morning dawned with clouds and RAIN. It was raining almost the entire 45 minute drive to Woodburn, OR. It was misting while we set up the canopies, maze, ring and registration table. Registration opened at 8:30 and a few regulars were there at that time. People slowly trickled in. By 9:45 the rain had stopped but we didn’t have many people. But they came eventually. I think they were waiting to see if the rain was really over. We started the Games off with the LIMBO contest and by the time it was over, we had a full house.

There were tricks. Bassets are always cooperative, so the fact that any of them do anything on command, is always fun.

 

The maze, which includes a water feature, is a challenge to some, but a joy to others.

 

 

The costume contest is always a delight. Little Bo Peep showed up, as did the chain gang.

  

And a real live circus complete with a lion.

  

Lots of butterflies appeared, some more willingly than others.

  

 

About halfway through we release biodegradable memorial balloons. I got a little teary eyed.

Although sleeping is one of a basset’s best skills, the Napping contest was over quickly.

  

Have you ever noticed how some people look like their dogs?

There was a puppy dash and a Senior Prom, a race for dogs over 10. As always we ended with synchronized swimming.  Bassets don’t like water, so the owner has to run with their dog up to a kiddie pool and convince them to get into the pool with all four feet, then get out the other side and run across the finish line. The crowd roars with laughter watching people trying to convince their dog to get in the pool. They use snacks, chess and even two-legged siblings,

All in all it was a great time. Basset owners are a special breed and love their dogs.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us. This is OBHR”s big fundraising event of the year and we thank everyone who supports us. If you are on Facebook, you can see more pictures on the Oregon Basset Hound Games page. Just type “Oregon Basset Hound Games” in the search bar. That site also has videos.

A fun discovery

Every year, I knit a basset hound themed sweater for the raffle at the annual Oregon Basset Hound Games. This year’s sweater is finished. I usually start thinking about the next sweater as the new year rolls around, but I discovered a new yarn recently that I have decided must be part of next year’s sweater.

Ancient Arts Fibre Company has a line of fingering weight yarns entitled Woof  and it is based on dog colors!

I ordered one skein of Basset hound, being modeled here with a sleeping Fiona. It is the lovely rich hues of a red and white basset.

I also ordered a skein of St. Bernard, modeled here by Lucy. Lucy is much smaller than a St. Bernard, but she is tricolor, like a St. Bernard.

Each skein has 400m/437 yards of 100% Superwash Blue Faced Leicester Wool. That’s enough or a pair of socks or gloves, which is what I might knit myself to test these babies.  I have a couple of projects already queued up, but I should get to these before too long. I’ll either have fore or back paws that match my girls. Ideally, I’m thinking of knitting a “match your basset hound” sweater for next year’s Games. I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

Knitting for charity SOLSC 6

I did it to myself. I have two knitting project on the go. Both for charity. One project isn’t due for a few months.The other is due by the end of the month and I’m a little worried.

My church has a school and I have promised to fill a bag that will later be beautifully arranged and auctioned off. I said I’d make a knitting bag. I could have let myself off easy and filled it with supplies that someone can purchase and knit something for themselves. But that was too easy. I promised a sweater. Then, I got another brilliant idea: matching mother-daughter sweaters. I found a pattern I liked that would knit up quickly.

Although I liked the colors in the picture, I wanted something different, more girly, but that a mom would wear, too.  So, I agonized over the colors, finally deciding on a red body with yellow pink and white in the fair isle. I started it Monday. With Spring Break coming soon, I hope I will make the deadline. I’m starting with the Mom Sweater and will knit the daughter sweater in the smallest size. The auction isn’t until May, so I know there is wiggle room. I suppose that’s way they gave us the early deadline.

The other sweater is for the Oregon Basset Hound Games in July. For the last three years, I’ve knit a sweater with a basset hound on it for the raffle at the Games. I started it because  had planned it out a while ago and had the yarn for it already. I was between knitting projects, so I began. I’m merging two patterns, so I don’t have a picture. It will be a white sweater with a basset hound fair isle motif.

There are lots of charitable organizations that one can knit for. It’s a great thing to do because organizations get things they can use and knitters have things to work on to keep their hands busy. You can only make so much stuff for yourself!