A Puppy!

• Posted on 10 February 2026
• By Anne
• 0

A puppy! Can you think of anything more worthy to interfere with your knitting / crochet progress? I certainly can't. Meet Hazel - my new making (or not so much making) companion.

In my last post, I discussed my aspirations for 2026 - finishing socks, hone my crochet skills. And I was on top of it. Decided which partially knit sock to play with, and finished the January Hexi Squares for my Fractal CAL. Then on January 10th, it all came apart. And in a very, very, VERY good way! We brought home our newest family member - a fluffy, sweet, incredibly wonderful little Labradoodle named Hazel.

Almost a year ago, we said goodbye to our dear, sweet Lily. Almost 10 years old, we discovered (at her annual well-check, if you can believe that) that she had a devastating auto-immune disease called ITP. Basically, her immune system turned on itself. She got very sick very quickly, and within 72 hours, she left us. Lily was a delightful, playful, goofy Labradoodle who proved to be the perfect balancer for our two opinionated terriers Petunia and Albus (yes, a nod to Harry Potter). So once the grief waned a tiny bit, there was no question - another Doodle was in our future.

Fast forward to January, and Hazel joined the mix. And what a treat! Granddaughter Claire was the first to bond with her, holding and cuddling on the drive home. The breeder (shout out to Foothills Labradoodles in Washington) did a fantastic job socializing and pre-training our little angel. Many of you who've raised puppies know the first nights can be brutal. But despite having steeled ourselves for a few sleepless nights,we were more than pleasantly surprised - Hazel was a dream, literally! Put her in her nighty night crate, and after less than 10 seconds of crying, she curled up with a stuffy, and slept until I woke her in the morning. And the same has held true every night since. Better than a newborn baby! Within days, she knew her name, understood the bell-to-go-potty routine (yes, still a few accidents - she's still a baby, after all), and stood her ground with the terriers. Gets the zoomies in the evening, but usually short lived. All in all, the BEST puppy we've ever brought home. I'm in love! Welcome Hazel. By the way, her name was chosen by granddaughters, Claire and Rosalie. And it fits her perfectly!

So what does a puppy have to do with my making, or lack there of? Well, everything! Numerous trips to go potty, and watching her as she explores the house, throwing interference when she gets into things she shouldn't (I've already lost a computer charging cable, and my Pendleton blanket tags are a popular chew toy) make sitting and knitting a challenge. And of course, the inevitable and frequent snuggle time 'cause she's so dang cute! I haven't figured out how to have her on my lap, or even next to me with a ball of yarn and needles going - she sees that as a marvelous game of eat the yarn. So I've had to adjust my goals for getting much stitching in. But you know what, that's OK. Who knew it would be a puppy that showed me slowing things down is a good thing. So what if I'm two clues behind on the RCYC Mystery Along. It'll get done eventually. Hazel won't be a puppy forever, but my knitting and crochet squares will still be there when she grows up. That does fit with my plan for 2026 - slow down, enjoy the journey, and focus on the process rather than the end result. And not to worry about me too much. As it turns out, puppies sleep a lot. So I sneak out my hook or needles and yarn whenever she squeezes in a nap. Do the dishes and a load of laundry, or knit? Hmm, tough choice. NOT!