My name is Kay, and I live in beautiful, historic Savannah, Ga., with my husband Michael, daughter April and two dogs Chopsticks and Willie. For 25 years I worked as a full-time writer, reporter and editor with the Boston Phoenix, Soho Weekly News in New York, Money magazine and Savannah Morning News. Also, I was a regular freelancer for the Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cosmopolitan and the Los Angeles Times. In 1994, Michael and I adopteda beautiful 2-year-old from China, and I retired from the all-consuming, stress-provoking field of journalism. About three years ago, I discovered knitting and crocheting, and I haven’t put the sticks down since. I belong to a fun, fabulous group of stitchers at wild fibre, Savannah’s premier store devoted to the fiber arts. Recently I joined Ravelry (user name: Savannahkay) and started the Savannah Ravel Rousers group.
I love knitting and crocheting anything and everything (well, socks ~ not so much), but I’m especially fond of designing and making sweaters for my Yorkie and muse, Willie. You can purchase some of my designs at my Etsy store, www.mysavannahcottage.etsy.com, and I plan to offer plenty more free patterns here on my blog.
It was Ravelry that brought me to Blogland, despite my 15-year retirement from writing (remember that stress?) and my vow never to get involved with deadlines again (ditto on the stress). I’ve had a little success selling my knitting patterns through exposure on Ravelry, so this is the next step. I predict I’ll learn to enjoy the process of writing again, now that nobody’s making me do it, and for you, I hope there’ll be fun in reading my ramblings.
Enjoy!
My Savannah Cottage 
Hello Kay,
I read your comment on my blog and wanted to say thank you for your kind words and patronage of my shop. I am happy to see you started a blog of your own. I never knew all these things about you. I look forward to future posts. Until then, see you @home. (that sounds so silly)
Best,
Liz
I absolutely love the ease of your patterns and all of the nifty designs you come up with. I have a 5lb Chihuahua and a 6 pound Chihuahua. They start their shaking as soon as September hits but no more! I have become a crochet addict and my first attempt was your raspberry delight 8) Thank you for taking the time, even with your health issues, to share your patterns. Lovely! I hope that your knee is all better and that your recovery was/ is a speedy one. Take care and keep up the fab patterns
just a note to tell you how much I love reading your blog and seeing all your amazing creations.
Thank you so much, Liz. You can’t have half the enjoyment reading this as I have poking through your store when I can get downtown. And yesterday I got a parking place RIGHT IN FRONT!!!!!!!!!! Sorry to have missed you.
Hi Kay…
Was surfing for blogs about Savannah and was pleased to see your blog. I am a bit of a fiber freak myself — weave,spin, knit and crochet,etc etc etc — so it was fun to see that there ARE like-minded souls in Savannah.
I’m retiring from teaching middle school art next January and we hope to be down there in February. My husband and I fell in love with Savannah and are anxious to enjoy your southern winters, etc etc etc (we live in Albany, NY now.)
We are hoping to find a little one story bungalow in the city and will probably head down for a week this summer to look.
I’ve check out the wild fibre site and it looks like a great place!
Thanks again for your blog…
Suzy
Suzy,
Thank you for your kind words about my blog. I know you will love Savannah, and if you are looking for a one-story bungalow, you will probably end up in my neighborhood, Ardsley Park. It’s wonderful! Just don’t be put off by the hot weather when you come to look this summer. It only lasts a few months, and the rest of the year is terrific.
Hope to see you down here soon!
Best,
k.
Someone on Live Journal linked to your website with a ? about one of your patterns. I just wanted to say that your dog sweater patterns are so adorable they almost make me want to get a little dog!!!! (Although I think my 2 ginormous cats, thinking it were another cat, might eat a little dog.) Maybe I’ll make a couple for my niece’s Maltie.
Hi Kay! I linked to you from Susan B. Anderson’s Spud & Chloe newsletter… she featured a link for your Rootbeer Dog sweater on etsy.
I can’t believe how much we have in common! Would love to chat, so please drop an email if you can… kathybohanATyahooDOTcom I am also in Savannah! Have you checked out Unwind? Fabulous.
on your pattern for the little black dress dog sweater in the ruffles section it instructs to K! M1. I’ve never run across the abbreviation M1 and there are no abbreviation keys. Can you tell me what this is? thanks
M1 is a common knitting term, Make 1, that means to increase a stitch. There are various methods of doing this. In this pattern, you can simply knit into the front and back of the stitch, adding a stitch in the process. For more information on different ways to M1, suggest you consult Vogue Knitting or the website Knitting Daily.
Hello Kay,
I found your beautiful raspberry dog sweater pattern while searching the internet and I fell in love with it. As I was reading the pattern I noticed this marking and do not know what it means. Please could you tell me.
sk tch.
Thank you so much for sharing your pattern and for letting me know what this means.
Kim Pippin
Omega, GA
Did you ever get an answer for your question? I was wondering the same thing.
Rosanne
I came across your website surfing through the crochet patterns and loved the Raspberry Fool. I just had to tell you the doggy sweater are awesome. I taught myself to crochet over twenty plus years. I never really tried knitting but after looking at these doggy outfits I’m jealous. I must say you are very talented. It makes me want to learn to knit. I can only follow patterns I also have two little ones a Yorkie Poo and a Red Poodle they are my children. Well that’s what my kids and Grand kids say.
Thank You for sharing and God Bless
It sounds like you didn’t have a problem with the pattern. So what is sk tch mean? I cannot find the definition anywhere.
Rosanne
I came across the raspberry fool dog sweater and loved it!! However, I am really having trouble following this pattern. At the beginning you ch25 and then right into the first row and it says to ch 2 and dc across. What confuses me, if you ch 2 and then in which ch do you start the dc? I’m not sure if I start in the second from the hook or the third.. Then the directions state to sk tch. I think what that is saying is to skip turning chain. Is that correct? I have been crocheting for about 40 years and honestly have never come across that term before.
Thanks for any help.
Rosanne Brophy
The ch 2 at the beginning of the first row counts as a dc. So, skip those two chains and begin your dc’s at the third ch. As for sk tch, you are right, it is exactly as it sounds, SKIP (sk) TURNING CHAIN (tch), as listed in the abbreviations section inside the front cover of the “Encyclopedia of Crochet,” by Donna Kooler, as well as a number of other common crocheting resources. Good luck with the pattern!
Knitting your Christmas sweater for my pup (and 4 others for my kids dogs!) reminded me how much I love to knit…..after a 25 year hiatus! I now knit other things as well, but always come back to sweaters for the pups. I saw a darling sweater on your blog…..the “Barkberry Sweater” and wondered if you sell a pattern for it. Would love to make it in the original burberry colors for the boys and the girlie pinkie color for the girls!!
Thanks for re-inspiring me after all those years!
Allyson Kaiser
Arizona
Cute things for a cute dogs 🙂 I love the Barkberry do you sell your patterns
I’ve followed your patterns on Rav for several years. Your stuff is adorable! (Lucky Dogs!)
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR LOVELY FAMILY! LOVE FROM GREECE.
Hi Kay, I just wanted to let you know that your dog designs a really sweet. I have bought a few of your patterns for my maltese Rory. I would like to know if the Bark sweater pattern is still available. I’ve looked on your etsy site but can’t find it.
Thanks again for your great designs.
Thank you, Donna. If you mean Bark Obama, I will be releasing an updated 2012 version soon. If you are talking about Barkberry, it is in the Etsy store as well as right here on the Patterns for Sale page.
I am having trouble with the shaping row instructions (right side) for the raspberry fool dog sweater. I don’t know what you mean by those instructions. It says to “half double crochet 2 together at beginning and ending of this and every other row until work is…” What is meant by at beg and end. Do I crochet a hdb2tog just at the beginning and ending of every other row? Then what crochet stitch is between those rows?
Can you please explain in detail about what you mean by the instructions for the shaping rows?
Thank you.
The previous row says to half double crochet (HDC) across. So, on the shaping rows (every other row) you HDC2tog for the first and last stitch of the row, continuing to HDC each stitch in between.
Thanks,
That makes more sense. I was doing hdc2tog every stitch and it got too tight. So every other row has hdc2tog at each end. Does that mean the rows that don’t get the hdc2tog at each end have hdc throughout the whole row?
Yes, it does.
Hi Kay,
I am knitting the basket of daisies appliqued dog sweater. My problem is
the leg openings, I am a little confused with the instructions. I did next row rs, worked 6 st, and left all other stitches on seperate needle.(49) stitched on other needle. stayed with pattern for 2 in. and left these on needle by themselves. I don’t get the part about the second holder. My understanding is that you have 6 stitches on each side. and the 43 stitches in the middle. If possible would you please let me know how to work this section.
Thanking you in advance.linda
Linda, ou have to follow the pattern exactly as it is written. Rather than leaving your remaining stitches on a needle, put them on a stitch holder. When you are done with knitting the first 6 sts for 2″ (ending with a RS row), put these 6 sts on another stitch holder and
cut the yarn.
Pick up your stitches off the first holder, and
bind off
however many the pattern says for your size. Then you put the remaining stitches from that first holder back on a needle and proceed as you did before, with the center section, then the last 6 stitches. It sounds like you are not using stitch holders and not binding off for the leg openings. Just follow the pattern, exactly as written, and I promise it will work.
Hallo ! Very wonderful ideas for our pets!
A big kiss from Italy
Anna
Hi, Iam loving your patterns thank you, but iam a little bit stuck on the pup squad jumper the part ( On next-to-last row,
increase number of sts necessary to make a
multiple of 4,) what does this mean.
Thanks Julie.
It means however many stitches you have on the needles, you should increase as many as you need to make a multiple of four. In other words, if you have, say, 25 stitches, increase three stitches over that row to make a total of 28 (7×4).
In your little black dress pattern I have a couple of questions. I am fairly new to knitting and want to make this for my gorgeous grandpuppy, she is a cockapoo and should be about 25lbs this fall. I am looking for information on how many stitches to start with on both the front and back sections. Also, I don’t understand how to do the second ruffle. Sorry to be so needy!! Patricia
Patricia,
The number of stitches you need for the front and back of the garment are stated at the beginning of instructions for these sections. The pattern will tell you how many stitches to cast on for each size. As for your not understanding the instructions for the ruffle, you hold the piece with the ruffle you have already made at the bottom, go up about an inch, and pick up stitches in a line across, then proceed as you did with the first ruffle. If this does not clear it up for you, I suggest you stop by a local knit shop and see if there is someone there who can help you. Most knit shops are happy to assist new knitters. Good luck!
Hi:
Thank you for your quick response. I can now visualize what I need to do to make the second ruffle. I am very excited to do this for my grand puppy. I did see the number of stitches at the beginning of the pattern my question was what to do if I needed it bigger than the numbers listed.
You can add about 5 sts to the cast-on for each side for every two inches you add to the girth.