You Might Think

By the time I had the third Palette sampler box, I had amassed a great list of reasons for having all three.  Not the least amongst them would be that I would know exactly what each color looked like and when ordering new balls of Palette, I would order the correct one.  No more frustrations caused by the difference between the photo and its display on my screen not matching real life.  That makes sense, eh?  

Fast-forward (or rewind, depending on your perspective) to a Knit Picks gift certificate I received for my birthday.  When I finally got around to using it, I filled in the order with a few balls of Palette.  I knew I needed a ball of a plain orange.  Well, orange is not as simple a color as you might think.  I ordered Orange, but I should have ordered Cayenne.  

The Palette sampler as color card tool only works if you consult it.  Who knew?

That being said, when I do get out the mini skeins of the samplers, I have fun.  Just looking at all the colors is a joy.  There are so many colors that I don't have (outside of this collection) but that I could see buying full skeins of in the future, perhaps.  While I do have quite a few colors, it amazes me all the ones I don't have.  

Speaking of the colors I do and do not have, amazing isn't the right word to describe a recent experience.  I was playing with colors, trying to find the right ones, (pinks and oranges, if you were wondering--pinks and oranges if you weren't wondering) knitting from a bag filled with little balls of yarn I have wound off from the full skeins of Palette to knit little things.  Anyway, one of those pinks worked well, and when I had used it up, I went to the craft room for more of it, and could not find more.  Then I compared the scrap to the pinks in the sampler to figure out which it is.  It's Cosmopolitan, and that solved one mystery, and another mystery started.  

There was no main skein of Cosmopolitan in the stash.  I cannot recall ever knitting up a full skein of it, nor do I have any finished items composed of it.  Still, I must have had it, otherwise I couldn't have that small ball of it in the knitting bag.  I spent way too much time searching, but I don't have it.  The bin where it should be seems pretty full, but maybe there is a missing bag of pinks and purples that I failed to put away properly.  If so, I have a happy reunion in my future, eh?  In the end, it prompted me to wind off a couple yards from the sampler mini-skein to use now.  I mean, the mini-skeins aren't just for admiring, and once I did that, it freed me to do the same with a few other colors I wanted to try, and try I have.  I will try to remember that feeling, and not continually set things aside for the "right" "special" "perfect" time.      

Since We're Inside All the Time

I'm a homebody, for sure.  It's just a bit of luck that my history, personality, and brain chemistry have made staying home somewhat less difficult for me than it has been for some people.  I mean, that's all I can really call it.  Sure, there are moments when I might have had a boost if I could have convinced myself that it was some sort of intense feat of discipline and superior moral character, but I know that wouldn't be true.  

Still, there are things I have missed while adhering to the best guidelines for staying as safe as possible during the pandemic.  Looking out our windows is nice, and I'm very grateful for it.  That doesn't keep me from wanting to see other landscapes.  It's also a flimsy pretext for another yarn purchase.  What, like I'm going to get only two of the three Palette sampler boxes?  Of course I got the Forest and Ocean set.  There are so many gorgeous blues and greens, from light and bright to dark and deep.  Maybe I'll knit a grove of tiny trees, or perhaps just a horde of sickly looking zombies. 

Stocking Up

That advice to have two weeks worth of food and supplies during the pandemic is, generally speaking, pretty sound, wouldn't you say?  We've never had so much food in the house.  I find it by turns comforting and anxiety-provoking.  It is good to know that we are prepared, but the very real reasons to be prepared this way is not so good, and that's just part of what I think about and feel when I look in my kitchen.  

For a moment, let's move to a different part of the house.  Now, pre-pandemic, it had been quite a while since I had bought yarn, and when I did, it was not much at a time.  I already had an abundant supply.  For the people who guessed that being home all the time would increase knitting output, they guessed incorrectly.  The stress of *gestures broadly* has left me knitting significantly less.  I've noticed that with a lot of other knitters, too.  So, yeah, what I'm saying is, over the course of these months, I have acquired more yarn.  While it makes me a bit uncomfortable (for a number of reasons) to show these purchases and gifts, I'm going to do so anyway.  Perhaps the yarn has been waiting on its blog debut before it could make its way to my needles.  Yeah, I don't believe that either, but we'll just go with that for now.  

At any rate, it's a good excuse to blog a bit more, and now that I've taken pictures, I can add a photo, blather on, and hit publish.  

First up, is a Palette sampler.  I am a fan of Knit Picks' Palette yarn.  There are so many colors, it is reasonably priced, and versatile.  It is what I use to knit my many tiny things.  This is the Sunrise and Sunset collection.  There are so many beautiful colors.  I love these reds, pinks, purples, oranges, and blues.  Now I just need to stop gazing at the nicely boxed up set and get to knitting. 

       

Twenty-Two

Nobody tells me anything.  How many times have we thought or heard that?  I find myself in a bit of a pile of that lately.  However, I am not really bothered by it.  If I need to know, I will find out eventually, and if people need for me to know sooner, it is their responsibility to tell me.  Truly, though, it is not about me, and there are good reasons why I am not always in the loop.  

For example, sometimes there are secret plans for parties.  My sister has had a growing need to transform our very informal family gatherings into something more elaborate, and she has taken my upcoming birthday as the perfect opportunity to charge full speed ahead.  Nevermind that she is recovering from surgery, feeling tremendous stress in most areas of life, and now warring with her partner in crime for the party.  No let's just forget about that.  All I need to know is that she requires I vacate my home four hours prior to the festivities.  She needs me to come to her house to watch her children.  During this time we are to somehow persuade the toddlers to take naps.  But really, what does she have planned that takes four hours?  I might be a little scared.  

At least I have knitting to calm myself.  And that brings up another reason for secrecy.  I am going to be working on a little bit of sooper-seekrit knitting.  Operating this enormously popular blog means that I must assume that the recipients of these planned projects are reading this and every entry, and therefore, I must keep quiet about the progress.  So, here you go, some yarn that will be part of one of the gifts.  We'll all just have to endure the mystery and intrigue for a bit.  I make no promises not to hint at or blog vaguely about them, but it isn't like I have actual blogging plans.  Shocking, I know.     

Affected and Afflicted

While I cannot be sure of the first time I saw it, I think if was over at Margene's.  I looked at it and considered it, and then let the idea drift away.  However, it kept coming back.  It kept popping up here and there, and so did the desire to knit it.  Someone else showed me her yarn choices, and I thought about it some more.  Soon I was trying to decide if I wanted to knit it because so many others had, or if that was the reason I was resisting the idea.  Another knitter showed me her yarn, a plan hatched, and I bought the pattern that night.  I used the promise of stash-shopping as the reward to finish up a few things.  I already had ideas of what colors I would use, but looking into the bins gave me other ideas, and soon I had a bag of possibilities.  I showed it to others, they gave their opinions, and as they played with the various combinations, I had even more ideas. 

These are the yarns I gathered for Color Affection.  I keep playing around with various groupings of three and I am still not sure, but I really want to start knitting.  Cast on is slated for October 17th, so I still have time to decide.  It is good that I have other knits going to keep me from starting early.

So far, this combination dubbed "I Love the Eighties" seems to be the favorite amongst those I have asked.  

Here is the "Autumn Affection" set.  I think it is a little different from what I normally would pick, and is an interesting possibility.

Then there is this set that does not have a name.  Bruce said that the Ash would be good for socks.  I take that as a hint, and think I should get some secret socks going soon.  

My mom thinks I should do "I Love the Eighties" for the knitalong, but cast on for "Autumn Affection" right now in secret.  Maybe I will knit it for her, but I will be good and wait to cast on with everyone at the pre-determined time.  

What do you think?  One of the above combos, a different grouping, something else you know I have?  On the other hand, maybe you think I should just shut up, quit asking everyone, and figure it out for myself.          

Winning at Unclaimed Baggage

Last week was Fall Break and we were looking for something different to do. None of us was really up for much of a road trip, so we went to Unclaimed Baggage. If I had been there on my own, I would have spent my time there differently, but instead, it was a bit disjointed and random. Actually, that describes me a bit, but that is neither here nor there. Anyway, I finally made my way out to the annex building and found a little bit of yarn.

The first find was a bag with a partial blanket on the hook, a partial top on the needles (might be a cotton/linen yarn), a skein of handspun, a partial skein of either Noro or Boku, some kitchen cotton, as well as a few extra dpns. Next up was a full bag of some Knit Picks seconds yarn. As the paper states, it is a little overspun, but I can think of several ways to make it work for me. I had better, as I now have ten skeins of this sportweight yarn. Besides, I knit with my handspun often enough, and it is often overspun, too, so I should be good. Anyway, the last bundle I found was very interesting. I was hopeful as I looked through a sealed plastic bag containing Knit Picks Essential in Multi and Tweed, Wool-Ease, and Cascade Pastaza (some of which was in the form of several knit mitered squares). I was a bit concerned upon opening the bag, as the yarn inside had a heavy, perfumed scent that was not my favorite. However, after a dunk in some hot water and wool wash, a rinse in the morning, an afternoon on the clothes rack, and I have some fabulous new yarn.

New York, New Yarn

We are back from New York, and it was wonderful. I still have more laundry and a bit of unpacking left, but we are pretty close to being settled back in at home. There was so much to do and see, but I will spare you much of the travelogue for now, and get straight to the yarn.

We made it to two yarn stores, Habu Textiles, and School Products Yarn, and I was able to enhance the stash a little bit. I wish I could show you the yarns better, and even more, that you could meet them in person. As usual, most of the colors are way off in my photos.

From Habu, you see (left to right) bamboo, bamboo/copper, wool/stainless steel, wool, silk/stainless steel, merino wool, bonus sample gifties (silk, mohair/silk, linen/silk), and then handspun silk at the bottom.

At School Products Yarn, I picked up (from top to bottom) cashmere/mohair, silk/cashmere, and merino/cashmere/angora yarns. The blue 70% silk/ 30% cashmere yarn is four strands wound together into one cake, so I have a bit of work ahead of me to separate them into separate skeins.

I do not have plans for the yarn, but am pleased with my selections. I wanted to get yarns that I do not have available locally, and I did that with all of these yarns. While I think I will knit some of these yarns into gifts for others, some of them might become lace for me.

Random--Not Just for Wednesdays

This has not been an ordinary week. It has not been my favorite week, but it has not been completely horrible. However, when I type it out, it seems much worse.

There was a close encounter of the aviation kind. On Monday, a plane crashed very close to my brother's house. The news vans were stationed at the end of their driveway for a couple of days.

There were close encounters of the wildlife varieties. This included two skunks (one in our yard), a coyote, and a possum (not the cat).

We had extended family sadness. This roused a sleeping, ancient, family drama llama, but it will probably drift back into slumberland soon. It is just sad. Slowly backing away is probably the best answer, although far from being a good one. Some things cannot be fixed, and some things are not ours to fix.

There was a surprise tornado. It was not near our home. We had eerie, shining sun combined with rain and a bit of hail.

There were good things that happened, too. There was a birthday. My nephew turned eight. The party included plenty of bowling, silliness, and chocolate cake.

There was a good time with a friend. While my camnesia leaves one item undocumented, I can show yarn that I received. I have never worked with Jojoland Melody sock yarn, and Hoobody Fibers sock yarn is new to me, too.

I have also been knitting the Prairie Rose Shawl. I only have about sixteen more rows to go, so I will wait to take photos.

Oh, and I had an amazing shopping trip, bargain-wise. You need toilet paper and caffeine-free Diet Pepsi? We have it here.

Mohair Monday: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For Edition

With the secret lace back on track, it has become safe to allow my mind to wander. That can end poorly. However, I sometimes remember important things, solve problems, or have good ideas. Doing this while knitting lace is especially inspiring without allowing my brain to run too far. Today it found its way to a general list of to-knit items.


I have been planning to knit some lace scarves, but have not gotten any further than that. I decided to get on with process, and happened upon a theme. All of the yarns I selected have mohair as the main fiber content. Still unsure of what to knit, I reached for A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns and Knitted Lace of Estonia from the bookshelf. Now all that remains is selecting patterns. Oh, and the knitting of course, but that is the easy part, right?

Because I Won't Know Unless I Try

I have had some CVM fiber in the stash for a while, and have only admired it. I thought it so lovely that I got a little bit more. Then I felt a bit ridiculous about it remaining only in stash form. However, I was not ready to spin it, but I liked to think about it. I like the warm, sproingy, brown fluff, but occasionally thought about it being not brown. I think this must have been in my mind when I bought the second batch. Still, I have no idea how much Kool-Aid it would take to dye the fiber, and if this went poorly, it would likely be horrible. I know that over-dyeing would still be an option, but overdyeing unfortunately dyed brown wool is probably far beyond my KA-dyeing skills. Then again, even if the color turned out very wrong, the fiber is very right. I would perhaps practice different spinning techniques with good fiber without worrying about wasting it if had already become unattractive due to my dyeing. If that is not reason enough, I do not know what is.

So, I get out the giant pot, add the fiber, the water, and the Kool-Aid, and let the heat of the day do its thing. Darkness falls, and I try to not do the same as I bring it back inside. It does not look good. My husband thought it could be OK after drying. I poured off the water and started to remove the fiber. Lo and behold, the fiber at the bottom looks promising. Perhaps if I flip the fiber pile and try again, it might work. I think I like what I have done (it is darker than this picture). Now I just need to find the time to spin it.

Taking Chances

As I have been knitting mainly from stash lately, its contents influence what I decide to knit. Sometimes I come across a pattern I want to knit, but am not sure whether the stash will support it. If I clearly do not have the yarn, I evaluate whether I want to purchase yarn and knit it now, or if I will just wait for later. That is actually the easier situation. The stash is lovely and I enjoy knitting from it. I do not feel deprived when I decide to wait to buy yarn to knit something. It also makes it all the more enjoyable when I do buy yarn. I am not against buying more yarn, but right now, reducing the stash is the right decision for me. Why, yes, I do realize that all this going on and on about knitting from the stash means I am pushing myself closer and closer to a not insignificant yarn purchase, but I digress.

The anxiety enters when I think I might have the yarn to knit something, but the yarn situation could be tight. Having been burned by recent yarndage issues, I have become even more nervous. While I so dislike the idea of running out of yarn, I receive quite a thrill when it is close, but works. With this in mind, I began the swatching. I got gauge. I checked the pattern and checked the stash. The yardage matched, but I was not yet convinced. I know how those numbers can have quite the plus/minus range.

Still, the pattern looks like such a nice, pleasant knit, that forging forward is the right choice. If I do not have enough yarn to finish it and cannot get more of it, this is not a tragedy. I think I would enjoy knitting it again when I do have the necessary yarn. That being said, I am getting ahead of myself. This yarn could be enough and work out just fine. In fact, it looks like it will. I have already finished the back and am about one-third of the way up the front left of my Golden Vintage Cardigan.

Is That All There Is?

Knitting the Shetland Tea Shawl has been wonderful. Even though the rounds became quite long, I loved knitting every stitch. I only ever retrieved one ball of yarn at a time. When I needed more yarn, I went to the closet, opened the tub, and pulled out another. I Russian joined the new to the old. The spent ball bands went to the bottom of the knitting bag, or into books to mark pages.

After much knitting, I finally reached the end of the last chart. It was also time for more yarn, so I repeated the same actions. I did not think of how many times I had done this during the knitting of this lace. What I can tell you is that I cannot do it another time. There is no more.

I was sure there was more. I should take that back, because I could not tell you how many balls of yarn I thought I had. What I thought is that I had enough to knit this. It would seem that I was wrong. I went through the stash. Had I not once swatched with some of this yarn a few years ago? Surely there were one or two more in there. They had just been taken out and never found their way back the proper bin, right?

Somehow, I must have made a miscalculation. This mistake has me somewhere between wanting to scream, wanting to cry, and feeling so very stupid. I am trying to obtain more of the yarn, and remain hopeful. I plan to keep knitting the Beechleaf Edging. Knitting one hundred fifteen chart repeats is bound to keep me busy. Perhaps by the time I reach the end of the ball, I will have more yarn. That should also let me know just how much more yarn I need. I should also be able to knit that chart in my sleep by then.

No Rest

I am on the final chart in the body of the Shetland Tea Shawl. It requires a bit more attention than charts past. There is action on every round. That is to say, there are not plain knit rounds alternating with lace rounds. This makes for finding a stopping point a little more difficult. It is easy to keep going, because the natural resting points just are not there. However, my energy and concentration levels force me to take breaks.

Sometimes, I want to keep with the fiber pursuits, but am not up for much action. This is where planning and plotting can be good uses of my time. However, I am not interested in becoming stuck focusing on all the things I want to knit, and the resultant frustration at not doing it all right now. I want to keep the enjoyment going. The time to plan my participation in the personal sock club arrived.

After risking life and limb to retrieve the package of brown lunch sacks, I was committed to the psc. Seriously, that was a more trying endeavor than I had expected. Anyway, once the bags were in hand, it was time to fill them. I flipped through books and magazines. I perused patterns on Ravelry. I examined the sock yarn stash. There is less than I had thought, and this is good. I consulted the Sock Madness 3 supply list.

Before I knew it, the time had come to seal the sacks and wait for the first day of March. I have to remember to sign up for Sock Madness that day, too.

Must Resist Hibernation

I am home, and it is wonderful. Unexpected is the one word I would choose to describe the vacation. It was also a reminder that it is good that I am not in charge of everything. Since we returned, I have spent so much time in bed. Whatever I do, whether knitting, unpacking, or cleaning, it is like moving in molasses. Maybe I really did miss that much sleep. Anyway, I should be back up and running soon.

Speaking of getting back to the schedule, the mail arrived. It was wonderful to be able to put it on hold while we were gone. Even better was when it all fit in the mailbox when delivery resumed. Most of it was junk, but there was this little gem. I won a skein of STR lightweight in the Nodding Violet colorway. It was one of the wonderful prizes from the hat drive. Thanks, Jean!

Double-Triple Day

I had a wonderful birthday today. Celebrations began early. First, my husband had me order some presents from Knit Picks. It shipped quickly, but when I clicked on the tracking number, I always received an error message. Imagine my surprise when the box arrived just a few days later. I planned to wait until my birthday to open the package, but the daughter was here when it arrived, and my husband wanted her to see what he had gotten for me.

The next day, my mom had a marshmallow fire shindig. We celebrated both my younger brother's and my birthdays. My brother liked his new emo kid. I received the third season of Futurama. It was a wonderful night. The excitement of the night was when a wandering, friendly, stinky pit bull puppy found his way to the party and curled up in a lawn chair by the fire.

On Monday, I kept jumping up at the sound of passing vehicles in anticipation of the mail. I had no reason to be on the lookout for anything, but this did not stop me. Also, the sound of our postal worker's vehicle is distinctive. When he finally pulled up, the truck stopped in front of our home, and I saw him digging about in the back of the truck. I wondered what he was bringing that would not fit in the mailbox. I thought about some Knit Picks. It shipped on Friday; yet, the tracking info shows that the order had activity four days before it was placed. Anyway, I met him halfway to the door, and spied an Amazon box. My mind raced. Was it a book I had pre-ordered? No, Amazon said they would let me know before shipping it to me. Then I remembered something that happened at the marshmallow fire. My younger brother had asked for my address. He bought me the A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker. I immediately flipped through while my mind raced with inspiration. I'm sure it is no surprise that I spent more than a few minutes looking at the lace. Idea after idea flitted along with mental flashes of stash yarns. The fantasy portion my brain kicked in, and I imagined taking a stab at designing.

Today, I made my way about town collecting on a couple of free birthday offers. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Lone Star, and later it was a tasty Like It portion of ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. There was not much room left when my family took me out to Cracker Barrel for supper.

In between the adventures, I added a few more rows to my Lace Ribbons Scarf. It seems like I am finally developing a nice rhythm with the pattern, and it has become an enjoyable knit. I think it will be a wonderful companion for some upcoming extended knitting time.

Because November is Nearly February

The other day, I was leisurely reading the blogs, and I did not think I needed to be on my guard. Then, someone mentioned NaKniSweMo, and in my vulnerable state, I began to think about it. I have never really considered the BloMo, because I think I would fall off that within the first ten days. Now a new sweater in a month, that is something I could see myself trying.

Sweater in a month, sweater in a month, sweater in a month. It kept playing through my head, along with choruses of NaKniSweMo. Sweater month, month sweater, month February. Before I knew it, I was making my way to the yarn closet. I had been thinking of that yarn recently. I was considering using it for a Hemlock Ring Blanket. Anyway, I consulted Ravelry concerning this yarn and the pattern. I dragged out the yarn and counted skeins of various colors. It did not look like I would have enough in either of my two first choices (purples), but plenty for my third (red). Then I read the ball band for myself. It lists 130m, rather than the 103m Ravelry lists. That makes a bit of a difference. I did the math again, and maybe there is enough for one of my first color choices. If that is the case, there is enough for one in each of my first two color choices--one for me, and one for my sister. However, there is not enough for identical red February Lady Sweaters. Nah, I was not really considering that. I may be crazy, but not quite that crazy.

Weekend Wrap-Up Wednesday

I fell off my ten minute spinning wagon with the Ravelympics, but I think a Saturday adventure was just what I needed to get me back on track. I finally made it out to Little Barn. It is fiber-ific! I had promised myself that if I ever ventured out there, I would buy a bag of silk top, and I did. I also picked up this blue because it is fabulous. Such a brilliant color often intimidates me, and I feel unworthy to claim it. I rounded out my purchases for the day with a bag of what is perhaps my favorite sheep name--California Variegated Mutant. It makes me smile, and it causes other people to crinkle up their faces in confusion when I speak of it. Anyway, I forgot to take any pictures when I was there. Next time, right? There are people knitting and spinning each Saturday that they are open, and now that I know my way there, I hope to attend more often. There is to be a big shindig October 4th for Spinning and Weaving Week. It sounds like it will be fun.My knitting progress for the weekend was next to non-existent. I picked my sister's top back up, and was knitting away on it at Little Barn. After knitting a few rounds, I had a problem. I had made a mistake on one lace repeat two rounds previous. I tried to fix it while I was there, but it was a no-go. The next time I picked up the knitting I was able to make things right again, but then my knitting time was over as quickly as it had begun.

Grandma Came to Town

It was a great visit with Grandma. She wants to make it back down in October for the fiber festival in Murfreesboro. I hope she can. We would have a great time. Speaking of, her time here was filled with fun. We ate good food, shopped, talked fiber, took pictures, and reminisced. I helped fix her current sock. This amounted to ripping back about five rounds. With all of the riding time she had on the trip home, I am sure it is more than back on track by now. I was amazed by how tired I was by the time we saw her off on her journey home.I did manage to accomplish some other things while Grandma was in town. I finished spinning, plying, and the finishing of some alpaca. Yes, that is it in the picture. I helped a niece return to knitting. She made great progress on a felted bag she wanted to knit. I also completed a sock and began its mate (matchy-matchy goodness so far, Cara).

Now that my packaging has arrived, I have no more excuses. I need to add labels to the hats and get them off to Caps for a Cure. I have some knitting I would really like to finish soon, but it is not quite deadline knitting status, yet. Then there are the two pies I need to make for our shindig on the fourth. I guess the busy is not ending any time soon.

Busy Can Be Good

Last week was full. However, fun was what kept me on the go. I made it out to be with knitters five times. Yes, five times. There was Skanky Monday at Barnes & Noble. Tuesday was a lonely NAKG at Books-A-Million. Although I was the only one there, I did venture further that day and visited a bit with a wandering Skank when I bought my new books. Wednesday was another Skanky night at Starbucks. Saturday was a little stash enhancement. Friday was Stitch 'n' Pitch: The Skanky Edition. I do not know who won, but I can say a skybox is the best way to do the baseball thing. Bonus entertainment included these bizarre inflatable critters throughout the game, and ended with fireworks.

Frog and Lapdog

My weekend was eaten up by fun and new experiences. We had visitors--a nephew, a daughter, and a Wii. We had a great time, but I am still behind on sleep. It has made me more excited for the time when we have our own Wii. My husband won one, and it should be here in 6-8 weeks. As great as the weekend was, it did disrupt plans to meet up with one of the Skanks. She had organized a group order to Knit Picks and was going to give me my yarn and I was going to show her how to use a niddy noddy. She has some projects to frog and the yarn to re-purpose. She was also going to give me a project and remaining yarn she needed to have out of her possession. She had begun a skirt long ago, but several problems occurred that let her know that it was not to be, and she no longer wants to see it or the yarn. While we did not have an opportunity to meet this weekend, she was able to drop off the yarn.

Much of Monday was eaten up by new technology. My husband ordered a laptop, and it was delivered Monday morning. There is still much to learn as we get to know our new machine. Monday night with the Skanky Knitters seemed to be off its usual rhythm. We had a nice time, but it was a bit of an off night. I know part of my problem was lack of sleep and the fact that I was sewing up knitting bits in public. I usually do not seam in public, but I wanted to get that piece finished. It was secret knitting, and I am glad to have the piece completed. It looked good when I was done, but I forgot to take a picture, so I cannot show you later.

After unseasonably warm weather, winter temperatures have returned. I was glad to have my mittens, and enjoyed wearing them today. The front porch has a light dusting of snow. I am pleased to have the cold for the sake of my sweater knitting. I think I will still have a chance to wear the TYC this year. In fact, I am off to knit on it now.