Pawprints in the snow

Well. I suppose that's it, then... I've thought about doing this for so long, and finally decided to jump in and join the fray. Hopefully, I can add something to the mix, or at least stir things up a little now and then.

It's finally looking like winter here. Last week's warm weather was nice, but just... weird. Not right for it to be in the 70s in mid-January. Luckily, it was a snowy Sunday and all we had to do was hang around the house -- evening plans got canceled. The dogs were not pleased to go out into the wet cold, and were more than happy to stay on the couch or near a human all day, as were the cats, which made for much warmth, cuteness and several random bouts of cat-chasing.

I wove in the ends of my second FO of the year, which was a hat identical to my first FO. The first was a gift for our neighbor, Boy 2's best bud, and the second was for Farm Witch's Knit for the Kidlets project. Quick and dirty, made out of Encore Chunky on size 10.5 needles with a turn-up brim. B-man the neighbor boy loves his, and I hope the recipient of the second hat is pleased too. Next up are a passel of caps for Boy 1's (the lovely model shown at right) scout troop. The guys that make Eagle get a funky multicolored ribbed... (minds out of the gutter, y'all!) stocking cap. Somehow, in the Byzantine social network that is a small town, I got tapped to take over the position as Cap Mistress, which means that I inherited the stash of R*d H*art in vile colors with which the caps are made, along with a list of recipients-to-be. It is fun trying to see just how disgusting the color combinations can be, but oy, the acrylic. My fingers are crying out for something natural. I'm told, though, that the guys love the hats, and the more garish, the better. We aim to please!

Due up next is a second skein of what I spun up for a friend as a Christmas gift for her aunt. I forget what kind of wool -- I think it's Shetland and something else, gotten from the local fiber pusher at the farmer's market. Spun it fairly thick and plied it, then dyed it with three colors of Jacquard acid dyes. You know when you envision a project in your mind, and it turns out exactly the way you saw it? Me neither... until now. I couldn't have been more pleased with the result. Squishy, soft, sproingy, and luscious. Now I just have to do it again -- ha.

I love the way the colors blended in this skein. Hopefully I can get close enough to the first one so that the recipient can just alternate skeins as she knits and use the two in the same project. This was nearly 400 yards; the bobbins on the Lendrum were full.

I watched the premiere of "The Dresden Files" on SciFi last night... I think it is going to be my one weekly show this winter. Schedules are so convoluted around here that I don't plan to watch TV, only listen when I'm spinning or if we have a movie, so it's nice to have a show to look forward to. I've read part of one of the later books in the series, but then went back and ordered the first few from Amazon so I could get the story from the beginning. My only gripe is that on SciFi, you get as much commercial time as show time. I love Showtime for the fact that you get 50 uninterrupted minutes of whatever series you're watching.

Yo ho -- Onward and upward!