Yesterday morning I went downstairs to see about some bibs I decided to rework after LC outgrew them (there's big-headed kids in this clan) and look what I found. That's right. It's the "lost" copy of The Mitten that I scoured the house looking for on Sunday and Monday, sitting there calm as you please, in a paper bag next to my sewing machine. Why that's where it is/was, I have no idea, but I paged through it, found that someone had inked big black letters inside the front cover and decided to keep the new one I bought on Monday. This copy will go into the LFL box in the back of my car to be sent back out for someone whose Meemaw can't afford to buy them a copy. All's well that ends well.
I didn't knuckle down to finish the Mitten Bear yesterday. I was kind of busy with other things all day and after supper when I did sit down I grabbed the sock bag and cast on Anklet #5. As much as I want to finish the animals I also want to knit Anklets #5 & 6. I have no explanation for it but knitting as many anklets as possible from black through gray to white and back out of that one skein has captured me and won't let me go. Good thing the Mitten Animals are the only Xmas yarn crafting on my horizon. Except for a few dishcloths I'm thinking of cranking out.
I was up and out early yesterday and crested the Ridge Road hill on Mason St. to see this glorious sunrise sky spread out before me. Thank god for cellphones and reasonable traffic, plus the road's as straight as an arrow. Sights like this fill my day with joy.
November 30--Lewis Kemper, Father and Son Feet. Mark held Ethan's feet in his hand. Both of them in one hand. Mark's heart lurched at the enormous responsibility that seemed to press him into the earth an inch or two. One of his cells had merged with one of Julie's cells and a whole new person had grown. A person he was in charge of raising to be a good man. No one would ever pick him, trust him, the perpetual screw up, with a job this important. Julie seemed to think he could do it but Julie thought the best of everyone. What if he botched the job? Could a bad dad make a kid into a serial killer? Maybe the kid would be ashamed to have him as a dad. Tears filled Mark's eyes and one fell on Ethan's forehead. The baby chuckled and gave Mark a gummy smile like he was just the person Ethan wanted to see. Maybe it would be okay after all.
Do you realize that today is the very last day of November? That tomorrow is December 1? The good news is that on Sunday, December 4 Durwood and I will have been married for 40 years. FORTY years. Holy Jeebus, that's a long time for him to put up with me but he says he's still glad he married me. Poor man, he should probably lie down with a cool cloth on his head. I get to go to the chiro this morning to see if she can rearrange my left ankle and heel because it still aches from the DO's tender ministrations last Friday, and I am damned tired of it aching. Knock it off, already. Sorry, I'm so ready to be done and fixed and over this. So ready. Time to flee.
--Barbara
Hahahahahaha. Sorry, I couldn't resist. All I did yesterday was go downstairs to play with the laundry and come up to sit on the couch and work on the Mitten Bear. I got the body finished, one leg crocheted, and the ears and tail (which are oddly the same) made. Three more legs, a little sewing up, and one more animal done. Do you see that stick? It came, wrapped in a paper sleeve, tucked into the cloud of fiberfill labeled "Special! Bonus Tool!" They call it a "stuffing stick." If it was lying next to a plate, it'd be called a chopstick. Whatever you call it, it's a godsend for stuffing bear legs.
I couldn't remember where I stashed the book that started this odyssey of crocheted animals so I've been looking for it. Do you think I can find it? No, of course not. So I'll stop at B & N when I'm out later for a copy. Then I'll find the original one which I was so thrilled to find in a Little Free Library and put in a "safe" place which is now unknown to me. Arrgh. Well, when it turns up it can go right back into a LFL for some other child to enjoy.
There are no photos of clean (or dirty) laundry (you're welcome) and the weather is dreary and depressing so the partially membered (that's the opposite of dismembered, right?) bear is all there is.
November 28--Lewis Kemper, Children Discovery. Marta followed the straggle of third-graders through the bright atrium into the murky green light of the freshwater display in the aquarium. She thought the place smelled like her grandpa's bait bucket and she found the flickering light that filtered through the tanks disturbing. She'd fallen off the dock at the lake when she was a kid and got disoriented in the weeds and pilings. Her cousin James had dived in to pull her out. The moving green light made her feel trapped and breathless again. "Mrs. Appel," Clara tugged at her sleeve, "why are all the fish swimming upside down?" Marta looked around to see that all the fish in all of the tanks were dead and floating. She clapped her hands for attention. "Children, we need to leave." A dozen small voices protested. "I know you want to stay but I think something is wrong." She turned to lead the group back the way they came but the floor seemed to tilt and she slid down the glass of the nearest tank. The children fell where they stood.
I'm thinking gas leak. Or maybe aliens. I've got a nice list of places to stop when I'm out and about and happily one stop involves lunch with a friend so I should probably hop in the shower and get this show on the road. Stay dry and warm today.
--Barbara
You know how I love the sky... and clouds... and the moon. If I had my druthers, I'd live on a hilltop with a 360 view of the sky, no trees popping up to block my view, no power lines or power poles jutting in the way or swagged across the light, just sky, endless sky, sun, clouds, moon, and stars. Last night's sunset was glorious. I walked all over the front yard trying to capture the colors without too much of the power grid in the frame and did okay, I think. This morning while filling the squirrel corn feeders I looked straight up and liked the way the few remaining apple leaves looked against the blue sky. The sky was blue then, anyway, it's all gray and clouded over now. I had high hopes for a sunny day but no luck. Ah well.
Also birds. I need lots of birds. Plain, everyday birds are okay. I like the brash Chickadees, the squabbling groups of English Sparrows that bathe en masse and usually empty the birdbath, the loudmouth Bluejays that are really scaredy cats, the sedate Mourning Doves that remind me of a bunch of church ladies flapping when they get spooked, and the Juncos that presage winter with their arrival. Of course, I'm a big fan of the hawks when they come to dine or drink at the buffet we provide and one day maybe I'll see an owl out there (I hear 'em but never see 'em). Today's special guest was a male Downy Woodpecker, not especially exotic but well-dressed and fun to watch.
Yesterday afternoon I started working on the Mitten Bear. I followed the pattern to start, got 10 rounds in, and thought it was going to be way too big, so I ripped it out and started over with a two-sizes-smaller hook. Much better. This pattern's more complicated than the others. You make the head and body, then crochet each leg, the ears, and the tail separately to sew on individually. I think it'll look very bear-like when it's done. And I found a rabbit pattern I think will be perfect, less Easter bunny-ish than most of them, which is just what I'm looking for. You can't have seven "forest" animals and one "fairy tale" critter, it would just be wrong.
November 27--Lewis Kemper, Woman Using Laptop Computer. "Oh, for god's sake, Greta," Leo said, "you can't be serious." She looked up from the keyboard she'd pulled from her backpack. "What? I have work to do and there's a signal." She glanced around as if surprised not to see others lined up on the rock outcrop working too. "Work." His voice echoed from the rock wall across the canyon. "You brought work along on our vacation." Her eyes stayed on her computer screen. "I told you that I could come but I'd have to do some work. What did you think, that I'd have a few manila folders in my pack?" "No," he said, although that was exactly what he'd thought. She said, "Give me an hour and we can move on."
I couldn't decide whether he was going to throw the laptop or her off into the abyss and I kept falling asleep so I gave up, turned out the light, and left them to the writing fates. Today is laundry day and as soon as Durwood gets up from his morning nap and throws his dirties down the chute I'll be getting my exercise going up and down the basement stairs flipping and flopping clothes around for the rest of the day. I'll work on the bear in between loads. Adios.
--Barbara
... yesterday. Did you have a fun, family day? Did you eat your weight in turkey, stuffing, and pie? Did Uncle Louie tell the same boring stories he's been telling for the last umpty-million years? Did Aunt Mable tell him to "shut up, Louie, nobody wants to hear about that again"? Yeah, here neither.
Due to the virulence of my cold we elected to keep my virus-riddled self at home so we missed being in the bosom of family but we didn't miss out on the opportunity to overeat. Week before last Durwood asked me to roast the turkey breast we had in the freezer so we could have leftovers so we just added a bit to it--a couple turkey thighs, cornbread sausage stuffing, gravy, baked Butternut squash, homemade cranberry sauce, and Brussels sprouts, with pumpkin pie and Cool Whip for dessert. Just a little nosh. It didn't sound like much work when we were talking about it but, even with making the cornbread and cranberries the night before, it was quite a bit of cooking. But so worth it. We had a lovely supper and have quality leftovers that will last into next week with some fresh vegetable augmentation.
After supper I sat with my feet up and my hands idle while watching HGTV. Didn't knit. Didn't crochet. But I couldn't post without some yarny goodness so here's a full frontal view of the Mitten Fox reaching out to hug you all. Aw.
Look at the way the avocado is growing. It's shot up at least 6" since I potted it a couple weeks ago and there are three little leaflets peeling back from the terminal bud. Cool.
Saw the osteopath this morning and he said that my ankle is doing great, better than he expected, so I have one more appointment in a month and if I'm feeling good I can cancel it. Hooray! Of course, his tender ministrations made my heel and ankle ache but he did gently wrench it around and pressed on sore spots. I know it'll feel a whole lot better in a day or so. I'm thrilled.
--Barbara
Blow nose.
There. That's my yesterday. No birds, no yarn, nothing but coughing, snotting, and feeling like crap. Don't you love colds?
That was my thought when I drove up to the house yesterday afternoon to see these three big black birds perched in the neighbors' tree. I wished they were grouped a bit more closely but I liked the way they looked against the bright blue sky. (you know that a group of crows is called a "murder," right? a group of owls is called a "parliament," I like that one too)
Sticking with the bird theme, this morning was woodpecker time at the feeders. First, this male Downy Woodpecker came to hang around for a snack. Then this Red-bellied Woodpecker stopped but was so fast that by the time I got the camera up and running it was at the far end of the fence (look for the red patch in the center), pecking at things and, as soon as I snapped this, flew away. I saw a hawk when I was out filling feeders just now but it soared right on by.
I finished the Mitten Mole last night. Isn't it cute? Next comes the fox. In rereading the pattern I discovered that the designer has arranged the patterns from easiest to most difficult so I'm following her lead and taking it step by step. After the fox will be the badger and that'll be it for this set of patterns but I searched around on Ravelry and found a perfect bear (a bear bear, not a teddy or panda), an ideal mouse, and a rabbit that'll do. Strangely enough the hedgehog presents a problem. They're either way too big or way too complex or just plain ugly. The one that looks the right-est looks teeny tiny but maybe I can upsize it a bit. I'll have to see.
Once again no writing last night. I'm just buried by this cold. By the time I get into bed and do my rehab ankle exercises I've got nothing left. I console myself that this, this paltry bit of creative non-fiction actually is writing and it counts. *pats self on back, half encouragingly, half consolingly*
--Barbara
My life gets smaller and smaller when I feel as cruddy as I do right now. Yesterday I lolled on the couch crocheting that owl, and putting on the second wing as soon as I was done blogging. Then I plunged right into the mole. I think I should have made the owl in the pale gray and the mole in the darker gray but it's too late to go back now, well, I'm not going back now which amounts to the same thing. The mole has a separate head and body so I can run all the tails from the eyes and little pink nose out the bottom of the head and then tuck them into the body when I join them. Neat and tidy.
It stayed close to freezing all day and all night so there's still about a third of the birdbath that's frozen. It's hard to realize that it was 67 degrees on Friday afternoon and since then the temperature hasn't gotten above 37 degrees day or night. This is a very interesting world we live in.
The only other thing I did was grill out a NY Strip steak I bought at the grocery on Saturday. Durwood realized that they had a special on that steak, 10 oz. for $6, and Saturday was the last day so I dragged myself out for some. Couldn't pass it up. Happily it's in this week's ad too so I'll be tootling over later to get a couple more for the freezer. Didn't take a picture but, trust me, it was good. Well, it looked good and Durwood said it was good because I could only tell the temperature and texture of the meat, couldn't taste it at all. Thanks, cold virus, you're a real pal.
Still haven't written. All this snotting and coughing's making me tired. Stay far away from me. It's for the best. Happy Monday.
--Barbara
Did I tell you about that kids' storybook, The Mitten, that I found in a Little Free Library and want to knit a big mitten and find some animal toys that the kids can put into the mitten? Anyway, I saw the book, the mitten, and the wooden animal toys on a knitting website and couldn't find the animals so I emailed the blogger asking where she got them and she quickly replied with the name of the company that makes them. I looked them up online to discover that they start at about $10 each and go up. That ain't happening. So I found a pattern to crochet four of the eight animals, got that inexpensive yarn last week, and today I plunged in. Staying true to my Germanic heritage I started with the owl, the first pattern in the set. Sitting hunched over crocheting something only slightly larger than a ping pong ball really brings home the need to take a break and sit up straight for a few minutes, so even though I'm not done with the owl, I took its picture and I'm going to put it on here for you to see. This is not the best owl in the flock but it's an ingenious pattern and not difficult once you get the hang of the designer's thought process. Oh, and it's from England and they use different names for their crochet stitches than Americans do so that accounted for the first start-over, but I managed. I think the mole is next.
Sticking with the bird theme, Durwood called out that a hawk was on the birdbath this morning and, by golly, he was right. It even stayed there long enough for me to take its picture. Thanks, hawk.
I finished Owl Puff #4 (which may or may not be Sarah) yesterday. so more birds and did you notice that even though I said I was so over knitting owls I plunged right into crocheting another one? Even I don't understand myself.
After finishing the owl puff I cast on, knitted, and finished a mini-washcloth using the same pattern as the big one I made last week. The more I look at it the more I think if I make another one I'll add a tenth point. Anyway, you can guess whose play kitchen it's for.
This morning most of the snow was gone but all day there has been this icy patch in the birdbath. Cold is definitely here.
Once again I just flopped into bed and went to sleep. Maybe I'll have enough brains left to write one day soon. God, I hate having a cold.
--Barbara
See what I saw when I straggled out of bed this morning? That's right, SNOW, the cold white stuff the sight of which probably made the deer hunters cheer (it's opening day of gun deer season in Wisconsin) but makes most of the rest of us groan. After the balmy start yesterday the wind picked up in the afternoon and slowly blew in cold temps so by the time I left knitting around 8:15 it was in the low 50s and this morning it's in the low 30s and blowing like a banshee out there. I am happy to say that I cancelled my reservation for tonight because I wasn't fast enough with the Zycam so I've got a doozie of a cold which would kind of derail any pleasure I got out of being away. I can pile up on the couch with a gallon of OJ, pockets full of Halls, a box of tissues, and my own personal wastebasket, turn the TV on to some mindless drivel or maybe an old movie and knit and doze the next two days away.
Yesterday was that day in the progression of a cold where you feel okay in the morning, feel gradually worse through the day, until in the evening you feel like Death eating a cracker. I even left knitting an hour early and I NEVER do that, but even I could hear that I was sounding worse and worse so I packed up my stuff and came home and fell into bed. I did manage to knit about half of the fourth and hopefully last Owl Puff. Not that I don't like making them but I'd like to move on to other amusing patterns. I'll finish it today, I'm sure.
The only other noteworthy item is that the avocado pit I potted in soil about 10 days ago is growing like crazy. We had to turn it around because it was bending into a C shape reaching for the light. I think Durwood thinks we're going to have fruit one of these days but I grew one when I was in college that was so big I needed a mechanic's creeper to move the pot and it never bloomed or fruited. Ah well, it's fun to watch.
No, I didn't write last night either. I was so snot-filled and sore-throated that I laid down and checked out. I'm just happy to have the energy to do this much. Count your blessings. Off to fix myself some orange juice and Sierra Mist (an old Malcolm family treat and treatment for a cold) and then pile up on the couch with yarn and TV until further notice. Amuse yourselves. Peace, out.
--Barbara
We have had unseasonably warm weather all year so far and November is turning out to be no exception. I went out in the 64 degree warmth earlier to rake the last of the leaves off the front lawn and drag them on a tarp to dump on my neighbors' leaf pile, my reasoning being that they're more apt to come pick up a big pile of leaves than a lot of little ones. As I was raking the last few leaves I spied a bright yellow splotch, moved a tangle of maple leaves to see a bright, shiny dandelion bloom. That's how warm it's been. Things are going to change in a big fat hurry though. The temperature's supposed to claw its way to around 40 for the next couple days with wind, spitting rain, and maybe a little snow flurries as a bonus. Yippee. I just checked the Old Faithful cam from Yellowstone and the ground is snow-covered so I guess winter's on its way. It could stay warm-ish, I wouldn't mind.
I put my nose to the grindstone yesterday and finished Anklet #4 and OJ's Christmas stocking. It took most of the day to finish the foot and toe of the sock but only about half an hour to sew up the last stocking seam, then crochet and attach the hanging loop. (see, I told you that odd arrangement of hexagons would turn into a stocking) For mindless knitting while listening to a yarn shop owner giving the program talk about reading yarn labels and the different fibers at Guild last night, I had my Chocolate Dream Dishcloth to work on. I got all but one "point" done last night so I could sit and finish it this morning. Now I have to find something else to work on but, not to worry, LC told me the other day that the big Owl Puff I thought was Sarah is actually the Owl Mother so I need to knit another, smaller owl to be Sarah. I'm so glad that she's around to tell me important things like that.
All day yesterday I was chilled, couldn't get warm, and then at Guild my cheeks felt flushed. By the time I got home I had the chills so I plugged in my side of the electric blanket, told Durwood not to sleep with germy me, and went to bed. I'm feeling a bit better this morning, going out in the nice weather to rake leaves helped a lot, but I'm taking Zycam religiously to try to fend off a cold or whatever this is that's trying to invade my person. Maybe it's just the big weather change coming? Fingers crossed. Which is a long-winded way to say that I didn't write last night. I did my ankle exercises but didn't write. Maybe tonight.
--Barbara
It's November 17th (I know it is, I double checked) and my one little petunia is still alive and still blooming. From weather rumors I'm hearing that might all be over tomorrow and Saturday. Saturday, for sure, since it's supposed to s-s-s-s-snow a little. Eesh. It said in the newspaper the other day that 2016 is on track to be the warmest year in Wisconsin history but evidently Mother Nature doesn't read the Press-Gazette so there are little blue flake icons on the weather map for Saturday. Of course, Saturday is the day that I'm going away for an overnight and thought I might take a walk along a river or in a woods. Maybe I'll get some hot chocolate and hide out in my motel room or find a hospitable cafe where I can hunker down with a good book or my knitting or something. Every once in a while I need a day when I don't think of anyone but myself or no one calls my name and Saturday's it.
The sunrise colors this morning were glorious. I feel so lucky to be out there to witness that fleeting burst of color. The single sign that the year is progressing is the fact that in order to get the best view I had to go out the front door instead of the back door which means the Earth is tilting our hemisphere away from the sun for a couple months, a couple cold and snowy months, before the light starts coming back and drags the warmth with it.
I know you're going to find it hard to believe but this random assemblage of hexagons will, with a single fold and a little creative sewing, become a Christmas stocking. With any luck that'll happen today so I can show it off at Knitting Guild tonight. The other thing I'm hoping to finish today is Anklet #4. I've got about 5 more rounds of foot before it's time to toe and I might just get that done too if it isn't too busy at work. I'm not really wishing customers away, I'm totally willing to put down my needles, paste a welcoming smile on my face, and sell something or even make someone feel so welcome that they'll buy something next time. I understand that I work at a store and the purpose of a store is to provide people with things to buy and someone has to work the cash register and at Aqua Center that someone is me, at least a couple days a week anyway. So come distract me from my knitting and buy some snorkeling or diving stuff today, okay?
November 17--Write of something done in a small moment. The corner of the photo caught my eye. It poked out between the pages of a dull green book in the dollar pile at the thrift store. I always looked at the old books hoping to find a forgotten first edition or the autograph of some famous author. Most of the time I found movie ticket stubs or pieces of junk mail used as a bookmark. This time I found a photograph of a woman and child on a beach.
I don't know. I'm not happy with using those prompts and I'll try using an Archetype card again but neither one of them is sparking much in the way of a story. Maybe it's me...
Tonight I've got Knitting Guild after work so I've got my baggie of finished projects to show & share and I even remembered to dig out my nametag. I usually forget it. You enjoy your day and I'll do my best to enjoy mine.
--Barbara
I know I don't live in a place to get the distorted supersize view of the moon but last night when I took out the trash I think I might have gotten the best view. I was sure that the moon would be obscured by clouds since it was overcast all day but Mother Nature came through at the last minute. She thinned and separated the clouds just enough for the big ol' moon to be veiled by clouds and tangled in bare tree branches. Now that's a moon shot.
I knitted some on Anklet #4 but I fell prey to the idea of knitting another of those round scalloped dishcloths like I made last week. Or maybe it was the week before, I don't know, time passes so quickly these days, but anyway this brown variegated cotton yarn is some I bought as a possible substitute for the one I really wanted to crochet the bacon with and felt compelled to use some of it, especially since the color name is "chocolate dream" and I'm always in favor of anything chocolate. I still haven't sewn the hexagons together but I swear, double swear, pinkie swear I WILL lay them out as soon as I get to work today (when there are no customers) and get that project finished, finito, finis, and done.
In the bird world, a Downy Woodpecker landed on a crook yesterday and I was sure she'd take a Slinky ride before settling down on the suet but she didn't. This morning a Cardinal came, landed in a ray of sunshine on the platform feeder next to a House Finch and, just as I depressed the shutter button, flew away. So this is a picture of a House Finch next to where there used to be a Cardinal. You can totally imagine it, right? I thought so.
November 16--Magician/Wizard. Pearl white light glowed through the round window in Elaine's parlor. The stones that framed the opening looked iridescent in the light. She had knitted a curtain with very thin yarn in a pattern that looked like rising bubbles. Shelly sorted through the objects on the table by the window. Pieces of tumbled sea glass, crystals, smooth shells, slices of minerals that looked like petrified wood were jumbled in an old reed basket. Dried herbs lent a spicy, dusty fragrance to the area. "Are you drawn to one thing in particular?" Elaine asked. Shelly pulled her hand away as if she'd touched something hot. "No," she lied, "why would I be?"
Today I've got a chiro appointment before work and a haircut appointment after work. Don't ask me why I can't do all this stuff on my days off, I can't figure it out either, so I'd better get my tilly in motion and book it outta here.
--Barbara
We live too far inland from an eastern shore so I wasn't able to see the Supermoon Beaver Moon until it had climbed above the trees and by then it looked pretty much like your standard full moon. For those of you who only had clouds to look at last night, tonight's moon should be almost as big. A few years back Lala and I were in Sheboygan right on Lake Michigan on the night of a Supermoon and got to watch it's enormous orange-ness rise from the dark lake waters. It was breathtaking. What is it about the Moon that enchants us so?
I got my second toast slice crocheted so there's a bread choice for the BLT. I also surfed the pattern pages in Ravelry and "favorited" a few more sandwich patterns with cheese and meats and pickles and onions, even a chicken drumstick, so over time, when I'm done with more immediate crafty needs I can wallow in making food from yarn. (Is that like spinning straw into gold? Should I change my name to Rumpelstiltskin?)
Last night's supper was plain old chicken and rice, good but not too noteworthy, but dessert, now, that was a different story. I baked Pumpkin Pie Bars with pecans on top that made the whole house smell fantabulous for the entire day. I was a little disappointed that the cake mix didn't make more of a crust on the bottom, they were a bit difficult to get out of the pan but they sure tasted good. I smartened up and got out some flat Glad freezer containers, put four bars in each one and put the lion's share of the bars in the freezer. Downstairs--so I don't sneak in and nab one. I know how I roll. (sorry the pan in the picture looks kind of grungy but it's Mother Malcolm's old cake pan; I scrub it, even Mr. Clean Magic Eraser it, but can't get the baked-on grease off but I can't bear to toss it either)
Last night's writing prompt was a complete bust. I had a germ of an idea when I started out but the germ died within two sentences and I was just too worn out to force it. Maybe tonight...
I get to work today so it's time to say sayonara, hop on my horse, and ride off into the sunrise. (Hey, I drive east to get there so "sunrise" is correct) Oh, and as of this morning I've lost 20 lbs. Yay, me!
--Barbara
Yesterday morning I went downstairs to see about some bibs I decided to rework after LC outgrew them (there's big-headed kids in this clan) and look what I found. That's right. It's the "lost" copy of The Mitten that I scoured the house looking for on Sunday and Monday, sitting there calm as you please, in a paper bag next to my sewing machine. Why that's where it is/was, I have no idea, but I paged through it, found that someone had inked big black letters inside the front cover and decided to keep the new one I bought on Monday. This copy will go into the LFL box in the back of my car to be sent back out for someone whose Meemaw can't afford to buy them a copy. All's well that ends well.
I didn't knuckle down to finish the Mitten Bear yesterday. I was kind of busy with other things all day and after supper when I did sit down I grabbed the sock bag and cast on Anklet #5. As much as I want to finish the animals I also want to knit Anklets #5 & 6. I have no explanation for it but knitting as many anklets as possible from black through gray to white and back out of that one skein has captured me and won't let me go. Good thing the Mitten Animals are the only Xmas yarn crafting on my horizon. Except for a few dishcloths I'm thinking of cranking out.
