The snow is arriving, the geese are (finally!) departing, and every bit of light we can produce is a Good Thing. I’m doing my part by lighting one more candle each night, but there are many ways to add a bit of light to the world.
Support your family. Hug your grandmother. Use your grandfather’s tools. Call your mother. Think about the values that were important to your father. Pray for your cousins’ health.
Support your friends. Chat with the friend who wants to quit smoking, with the one whose home business needs a bit more signal boost, with the one whose resume needs your careful edit before they apply for that cool new job.
Support your cyber folk. Share the thoughtful post, tag the friend who was looking for exactly the product you just saw an ad for, give a heart or an upvote or a like to that post that says just the right thing under the circumstances. Wish them a happy birthday even if you’ve never met them in real life and probably never will.
Support your neighbors. Shovel the snow, watch the property, pick up the mail. Take over a dozen cookies or so – no nuts, just in case. Bring a bottle of wine to the party. Offer to pick something up from the store or give them a referral to the good plumber.
Support yourself, too. Be your own best friend. Make time for doing some of the things that bring you joy or restore your soul. Brew the tea from the leaves. Open that book you have looked forward to reading. Light that scented candle. Oil that squeaking hinge that annoys you.
Not all of us can be big lights, but we can all be little lights. Sometimes it is one little light that makes all the difference.
Knitwise, I have made Actual Progress on the new project this week. I kept increasing by one stitch in each row for the entire first full skein, then switched to “straight ahead” mode for the next skein, which was just a partial skein. I didn’t weigh it before I started using it, but I can do a little math after I finish using the second full skein and allow for the weight of the knitting needles and estimate how much it was. Then I’ll use the last full skein to decrease down to the end point (k1, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k to end), and that’s it except for the Weaving-in of the Ends.
Last night I took the project to a “dinner and a movie” event and knitted all but 15 grams or so of the partial skein. At this point it measures 26 inches deep from the point to the “live” row of stitches. That’s about 21 inches for the first skein and 4 more inches for the partial. If I’m correct in guessing that the partial was a third of a skein, the whole piece should measure 21 (increasing end) + 4 (partial) + 12 (whole) + 21 (decreasing end) inches, for about 58 inches. That’s going to be a rather cuddly wrap.
How wide is it? Well, that is hard to say right now. The stitches are bunched up on the shortish circular needles, and I can’t stretch out the work without popping it off the needles. That Would Be Bad. So I will need to knit for quite a while on the next whole skein before I will be able to stretch out the straight middle portion to its full width. And by that time I might be ready to start the decreases — after which it will get progressively easier to know how wide the middle part is. So, we shall know the answer in the fulness of time, and it’s not worth worrying about.
I haven’t start knitting a potato yet, but recently I was given the gift of more eyes.
I did add one more set of stripes to the Vintage Packer scarf, but mostly it’s just sitting in the basket until I have a home-based TV knitting project.
Projects waiting in the wings:
Llama Una Slouch Hat in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift (Sand and Loganberry)
Same pattern in Brown alpaca and natural wool, sources unknown
Pillow cover in Blue Sky Fibers Woolstock (Spring Ice, Loon Lake, Dark Chocolate)
Tree of Life fingerless gloves in Classic Elite Woodland wool/nettles (Fern)
Stick to Your Ribs ear warmer in Manos de Uruguay purples and mystery yarn black
Any suggestions? Any nudges in a particular direction? (Be warned that nudges may receive pushback.)
Chocolate Sheep 