Keeping updated

Hello, Blog! Remember me? I haven't forgotten you, I've just been unable to write anything coherent for the last 10 days, though Dog knows I've tried! Since my last update, I've done some major housecleaning. Gods below! I have more yarn than I thought! Every time I moved a book or a piece of clothing, I found more yarn. I'm embarrassed to say that I had to buy a new bin to hold it all. Fie, and for shame. On the other hand, I've been getting all that open range yarn into ziploc® baggies which I had so cleverly purchased after our big snowstorm last week. From my mouth to Dog's ear, I am on a yarn diet! No, really! Seriously! (Of course, the NH Sheep and Wool Festival and Rhinebeck don't count!)

I have two current projects on the needles right now, a New Bittersweet Cowl in Llambrosia by Frog Tree Yarns, and a cowl of my own design in Malabrigo Mecha. The first is for the mother of a good friend, though neither knows I'm making it. The second is for my tattoo artist, to whom I promised a cowl last year. I should have it done for him by the time I see him later this month. He wants me to make him a sweater, and while I am sworn never to knit a sweater for another person again (with a few exceptions), I said I'd barter with him, a sweater for some ink, but sweaters are expensive, and he'd be doing a lot of work on me for it. I'll check in with him this month if he still wants me to knit him one, and we'll go from there.

I have made no progress on the eyeballs, beyond making little balls of white merino. I have some beautifully coloured roving to do the irises, but don't have any work space for this project. I do most of my knitting at home in my room, and felting is a messy, damp business. Since my roommate keeps about seven piles of mail on the kitchen table, it is rendered useless for this project. I shall persevere.

Yesterday while on the subway, I saw a bearded man pull some knitting out of his bag. I shouldn't have been surprised, since I could tell his touque was hand knitted. He knit a row or so, and as he was waiting for the train to stop, I asked him what yarn he was using. It was from Beaverslide, and was redolent with lanolin. We chatted about knitting ("You're not the only knitter on this train!") and as soon as I had the chance, I looked up the yarn he was using. The website for Beaverslide is fun, and I might have to break my rule about no new yarn for a while. I enjoy chance encounters like this, because I always learn something, and have found a new yarn site! Going through their yarn selections, the only thought going through my brain is, "I wanna make a sweater!!!"

We're supposed to get another snow storm tonight and tomorrow. I have plenty of yarn and projects to keep me going for the day. Oh, yeah. And food. I have some of that, too.