Busy, Buzzy, and Bowls

Still haven’t gotten rid of that durn fly.  ^&%$#@!@#&*!

In this and other pictures of my computer desktop, you may have noticed a bowl under my monitors (just to the left of the teacup).  It’s a nice little bowl.  Too small to be a yarn ball bowl. (I’ve got a half dozen of those scattered about.)  Wasn’t bought with that in mind.

It’s Japanese and has a kitty on it.  (They’re apparently out of the blue version.) I got it to use as a “knitting notions bowl.”  I have another one on the reader’s table in my knitting nook in the back bedroom.  I keep pretty much the same things in both bowls:  A tape

measure, some rubber stoppers that go on the points of knitting needles, a couple of crochet hooks, a couple of cable needles, a number of stitch markers of various colors, a tapestry needle, and a tube of Bert’s Bees lip balm (semi-arid climate, remember?).  I find it handy to keep these things out in a bowl rather than in a bag or in a box of some sort or in a drawer, etc.  All the needful notions are right there where I can quickly find what I need.

Of course the bowl has a cat on it.  It has a cat in it as well.  And I got the matching plate.  It’s cute, handy and just the right size.  As I say, I have a collection of yarn bowls of various sizes.  I’m a big advocate of balling up yarn rather than using the commercial pull skeins (pull skeins are Tools of the Devil!) that store-bought acrylic yarn comes in.  The first thing I usually do when I get ready to do a project is roll all the pull skeins into  balls.

Because I’m living on a fixed income, acrylic yarn is usually all I can afford (and, frankly, we’re a little warm for wool sweaters even in the depths of winter), but here lately, I’ve been saving up my ice cream money and blowing it on “snob” yarn instead — I got some Malabrigo sock weight.  I also bought some “artisanal” yarn from Blue Sky Fibers.  I got both through Must Love Yarn’s shop site.  (Each week in their podcasts, they feature a pick of the week with a code for 10% off that’s good for the next two weeks.)  I haven’t knit any of it up yet, but I have an idea for the Malabrigo.  I’ve got some other yarn from Must Love Yarn’s shop which I don’t remember the name of off the top of my head, and I’m too comfy here at my desk, reclined, with lap robe on and a 32-oz bottle of Breakfast in Paris tea to hand, to bother with getting up and going over to look.  However, now that I have been acquiring a quantity of “snob” yarn, I decided I needed the services of a swift and a ball winder (don’t know why they call it a “ball” winder — what you get is a cake).  Amazon gladly obliged.  There’s the hanks of Malabrigo being caked. (pop goes the weasel!)  I want one more skein for what I’m going to make from it.  (Sorry.  That’s the least obnoxious choice of patterns in a plastic table cloth with flannel backing that I could find at Wal-Mart.  I should be that busy. . .)

Well, you may remember “Mrs. Crocombe’s Braided Delight,” which I had started in blue on a US11 (8.0 mm) needles.  Guess what.  I changed my mind, and restarted it on a US 15 (10.0 mm) in white.  I like it much better on the larger needle, and I’ve got more white than I do blue, so it can be all one color.   I’m moving right along on it.  I’ve started my third ball.  I like the fabric I’m getting with the 15’s and I’ve gone to five rows between cable crosses to make the cable a little looser.  I may end up putting some paper tape around my index finger where the thread goes over it.  I’m using yarn at a faster rate because of the 15’s and the friction of the bulky yarn as it goes over the top of my finger  is starting to rub my skin a little raw.

It’s been really cold here the past week.  It got so cold at one point that Saturday, I said the heck with it, didn’t bother to get completely dressed, but sat in the bed reading in a fleece shirt, shawl and these  “half-handers.”  These fingerless mitts are made with Caron Simply Soft acrylic yarn using a pattern I’ve yet to post.  The palm side is stockinette, the knuckle side is ribbed and the cuffs are long enough to fold double. I made another pair in a navy sport yarn, but I need to weave in the ends and photograph them before I post the pattern.  Not only can I read in them, I can knit in them, too.

Here directly*, I need to get up and go wash my hair so it can get dry before bedtime, and while it’s drying I believe I’ll just finish up the next to last Foreigner book so I can start in on the new one.  It just came out and I haven’t read it yet.

*"Here directly" is Southern for "shortly, in a minute."  Not to be confused with "here lately," which means "recently, in the recent past."