To date I’ve completed

  • 7 of 8 pairs of fingerless mitts
  • 11 of 12 hats
  • 1 of 2 pairs of mittens
  • 3 of 7 pairs of socks (2 of the remaining 4 are in progress)
  • 1 of 3 toys
  • and 1 pillow

I’m hoping to start at least one pair of socks/footies today.  I’ve had to go back to the yarn stash to see just what I have left to use for the various projects.  Yes, this means yarn, some in bags, some not, is currently strewn about my dining room.  Why the dining room?  Well, that’s where the cedar chests for yarn storage, and the bins that go under the daybed, are.  The daybed is actually in the dining nook, adjacent to the dining room…anyhow, you get the idea.

On the design front, I’ve finished one prototype of my Night and Day fingerless mitts.  Details to follow, soon, because I’m thisclose to thinking I’m at the point of  finding test knitters.  For what it’s worth, I’ve reworked these mittens an inordinate number of times.  Foolish Steph, to think making up a fingerless mitt pattern would be FAST.  (Now, I will admit, I can come up with a basic worsted weight cabled fingerless mitt pretty fast.  But these?  think size 1 needles, me pouring through my Japanese stitch pattern dictionaries, incorporating different patterns, discarding various patterns, etc etc.)

I’m also thinking of writing up my Dad’s Day sock pattern….similar to Dave Finally Gets His, so, famous last words, it shouldn’t take too long to write up.

And I really, really want to knit myself a polar bear chullo.

Miscellaneous:

My fave herbal tea, Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie, is again available.  It’s very mild — skip it if you only like strong tea — but I just love it.  To me it’s a little bit coconut-ty.  I’ve also been drinking Yogi Tea Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut.  I also really like the Yogi Tea Mayan Cocoa Spice.  Why all the tea?  I’m getting over a flu-ish sort of thing (no GI signs, not H1N1, but all the fun fever, body aches, upper respiratory junk)  (feeling better now, obviously, though not anywhere near 100%) and have been trying to stay well-hydrated.

Lili from Theodore Payne is visiting Saturday to check out our garden for the spring Native Plant Garden Tour.  We have  a ton of weeding to do in the frontyard before then;  I hope to feel well enough to start weeding tomorrow.

We’ve lost some of the grasses in the backyard to, I assume, Rigel’s toxic dog pee (since it’s the grass on which he was peeing), but the majority of the plants in the back are doing okay.

The garage roof earthboxes are doing great.  We’ve been harvesting & eating kale, arugula, lettuce, radishes and various herbs.  The Lacinato kale is most prolific.  To me the different kale varieties all taste the same, though the leaf shapes are all different.