Typing With Gloves On

My hands are cold so I’m seeing how much work I can do with my half-fingered gloves on. There is an advantage to getting up so early in the morning. I get to see this just out my back door:

Branches against a beautiful sky. It only lasted a moment but I’ve loved this kind of image since I was a child. My mom once gave me a paint-by-number picture of a tropical palm tree sunset. OK let’s not debate the negative merits of A) paint-by-numbers or B) giving oil paints and turpentine to a child. I enjoyed them so mom bought them for me. And I was pretty careful about keeping the paints in their containers and out of the hands of my younger sisters. When I went to art school after high school, I was given acrylic paints and shown how to stretch a canvas. I only did a couple of paintings before I realized I was not and never would be that kind of artist. When paint-by-numbers were the best paintings you’ve ever done, you just know it’s not for you. However, I still love scenery pictures which is obvious when you look at the photos I take when on holiday. No people — just trees, water, buildings, mountains, clouds, sand, rocks…

So here are the two skeins I finished spinning and plying from my Aurelia rovings. This is before I washed them because I was too impatient to get a photo. They didn’t change much after washing though a little colour came out in the first rinse. I’ve got several plans in mind for this which is why I spun it a little heavier than it wanted to be. First is Vicki Sever’s Heart Sachet from Interweave Knits. This is for the ornament exchange at my guild’s Christmas party. It’s next Thursday evening so I’d better get on with it! I also want to make Marnie MacLean’s Del Mar fingerless gloves from the Winter 05/06 issue of Spindlicity. Yeah, I know I’m already wearing a pair of fingerless (or rather half-fingered) gloves from a pattern by Marnie, but these ones are really fingerless and also lacey and look very nice. Maybe I can knit with them on as she suggests. I think I’ll make them longer than the pattern though for extra warmth. Wish they would list the needle/hook sizes in metric! I get tired of looking up what exactly is an F crochet hook in my language. I need a new hat too, not because I don’t have lots already, but I’d like a fresh one for this winter. Haven’t decided what pattern yet. Maybe a beret? There’s a good tried-and-true pattern in Homespun/Handknit and a multiple size/gauge one in The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns, both Interweave books in my library. I still want to make a scarf too — not that I need another scarf. There’s several to choose from: a crochet Ruffle from Caron, the Lasagne scarf, or Edgar from Knitty. Since I crochet faster than I knit, maybe the Ruffle will be done before winter is over? But I really like Edgar too. Decisions, decisions. I’ve got to learn to knit faster.