Not Going Out Till Spring

I was just looking at some pictures of crocodiles and elephants and giraffes and monkeys from the Chennai zoo and thinking, how can pictures of knitting compare? As a result, I have decided that I will not be leaving the house, except for necessary trips to replenish food, knitting, and books as well as occasional forays out to teach, until the weather gets warm and the sky turns blue once more. Even if we won't have crocs and elephants to visit, I am taking a stand against Midwestern winters.

In the meantime, all that I have today - until we place captions on the 466 photos still in the camera (and if you're lucky, I'll be able to dole out a few a day to keep us going until spring) - are pictures of wooly knitting. Above, the beginning of a Turn a Square hat out of Cascade 220 and Noro Silk Garden. This is a great pattern and there are a gazillion examples to inspect on Ravelry, if you have a log in or a buddy who can sneak you in (not that I would ever consider breaking a rule, and the flight attendants on British Airways did look the other way when I was knitting a sock for the hours it took to reject our plane for safety reasons and transfer us to the new one and then wait until we were refueled and cleared for take-off, but wasn't that better than full-scale rioting? and in recompense, I did remove my Bose headphones on takeoff and landing without even being asked, and if I'd known my comfy seat was not fully upright, I would have corrected it on my own, but I still think that they could have taken a lottery and picked a few of us to feel the ultra-comfy, pod-like seating in First Class, where they get better headsets, blankets, unlimited tiny bottles of water, and who knows what else).

This is the first of the several winter hats that I'll be knitting for my sanga, or group, from my yoga therapy program. I offered, at the end of the last session, to knit a hat for anyone who wanted one. I realized, upon arriving home to Antarctica, that maybe Now is the appropriate time to be sending winter hats off to New Mexico and Canada and other North American cold climes. (Those two in New Orleans? I'll pretend that they're cold, too. It must cool off in the evenings, right?) Actually, this is the second hat. Right before leaving for India, I cranked out a Foliage from Knitty in Malabrigo. I love the yarn, love the pattern, but think that the hat came out too big. (Yes, I did not swatch. Again.) I'm wondering if it may fit a more typical sized head (mine is on the smaller size) or if I should felt it, this time keeping a very close watch on the process and not going upstairs to noodle around and then discover a very tiny felted garment in the washing machine.

And finished knitting from India: a Shetland Triangle Shawl out of Misti Alpaca Sock Yarn Fingering weight.

Pattern: Shetland Triangle

Designer: Evelyn A. Clark

Source: WrapStyle, Interweave Press

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Handpaint Sock Yarn Fingering, 1 skein/437 yds/color 03

Needle: size 7 Bryspun 32" circular

Size after blocking: 26" x 53"
A light-weight shawl, more for decoration than for warmth, and usable as a scarf as well as a shawl. One skein makes a small shawl; if you wanted more length and width, you should go with 2 skeins. A lovely pattern, easy to work and to memorize - a shawl that can be knit in busy places and stopped and started with a minimum of fussing. Using this yarn was a joy in India because of all the vibrant colors and rapid changes from one shade to another; on the other hand, it does not show off the lace as well as a solid-colored yarn would.

And the view from the front porch. Please send suggestions for happy, reassuring, cozy books to read - some angst is acceptable as are travails and challenges - but I'm looking for something not too dark and hopeless.