Coming Around

 On Wednesday I was feeling so poorly that I couldn't knit on the lace Qiviuk scarf, despite the great set up of rows on cards. So I picked up the dog cushion cover that I'm knitting out of Lion Brand Homespun. I heard Miss Kalendar of Brass Needles podcast say that she liked this yarn in crochet and that was all it took. As a moderate yarn snob, I am not drawn to acrylics, but only the best (machine wash) for my doggie. Her pillow is green and doesn't go in our home, especially since I had the big chair recovered. It looks like two skeins are enough for each side. One side is black and the other charcoal- sneaky camouflage for the buckets of black dog hair that make up our "dust puppies".
This is based on a hexagon crochet pattern, and I can see how the lovely afghan squares can be addictive.

 One of my 12 in 2012 projects is a mitten banner for Christmas. But I was already behind my 2 mittens a month. I adapted a small pattern that I felt was way too small. But my first one was even too small for my image of hanging 24 on a cord in the dining room. I did bring up my leftover red and ivory sock yarns and place them in a basket with the pattern and needles (step one). But beginning time is an investment and you have to be prepared to fail a bit. This is a bitty fail, but will stay in the set.

 The second one is the right size and I made lots of notes. I will post them after I check them with a third and fourth (and 24th) mitten. Yay for starting.

 I also picked up the Knit A Long (KAL) Mittens For Me from Laura Linneman (Lala) of the Knit Girllls video podcast. I put the stranding on the inside because it just wasn't working for me. I made the smaller size but got a bigger mitten because this electrictree yarn is very squooshy. The second thumb increases are done and I'm working on the hand, but now it's hurting my hand, so I'll probably crochet a bit today. I was down to the last 6 inches on the halved ball of green yarn. Now I get to fuss that I won't have enough for the thumb. I'll do colour work if I must. These will probably become a Christmas present, so if they're for you, act surprised.

And I did finish the Qiviuk (15% qiviuk, 80%merino, 5% mulberry silk) Seafoam scarf. It is lofty and drapey and I'm so glad I chose the pie crust edging. This definitely matches the image I had in my mind. Plus it's ready in time for St. Patrick's Day. My family has Irish roots and I gave my last green scarf to the cowboy sister when she took my daughter for spring break a few years ago (Malabrigo don't you know).
I'm really sorry to miss choir practices and being with my friends.
So I'm coming around to almost healthy enough to go to work on Wednesday, and I'm knitting and crocheting around and around.