More than two weeks went by? Really? Where did they go? In that time I did shop inventory, set aside – with many sighs – some of my favorite stuff for de-stashing (email me if you’d like the current list with photos) and worked on projects.

One was to make a shawl out of a buttery acrylic chenille yarn. I crocheted it, with increases in the middle at every pass, increasing on the end on alternate rows. The result looks odd when it’s flat but fits wonderfully over the shoulders and across the body… And it is really pretty! I made 14 more Seneca Santa hats, and I’m not going to bore anyone with more photos. But I WAS pleased with the results – I’ve got about half the promised Seneca Santa contribution for the year on its way. With luck I’ll exceed my goal. But I’ve had to put that aside for the moment.

One major project was shop related and took more than 24 hours (thankfully NOT in one single endless day). You see, several years ago I bought five industrial-sized skeins of cable cotton yarn from a mill in Canada. I’ve always loved this sort of yarn for its resistance to bearding and pilling and the gloss of its many plies. But the more than 3 and a half pounds to each skein was daunting, and I let myself be daunted for several years until I dived in and skeined it. The skeining took about an hour per pound. A John Grisham book on tape helped pass the time – skeining is about the most tedious work in the universe. Then, research into dyeing in quantity. Then I dyed it and I LOVE the results. They look pretty sharp in the shop, too. Some of it was even sold before I labeled it! Each new skein is 110 yards. I have some sample skeins I’ve got to knit really soon. Partly because it’s always a little disappointing to have only one photo to show for such a very long project! But don't those skeins look tempting, and springlike and summery? We have to start thinking about warmer weather, easier days...

Two skeins got very tangled; a friend offered to untangle, so I counter-offered to make her something of her choice in exchange. She wanted some of these potholders, so I went to work using up some of my crochet thread stash. I love crocheting these, they’re delightful to make as well as useful. She chose the blue and green ones – even though as I ran out of blue and green yarn, I added a grey stripe to one of them. I started with a chain of 26, which made these smaller than some, but useful for taking things out of the oven or grabbing a frying-pan handle that’s gotten hot on the stove. The pattern for this is here http://www.mielkesfarm.com/diagonal_hotpad.htm

I had to do shop inventory so I could complete my pre-tax work to pass on to the accountant… and I noticed I had a bunch of single skeins of bulky yarn. Which became fingerless gloves. They stretch over your hands and your thumbs stick out the gap you create as you knit. The pair at the far left are already sold. More are in progress, but this is the harvest so far…