Tangled!

Sorry for my absence here over the past week or so.  Things got a bit crazy.  Lots of last minute costume sewing, party planning, school volunteering, leaf raking, chicken coop cleaning, etc. We've been blessed with unseasonably warm weather here in Western Colorado.  But, that's forecast to change tomorrow.  I am guessing that raking leaves when it's 70 degrees and sunny is much more fun than doing so when it's 40 degrees and sleeting.  What do you think?

Let's see...what else is new?  Oh, yes.  Lots of failed knitting projects to report.  I hesitated to share these, as I figured a yarn shop owner should really have her knitting act together.  But, the reality is...I have been a little unfocused lately.  That Unoriginal Hat I reported on a few weeks back will have to be frogged.  The yarn was just too thick for the pattern.  I went down in needle size several times.  But, I ran out of yarn 20 rows before the decrease rows even started!  Too bad, as I love the Malabrigo Rasta yarn.  Oh well.  I will knit it again with something a little less bulky.  I must admit, I never knit a gauge swatch for a hat pattern.  However, I learned my lesson on this one!

Oh yes...And then there were the adorable owl mittens.  Despite being an easy pattern, I apparently wasn't paying attention when I was doing the cables on the owl's feet.  Unfortunately, I did not notice my mistake until the first mitten was totally finished, cast off, ends sewn in, etc.  This wouldn't matter much if the mittens weren't being knit as a sample for a class I am teaching in January.  I guess I could always tell the students that I wanted to give them an example of what not to do.  Oh well.

And then there's the gorgeous, Polwarth Wool & Silk DK yarn that I dyed up yesterday to make a cowl for my mom for Christmas.  The color turned out exactly as I wanted it....a rich plum, her favorite color.  I laid the yarn out on my drying rack in the sun just before leaving to pick up my son from school.  Luna, our greyhound, decided the yarn looked like a fun chew toy and plucked it off the rack.  She drug it around the yard, through the bark mulch, over the rocks and laid it to rest just outside her doggie door.  I think she must have tried to bring it inside to really finish it off.  But, decided it wasn't worth the effort.  I returned home from school to find the wadded up, rats nest of yarn and just about cried.  Untangling 400 yds of yarn was not how I wanted to spend my evening.  So, the yarn sits.  Tangled.  In a pile.  On my dining room table.  So sad.

I hope your knitting is going better than mine this week.  

Despite being in big trouble, 

Luna still couldn't keep her nose out of the yarn 

The correct cable orientation on the second mitten.  

Who needs mittens that match, anyway?