Sunday Wonders - J

J is for Juvenile.

A young raccoon had made himself a den right against our house in a thicket of St John's Wort.  Anne surprised him with her camera on a cold morning and he slowly, stiffly, retreated to the fence.

Walking through the wisteria vine wasn't all that easy.

But he did his best to get away from her and that darn zoom lens.

I think it's odd that he's alone.  Recently a raccoon was hit by a car on our road - another young one.  Maybe a litter mate.  Maybe he actually has family on the other side of the busy street and can't get back.  No way of knowing but raccoons are resourceful little creatures and I'm sure he'll figure it out.  There must be better sleeping quarters that beside our gas meter on a bunch of tough little stalks springing from bare earth.

Hope he's found somewhere.  It's cold outside.  

Five Easy Pieces

I think I've overdone the 2x2 ribbing.  At least for a while.  The bias band is not looking as I think it should and I'm not totally thrilled with my gray cardi.  I've put it in a clear (trying prevent UFO-itis) plastic bag while I decide if it should be frogged or not.  Don't want to make a hasty decisions as there's a lot of pain knitting here.

But, to amuse myself while I finish some smaller projects, I'll be dreaming of the Project Yarnway Final Challenge.  I know, I know.  I thought I'd kind of given up on this design lark.

But, really, I can be seduced by flattery facts.  I noticed that I had actually made the cut for actually participating in the Final.  Anyone will tell you I'm no good with math and apparently can't even count to 5.  But I've done five design challenges and that gets me in!   OK, they changed the rules a little at the end but I was in before that.  So, how can I refuse such an invitation?

The challenge is to create a five-piece collection by the end of February.  I don't need to do a skirt, pulli, cardi, tights and a hat - nothing that huge.  I could do that.  But hey!  let's be real.  I'm thinking some working girl accessories.  What were you thinking?  No, no, I mean a laptop case, cell holder, coffee cup sleeve...that kind of thing.

But the days are still so young...I have lots of time to think about this project.  Meantime, I have a quilt that badly needs to be finished. Getting it all sandwiched together is the hardest job of all.  Then I can root through my stash.

Hide and seek

Last week I knit up the remnant from the Spruce Olivier pullover into this hat and this neck warmer.   It was quick and easy - I was still of sound mind and body then - and the little project was soon ready for a photo shoot.

 Where the heck was Nefertiti?  She'd simply vanished and I wasn't feeling model-ish enough to just wear it myself.  We hunted in all the likely places but no luck.  This morning, I was poking about in a closet where I keep extra purses and voila!  There she was, languishing under a summer bag. 

I quickly pulled her out, dusted her off and dressed her warmly.    The hat is just a simple style but the buttons give it a bit of dash.  And, I was happy to discover that I had 4 smaller matching buttons for the neck warmer.  Into the gift bag it goes. 

Out of the mist

I seem to be really making progress now.  The pain is almost a memory and I can walk, stand, sit without wanting to shift around every two seconds. 

I sort of hoped that I would get lots of knitting done once I decided to abandon the idea of doping the pain.  But the mushy head has persisted until today.  I had a cardi on the needles that I figured would be a cakewalk - is there some metaphor confusion there? - since it's essentially a 2x2 rib throughout.  I can do that without much brain power, thinks I. 

And, so I could.  I jogged along quite nicely - even remembering to get the buttonholes where they should be.  This is a DROPS design - 57-5,  in fact.  I am very attracted to simplicity - probably because my cluttered mind needs soothing - and this pattern offered up the simplest instructions I've ever seen in a pattern.  Oh, wait.  Can you see that swerve in the ribbing?  That was why I liked the pattern but it's a nasty slippery trick to play on someone who's head is softly floating in the clouds. 

I have frogged and tinked twice trying to get it right.  It looks like it sort of should now and I'm not doing it again.  We're talking very unbulky yarn here. 

But I am getting better.  I'm sure having something to swear at concentrate on has helped to clear the cobwebs away.