A Quiet, Fuzzy Day

So, the tablecloth report: I did find one, perfectly fine, for $3.99 at Savers. I put it on the table, and it's a little long.

So I put the leaf back in, which adds just ten inches, and I think that works better with the tablecloth, and still works fine in the space.

Agree, disagree? Just tell me it will do, eh?

As for the rest of the day, it's been quiet, mostly fine. Unfortunately for the sleep-in concept, I woke up at 7 this morning from a scary dream, the sort that gives one enough of a jolt to not even try to get back to sleep. So I was up, tired and achy, and not that excited about it. After a while, I formulated the start of a plan. I decided that if I was going to have a pretty quiet day, some knitting was going to have to happen. I don't seem to have blogged about it, but last month I went to the Fiber Farmer's Market in Wayland, and after almost getting out without buying any yarn, found myself unable to put down this skein of angora.

The booth actually had a variety of (natural) colors, in skeins of different sizes, and they weren't all of uniform softness. This was the second softest; the first was even more amazing, but of a deeply unfortunate shade of brown. I kept trying to think of it as chocolate, but kept going back to baby poop. And since the skein was a lot larger, it was a lot more expensive, so it wasn't hard to convince myself to "settle" for second-best. It's this, by the way:

From here:

Incidentally, the same day I bought myself this decorative potholder, because I couldn't resist it.

But back to the yarn. I have been keeping it on my desk, for when I need a little softness to pet, but today, I decided, it was time. I had previously looked for a pattern to use with it, and found a simple cowl pattern that I thought would be fine. However, my knitting needles are all packed away, and in the interest of my simple day, I decided that buying another circular needle in the size I would need was a much better choice than trying to dig out what's already packed and in the basement.

The yarn would also have to be wound, so naturally, I decided to go to a coffeehouse near the yarn store, have a little breakfast, and wind the yarn up. As you do.

Caramel latte, excellent blueberry muffin...

And a lap full of yarn.

Wind and wind, pause to sip or eat, wind and wind, and soon it was done.

With the halo of the angora making it very sticky-to-itself, winding it by hand wasn't a bad idea, even if my swift and ball winder were not packed away.

And, by the way? It turns out the owner of the coffeehouse is a knitter. She stopped on her way out, having noticed my cowl, and we had a nice chat. So perhaps it wasn't as strange there as it might have been.

I went home (after stopping for the needle), turned on an audiobook, and started knitting.

It is the softest, fuzziest thing ever. You just can't imagine.

The halo is just amazing.

I have gotten a few other things done, but this is the best part of the day, I think.