Spring?

Well, I guess I don't have to stop thinking about scarves and wool sweaters quite yet. It may be the second day of spring, but it's snowing.

I do, however, need to start thinking about a lace shawl -- because I have a giant ball of red silk just waiting for the needles. Paul helped me finish winding it last night, and now I have this:



I measured it, and I happen to recall a 17-inch circumference. That's a heck of a lot of silk. I'm still debating which pattern to use for this one, but I'm currently leaning toward the Flower Basket.

I was hoping to finish the scarf yesterday, but:

1) I obviously had more yarn left than I thought
2) I spent a heck of a lot of time winding that giant ball of silk
3) I mostly just felt like curling up in a ball and sleeping after I got back from the store

It was another crazy day with the kids. I say "kids" instead of "girls" because we had a boy join us this week. Miss H brought her friends -- and her friend, Mr. N stayed to crochet. Seriously. He promised to come back again next week, and I'm so glad. I really like him. In fact, Miss H's friends were a lot of fun -- and since I tend to have a big-sister-like (because I refuse to say "maternal") concern for Miss H, I was very pleased to discover that they all seem to be great kids, just like she is.

Miss S was there this week, too. She started a scarf for her teddy bear in a really cool yarn, which was left over from one of her mom's recent projects.

Miss S told me that the sweater pattern I bought will look bad in orange. I replied with a very polite, "Forget you." She just looked at me and said, "Well, it will." Too bad I already bought the yarn. I will make the sweater, and I will like it, thank you very much.

We were also once again joined by little Taz, or The Knitter Formerly Known as Miss A. Little Taz had a bad day. First, she was angry because she'd been knitting on the wrong side of her bag, so I made her take it *all* out (less than a round), and I didn't do it for her. She was also angry because I once again hid the candy, despite the fact that she *needed* it. She was also angry when she found out that two rounds of knitting does not a felted bag make. She spent the entire two hours telling me that she wanted to start another project, and I spent the entire two hours telling her that she needs to finish her bag first. Then she bought more yarn (for three projects that I won't let her start -- because I'm mean). Fortunately, I was able to talk her out of buying fingering weight yarn for a doll blanket, which she would have worked on (with #3 needles) for approximately 2 minutes before getting angry and telling me to finish it for her (which she also tried to do yesterday with her bag). Finally, she walked up to me as I was chatting with the lovely Barb (mom of Miss S) and told me, "I don't want to make a bag anymore." I told her to go sit down -- which, I have to tell you, was a lot nicer than what I wanted to say at that point.

The Sock Princess also stopped in to show off her collection of newly-dyed yarns. Ever since the Dyeing Extravaganza, she's been dyeing up a storm. She had her arms full of newly-dyed yarn. She's going to have some seriously cool socks very soon. (And it really made me want to dye more. After all, I have a whole cube of yarn just waiting to be dyed. I think I could do just a little more...)

After an interesting conversation about gerbils, during which poor SP couldn't get out more than four words at a time without Taz inserting her own lengthy story about gerbils, SP decided that it was time to go home and feed her dogs. She left with some yarn and a pattern for a baby sweater. As she walked out, she smiled and told me to "have fun."

And at that moment I really, truly wished that I had dogs to feed.

And they wonder why I get there early to hide the candy jar...