A Mingled Yarn

It seems as the years pass the Holidays require increasing longer time to prepare for and recover from. Adding to this year’s brouhaha was the death of a washing machine (and despite what my husband suggests was not due to all that felting I did last year!). Installing the new washing machine ended up requiring me to replace both of the water faucets to the machine connectors.

Wrestling with assorted wrenches, pliers and what-not (as the joke goes, in a woman’s hands anything can become a hammer…) until finally replacing the missing crescent wrench, I was once again reminded how much easier a task is completed when you have the right tools for the job. By the time my husband finished the last keystroke on his emergency coding project, I was standing there with the pipelines flushed, the faucets replaced, the washing machine connected and plugged in and heading out the door to turn the water back on. There’s nothing like successfully completing a challenge to give you an increased sense of confidence and satisfaction.

In the throes of self-confidence from the Great Washing Machine Installation success, I’ve begun preparing for a fiber art project. Look for some of wonderful new environmentally friendly dyes to be reviewed shortly. Assuming it will ever stop raining long enough for the roving, yarn and felt to dry!

I’ve been creating fingerless mitts (gloves) for assorted friends and family. They are terrific quick projects (a 2-4 movie project on my personal scale, i.e., it takes me between 2-4 movies to complete a pair depending upon the complexity of the stitch pattern and whether I add partial thumb and finger covers.). So the first new Karen Alfke pattern I added was her CableBack Fingerless Gloves. I’ve also adding her Unpattern Hat pattern because I’ve been using it (and the Unpattern Top-Down Hat which I’m putting up later tonight.) I’ll post photos of the mitts I still have to ship this week (the model needs her nails shaped).