Gifts

I had a dream about knitting last night (note: onset of dreaming does not imply I'm sleeping longer and thus reaching deep sleep. merely that I'm sleep deprived enough that I drop immediately into dreams) I dreamt that I started a pair of socks, and I was just going around and around and around. Unfortunately that's as close as I've gotten to knitting in a couple of weeks. I need something simple, something mindless. I feel naked sitting still without my hands moving, but I rarely have enough time to start something new, or to look at a pattern once something is begun.

Despite the lack of knitting time, folks still seem to think of me as a knitter. My mom gifted me with a great bunch of this yarn in the Butter colorway. It has a very interesting texture (not quite soft, not quite scratchy, very organic), and I love that it's made in the southwest. I've been wanting to make a tank top for ages, so I cast on for this lacey thing while I was still visiting mom in Arizona. Alas, the bottom inch is as far as I've gotten. Not even enough fabric to be considered racey, but more like a belt. I think my rationale went something along the lines of "a tank top will go quicker than a sweater," but when knitting fine yarn on size 4 needles, that might not be the case.

And my friend, Chrystal, returned from a visit to her grandma's farm with this:

All of it made by her grandma - from sheep to dye kettle to skein. I feel a bit of pressure to do something cool with it - how can I let her go back to Vermont without photos of my appreciative knitting?

So far, this is as close as I've gotten to knitting with any of the yarn...


Ideas, anyone? There is some laceweight in there, some I don't know what you call it maybe boucle?, and some DK weight. Maybe I should succumb to my lack of time for thought and swatching and just make a knit-every-row shawl? And since Grandma knew exactly what Chrystal was talking about when she told her I was making diaper covers, maybe she'd actually feel honored to have some used for a soaker?