Dark days are here again

Alexia’s sweater is on the needles.  I started a larger size and realized that it wasn’t going to fit her for years!  This is the smallest size and will probably be snug but that’s in now instead of the sweatshirt baggy fit.  Even with the setback, I’m confident I’ll have it completed in time for Christmas.  The color is growing on me.

I sold 16 more towels through Facebook after the guild holiday sale so am once again trying to make more towels.  This is my busiest time for sales and I only have about a dozen left with nothing in my favorite color ways, so I thought I’d do another neutral fall palette.  It got a miserably slow start when I realized how deficient I am in cones of those colors and completely out of chocolate brown!

It’s hard to judge color on dark days and I finally had to admit that these two bouts are dogs and pulled them out.  Both of the greens have too much blue so may end up in the landfill.

I’m on the third towel but they’re so lackluster, I’m having a hard time wanting to sit down and weave.

Meanwhile I have these waiting in the wings.  I participated in a group buy of Brassard yarns from Canada through my guild.  Enough of us shared the order that the cost came out to about $7 for an 8 ounce cone which is $14 a pound.  The yarn is every bit as nice as Valley Cotton from Webs and the colors make me weak in the knees.

I bought seven colors and will use six of them in my next warp.  They remind me of zinnias.  Such happy colors.

I’m down to about a half dozen pairs of shoes and that’s because in the past couple of years my shoe size has gone from 40 to 41.  I think of shoes as an investment and keep them for years and years.  The two pair of Danskos that I just had to part with were 20 years old and still had at least another 20 years of wear.  But I digress.  I picked these up at Macy’s this week.  They’re a new line from Clarkes called Cloudsteppers, so named for the cushiony insole.  I’ve wanted some multi-purpose winter shoes and I’ve got them.  My tall boots still fit but after two years of tai chi, my calves have grown and they’re too tight!  I’ve been feeling besieged!  Ian suggested I take them to the shoe guy and see if the calf can be stretched since they’re leather.  It’s worth a try.

Meanwhile with the shorter and colder days I have turned once again to relief printing and just started this Lino cut today.  It’s part of a challenge to create a piece inspired by myself and from the list of thoughts I chose this one.  What best describes your comfort zone?  That’s easy.  Reading in my overstuff chair!

And speaking of books, I came across this in the latest BookPage while eating breakfast this morning.  I finished “Seven Days of Us” just yesterday and absolutely loved.  The setting is a family of four who are quarantined for a week at Christmas.  The holidays are a notorious challenge for most families under the best of circumstances, right?  This family hasn’t had a Christmas together for quite some time and the hope was that this one would be special.  It’s special all right.  To ensure nothing goes wrong, each has a secret that they feel they can’t share, to ensure that nothing spoils the holiday.  But the secrets have a way of leaking and finding each other.  It was absolutely delightful and I was so sorry when it ended.  Two thumbs up!