Well. This afternoon I got a phone call from my sister-in-law, who was stuck in a weather-related traffic slowdown* on her way to work in Grand Rapids. She was calling specifically to yell at me because she figured that somehow, I had something to do with the unseemly large and copious snowflakes that were then falling . . . and I had to admit that I was guilty as charged. If you cruise on over to Rob's blog and scroll down past the entry called "In Praise of Goodwill" (you can read that one later), you'll see that he has an entry called "Snow Day #4: Enough Already." In the comments, I told him to send any extra snow our way . . .

And indeed, today we got a pretty significant amount of precipitation. They were hollering for possibly 5"-8", but of course they always promise more than they can deliver; at the height of the accumulation I think we had maybe three inches. But, since the high today was 40, the snow soon turned to rain and melted itself away.

Nonetheless, it was certainly a day when a girl would have had use for a nice pair of fish mittens:



I found those by clicking around from Franklin's blog (more about him in a minute). They were designed by Laurie - you have to scroll back a bit to find them - and she has the pattern for sale. In the comments on her blog, though, I noticed that the proprietor of ThreadBear said that he'd like to sell the pattern in his Lansing shop . . . so I called them up, and lo and behold, they indeed had those patterns in stock. So yesterday I became the proud owner of a fish mitten pattern. (Of course this will necessitate a yarn purchase sometime soon.) By next winter my hands ought to be swimming right along . . .

And in other knitting news, I've decided on a deposition for that Poodle Skirt yarn I bought a while ago. Details coming soon - but it's going to be a cardigan with a custom-designed waistband, cuffs, button band and collar. Those areas will be knit in a contrasting color because I don't have enough of the Poodle Skirt for a complete cardigan . . .

And while I was sorting through my pile o' yarn (it's not big enough to call a "stash"), I discovered that I have another skein of the yarn from which I was knitting Aunt Betty's socks. I was delighted; I've been stalled partway through the second sock because I realized that I'd never have enough yarn to finish, which was a total bummer. So next on my plate is finishing those.

And then I'm going to finish the socks I started with some of my New York yarn. I figured out how to knit socks on one circular needle (instead of those evil double pointed needles), and have decided that knitting socks is just about a perfect activity. They go quickly, and who ever has enough socks? Around here, nobody does.

But of course, there are miles of papers to grade before I can throw myself wholeheartedly into those projects . . . and there's more painting in Ann Arbor, too.

Oh, yeah, before I forget: Franklin. Franklin is this guy who lives in Chicago and knits. I got to his blog via a mention by the Yarn Harlot (linked above), and I was absolutely charmed. This is someone I'd like to know! Anyhow, his blog is linked here, now, too - he's "The Panopticon." Rob, that link is for you, in exchange for the snow. (If you aren't knitting by the end of May I'm coming out there and teaching you myself.)

'S about it from here. Back to work . . .

---

* We get an awful lot of phone calls from her when she's stuck in traffic on the way to or from work! :)