thinking longingly of snow

I've just started the second sock, but I'm itching to start something new. Oh wait, I did. I started on a Christmas gift (hah, in July! how's that for getting started early?). But it's a more fiddly project and I'm not altogether sure I like the yarn. It's purple and a little fluffy. Since it isn't for me, it's sort of a moot point whether I like the yarn or not. I have 3 skeins of the same kind (one more in purple, one in green), and it's a discontinued yarn. I won't be buying more, and it's perfect for Christmas cowls. Yes. Christmas cowls. Now I have a picture in my head of monks marching through the snow singing carols.

Anyway, cowls seem like nice gifts. They're warm, they won't have that annoying tendency to unwind themselves like scarves do, and they're smaller than scarves, so I can do some cool cables or lace and not feel like throwing the project out the window because it's taking too long. I've got yarn for at least four different ones. There's also at least one pair of socks on the list for Christmas. If those knit up fast enough, more will follow.

I didn't feel much like knitting today because it was so warm. My choices were fluffy wool yarn or alpaca sock yarn. No wonder I went looking for a pattern to fit the skein of hemp yarn. No wonder I'm itching to cast it on. It's cooler to work with. I'm almost starting to miss winter, even though we had ice on the inside of our windows back in December and the non-working heater meant that my sweaters got a lot of use. The current temperatures make me wish I liked cotton more.