an ent knits

I present two photos, both taken today. One is from my walk to work and the other was taken by my mom, in my parents’ backyard. I bet you can guess which is which.

There must be effects on package shipments like the ones that make cars clump up on highways, ’cause I got three packages this afternoon.

First up: the final package from my Secret Pal, who turned out to be Emily of Knitting Chemist. Thanks, Emily; you were a great secret pal!

Not pictured is the actual catnip mouse, which was swiftly abducted by the kitten. I’m pleased to report, however, that he has not been unusually active. Yet. Also not really pictured is the fact that the green mohair has little splotches of brown, so it’ll probably work up to be sorta licheny. (This is a good thing, although I realize that not everyone would agree. I recall one time in college when a friend of mine asked how a particular outfit looked–I said something about how it reminded me of moss or lichen. She was not pleased, and immediately changed clothes.)

Next is a birthday present from my friend Emma:

In case you can’t read it, that says olallieberry jam–I’m excited to try it and see what olallieberries are like. I will also not be lacking for fun pens any time soon… The bumper sticker I stuck to my window at work (I have more of a window than that one, but it fit nicely there), since it seemed silly to have a bumper sticker in my apartment. (I should note that I don’t think Republicans are necessarily evil. I have even voted for at least one–Jim Jeffords, who’s now an independent. But I like the bumper sticker. Not all Republicans are New England-style ones, and some of those others do not seem to have the best interests of the whole country–or most of its people–in mind.) Also, the socks really are super soft, just like they claim to be.

And, third in the package lineup, the least exciting–my latest Knitpicks order:

That’s a big pile of yarn for the shadow-knit neuron scarf I’m planning for after I finish the current round of projects, both gifts and not, plus a whack of dpns. I should have a much easier time knitting bear limbs with my nice, new dpns than with either two circs or three mismatched dpns…and easier means faster, which is all to the good right now.

…I’ve got Jaywalker progress:

partial cast-on

That’s Soft Rock in Black Onyx. I’m going to hold off on deciding what colorful yarn to use for the patterny bits of the sock until I get to the end of the ribbing…

I also have some more…substantial progress, in the form of the second incarnation of the felted bowl:

yes, I’ve got more yarn

I took this (well, the needle and yarn) to the Criminal Justice Center yesterday so I could be a juror for Dan‘s Trial Ad class mock trial thingy. I was concerned enough about overzealous security that I left my precious sock yarn and Lantern Moons at home. I did get some quality knitting done during the trial, though; I even knit a few rows of the sides before putting it aside during the closing arguments because I forgot whether I was on an even row or an increase row. Anyway, I don’t know how steadily I’ll be able to knit on this, since it’s not really supposed to be a gift, but the idea is to eventually post something resembling a pattern.

Maybe I should take notes on what I’m doing.

Eh, we’ll see. The first one eventually turned out nicely, and it’s not like it has to fit or match or anything.