Long weekend, long knitting

It's our fall break, so I'm taking advantage of the chance to visit Aaron without having to rush back to work. Of course, I brought some knitting.

I'm making progress on the Zero scarf. Except that it's not a scarf anymore - it's more of a ghostly lap blanket, or maybe a toy. I was worried about running out of white Cascade 220, although a trip to Ewe Knits on Saturday fixed that.

Ewe Knits, by the way, is a lovely yarn shop. They've actually improved their location by moving to a strip mall - I saw their old spot in "uptown Normal," and it's the part of town that looks like it's recovering from air raids, or 50 years of communism. The strip mall means you get parking, too. They don't have a giant selection, but it's adequate for most knitting needs, and the people there are friendly. Friendly is a big plus in a yarn store.

Anyway, Zero is progressing, enough that he can be held up and compared to Oscar, who seems to be the living model for this ghostly dog. The body is finished, but I'm going to have to rip out the tail and re-do it, as it curls far too much. This might not be a problem if I did the scarf-like body I originally planned, but I've really lost my enthusiasm for rows of single crochet.

But I haven't lost my enthusiasm for yarn. How could I, when I was just surprised with new yarn?!? Aaron's mother went to Ireland with her sisters last month, and brought back goodies. Fibery goodies, for me!

There's 400g of Aran-weight wool. I suspect that's enough for a nice toasty shawl, or at least some lovely winter accessories. I'll figure that out later - right now this is Yarn For Petting (but not for pets. Leave it alone, dogs!)

And there's this nifty wall hanging with Aran sweater patterns. So I'll have something to hang up for inspiration - and maybe to slow down the drafts until I get more knitting done. Today is probably going to be the last nice day we have -it's going to drop from the 80s today to the 60s tomorrow. So it's time to break out the winter knitting. Just as soon as I finish Zero.