Red sky in the morning

This photo is not from today, but we had a sky like it today for just a few moments. Our first real snowfall happened later in the morning. Being on the coast, we really don’t get as much snow as inland. Nevertheless, a lot of places closed early so their staff could get home before dark.

I’m working on granny square repair for my neighbor. I have four blankets to repair! This is the first one. I’m just getting the materials and systems pulled together. First the yarn – I can’t find the exact type of yarn the original blanket used, so I’m making do. The difference is not too noticeable. I finally decided just to repair the parts of the square that are deteriorated, not the whole square. It’s usually the center and maybe the next row as well. So I carefully cut the damaged part out and then crocheted a new one in place, pulling the hook backwards through existing loops to secure it. It’s tricky. Now that I’ve figured out the method, I think I can make better progress. At last count, there are only seven squares to repair on this afghan. I had to make a grid on paper to keep track of my progress – otherwise I found myself looking at everything every time I sat down with it! I’d like to have this one done by Christmas, and the other three can wait for the new year.

And another project in progress – I’m making decisions about eco-prints and book design for a friend’s book. I really like the print below. But it needs a lot of transformation to be suitable as a cover image. My software skills for image editing have really slipped over the years of not keeping up with it. Some of my software doesn’t work because I haven’t kept it up to date. This preparatory work is all very tedious and time-consuming, but the beauty and vision, as well as the bonds of friendship, keep me going. One step at a time!

I can hear the big plow working in the neighborhood. It’s time to start thinking about dinner.