This is a yarn bowl. You put your ball of yarn in it and it has a slot or some type of opening to control the emerging yarn. It keeps the yarn from rolling around while you are knitting. Originally my idea was to put the bowl on the floor. I have this big dog who is fairly careless about what she is running into when she is romping around the house. I really, really love this bowl and hope to keep it for a long time. This means I need to put it so that Charlotte doesn't stomp on it accidentally or sit on it. Yes, sit on it. Charlotte backs up to the sofa and plops her butt down. Her front feet are still on the floor. She is actually sitting on just her butt on the couch. She plops her behind down next to me then turns and looks at me as if to say, "So, how is your day going?" Seriously. In any case she takes up a lot of space when she does that so I put my yarn bowl next to me on whichever side has the least room. Yes, I tell Charlotte to get off the couch. But that happens after she sits on it. I don't want my bowl broken so I guard it carefully. So it might not be quite as useful as it might be but I just love it and use it all the time.

 This is a birthday present. I'm not a very good lace knitter but I thought I'd give it a shot. It's supposed to be a small reticule. There are some problems with the lace pattern on the bottom but I ripped it out so much I'm ruining the yarn and I have a limited amount so I left it. Hopefully it will remind the little girl that will get it eventually that no matter how long you knit there will be times you just don't get it. No one is a perfect knitter. I still have the handles to knit and then I will line it with some fun fabric I have. When it's done I think it will be just the right size for a sock project. The color is a bit more salmon than the picture shows. It's a lovely color and it's way late as is one of my sisters' birthday gifts. But I'll get it done soon. It's just about all I have been working on.

 I've been spinning this whole bunch of fiber I've had for a long time. I haven't hit the spinning wheel this week. It's been very busy. But so far I have 482 yards of pretty bulky yarn. I think I'm about 1/3 through this fiber so I have a ways to go. I've been thinking I should take a break and spin another fiber but then I might not finish this. And when I'm done spinning this I'll have a goodly amount of yarn to make something with. I think I should just start another fiber on my drop spindle for a change of pace. When I have my birthday knitting under control I'll get on that.

Rain, sun, wind. We have it all in the same week these days. I really can't remember a windier year except the first year we move here 22 years ago. I understand why my mother loved this valley so much. It really is beautiful. I'm pretty lucky to live here.