Six More Weeks of Winter

Punxsutawney Phil's predicted 6 more weeks of winter would concern me a lot more if we'd had any winter to begin with. It was 65 degrees yesterday. February 1st. In Washington, D.C. So warm that I was attacked by a rogue stink bug after opening the windows (I considered leaving him to the cats, but they're pretty lazy hunters, so he was transported outside as swiftly as I could manage while shrieking and flailing my arms--CP has been in Costa Rica, so he was unavailable to offer support during this trying time). I really don't see any need to get upset about 6 more weeks of so-warm-you'd-be-hard-pressed-to-even-call-it-autumn.

(I know many people enjoy oddly warm weather, and while I agree it's not without its charms, it can really screw up plant and animal cycles. Not to mention, without cold, what use is there for knitting?)

Monday night I had my second spinning class, which mostly involved . . . more spinning. We also got an overview of washing and skeining yarn, discussed fibers, and had a quick look at plying. I hadn't really managed to spin enough to make plying worthwhile, so here's a look at my washed, dried and skeined singles:

That's about 25 yards. So, not really much use for anything. Which is ok, because I plan to keep it on my desk as inspiration. I've enjoyed my spinning experience so far, and I think I'm going to keep going. Which means I now have even more things I shouldn't be buying from Forbidden Woolery.

In other news, during the months of December and January, I submitted 3 design proposals to 3 different yarn companies--and I'm completely baffled to report that they've all been accepted! Truly unbelievable. That means I'll have at least 3 designs making their way to knitters over the course of 2012 (and, tee hee, it also means FREE YARN!). This will likely be the first:

Not much to look at, is it?