I finished all four bobbins of green corriedale. That’s a full pound there, four ounces per bobbin (give or take). Some of it’s a little over-twisted, though, with some dreaded coils, but hey … I was on a roll and I was happy just to be spinning, so I’m not really complaining.

You know what this means, though. Ready to start plying!

And here’s another look at my sleeve–restarted from the beginning on actually LARGER needles.

Would you believe that I’m actually getting a SMALLER gauge than called for? No, I don’t believe it, either. I am, nevertheless, happy with this sleeve. It’s about 10″ around instead of the 12″ that the pattern sleeve calls for and I think that’s more wearable, anyway, so no complaints. Before I start the body, though, I’ll try another gauge swatch … maybe the pocket … on a larger needle and see how that goes. I figure, even if I loosen the gauge (and I still don’t see how that can be possible with my knitting) … and I’m reminding myself that the body is knitted back and forth in rows, unlike the circularly-knit sleeves, and that will make a difference, too.  I figure it won’t really hurt too much when I join the sleeves to the body, if the gauge is slightly different between the two. Drastically, yes, but only slightly? Not worried.

Meanwhile, I LOVE the color of this yarn. It makes me feel like I’m playing God and making a tree.

In some sad news today, one of my parents’ oldest friends died, suddenly, last night. Mom actually went to high school with her, a few months behind, but it was once they were all working at the Howard Savings Bank in the early 60s that they all became friends. We don’t know what caused her death, but they’re still shocked, even allowing for the fact that they didn’t see her very often. Dad golfs with her husband a few times every year, and my parents see the other two of that group-of-six every few months, but still … Dad is a little shaken. He says it’s the first one to “go” from presumably old-age kind of causes rather than illness or accidents. Sigh. Rest in peace, Kathy.

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