Molly, Cow Cat, Yarn Balls and Mitch

I've cast on Molly from Rowan Cork Collection. This is designed by Kim Hargreaves. I don't like doing sleeves, so this may be a good pattern for me. But it's my first real cable pattern.

Cork is a discontinued yarn. I got Knitpicks Sierra for the substitution, but I already know that I've made a mistake -- I didn't get enough! I have a bad habit of just looking at the total weight, not the yardage. Agh. I'll be putting an order together for Knitpicks soon, ladies. Need anything?

The yarn is very soft and cushy -- great to knit. It comes in skein, so I wound it today using my umbrella swift I got this summer on ebay. I don't have a yarn winder, so I just made a non-center pull, traditional ball.

Winding yarn always reminds me of my childhood days, helping my mom wind balls of yarn. Holding the skein on my wrists while my mom made perfectly round balls. We'd switch roles, and wind up a pile of skeins together.

Maybe because of this memory, I love the round yarn balls. They make me feel nostalgic. The center-pull balls the yarn winder makes never look this pretty -- so I never considered buying one, until I read this post on Polly's blog (read "Traditions"). I will try not to knit at a train station or busy roadside, with my non-center-pull-balls.

I think about my mom often lately. Funny thing, somehow Mitch must sense what I'm feeling, and talks about Grandma a lot. This morning, he said something about "Cow Cat." After several questions and answers, we figured out that he was talking about "Moo Cat," the black and white cat his Grandma has. Oh yeah. He does look like a small cow!

The short summer trip to Grandma's house must have left a deep impression on him. The other day he suddenly went to the front door with his hat and shoes in his hands -- I'm going to Grandma's. Wish it was that easy, kid.

Here's the state of my 5th pair. Love this one. I carry this around so I can knit when I'm in line waiting, or being on hold on the phone. I now rarely feel like I'm wasting time.

Knit Night Friday is coming!