I finished the sleeves as promised.

Here is a more artistic version of Elspeth Blocking.

I couldn’t leave her on the table to dry (I used the pin and spray method to stop the curling with out squashing the texture): pulling out all the pins and chewing on them is a Fun Project for the cats. Apparently, pin heads look like tiny pieces of delicious cat candy.* Who wants to explain that to her vet? My solution is to stow my blocking board on top of the baker’s cabinet and hope that no one comes to the front door (“Gee, why is that giant piece of cardboard suspended so precariously near your ceiling?”). Some things just take too much energy to explain.

I also swatched for Michael’s Cardigan.

Someday I will remember to look at the pattern and figure out who wrote it and what the cardigan’s proper name is. Until that day, Dear Reader, you will just have to cope.

I’ve been exploring several options for the Library’s Fund-Raiser, and thanks to a comment suggestion from Karin, discovered these Hogwarts Scarves. Karin was actually suggesting Hermione’s cable-and-bobble hat which makes me think fondly of Dobby cleaning the Gryffindor common room all by himself. . . but I ended up settling on the scarf. I think it would be a wonderful Halloween Costume Accessory and Ideal for a Library. Lauren (the designer) has given me permission to make one for the auction (thanks a bunch and the books thank you, too). I’ve already ordered the yarn. For those of you who haven’t taken a look at the selection over at Knit Picks, I really encourage you to do so. Their prices just can’t be beat.

Unfortunately, Harry’s Scarf doesn’t solve the Hat and Scarf Ensemble Difficulty. I’m just going to have to make it up myself. I’ve been working on scarf patterns today and attempting to incoorporate all the basic elements of Give Away To A Stranger Design: nothing too complex, nothing too plain, nothing too boring to make. This is complicated by my project-specific requirement: elements that can be translated into a matching hat. I’ll let you know how it goes.

*Speaking of candy, the little heathens ate most of a Blow Pop last night. They didn’t make it to the gum in the center but they gave it the Old College Try. Is it bad that the part of this that bothered me the most was not the theft itself, but the Sticky that they left all over the floor? I have moved the rest of the Blow Pops to an undisclosed, secure location.