Apple Green Malabrigo Rios

 I received two lovely skeins of Malabrigo Rios yarn in the Green Apple colourway for Christmas.

I knit Kate Gagnon Osborn's February Hat - a free download on Ravelry. It was a pretty quick knit. I did modify by adding one more pattern repeat - 8 stitches - after knitting almost the whole thing and finding it way too tight. 96 stitches seem to be the magic number for my head and worsted weight yarn. I also used the 4mm needle for the ribbing instead of the called-for 3.5mm needle. I probably should have only gone up to 3.75mm but with the doubled ribbing, it does fit my head OK.

The 3" pom pom almost used up the rest of the yarn from the skein. I used this tool to make it. 

With the other skein I knit another Bandana Cowl - another free pattern on Ravelry, and designed by Purl Soho. 

This time I followed the pattern exactly. When I had finished it, I didn't like all the bulk up at the neck so I ripped it back to the first decrease and instead of knitting 3 plain rounds between decreases, I only knit 1 plain round. I did a stretchy bindoff but it's too stretchy so will probably redo it using a stretchy bindoff with a smaller needle or a regular bindoff using a larger needle.

I have been beavering away on my cross stitched model for Teresa Kogut. As it's a Hallowe'en silhouette piece, it's mostly stitched with one colour. I did order an extra skein just in case. I'll know when I'm done if the extra skein was necessary - allowing for some boo boos, picking them out, and re-stitching.

I took the car in for a factory recall today. As we are on lockdown, I wasn't permitted to wait inside so I walked home - only a 20 min walk. On my way home, the dealership called to say it had been inspected and didn't have the flawed part and I could come and pick it up. Skip was surprised I got home so soon (I'm a fast walker). On our way to pick up my car in his car, we stopped into our shiny new A & W just east of the corner of Glen Hill Drive and Hwy2/Dundas St. Coffee is free for a week or so. We ordered coffee and hash browns (Skip) and an apple turnover (for me). Then Skip dropped me off at the dealership 1 block away. That was all the excitement for this morning.

Today's announcement from our Premier was that we will be under a stricter lockdown as of Thursday. It's still quite loosey-goosey in some ways: no more than 5 people can assemble outside but we are to stay home, non-essential folks should work from home, teachers will teach online until at least the last week of January or later. We are to stay home except for grocery shopping, going to work, attending medical appointments, or picking up prescriptions. Big box stores must close by 8pm. Other stores must have pick up only and all stores must only permit 50% capacity. These measures should have happened long before this as our numbers began skyrocketing weeks ago. It is very irksome that the COVID-19 situation was allowed to get so bad.

The stricter measures really aren't going to make much difference for us and most of our friends who've been isolated for months because of our ages or medical conditions. 

We really need more vaccines, quickly, and a system set up to get them into our arms. Until then, our economy will founder, and families will suffer.