Another Day

Making miniature tags in creamsicle colors from discarded books.

And, because it's over 90 degrees, I work on a wool scarf. Don't ask. As the hubbers would say, "It makes perfect sense."

It's a reversible elongated chevron rib pattern with seed stitch selvages. Nearing time to attach a new ball of yarn.

When I was about 7, my grandmother showed me how to turn a skein of yarn into a center-pull ball. For some reason, I never forgot how to do this. Even though I didn't use this technique for decades. Untwist the skein and open it taut around a couple of chairs.

Let one end of the yarn hang across your palm.

Close 3 of your fingers over the yarn tail and drape the long end of the yarn over your thumb.

Unwind some of the long end of the yarn from the chairs. Loop the long end around behind your thumb, over the front of your folded fingers, in front of your outstretched pinky... 

...under and behind your pinky, around the front of your folded fingers, over the front of your thumb, and continue in this figure-8 manner. 

 When it looks something like this...

...slip the figure-8 bundle off your thumb and pinky. Pinch it in the middle where the yarns cross over each other...

 ...and fold it in half. Allow the tail of the yarn to hang free from the outside of the fold.

 Loosely wind the long end of the yarn around your little folded figure-8.

 Continue winding while taking care to keep the tail free. Change the direction of your winding to make a round ball but don't wind yarn over the tail. 

Here it is, ready to work into the scarf. The tail is the working end of the yarn.

We have basil coming out our ears. Anyone want some pesto?

This little family didn't care that I was taking down laundry only 10 yards away from them. Can you make out the one still in the tree?

Sundown strikes the barn (on the east side of the property) with incredible, glowing, warm magenta light.