I wish I could show you some fun knitting, but I have none to share. The nurse friend I’ve been making masks for said her team was required to wear masks now and they loved the ones she had, and I’d offered to make more, so she wondered if I’d still be willing. I definitely was, especially since I had supplies on hand. I used up the last of my dish-cotton yarn and the last of the cotton shirt I’d cut up to make six more masks.

I think this is a total of 16 I’ve made, and I might be done now. It felt good to do something to help people in healthcare, and my friend said her boss, a senior VP and CIO of a major hospital system, liked it enough to ask for one herself. That made me feel pretty cool! If you’re interested, I used this pattern and added a two-layer cotton lining. I used the sewing machine to sew the two pieces of lining together, then hand-stitched the lining in place. I ran out of ribbon so I slip-stitched yarn into place on the corners and just chained for 18″ to make the ties. I tried to make them as sturdy as possible to withstand many washes in hot water.

Besides masks, I had a short interlude for another puzzle. The girl is now sheltering in place with us, which is really comforting for this mom’s heart, and she’s my puzzle buddy. (She’s also my showtunes/musical buddy and my chick flick buddy.) Good news: I have someone to help me. Bad news: the puzzles go much faster!

I was spreading the ModPodge on this one last night and the husband walks by and says with dismay, “You’re gluing that one together too?” LOL! I guess he’s not a big fan of finished puzzles either! This is the last one to get glued, I think, so he’ll be fine. But I like the idea of hanging this one in our sitting room, which is where we have our record player and piano, and where the kids used to practice their instruments.

Now, I’m gratefully back to sock knitting, which is good because I have a VERY GOOD supply of sock yarn thanks to pandemic stress-shopping! (Somehow, I am still in the black for the year: I have used more yarn from stash than I’ve added! NO IDEA how that’s still true and no idea how long it will last.) The latest is my first skein from Mint Rain Yarns, a self-striping in a color called Make Me Smile.

And it does! The hardest part might be deciding which awesome sock yarn to knit next!

Okay, it’s 8 am which means it’s time to get to work for the day. Happy Thursday, friends. Hang in there.