Why yes that is a pumpkin.  Three of them really.  Well, I’m not actually sure if the white one or the green one are technically pumpkins, but they’re playing the role of pumpkin for me this year.  And yes they’re still on the porch.  As far as I’m concerned the pumpkins can reasonably hang out on the porch and be considered ‘festive decorations’ rather than ‘signs of terrible yard maintenance habits’ until Thanksgiving weekend or until the squirrels devour them — whichever comes first.

Why do you ask?  Oh, you were surprised about the neck warmer on the pumpkin.  Well, that’s slightly more reasonable.  Really though, do you have anything better in your immediate vicinity around which you could drape a woolly scrap of fluff for a quick photo?  Because the pumpkin was the best I could manage on short notice.  The cats weren’t going to cut it, and taking a picture of your own neck is more challenging than you might think (and it’s a really really unflattering angle if you get it wrong).  I may see if I can co-opt a photogenic friend into modeling it for a proper photo next weekend.

I’m still under-buttoned, but the bone skewer is growing on me.  The wrap is too.  It’s more or less a one row pattern.  It looks almost exactly the same on the front and back, it doesn’t curl, and it’s super lofty, which means its warm.  You could make it just about any size you wanted and it’s soothing to knit while not quite being totally mindless.  Perhaps most importantly, it matches most of my pajamas, which means I can convince myself it’s fine to wear it around inside when I’m cold.  It was the perfect thing to do with a shortish skein of somewhat…eclectic…yarn.  What more can you ask of a quick knit?

Just as important, this means I’ve finished Heather’s socks, the tentacles, and the neck wrap all in the space of a few days.  This feels like progress, like getting things done, like ticking things off the dread and dire list, which is spiffy in all ways.