What was accomplished on my 1st day off.

The hemlock ring was what I worked on the most, but I pulled out a UFO and added some to it.
Also known as the I-wish-it-was-Noro scarf. I had stopped during my trip to the snow last month, as I had to join new skeins, and I was getting tired of it. I am determined to finish it, so it is back in the rotation. I want a long scarf, so I probably will knit another 6 inches or so.

The thing that kept this going at first was I liked to see the color changes together. Then, on a particularly long wait for the Matterhorn, my affections began to turn. The pink strand wasn't changing. I knit and knit and waited and waited. No change. The brown changed, but not the pink. I became angry and wanted to throw the scarf down for it's betrayal. However my logic prevailed. I saw there were more colors in the ball; it would have to change eventually. A foot, I had to knit a foot before the pink changed. And while logic did a happy dance at knowing I was right, the relationship had changed. My trust had been lost. Oh, I stayed, but only because it was the status quo. New beginnings can be frightening and can bruise your ego. "Can I do this? Am I worthy? This is more complicated than my last one, can I manage?" I just couldn't let go. However, as soon as the status was no longer quo, I dropped that scarf like a bad habit.* I was no longer in love with the scarf, heck, I barely liked it. It was only a poor man's imitation anyway. Joining a new skein was like admitting I cared about it, and liked it.

My dislike for UFO's won out. And I might like it more when it is done.

But I still wish I could afford Noro Silk Garden.

My sil is having a baby, the first in our family, so I'm thinking some of the brown left-overs may go into a hat. I'm not fond of the yarn, but it is machine washable, and brown is gender-neutral. I'll probably have enough yarn for a few, so I'll whip one up and see how it does in a cycle of washing and drying machines before actually giving it away.