Fighting the Gloom

I have often said that what gets to me the most during the winter is not the cold but the gloom. Supposedly Pittsburgh has fewer sunny days each year than Seattle (you know, the city notorious for rainy days?), and that's definitely the case during the winter. While our winter has been mild thus far and we've yet to have a major weather event, it has been very gloomy, this week especially. To give you an idea of what I mean by gloom, I'll tell you that our bedroom -- the corner of which is my "home office" -- has four big windows in it, and we have the type of shades that allow light in while still giving us privacy. Almost every day this week, I've needed to turn on lights during the day.

I've also been seeking color in my knitting, reaching for bright yarn. That's certainly the case with the most recent charity hat:

I finished this one up last night, though I'm still contemplating a giant pompom because there's a good amount of yarn left. It turned out a little bigger than intended (and I know exactly why -- I should have stopped increasing one round earlier), but it'll fit someone. I made the ribbing fairly deep so that it can either be worn with it folded up for extra warmth around the ears or worn down for a slouchier look.

I couldn't go too long (like a matter of seconds) before I'd cast on another version of the hat:

I didn't get very far, obviously, because I started this about 15 minutes before I went to bed, but you can get the idea. I'll be doing one less set of increases on this to see if my formula works out better. The yarn I'm using is from Knit Picks: one skein of Felici that I think got nibbled by a m*th and a partial skein of Essential (now Stroll) held together. I've got some other partial and single skeins I can add in if needed. I think the marled look with a self-striping yarn should be fun.

My main goal for today and this weekend, though, is to finish up these singles:

I've gotten through half of the fiber, but these singles are very fine, so it's taking a good amount of time to spin. I know it will be worth it in the end, but I think I need to do something much thicker for my next spin as a palate cleanser.

Today's plans include baking challah, as we're having my brother and sister-in-law (and, I assume, my dog-nephew) for dinner, but first I've got a run planned to break in some new shoes that I'm hoping will keep my feet warm and dry; I've had two runs through snow/sleet/slush this week from which I've come home totally soaked. Here's to the weekend!