Old dog, new trick

My SO and I have been sheltering in place, or rather, in two places. We don't live together and we did not want to be disease vectors to our grandchildren (not that we've seen much of them lately), so we have been staying apart. Under ordinary circumstances, we would get together a couple of times a week, and usually each "date" would end with us jabbering over coffee. When we were still working, we emailed frequently, and for a while we had resorted to that, but we both missed face-to-face interaction. He learned to use Duo to visit with his grandchildren, so I installed it, too. It wouldn't work from my old laptop, but did from my phone. I think we talked for TWO HOURS the other day. I guess we are both a little starved for conversation.

Knitting: As predicted, I am now ready to turn the heels on the Ivy socks.
Spinning: I finished the latest experiment with fractal spinning. I'll post separately about that.
Weaving: I am almost done with the online course. There are two more sections, but I'll hold off on those for now. It has been very worthwhile.

My daughter is pretty much stuck at home with her daughter. Since my son-in-law works nights, they need to find quiet activities during the day while he sleeps. Enter domestic arts. They have been sewing, both by machine and by hand, and embroidering. I destashed my sewing supplies to help out, plus just placed an order with JoAnn (they offer curbside pickup) for more stuff.

It started with eye pillows, then moved on to what my daughter calls Quarantine Rabbits and my granddaughter calls Shoulder Pals. I gave them some of the masks I made, plus a friend supplied them with more, so no need to go down that path.

This is my latest mask. It's based on a free pattern available online at Sweet Red Poppy (modified to fit my big head). There are several styles to choose from there, plus a pattern for a surgeon's cap. I'm guessing the haircut I have scheduled for next week is not going to happen, so I may have to resort to sewing that cap. Or else get a tee shirt that says, "Covid hair, don't care."

My guild meetings have been cancelled, at least until June. The local fiber arts festival is kaput. Even Germanfest has been called off. Sometimes the problem is not that we will still be sheltering in place when these events occur, but that there is no way to prep for them before then. It is going to be a very different world going forward.