Needle Shortage?!

What do you mean I don't have the right needles to start a pair of socks? What is going on that I can't start those gloves because I don't have any size 5 dpns?

I have an entire beer bucket (Shiner Bock!) full of knitting needles, plus a full set of Boye interchangeable needles. What is going on that I somehow don't have enough and need to go buy more?

Deep breath. Here's a speedy, un-phenomenal FO from last week:

pattern: Square Shawl by Cookie A., from Vogue Knitting winter 2007/08

yarn: Caron Perfect Match (100% acrylic; Blue Teal Ombre). Don't use it.

made for: Aaron's cat, as a favor (to Aaron, not the cat)

needles: size 9

notes: Obviously, a Vogue Knitting shawl is going to be larger and prettier than this. This shawl provided a nice square pattern is all. This blanket is about 15" x 15" (discounting the messy blocking -- I don't think kitty will care!). I did three of the first repeats, and one of the charted repeats.

The variegated acrylic yarn is just hideous, in my opinion, and I really don't like to criticize in a public forum. But it is: it's scratchy and it hurts your fingers and whoever gets a garment made from this stuff won't wear it because it irritates the skin. It was the most durable yarn in my stash, however, and the machine-washableness ought to work well for a pet.

In other news:

1. I've decided that I really like Bill Richardson. What a shame the media isn't even giving him a chance. As an erstwhile newspaper writer, I don't like to criticize the media in general, but it seems like the television networks, newspapers, and co. have prematurely narrowed our choices. Don't you think?

2. I have a 15-minute play going up next Wednesday, and I am mired in rewrites of the last two pages. The reason why I am mired is that I have discovered some accidental depth in a play in which the Seventh Angel arrives to begin the Apocalypse but chooses to share a turkey pot pie with the actors instead.

In other words, this wasn't something I intended to be serious.

However, as I was discussing my writerly confusion with my SM/AD/seamstress/life-saver, I realized that I am in fact saying some rather intense stuff about religious faith, about what we choose to believe in.

Damn it.