The warping night air having brought the boom Of an owl’s voice into her darkened room, We tell the wakened child that all she heard Was an odd question from a forest bird, Asking of us, if rightly listened to, “Who cooks for you?” and then “Who cooks for you?”

Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear, Can also thus domesticate a fear, And send a small child back to sleep at night Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.

• Richard Wilbur, A Barred Owl

• US 1/2.25mm needles gives a gauge that just about covers a 2 1/4” button, so I’m guessing that US 1.5/2.5mm needles are actually the ideal. Thank goodness for that, because I have a surfeit of ugly 2 1/4” buttons.

• Chalklegs’ original colors were just so perfect that I couldn’t help making my own version.

• I am calling this little guy Horatio.