Snowflakes and Soybeans

We are having another snowy winter with over 20 snowfalls since Thanksgiving. In addition to that we've had tornadoes, thundersnow, and snowfog--all unusual weather phenomena. Monday night we went to bed with a forecast of snow during the night. We awoke to a very wet snow clinging to every branch, acorn, and bit of ground. The shoveling was tough because the snow was so wet. My husband got a good start on the driveway before he left for work and I finished it off in two work sessions during the day.

The birds would say "thank you" if they could. They do thank us with their energy, antics, and music. They are beginning to sing these days as the mating season approaches.

Although I've had very busy days recently getting ready for an Open House for my business, I did sneak in some knitting time to start on another Garter Stitch Baby Cardigan. The true color is a bit softer than it appears in the photo. I am using Bernat's Soy Natural Blend. I love the feel of this yarn and I like the idea of using soybeans which are grown all over my home state.

Passions

I've been reading a lot of fluff lately. Although I don't devour mysteries as some readers do, I do like the occasional light mystery with the backdrop of the English countryside. M.C. Beaton has a light-hearted series that takes place in the English Cotswolds. The detective is an eccentric middle-aged woman by the name of Agatha Raisin. Agatha is a self-made woman who has retired in middle-age from her public relations firm to move to a cottage in the Cotswolds. Agatha is a hopeless romantic, always dreaming of romantic encounters, while puffing away on a cigarette and eating microwave dinners. She is so hilarious in her own quirky way and can't seem to keep herself out of trouble. M.C. Beaton also has a series of novels with the Scottish detective, Hamish MacBeth, as the central character.

Going from a fluffy mystery to a novel about the bubonic plague does seem like an extreme jump. I am currently reading Geraldine Brooks A Year of Wonders, a novel of a small village in England in 1665, which is beset by the plague. I'm just about 20 pages into the book. The writing is excellent and the subject matter interesting.

The Newfoundland Mitts Revisted are finished. I highly recommend this pattern. Not only were they an easy, quick knit but they do promise to be one of the warmest pair of mittens ever! I did add a few stitches to the thumb as they seemed to be a bit tight, even on my small hands. It could be that my gauge was a bit tight.

I heard recently that one of the keys to keeping yourself young is having a passion in life. Oh my goodness....where do I begin? Saturday night I went to bed having finished my mittens and the Agatha Raisin book so I was plotting my next knitting project, next book, next piping tune to memorize, butterfly gazing soon in the spring...Uh, no problem with passions here! I think I'll live a long time.

Mostly Mittens

The Fiesta Mittens are finished and blocked. They were a pleasure to knit although turning the corners on the dpn's and keeping the yarn loose enough on the carries was a challenge, as I mentioned previously. Still, the end result is quite fine! Don't you just love those thumbs?

I started on a pair of Newfoundland Mitts Revisted, a pattern by Creative Whimsey. The real thrill was getting into my stash and finding two yarns that are a match made in heaven. The solid color is part of a kit I bought from Blackberry Mills. It is a bit of an odd color: green with teal overtones. Then I discovered a rolled brim hat in my stash that I had made from the top down in Kureyon. It was finished except for sewing in the ends. After knitting it I realized I would probably never wear it, nor could I think of anyone who would. The yarn has bits of the EXACT same green/teal color in it. The color is so perfect that at times I've been momentarily confused, thinking I was picking up the wrong strand. This pattern is so fun to knit and looks so cozy to boot! I just started knitting last night, after making a gauge swatch and the first mitten is already a good couple of inches past the thumb opening. The photo does not do justice to the color, which is not as close to teal as the photo indicates. I was photographing in poor light. I will get a better photo as I progress.

More Loopiness

Thanks to those who have encouraged my Magic Loop Knitting. I started on a baby sock to become more familiar with the technique. I am still rather clumsy when I reach the end of one needle and then have to make the other needle the working needle. I am not sure whether to push or pull. Neither seems natural yet but I am working on it. I also need to figure out how tightly to pull the yarn on the first stitch. Too tight and it is difficult to get it onto the cable next time and too loose and you end up with a gap, the same that can happen when knitting on dpn's.

The Fiesta Mittens are finished and I will post a photo after blocking.

Magic Loop Knitting

Several months ago I purchased The Magic Loop from Knit Picks. This booklet plus Knit Picks' 32" circular needle with an extremely flexible cable were the combo that enabled me to teach myself the technique. Although I am not that quick at it yet, I am reserving judgement until I complete a project and give it a fair shot. I am pretty fast on DPN's so I'll have to gain a lot of speed on The Magic Loop in order to make it a viable option for circular knitting. It is always fun to learn a new technique which surely will come in handy sometime in my knitting life.

New Harmony Knitting Needles

I've been peering out my door daily for my package from Knit Picks. Today I was rewarded and tore into the package. I had ordered 4 32" circulars in small sizes and the set of Harmony Wood DPN's in sizes 0 through 3.25. I am IN LOVE with all these needles. Although I know it is not a good idea to switch needles in the middle of a project I had to do it once I felt the Harmony needles. My Fiesta Mittens are being knit with bamboo needles from my local yarn shop. What a difference the Harmony needles make! Some of the other needles of this reputable brand felt like the ends of toothpicks. They were sharp and hurt my fingers. The Harmony needles are perfectly named because they do make knitting more harmonious! THANK YOU, Knit Picks! Not only are these the best but they are also very reasonable. As for the Knit Picks circulars, I can already tell I will love them also. The cable is very flexible and the join is very smooth. I am going to work on learning the Magic Loop method for knitting in the round.

Tonight I have my beginning knitters class at church and can't wait to show them these new needles.

New Books

I see it has been a while since I updated. The Fiesta Mittens will be finished soon. I am almost done with the second mitten, except for both thumbs.

The microwave smoke damage is almost cleared up completely. I began putting food back into the cupboard today. As for the microwave itself, we'll have to see whether we can restore it to its former self. The lingering odor of smoke is very unpleasant. At the moment it is banished to the garage.

A book order arrived from Amazon today. It seemed to take a very long time in comparison to other orders I have placed there. I ordered 4 books--all about knitting! Isn't that amazing? (I noticed that I use exclamation points too frequently and there is one cropping up already.)

One of the new books is Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. There is a lot more to this book than the title implies. In addition to some fun projects there is a chapter on exploring color, wrapping handknit gifts, and some basic knitting instruction with clear drawings. I'm glad I bought it. More on the other books later.

These photos are just to remind me that spring is coming soon. We've had a very snowy winter.