From 11 to 24

inches of snow.







We spent most of yesterday digging out. Up to 6 inches more is being predicted for Tuesday-Wednesday.

Is it Spring yet???

SNOW

It's been snowing since 12:50 PM.
It took three hours for the snow to even stick.



It's snowing heavily, at least an inch an hour. We're under snow advisory until 6 PM tomorrow (Saturday). The snow is a wet, sticky snow, hard to shovel. I've already shoveled the entire driveway once and the lower part a second time. That was 4 hours ago. The good news: The wrist 'held'. The bad news: Tomorrow's shoveling will be Nasty. It may be too heavy for the snow blowers.

You're looking at the snow and a cyclone fence.



See all that snow on the gate? That's 11 (eleven) inches by the outer edge where the house doesn't block the snow.

The Weather Service wasn't kidding about 8-14".

TKGA MHK update (sort of)

It's been a while...like, since May, that I've done any knitting on my Level 1.


First, I had to block my first three swatches. OK, that worked although the seed stitch swatch was the only one of the three I was really pleased with! Then as the swatches lay drying, DIP came to mess around in the renovation. (If you saw 2 of my dining room walls, then you'd know why I said 'mess around'.) Couldn't concentrate with him here. That lasted all Summer except for camp time. Then other projects. Then the arm/wrist/hand dilemma.

Several days ago I saw on Ravelry that the Level 1 instructions had been updated as of January 6. Oh, my. Well, that's OK because I haven't knit more swatches nor have I worked on the research since June. Today I emailed TKGA for the updated materials.

The hand in the picture here? I'm using it right now as the project pic for the Ravelry projects page. On a trip to Wisconsin from Arizona about ten years ago, we stopped at Mt. Rushmore where I'd found this and a mountain sheep ornament for the sheep tree.

Beth's Afghan

Beth has requested an afghan.


Yes, I agreed to knit it as long as she chooses the pattern and the yarn.

Vanna's Choice in Oatmeal, pattern "Newbury Crossing", both by Lion Brand is what she chose. The panels are knitted with yarn doubled. There are four panels which are then connected.

Clover 8mm, US 11, 24" is the circular needle I'm using. It gives me a bit larger gauge as we want the afghan larger than the pattern suggests.

So far, and what you see is my current swatch, it's knitting well. The yarn is a rayon acrylic so it can be machine washed and dried, which is a preferable trait for an afghan.

Can you believe a little sunshine this afternoon? I grabbed the opportunity to shoot this swatch pic on the kitchen table while a bit of sun brightens this MLK holiday of sadness for the people of Haiti.

There is more knitting!

The wrist has improved so that this is where we are with a BSJ for charity. I plan on using this as part of my Ravelympics entries. It's named BSJ Spring ;-)...since this was started in below zero windchill, the colors 'spoke' to me.

Knitting with a 24" #5, I am using Caron yarns previously purchased and used in other projects. (There is) Nothing like utilizing a bit of the yarn stash! In this case, acrylics and acrylic washable blends are encouraged.

Nikki loves his prezzie.

Unlike some gift recipients, Nikki continues to be pleased with this year's catnip mouse, his Christmas prezzie.



He's an old kitty, born in 1994. Nikki still loves to play and purr and warm up laps.



Knitted with love Christmas prezzies are best!

It continues.

The clouds scoured out yesterday and with them, Winter doldrums. Gorgeous cloudless blue sky ensued. Temperatures zoomed to the high 20's.





This morning temperatures were between minus 16 and one degree above zero.


Sunsnow.


It continues.

Tawny says

sometimes

the

best

thing

to

do when

it snows

for weeks

is



to simply enjoy it!

Prickly Pear handspun hat on a Snow Day

Much as DH is the greatest fiber enabler imaginable, he just doesn't (usually) wear sweaters or scarves or hats or mittens, store-bought or handknit.



Today as the temps dropped and another band of snow also changed the the two hour school delay to our first Snow Day, Russ asked for one of my handknit hats to finish clearing driveways!



This handspun was one of my first natural dyeing attempts when we lived in Arizona. The grey is a grey corriedale from Minnesota, but the peachy color is natural dyeing from prickly pear cactus tunas we had in our Cochise yard. Yes, the hat was made with two partial skeins and there was a color variation.



To make the prickly pear dye I picked the prickly pear fruit (called tunas, pronounced like tuna fish), steam/boiled, "smooshed", then drained through cheesecloth to remove cactus spines. In the dyeing process, the skeins were submerged in the hot but not boiling cactus juice with vinegar used to set the color. This dye retained its vibrancy for several years, now mellowing to an Arizona sunrise colorway.

Roc(k) Day

She layeth her hands to the spindle,
and her hands hold the distaff.
[Proverbs 31:19]

In many cultures, Roc(k) Day, January 7, was the day to return to work as the Christmas season (no work, all party) ended January 6. In the days of those who had to spin for clothing and linens, the girls/women were busily back at their wheels and the boys/men pulled pranks on them, teasing as the work season resumed, sooner for some than for others.

Oh, and in case you get a chance to see the Skacel "Addiction" ad on the back cover of "Verena" Winter 2010, the knitter is a fine friend of ours from Camp 2.0 in 2006, Dolores' roomie, Franklin. What a photo.

Remember the Season

Remember the sheep stocking? Yarn Elf says that stockings come in twos. Being such, Yarn Elf sent Russ a deer mini-stocking he knit for DH. He couldn't find a proper school bus and DH normally sees a lot of deer on his runs. DH is very pleased.



What season is it?


I just couldn't let this fuchsia in the hanging basket from the back porch go this year. So often fuchsias die before the first frost. This hanging plant just keeps blooming, including in the kitchen when it's snowing outside! Unfortunately the amaryllis prefers sending out beautiful leaves to beautiful flowers.

Snow. Grrr. It's been snowing 8 days straight and there's more to come. PITA.

What are you doin' NY Eve?

Tawny wants to know what YOU are doing New Year's Eve? He thinks being by the fireplace is a particularly good place since...





THIS is what Russ and I awoke to and have been taking care of. This is an inch and a half of the wettest, heaviest snow possible. Right now there's been a misty rain/occasional snowflake.



Hope your New Year's Eve is a safe one. Ours will be quiet. (Except for the valley idiots who will be shooting off guns at midnight and fireworks every hour on the hour from dark-thirty through about 2 AM, 2010.)

The green hint

from yesterday's post is...The Green Sweater.

This story and the desire for the pattern and newly found original yarn then the newly dyed matching yarn spread through the knitting world faster than fast! "twist collective", the online knitting magazine,told The Tale of the Green Sweater from two perspectives, that of the recipient of the original green sweater who was gifted it by her godmother, Elizabeth Zimmermann; plus, the story of the green sweater's recreation by Sunday Holm. There was so much interest that Sunday did work up the pattern for publication as a SHP pattern. The original yarn/kit was sold out in literally minutes from the time Michelle announced its availability along with the pattern. Such a response!

In this picture you can see the pattern and the original single ply Briggs&Little fir yarn. Because it is single ply and could torque, it is suggested by the mill that the yarn be rewound into center pull balls and let sit for a couple days. What's that little green sweater? It's a chalkware green sweater with a "Knit On" pendant that I found in Smicksburg several years ago. Now how appropriate is that?

There were other wonderful fibery presents this Christmas, too! Three books, gift certificates to World Wide Hobbies in Willcox from Yarn Vixen and Yarn Rat, some terra cotta and fun fur yarns for a rolled brim hat, two more three drawer containers to organize yarn! All are wonderful and will be seen later on.

...Guess I should get going on that turkey-filled turkey gravy and baking powder biscuits for dinner....

Do you suppose

that it is time to give the ham and turkey breaks to go here to eat? (Answer: No!)

There is a series of Cracker Barrel ornaments but this was the one I liked best when I saw them last year. This year only one kids' fantasy tree of their usual three was set up during our last visit in September so no additional ornament was found.

Santa brought knitterly goodness, stay tuned! (Hint: Green!)

There was anticipation

for Christmas!

The Santas were on the mantel. On the left is the Fredericksburg, TX carved Santa I got on our honeymoon. Then the Coast-to-Coast (Willcox,AZ) Santa reminding me of the Northwoods and Scandinavia. Thirdly is the Jim Shore Santa from here which has my beloved sheep in his fold.


Sheep? Did we say sheep? The sheep tree is enjoyed from its vantage point on top the entertainment center.


The stockings were all hung by the chimney with care....

Unwrapping

Nikki and Tawny were particularly intrigued with unwrapping presents this year. In my hand is a MarroBone, which Nikki licked and Tawny scarfed down. Better doggie treats than his people's chocolate!

A Sheep for Christmas

I got a sheep for Christmas!

Yarn Elf knit this mini-stocking for me. Very Special.

God Jul.

First (real) Snow 12/19/09

W-w-what?


Yesterday's lack of snow is followed by what started at 9:55 last night and continues lightly but steadily.

One to three inches predicted total has already manifested into over three inches and we have hours to go yet.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Really, I am here....

Barbar thinks the Faroese Stranded Footlets from Marilyn Van Kepple's KAL will be useful this weekend.

Yes, I really did finish them since the last blog post! This weekend, starting about midnight tonight, we are to have snow, a limited commodity this season to date. (That doesn't hurt my feelings any!) You can tell in the picture that there isn't any snow outside! We've had only a tad over a trace here so far. Snow will make it seem a lot colder and my feet will be so happy in the footlets.


My wrist is still irritating at times and painful when I overdo. This has not been fun at all.

Oh, and the vehicles in the picture? The yellow car is cardboard from Steak 'n' Shake for the little boy (DH) in my life! The blue police car is a radio that Mom got Russ our first year here. Very useful, it is.

Happy last weekend before Christmas!

It's beginning

to look a lot like Christmas, at least in the house.

Later this week snow is once again predicted, this time to stick. Hasn't yet, so we'll see how the prognosticators make out this time!

Outside there are two dandelions blooming, the bee balm continues as does my happy little bluebonnet that's been blooming continuously since August!

It was a busy weekend with lots of Christmas shopping, all the Thanksgiving goodies, house decorating. Presents are to be wrapped and the only ones due in now are the SHP ones Russ called about to pay for yesterday. Shipping has been very quick so far this season. Still have Russ' stocking to finish buying for and a couple other things. Need to get Tawny's present and make Nikki's 2009 catnip mouse. Oh...then all the cards to write, too!

And the turkey? Tonight's menu is turkey in turkey gravy over biscuits.