Finished If Unseasonable

My Favourite Things Infinity Scarf is finished!

Just in time for beautiful warm weather!

Oh well, it gives me something to look forward to next winter. I will share details after it is done blocking and I can get some close-ups of the motifs.

I'm heading into a day of teacher training, followed by a hectic weekend: A retreat for the writing program I participated in last year and then a day-long seminar on Torah and mindfulness on Sunday. I am a bit worried about having no downtime, but I can't imagine passing up either one of these opportunities.

What is on tap for your weekend?

It's Almost Done, She Said Sheepishly

My Favourite Things Cowl is done except for the blocking! I love, love, love it! I need to block it and shoot some decent photos but I do want to share one of my favorite designs:

I adapted the sheep from a design I found somewhere (details to come with the FO post). I am quite happy with how they came out and inspired to adapt and make more of my own motifs.

If you are tempted to knit this cowl, do heed the warnings about how heavy the cowl is. You cast on 72 stitches and knit in the round for 5 feet -- in worsted weight! I suspect I'll mostly be wearing this outdoors. I guess that may be the one reason to enjoy the long winter we are experiencing here in Wisconsin; one to five inches of snow expected here today with temperatures plunging back into the single digits tomorrow!

Another good thing about this weather: I have a lot of work to do before the school year ends so I'm going to try to put in some long days before the weather improves!

Join me in Keep Calm Craft On with Nicole today!

Life Without Internet

First, there is a reason for my week-long silence. Every winter Keith goes skiing at Jackson Hole for a week, and every year something goes wrong around the house. This year, our wifi went out. Yes, I was a pioneer girl for a while there. Seriously, it is shocking to realize how dependent I am on the Internet. I couldn't access a recipe I have bookmarked, couldn't check e-mail, couldn't pay bills on line -- and, most seriously of all, couldn't read blogs!

I actually fixed it after five days, but then my brother and his family arrived for a visit from Washington, D.C., and I was busy with them. So, it's been a week away.

I am mostly knitting on My Favourite Things cowl. It is one of those projects you don't want to put down because it is so much fun to see how the next row will look.

It's coming along quickly, which makes me wonder why I knit so much with fingering weight!

This weekend, though, I knit quite a bit on the Jet Set Cowl this weekend, as it is more portable and allows me to pay attention to conversation. It is hard for me to have my brothers so far away, so I try to enjoy the time we do have together.

What's on your needles? Don't forget to check in with Nicole to Keep Calm & Craft On.

Favourite Things Is One of My Favorite Things

Here's a project that I've been working away at quietly:

It is the Favourite Things Cowl by Jill McGee, which is more of a recipe than a pattern. It's a stash-busting project written for worsted weight, but it could easily be scaled up or down for different weights. Jill does warn that it is heavy when knit up in worsted weight, but I figure that will be OK in a cold climate. I think you'd have to live in the Arctic to wear a chunky version!

She shares a number of free patterns that she used or adapted for the images in her version, such as the trees. I am working on a coffee cup pattern -- of course! And the pattern itself is a free download from Ravelry.

I don't know if I'll be done in time to use it this winter. I am still learning Fair Isle techniques, so I'm pretty slow. And some of these patterns require a lot of my brain to be engaged -- and I don't always have the capacity! But I am enjoying it.

I hope you are having a good week, whether it started with a day off for MLK Jr.'s birthday or not. And don't forget to check in with Nicole to Keep Calm and Craft On.