Snow Day!

 Madison called a snow day -- even for virtual instruction -- and I could not be happier. I had insomnia last night, so the timing is perfect.

And what better than a snowy day to think about blankets? I finished my Habitation Throw. Mine is quite a bit larger than the pattern calls for. I just played it by ear. Some of the color transitions are better than others. I think I prefer more of a fade technique than these sudden changes. But it's very homey and comforting.

I've also been working on a larger blanket that uses worsted weight. I had an odd assortment of Julia yarn and Cascade Quattro, both discontinued, which is a shame. They are absolutely lovely yarns and they play quite well together. I'm using a variety of grays to tie it all together and hoping it works.

 

I think I'm going to let this one get quite large. It also has a border, so it will take me a while to finish.

I would love to spend the whole day knitting by the window, but I need to declutter. We are looking at a house tomorrow and it looks promising online. Whenever there is a house on the horizon I panic and start decluttering. Moving is a lot to take on right now as I try to adapt to my new diagnoses, but it needs to be done. It's never fun, but we'll be happy when it's behind us.

Back to Stitching

On Monday, we had torrential rains in Madison like we've never seen here. Many businesses are closed; lots of basements are flooded. So far, we haven't had any water in our house. And the levels of the four lakes in the city limits are still rising. 

This is one of the roads that Keith bikes. It's hard to believe so many people don't accept climate change as real. 

With more rain predicted for tomorrow, the danger is far from over. I plan to stay home, do some cleaning, and hopefully have creative time

I do have a knitted FO to share with you. This is my second Quill, a Taproot pattern, in Cascade 220. It's a pretty fast knit.

 I just love the gansey texture.

And my workshop quilt is officially done. This is the first quilt I've successfully quilted on a machine, and I am very proud of my crooked lines.

It's not a crooked as it looks. Some of the crookedness is the way I took the photo.

I've been working a lot on this embroidery piece. It may look familiar. Actually, it's new; but its partner is being framed. One just wasn't enough.

When I'm done with the color, I'll fill in the rest with white. I love the look of fabric that is 100% embroidered.

I go back to work full time on Monday with mixed feelings. I enjoy the students and the teaching, but there's always the paperwork hanging over my head. It reminds me of being in college and having homework all the time!

And Yet Life Goes On

I am still reeling from the mass shooting at my former workplace, the Capital Gazette in Annapolis. Last night, I dreamed about a shooting happening at my school.

How did I manage to choose two professions that are low paid and attract mass murderers? Don't take career advice from me!

But life does indeed go on, and that is a good thing. It is 96 degrees here, with a heat index of 117! We actually ran our stand-alone air conditioner for a while. It works, but it is incredibly noisy!

I can walk in the mornings, but it's good weather for sitting under a fan and knitting. I pulled out these mother-daughter mittens that I started in 2007!

And I finished them! 

The pattern is from the book Kristin Knits by Kristin Nicholas. The yarn is her Julia yarn, which hasn't been made for years. That is a shame because it is a beautiful yarn and a pleasure to work with.

The lesson I have learned from this project is to never embroider mittens. It is really, really hard to start and end threads in a narrow tube shape!

Now they go into the gift box until an appopriate mother-daughter pair needs a gift.

I Should Not Need To Wear These

Really? I have to wear a hat and mittens in the second half of March? This just doesn't seem fair!

My friend Lisa snapped this photo while we were out for a walk on Saturday. We drove to the edge of town and walked along one of the bike paths. It was just a bit above freezing! A year ago, we were having highs in the 80's.

I love winter, but this is even too much snow and cold for me.

It's especially disappointing to have cold weather now, as my spring break begins. I was hoping to do a lot of bike riding and spring cleaning. I actually don't mind riding my bike in the cold, but there is still a lot of ice on the roads, and I'm not in the mood for any broken bones.

Perhaps A Little Forethought Would Have Been a Good Idea

A few weeks ago, I began a sweater with great excitement. You can see it here. I was exciting about picking out the colors, that I kind of rushed into it. Now I am having huge second thoughts.

For one thing, I think that the sleeves are a little too wild in terms of color:

I'm trying to tone it down for the body. You can see in the top photo that I'm using only one hue for each square.

In my rush, I forgot about a little thing called gauge. For reasons I can't explain, it looks like the body will be OK, but the sleeves seem too small. This is what keeps me from sweaters: too risky!

I wish I could spend my afternoon knitting. It's 13 degrees outside, and I'm just not up to braving the cold to go walking or skiing -- either of which would do me some good. However, I have some work to do, so I think I'll make a cup of tea and dig in.

Blizzard

This was the view from my house yesterday, before the snow was even done falling. The forecast of a blizzard was accurate! It snowed and snowed and snowed, sometimes with startling force. It is absolutely gorgeous -- and thanks to Keith and his snowblower, I was able to enjoy it it in full. It was a wet, heavy snow and having to shovel 15 inches of the stuff would have ruined my snow day!

The snow day was yesterday, Thursday, and we were all dreading having to come back for one day before our two-week winter break. However, because of high winds and drift, we have today off, too! It feels great to have such a long break, but I know that it will make that much harder to return in January. Don't get me wrong; I love my work. But it is hard and emotionally draining.

Why the two-week blogging lapse? Between working long days, selling jewelry, and getting all the gifts wrapped and sent, I just couldn't find the time or energy!