It's Not Winter Today

Yesterday and today have been a welcome mid-winter respite with temps in the low 70s. Notice the salt on the driveway?! That's a sure sign that the cold is not gone for good.

Of course the freaky warm days won't last, but we took advantage of it while we could. Tomorrow will be back to chilly, and by the middle of the week, it will be snowy and downright cold again... stay-inside-and-knit kind of cold... with a daytime high of 17. Hrmph! It seems like a recipe for pneumonia after these warm days! DH and I enjoyed a long bike ride late yesterday afternoon, and I rode again today to do some errands. Do you think anybody at Hobby Lobby or the grocery cared that I had helmet hair? Too bad!

DH and I are hoping to bike up to view this in late September. Seeing Aspen in the fall has been on my bucket list for a long time! We are challenging ourselves to the 10-miles-uphill-in-thin-air trip. The ride down will be fun! Stay tuned... and I wonder if there is a LYS in Aspen?

Stash enhancement! I stopped at Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe in Columbia, MO on the way home from St Louis a couple of weeks ago. The shop is literally a half block off of I-70 (exit 127 - I know it by heart, and the shop is on the left, just south of the highway). DD#2 was with me and picked out the RainForest colorway for this quick and fun scarf. It's Liberty Wool from Classic Elite and it's a washable merino - love that. The variegated colorways are all very pretty!

Why was I in St Louis? DD#1 is getting married to Mr. Wonderful (yes really), so we shopped for her gown (found it), looked at bridesmaid's dresses (picked one), and looked at venue choice #1 for the reception (fun, fun, fun place!). DD#1 and her fiance are going to "crash" a party in a couple of weeks to see how the place looks when it's full of people and all decorated. I think they will see that it will work for them. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but a lot was accomplished.

Here's the view from our hotel room. How cool is this? DD's future MIL found an awesome deal on a travel web site and invited me to share this room. We were like teenage girls (or maybe even preteens) talking until all hours of the night. Too much fun!

I haven't spent much time knitting lately - too busy doing other things (mainly tech editing knit and crochet patterns for others). I'm inspired by all the creativity. I just wish I didn't have to sleep so I could do more of it myself!

I've Been Knitting!

Another delayed update... just a reflection of being busy. : )

First, I released a new pattern last week. This one, Crested Butte, is relatively easy and it is available here.

The pattern is written in 2 sizes for teens/adults and options for braided or macrame-tied tails are included. I posted a pic of the original a while back. It just took me a while to get around to writing the instructions (and knitting 2 more of the hats). It's a quick knit and also features an inner layer of ribbing for added warmth around the ears.

We've been having our share of cold weather. Brrrr, so I whipped up a new pair of 'Glittens' for myself. I have made several pairs for others, but this is my first pair for myself. I made open thumbs, but I think I would have preferred closed.

I really love working with this yarn bowl that I received for Christmas. It allows me to work from the outside of the skein without having to chase the yarn across the floor!

One last thing.... I hope this helps you feel warm if it's cold where you are -- these are pine cones burning in an outdoor chiminea.

Knit on! ~~