AnotherPurl :: a knitter's life

[10 Tuesday] OMGWTF Snow!

I think that the quantity of snow we've had in February isn't the largest on record, but it feels huge. Between that and the need to pack, clean, and generally be adults when with the snow outside the window all I want to do is burrow beneath the covers, read trashy (or simple) novels, and sleep, here are my top 10 Reasons Why You Are Ready for Winter To Be OVER.

1. My husband's rink is mostly a bust. Between the snow making it hard to skate and the strange and annoying warm periods it just isn't staying cold enough and clear enough to use. If it isn't cold enough for the rink, then it might as well be spring.

2. Spring cleaning needs to happen. However, right now spring cleaning is winter cleaning. If I am going to spend all of this time and effort cleaning, then it could at least be nice enough to leave the windows open and get a refreshing breeze.

3. Walking Mr. Victor is much more difficult with ice everywhere. There was a lot of walking in the street this morning, with trips close enough to fire hydrants and poles for him to get his pee on.

4. I have some new clothes, but despite being bought over the weekend they are mostly too light to not wear a cardigan over. That mostly means that they aren't being seen. Almost shouldn't have bought clothes at all.

5. I'd like fresh produce. Right now everything is either green house grown or brought from across the country. I'd like something grown in Massachusetts. Of course, for that I might be asking for summer.

6. The days are getting longer, which is great, but I still miss the skies being light when I get home from work (right now they have at least upgraded to being light when I leave work).

7. Color. Winter does have it's own beautiful colors. Calming greys and crystalline blues and the bleached brown wood of trees, but I miss vibrant nature. Right now if I want a bright color I mostly have to supply it myself. Thank goodness for yarn and people who have gone on trips.

8. Being able to fix our fence. Right now it is partly knocked over from one of the vigorous winter storms. The repairs need to happen, but they mostly cannot happen before spring has arrived.

9. Squam. Technically Squam is in spring (late spring), and I am really looking forward to it. Every moment closer to spring is a moment closer to when I'll be walking around the lake and learning card weaving (hey it has been on my bucket list for ages) and taking a sewing class with Cal Patch. I don't always love the idea of making my own clothes, because I don't feel like I am awesome at sewing. However, I love having exactly the fabrics I want. It is a good tradeoff and I'm sure it will feel less like one as I get better at it.

10. Camp Loopy also starts in late spring, and it is a fun way to make a lot of projects in a relatively short period of time, especially when knitting oh so often takes a bit of a downturn as the days get nice and warm. I'll most likely be participating this year, though I might have to operate completely from the stash depending on what I've packed and knit up by then.

So, yeah, spring cannot come soon enough. Blurgle.

a complete mess before it gets better

I'm sure others who have moved or, heck, even just done a thorough spring cleaning know and understand the sensation that the mess always gets worse before it gets better. Always.

Despite the empty days of the blizzard, the excessive (for other folks, felt just fine for me) napping and other attempts to leave myself well rested enough to do the "I'm an adult" things that need to be done, I didn't and haven't had the energy for the past couple of weeks. And my house looks trashed. Some of this is that the stash sale isn't over. I have easily another dozen yarns, most of multiple skeins, to put up, and it includes some fancy yarns, some Madeline Tosh, etc. I'm going to do a similar weeding of my beading stash and other things.

But first I need to tackle the kitchen. The kitchen is still showing signs of the emptying of the fridge into the snowbank, and deciding what things need to go into the trash. Not all of those things (thankfully sealed) have made it into their final home. It's a scary scary place right now. By the end of this weekend the house will be well on the way to packed and cleaned, provided I can keep my energy up. Books first, because they are both easy and allow me to feel like I've accomplished something.

What about you? Any good things to do over the long weekend?

Cards against Baby (manatee)

One of my friends is expecting, and like any good knitter that means, well, knitting. In this case I made this blanket out of Cascade Luna and Cascade Luna Paints, 100% machine washable cotton yarns. Gotta make sure that hand knits aren't too much trouble for new parents after all.

Now, I will be the first to say that I'm not nice. I can act nice, but we as a group like to play games like Cards Against Humanity or its gentler cousin, Apples to Apples. Now, Apples to Apples has been around for a while, and does have a range of card, umm, qualities. It is as easy in this game to be amazing and uplifting as it is to be horribly mean or snarky.

An example of this is from around when I first met my husband. The green (description) card was Tempermental. Everyone put in their red (thing) cards, and I was judging. Well, one of the cards was the judge. It's true and the card one, but in a less friendly atmosphere that could have been hurtful.

Well, Cards Against Humanity dispenses with the need to be nice. While there are nice cards in there (Puppies!), many of the cards are either like the ones you see here or really nasty things about Glenn Beck.

But card games aside, I was kind of late on this blanket. I had this idea that I was going to make a sweater. It was going to be awesome. I was going to design it and it was going to involve some of the parents favorite things and it was going to be a nod to a different friend's t-shirt. All sorts of crazy stuff. But I was knitting other things in December and the month came and went without designing anything. Whoops. Then it was mid-January and I remembered I wanted to make something. And that I wanted it to be unisex.

Blanket time.

The Easy Honeycomb Stroller Blanket is definitely an easy blanket to make. It is only one color per row no matter how crazy pants it looks. But the pattern has a flaw.

A huge needle flaw. It suggests that you use a US 10 with a DK weight yarn. Pretty much no one on Ravelry had used that yarn/needle combo, so I picked what worked for me. A size 5 needle and a light worsted yarn.

I used two solid colors, a sunny limey yellow and black, and two variegated colors, a green mix and a blue mix. The blanket took just around 2 weeks to make including weaving in ends, tossing the normal blanket edging for just a wide garter stitch band, and blocking it. This blanket is nicely flexible with many people using different stitch counts, and interesting color patterns, especially some awesome ombre patterns. If I had an unlimited source of money to buy all the yarns it would have taken, I would have done this all rainbow colored. Maybe I'll get another opportunity.

Of course, after finishing this I have mostly taken a break from knitting for the last two weeks in favor of reading books and doing some cross-stitch. Though I did put a partial sock into my bag this week, so maybe the knitting drought is finally over again.

 

[10 Tuesday] Celebrating Valentine's Day

Now I'll admit that I don't normally celebrate Valentine's Day. I do a few things with my husband, but normally I'm working at a chocolate shop (Au Chocolat) this week, which leaves me too exhausted to put on a big celebration.

Now, I'm not working there this week, but I'm still too exhausted to really celebrate. That said, I do have a few favorite things I like to do to celebrate this (and honestly many holidays).

1. Create a special meal. Now, this has in the past resulted in zucchini puffs and lemon-marscapone heart tart-shaped things. This week it will probably involve pancakes. We missed National Pancake Day last week, so we're due.

2. Desserts. It's like making a special meal, except more specialized. My husband likes cheesecake and pumpkin, so those are always good choices. I like salted caramels and chocolate, so I'm in today's market stupidly easy to please.

3. Watch cheesy movies. Back when I was single I went to see Valentine, a horror movie, with one of my also single guy friends. While that was a lot of fun and a little thumbing of the nose at all the people that think Valentine's Day has to be romantic, there is something to be said for watching something cheesy. I also approve of movies that are only tangentially related to the holiday in question. I don't remember if I have one specifically for Valentine's Day, but I still love Sweeney Todd for all things Thanksgiving.

4. Scruffing the dog/petting the cat. While I do get to enjoy these activities every day, it is nice to remember how special the love of a pet is.

5. Play a game. I used to be interested in playing games a lot more often, but that has fallen by the wayside as I do more knitting and other crafts. It's hard to play a game when your hands are otherwise occupied. Valentine's and other special occasions are good times to remember that I actually like playing games.

6. Make something. Homemade cards, little drawings (mine are only a half-step above stick figures), Lego (just for my husband). All good choices.

7. Candy. A couple of years ago Au Chocolat had these giant sugar daddies that were very popular and hilarious (they were, for lack of a better term, frat paddle sized). Two years ago they had boob mugs, which people filled with foil wrapped chocolates or m&ms. I've also seen candy g-strings and other questionable items. I'd rather have one or two simple and delicious chocolates than those, but they exist if you have a different goal in mind.

8. Chocolate Body Paint. I have never given this to someone with any intent beyond gag gift. However, this has resulted in at least one thank you card from a boyfriend. If I give you some, I promise I don't need or want to know anything. And thank you cards are definitely not necessary!

9. A nap. It's still the only gift I ask for on a regular basis, but lately I've been giving myself so many naps that I'm not sure anyone else would want to even try to give me one!

10. Cuddling. If we had a fireplace, I'd say in front of a fire. Barring that, we've used a random "fireplace" movie from Netflix during a Christmas party, and we could pretend to cuddle in front of that I suppose.

How about you?