the weather outside is frightful

Posted on Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

no matter which way we look, we are surrounded by piles and pile of snow.

i skipped the exercise bike today in favor of shoveling—so much better to be out in the fresh air. and it encourages me to do some yoga afterward to get the kinks out of my back.

getting lots of snow is normal for this time of year and always makes things feel sorta cozy and insulated. the house is quieter and it’s easier to concentrate; the snow covering even compensates somewhat for the heavy skies that come with it.

i just hope it stops in time for my trip to germantown on friday—i’m driving (alone) for this one and i’d rather not do it in a blizzard, heh.

i’m excited to be joining the germantown knitters for a weekend of classes at ball and skein. i hear we are kicking off the weekend by celebrating the opening ceremonies of the knitting olympics at a local gathering place. susan, the owner, is lots of fun to work with and a great organizer. i know from cookie’s visit that the town is absolutely adorable, the class accommodations are top-notch, and the knitters there are awesome (i also heard they’ve had much less snow there). if i have to be away for valentine’s day, this is the best kind of place to be.

i’ll be teaching lace knitting, sweater fitness, and a finishing class—i think there are still a few spots if anyone wants to join us this weekend; see the events page for more info. you can also find the shop on facebook.

aside from shoveling, i’m afraid i’ve not been getting as much public knitting done as i’d like. i’m determined to finish some of my secret knitting because it’s really time to get that stuff out the door.

i’m tired of the lies and deceit . . .
this knitting too, goes more slowly than i’d like. i can’t figure out if it’s just that there are too many current projects (five pair of socks going and another biggish project), or am i not knitting enough, or have i fallen into a twilight zone where time and action run parallel, but never meet?

maybe it is the last thing . . . shoveling is a time-suck that i tend not to “count” as taking up precious hours, because it’s fun.

i also spent a good part of the last two days working on the pattern for the little shawl i showed you last time.

it’s going pretty well, despite the hairiness of working with the body motif. i thought i was losing my mind completely yesterday, when the largest size ended up with the least number of sts left at the neck and all the head banging in the world didn’t change the numbers. i took a nap, came back later, and instantly saw my error. thank goodness—my sanity remains intact for the moment.

i still have a snag to sort out around the shoulder shaping if we are to have three sizes of this shawl, but i think i came up with a solution while i was shoveling this morning (this is why i love shoveling, bike riding, and naps—the rhythms of those activities really help me think).

even though i worked at my desk til 10:30 last night, i still spent some time communing with this french quarter sock and got a big whack completed on another secret project.

i want to get this sock done so we can release it during the last week of the month. i think kim’s beautiful kashmir sock yarn is really making the design shine. she’s planning to put up kits for the sock to sell at SPA and in her online shop in this special hanky panky colorway.

my socks and secret projects are in a weird place for me. i’m WAY ahead on the patterns for all five of them—every single project has a finished and proofed pattern. but my knitting is lagging well behind. i’m having the hardest time finishing up the socks in particular (which we need for pattern cover photos, haha). i knit on them every day—for at least a couple of hours, but the work just seems to go nowhere.

this is not a complaint—i’m actually just stymied at this phenomenon; it really does feel like i’m knitting in some sort of time-pause lacuna. i might need to re-examine my schedule to see if i can force some more knitting time into it.

i started david’s version of the longjohn sock the other day the cayenne color of shalimar zoe sock. this yarn has such a nice density to it—i love the sturdy-but-soft feel of the fabric; no wonder it’s david’s favorite.

the pattern looks so cute in the nearly-solid red; just like real long underwear. i like it equally well in the variegated catalina colorway, too.

well, i guess i shouldn’t dally here too long if i’m going to get any knitting done at all. plus, the snow is coming down hard again—it looks like i might have to do a second round of shoveling before my spinning class arrives later this evening.

43 thoughts on “the weather outside is frightful

  1. Hi Anne,
    Having lived in Massachusetts half of my life—I miss shoveling too. Don’t get any snow here in Houston, or at least enough to shovel. Love the longjohn socks and very anxious to see the “secret projects”!!! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and David and belated Happy Birthday.

  2. I love the Longjohn socks! Is this a pattern you’re working on? I looked in your shop and didn’t see it. It looks like the perfect pattern for a sock!

  3. Anne, I can’t imagine how you could be even more productive than you already are! I’d be afraid of overuse injuries to my hands (watch out for too much shoveling too!).

    I also like the longjohn socks.

  4. I knew I needed some of that Kashmir yarn, that French Quarter sock is beautiful! All that snow, do you feel like you’re in an igloo? I would. Spring can’t come soon enough for me.

  5. mmmm there is a blizzard here in NYC and i am so undisciplined about working at home. sneaking in a few rows of cluaranach here and there and dreaming of the new little shawl! no shovels to be seen in brooklyn. the snow plow was through here early this morning but now it’s just a white wonderland everyplace.

  6. i think your perceived lack of progress is because you are working on so many projects. and because knitting elves don’t come to your house in the middle of the night either.

    that, and the snow shoveling.

  7. Oh, we have lots of snow here too! I’m about 20 minutes from Germantown, and we’ve got around 14 inches or so on the ground.

    I’m looking forward to your class on Sunday afternoon!

  8. Anne, you’re right. That sock looks great in both colorways! I can see this pattern becoming the go-to pattern for a lot of sock knitters out there. I’ll definitely be picking it up as soon as it’s released.

  9. Oh, I love it! How often do you get to put a line like this one: “i’m tired of the lies and deceit . . .” in your blog? Big grin!

    The snow photos are beautiful. We still have only a dusting, with clear roads. Which is really pretty nice for getting around.

  10. I love the longjohn sock you’re working on.

    Being new to your fabulous blog, will this pattern be available soon? I didn’t see it in your shop and I’m excited to knit it.

  11. Oh, Anne, please keep the snow there!!! It’s beautiful, I know, being born and raised in upstate NY….so here in sunny Texas….it’s supposed to SNOW here tomorrow!!! UGH!! Maybe I can stay home and knit??? Can’t wait to order the thermal sock!! We will be needing them here LOL 🙂

  12. Hi.. hate to say this here but it seems there is a problem with your blog – the frames are weird.
    i’ll send you a screen pic of what I see if you want.

  13. I agree with Dana – lack of knitting elves is the problem. Also: you will finish everything up at the same time and then have no projects spread out in different stages. Send snow to Vancouver – they need it!

  14. I love to shovel snow..we move to Texas about 4 yrs ago from The greater Capital region..Virginia is socked in..
    I too, am behind on sock knittting I am working on a Starmore Fairisle..I set a deadline for myself..sometimes I feel stuck..it is moving
    Looking forward to your longjohn pattern..
    Have a good time in Germantown..

  15. That is a lot of snow! I know what you mean about your thoughts coming into order while shovelling or biking — I’m the same way about walking. I know I haven’t had any long walks alone in a while when I become completely stuck on a project; a walk always seems to shake something lose (oddly, swimming doesn’t work that way – maybe I’m trying too hard not to drown?). I love those French Quarter socks, by the way! How have I been missing those?

  16. I don’t love shoveling-just had to do the front and back steps-hard on my back. The 45 minutes on the tractor plowing out the barn road and driveway was much more enjoyable. Gorgeous socks-need to get knitting on some. Hoping you come to the Ithaca/Fingerlakes region sometime!

  17. We have an honest-to-god blizzard warning here now. The weather has escalated all week here. I’m not sure what tops a blizzard warning. I’m afraid to think about it.

    Today is the first day that I realized how much math and geometry go into your pattern writing. It’s a real blend of science and creativity. I think this means you are a genius!

  18. We only ended up with about 9″ in our Chicago suburb. I think those by the lake got hit with a lot more.

    Hey you picked my naming suggestion of French Quarter for the Kashmir sock! Woo hoo!!

    It sounds like you are in the black hole of knitting–where you knit and knit and nothing ever changes. And then you measure again, and you’ve got too many inches. How does that happen?

  19. Well, your Walk looks fabulous. Great job! And I REALLY like those long john socks. They look like my type of sock. Can’t wait for that pattern. Oh guess what – got the recipe today for Coast Toast – that place in La Jolla we went with Jocelyn! I went there with a friend and begged for it (you know me and recipes).

  20. We have had hardly any snow up here this winter…go figure. I’m missing my snow. 🙁

    Hanky Panky is looking great! I’m starting my pair tonight. 🙂

  21. I wish we have snow here, although we are getting plenty of rain. I love it. That lace swatch on your desk is so pretty. I can’t wait to see the finished project. I hope the weather will clear up for you this weekend.

  22. Wow, that is an impressive amount of snow. New York is getting the blizzard now. But I’m in Berlin right now where it’s less about the snow and all about the iced over sidewalks (5 weeks and counting, apparently).

  23. Well we got socked in big time with snow here in MD/DC area – the Kensington area got 24″ or so last weekend; we’d barely dug out of that and then got hit with this blizzard – various amounts but seems to be about 9-12″ in Kensington. The drifts are unbelievable. I used to like shoveling snow! Anne, I hope you can make it to your Frederick MD event later this month; I signed up for the sock class but I believe the shop has been closed ever since! I’ve already decided I’ll have to visit my local small businesses and support them – being shut down all this time.

  24. Love the French Quarter socks and the new socks for David. I don’t see how you do all that you do. You are a constant source of inspiration.

  25. Hi Anne,
    In the past two weeks, I have started two different shawls from two different designers.The first was from a book. I spent several days knitting an easy stockinette section only to be so stumped by the poorly written directions for the knitted on lace edge. I went to ravelry looking for others who had made the shawl. I found out that the tip was squared off. There was no mention, and no photo, so that was a surprise. One person put in a link to the error page on the website. There were many errors, I ripped the lace edge back and started over. That didn’t help, because the pattern was so poorly written, it just didn’t make sense. I finally gave up and frogged it. With the second shawl, It was just a poorly written pattern. There was a kal going on for the shawl on ravelry and I found a lot of help, but at that point I just frogged that one to. My feeling is, if I am going to buy a pattern, I shouldn’t have to try to find someone to explain the directions to me. Even if the pattern is aimed at intermediate or advanced knitters,it should have well explained directions.

    My point is, I moved onto another pattern. Your “Wing o’ the Moth shawl” was in my things to do, so I started that. I want to thank you for writing a very good pattern. Your instructions are clear and the pattern is well marked, I never felt like I had to ‘read your mind’ and I’m having a lot of fun knitting it. Thank you so much!!

    I can’t wait until you release the pattern for the shawl that you are working on now. I have the perfect yarn waiting for it.

  26. Snow, snow. Go AWAY…don’t come back another day! That was my sentiment after the weather man on TV said we were to get about 2 more inches this weekend. Enough already!

    We had a fire in our apartment building between the two blizzards (everyone is fine…only 2 apts. affected, thank God) so at least the drive was sort of plowed for all the fire trucks. After this last storm they would have had a hard time getting in. What do they do in Philly, Baltimore, NYC or Washington, DC???

    Have a wonderful time in Germantown. Though won’t it be hard to be away from David on Valentine’s Day? Will he be lonely and pining for you? Poor guy…he’s a generous and brave soul to let you go off by yourself.

  27. You can really shovel! While it looks lovely,and while I complain about the lame snow we sort of get each year in Boise, I am so ready for spring. I hope it calms down for you all.

    The knitting is beautiful! Love those longjohn socks. I hope you find some time to knit, knit, knit soon!

  28. lolololo……NOW I understand those antsy feeling waiting for the NEW shawl pattern…You can now add me into that line of drooling knitters awaiting ….lol….learning to read knitting patterns has only gotten me into a big ‘ole pile of trouble. 🙂

  29. This might sound like the silliest thing ever, but I, too, get into that odd place with my knitting where the laws of time, space, and physics in general seem to take an odd left turn. When I feel like I’m making no progress whatsoever, especially with socks, I hang a locking stitch marker in the row I just completed and then keep chugging along; sometimes that’s the only way I can see any forward movement, as that wee marker slowly moves away from the needles round by round.

    I’m sure you’ve thought of this already, but just in case you hadn’t, I thought it might offer a bit of solace for you.

    (Totally in love with the cayenne long john socks, btw!)

  30. Oh good grief. Condolences on the snow. Wretched stuff. I thought perhaps one of my 2010 knitting resolutions would be to have a Knitspot sock pattern going at all times. So far so good. I have to finsih Hayrick #2, Woodsmoke #2, and Flaming Desires #3 and #4 in order to get full pairs. I have Rimefrost lined up with my 3IG December BFL yarn (mostly cream with some silvery blue shot through for interest). And now you come to tempt me again with the French Quarter sock. What’s a gal to do?

    That must be why I ordered a complete second set of needles from KnitPicks….

  31. A few years ago, My son came up with the explanation for your time phenomenon. It is the time warp in the closet. He says every home has one, it is also to blame when your getting ready to go someplace and have plenty of time, then look at the clock and your late. He says the time warp in the closet is responsible for lost time, lost items and just about any other strange goings on.

    You gotta love a good imagination. 🙂

  32. Ooooh…snoooow! Sitting here in 90F/30C ++ heat in Australia makes me long for just a little – I only get to wear my cardigans for about six weeks’ of each year. I’m thinking I must be at the other pole of the time/space continuum thing because I really don’t know how I managed to complete seven repeats of my current lace scarf pattern in one day…hmmm…all very mysterious!

  33. Hah! Caught up enough to leave (late) comments, yay! I’ve got a few single socks sort of lazing around as well, which NEVER happens to me! Must get on that pronto.

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