piling it higher and deeper

Posted on Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

we are running out of places to put the snow, hehehe.
i think this current storm is coming to a close, but i dunno—the sky is still awfully gray. the sun came out for a couple of seconds during the morning, but quickly beat it when it saw how much snow it had to melt.

our snowbanks are almost at their limit—they’re getting so peaked at the top that they won’t hold dry snow any more. if we get enough wet snow, i might be able to build them up and mold them to a shape that will get us through another storm.

it’s always hard to know (or even remember that this is important) during that first big snow what shape you should make your base—it can all go terribly wrong down the road, when in february, you are sneaking snow across the street in the middle of the night, just for someplace to put it.

those of you who are city dwellers know exactly what i’m talking about.

david is up on the roof again, trying to get as much snow as possible into the yard, instead of on top of us—no sense in tempting fate . . . especially when one is a neighborhood snow sinner.

the amaryllis is waving its arms about and growing a little bigger every day. david is concerned that we won’t be home to water it, but at the rate it’s using water (not very quickly) i think it will be ok on its own.

i was anxious to get that shoveling out of the way because today i got up early and finished another secret project, which soaked in the kitchen sink while i worked

yep, another one off the needles and blocking as we speak (sorry, i can’t show it to you now, but you may see it some day). and some early-morning knitting to boot—i can’t even remember the last time i did that at home; it was positively lovely.

i am SO happy to have this one done—i loved working on it, but i love even more that it will be winging its way to its recipient when i leave for the east coast. it’s always good to leave home knowing that i don’t have loose ends.

that done, i set about planning my travel knitting to get ready to write this post. we’ll be gone for 11 days total. i still have five socks on the needles but three of them are in almost the same place

i’m just past the heel on all three and i think i can even finish one of the longjohn socks before we leave, yay (which means i might have a pattern to release on friday—maybe)

i have two other secret socks that are almost to the heel.

what i don’t have is david’s hat on the go yet. i cast on for it in the restaurant during the opening ceremonies of the olympics, but i pulled it out the other day—i can’t remember what i was doing, actually, haha.

so i wound the cast-on yarn back up and am thinking i could maybe sit down this evening after our spinning class and start it again. once it’s on the needles and i know all the tools i’ll need for it, i can pack it up and put it aside to pick up later on the road.

i have a feeling that this is one of those projects that just flies along once i get it going—the start is the biggest challenge.

the second pine and ivy shawl in my handspun silk/cashmere is definitely going with me on this trip—i’ve been saving it as a treat for getting secret projects done and now is the time. i won’t touch it til after i leave home (i have too much packing and sock knitting to do), but i’m looking forward to spending time on it during the trip.

i might have a chance to play with a new design project while i’m away, so i’ll bring some supplies for that eventuality. nothing big, but certainly not any socks (i need a little break from socks, once these current pairs are finished).

you never know—we could be detained by a blizzard and unable to come home. hmmm, maybe i should pack one more small project . . .

on the other hand, the olympics don’t end til the day we head home, so i just might end up spending my whole trip on olympic knitting (let’s hope not). i purposely did not pick a stressful olympic goal for that reason. even though we are supposed to pick something that is at least a little stressful—in a good way—i didn’t. sue me.

i think that’s all i have for today—i have to try to get a little pattern work done before the spinners arrive. i’m looking forward to class tonight; i feel like it’s been ages since i did any spinning (and it’s just been a week!).

i hope i’ll have time to blog tomorrow before i go, but i gotta tell ya, my calendar is packed with last minute errands, so you might not see me again til later in the weekend.

32 thoughts on “piling it higher and deeper

  1. That snow gives me claustrophobia just looking at it in pics…ugh! Isn’t it kind of scary to think that there’s a few weeks of winter left? I’m thankful to be in the Pacific NW, where all the terrible Olympics weather is! I can’t wait for a few of the patterns you have going there… maybe all of them, I love the new socks.

  2. Can you leave the amaryllis with a friend or neighbor? 11 days without water seems long to me too.

  3. The socks are looking super, I started the Roger sock which are coming on really well and thank you again, i have one more leg repeat before i hit the heel 🙂 They are super stretchy which is good has my ankles are quite small compared too my instep!
    I hope you have a great time away on your trip
    Nessa xx

  4. Can you share your secret regarding what shape one should make the base of the 1st big snow piles?? I obviously am going to need to know this – who knew here in MD where I am near DC…. It is pretty though.

  5. I just got some sportweight yarn and think it will become Roger socks–for me!

    Yes, you should definitely bring at least one more small project. 🙂 No sense running out!

    Safe travels and have a GREAT time!

  6. I have this plan where every time we leave the house, we fill our trunk up with snow then empty it when we get where we are going. I can’t get my husband cooperate! Last weekend, the city brought in the highlift and dump trucks to clean out the street. They dump the snow in the ball fields and soccer fields in the parks. Poor kids won’t be able to play soccer until June!

  7. wow, you’re ambitious enough to shovel your sidewalks. i think my dad gave up on those because the snowplows just kept filing them in. (and he’s one of those pedestrian people that needs to use them.) it’s probably a good thing david’s shoveling off the roof – one of our neighbors had a leak in his house because of all the snow. let’s hope there’s an end to all this soon!

  8. So true about city shoveling! Digging out the car was always a nightmare. Where to put it all? We’ve still got piles here in Brooklyn…

  9. You’ll feel right at home this weekend in Frederick. We have the same snow piles!! I absolutely adore the colors of your handspun silk/cashmere. Have a safe trip and hope to meet you this weekend.

  10. The longjohn socks are super cute! Wish I could be in Albany for your class, but my husband and I were just home last weekend to visit family… I’ll have to catch you next time!

    I have a plant watering trick I use for when I go out of town… fill a mug/bowl with water and place it next to your plant, then twist a sturdy paper towel into a rope-like shape, dip one end in the water, and place the other end under the bottom edge of your plant pot (this works best if the pot is the kind with a terracotta bottom, but it should also work to lay the end of the paper towel on top of the soil). The paper towel should act like a wick allowing the plant to “drink” as much water as it needs…

    A little crazy, but I guess that’s the scientist in me 🙂

  11. We have plenty of heavy wet packed snow in Frederick. You can take as much as you like, there’s plenty to go around. (Vancouver can have some too if they still need it.)

  12. Re: Snow: We have years when the pile in the Y of our driveway could sustain a small ski industry – have you thought about some T-bars and a ticket booth?? Re: Amarylli: They are tough and will cope with benign neglect (sort of like my ding-bing not-working knitting project right now…)

  13. thanks for the cool snow photos. I LOVE them ! And it completely makes me miss upstate NY. Have a safe journey – and yeah.. with the snowstorms you all have had this year, I’d take two extra skeins of yarn (nothing worse than being snowed in somewhere with no knitting 🙂

  14. hehe. is the snow great! we are supposed to be getting about 14 inches come monday here in portland indiana. can’t wait!! i get soooo much knitting done.

  15. Have a safe and funfilled trip. I jsut love roadtrip knitting. So focused and guilt free. Play hard!

  16. Re: where to put the snow for city dwellers – I hear that! We’ve gotten off easy so far this year in NH but there have been years where I heave the snow up and over the snowbank, the plow guy comes along and shoves it back onto the sidewalk, I heave it up and over the snowbank, the plow guy – well, you get the picture. I keep hoping it will just wear out and go away, a hope that remains unrealized. I hadn’t thought about furtively putting it on my neighbor’s yard under cloak of darkness! Thanks for the tip ; )

  17. I am in love with the color of the secret soaking in the sink project. I sure hope I am a memeber of whichever club it is a part of.

  18. Can I just say, I am SO EXCITED to see your trunk show on Saturday! And don’t worry, if the snow strands you in Maryland you can go through my stash 😉

  19. It looks like you’ve got the Canadian snow we’ve been “missing”. Please make it welcome, maybe it will return there next winter.
    Have a good trip and then let’s see what you’ve been making.

  20. We’ve been spared this winter, but the neighbor who plows my driveway-cum-parking-area has sometimes made a pile 8 feet high. I have to rake my roof, which brings the snow down into piles, too. I have to sculpt those piles so I can stand on them, making the roof-raking easier and more effective. A couple of years ago I was raking the roof every other day and although I love winter and snow that got old really fast.

  21. Travel safely! And good luck with all of that snow 🙂 The socks are looking lovely (I particularly like that one on the right), and I’m glad that your lace project is everything you’d hoped for — you deserve a treat!

  22. We were in your shoes last year; in fact, I did sneak some snow out in a wagon to dump in the cul de sac end of the street, because there was absolutely no more room.

    This year in southern Ontario, what little snow we had is melting in today’s warming sunshine – birds are singing, I was driving with my sunroof open – crazy times…

    Could I ask what yarn your secret project is? The colour looks gorgeous, even wet!

  23. The snow is mostly melted up here, which is hard to believe, actually. Dare I hope for Spring to sprung on time this year? I hope you enjoyed your traveling!

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