we might need snow tires tomorrow

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, designing, projects

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i love how my snow tire scarf (knit in ghillie sport/DK) seems to be on its own private toboggan ride across the sofa top. what i would have given to sit around and finish up those last two repeats over my morning coffee, sigh. but because i went to bed so late, i also got up kind of late and it was already a little after nine when i poured my first cup. it would have to wait til this evening’s knit night . . .

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nearby, my finished fat tire mittens posed for a portrait—these turned out so well, i can’t help but say so myself. everyone who tries them on agrees—these feel delicious. and they knit up so fast! i’m trying like crazy to get the pattern done but i had a chapter deadline today and i have meetings all day tomorrow so i don’t think it will be ready til monday earliest. but know that i’m trying; i take my snow tires stuff very seriously.

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in fact, after i finished them off first thing yesterday morning, they went immediately into the bath; we had hoped to photograph them along with their matching scarf in the afternoon.

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after an abbreviated soak, i pinned them to the edge of my pressing bench, allowing them to hang in the warm draft from the nearby heat vent—the perfect way to dry wool quickly (laying them across the top of a floor register is also an awesome strategy; there are many a christmas when i get up early to do just that).

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sure enough, they were dry in about an hour—even those dense cables. and they fit perfectly; too bad i’m not fond of wearing mittens (though i do give in to them once in a while for very cold runs and bike rides). as it turned out, torrents of rain and skies of deep gray cause the photo shoot to be cancelled. been there, done that; this weather never results in good photography.

in a way it’s good—now the ghillie scarf can be photographed at the same time. which means that i’m just going to have to knit another pair of fat tires to match. plus that hat i told you about the other day. poor me . . .

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speaking of runs, i got a big surprise in the mail yesterday—looks like i took second in my age class in the ohio challenge series (it’s kind of a running league). last year i took fifth and my group is extremely competitive, so this is a huge improvement. next year i move up to the next older class, so who knows? there are a few women who blow me away at EVERY race it seems; maybe i can shake them off for a year or two when i move up, haha.

we are thinking of designating a wall somewhere in the office to hang all my medals. i’ve seen some really cool displays; it might help keep me motivated to see evidence of accomplishment like that.

today i had to get my latest BNK chapter out the door, so i didn’t get much knitting done until evening, when we had a small, but fun knit night, just me and barb. why don’t i ever take pictures?? we get talking and i forget all about the blog, every time . . . sorry.

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anyway, i did finish up the knitting on my ghillie scarf. i stopped one repeat short of what the pattern says, because it was starting to look rather long. i’m worried that it will grow more than i’d like it to. i put the live sts of the last row on a yarn holder and now it’s ready to block. i’ll put it on to soak when i wake up in the morning, then slide it onto blocking wires to dry.

a hot sudsy bath will totally transform this yarn—ghillie turns bright white, dense and flannely once all the spinning oil is washed away.

i can’t wait; now on to some socks i want to finish by christmas

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10 thoughts on “we might need snow tires tomorrow

  1. Congrats on the improvement in the running department. I have a friend that does Masters swimming and does very well. He says each time he moves up an age bracket it makes him feel like aging might have some hidden perks.

  2. Thanks so much for the pre-block/post-block comparison photos. It helps me “see” the potential of the yarn! I might love Snow Tires even more in white than in red!

  3. The Ghille really surprised me…..love it in the scarf. Definitely need mitts to match. Congrats on your trophy!

  4. Funny, I was working on a pair of waffle creams in the BB Earl Grey and was at a knitting night late last night. I connected with some knitters and spinners here in Nome. They are so amazing. There was lots of qiviut at hand. Most of these ladies glean it from the Tundra in the Spring. They spin their own and some will send it out for processing. I got to sample spinning some on a drop spindle last night. So soft! and much easier for me as a beginner than wool. I think that I am going to have to follow up the socks with hat and scarf and mittens now. This is such a good pattern for men that don’t want much fuss. Very posh.

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