nippy

ooooh boy, jack frost has arrived (uninvited) for visit—i don’t think i’ve ever seen such long, craggy frost fingers on our windows.

it’s really quite something. other windows have dancing starfish, frozen mid-whirl or christmas trees that blink perpetually in the sun.

just last week i was remembering that last winter, i ran intermittently for a while because of the cold and was congratulating myself on how much hardier i seemed to be this winter, out running when the temps dipped into the low 20s.

HA! then this week came and i realized that my layoff was probably just good sense and not me wimping out—it’s freaking cold when it goes down that low in a way that doesn’t feel healthy for running. the air burns my lungs and my digits never actually warm up, no matter what i wear. my legs let me know afterward that they hate me and my stupid vanity—is it really too much of a concession to just let them ride the exercise bike inside, where it’s nice and comfy??

ok, ok, i got the message. i told them i’d take them to sunny california to make up for my gaffe. they can run in bliss for a whole week and wear shorts while they do it, to boot. yes, it’s once again time for me to hit the road; i’m heading for san diego and long beach—TNNA is next weekend and i’m visiting dear kim for the week before the show.

unfortunately, david can’t make it this time; he’s preparing the website for the launch of our yarn lines and tidying up the last of the loose ends to start shipping our 2013 bare naked club (we’d love to have you join us! serious fun and adventure awaits). he wants to come, but the week before the first ship is always a scramble of last minute signups and he doesn’t want it to  get out of hand.

so i’m going off by myself on a very early flight tomorrow. after i finish here, i have to pack and more importantly, figure out what knitting i’m taking along. with most of my recent small projects off the needles, i’ll need to replenish my knitting bag with new ones from my go-bag pile. or just new ones, haha.

i thought about taking my quiviut mitts project, since it takes up practically no space in my shoulder bag and is very portable. but i need to reassess this project—which has very little going for it except its trophy yarn component and the fact that i’ve put too much work into it.

i finally figured out how it was that i so easily cast aside such a luxurious project for so long. it wasn’t hard; the truth hit me as soon as i started working on it—on this size needle (2.25 mm) it’s all just too fussy and small. between the dark color, the dry, blunt needles, and the fuzzy halo of the yarn, i literally can’t see a freakin’ thing i’m doing.

i now understand why the ribbing was complete, but the pattern (usually my favorite part) remained untouched—every single stitch is the definition of laborious. but did that stop me from putting another four hours of knitting time into it? NO.

if i wasn’t stuck in the car for eight hours the other day with nothing better to do, i would have ripped the whole thing back and knit the yarn into an ivy vines neckwarmer, similar to the one i knit with fibre isle magique several years ago—which i loved knitting and continue to enjoy as one of my all-time favorite, most wearable knits. but for some reason, i didn’t think of alternatives then.

instead, i have one mitt nearly completed and you know how that is—the bigger the investment the greater the knitter’s persistence, even when we’re not thrilled with the developing outcome. sigh. well, who knows; i just might go ahead and rip it out—it would be a great color next to my face and maybe wear better as a neckwarmer too. i’ve been known to tear down much bigger projects than this.

yes, i should just leave that one home and find a more appropriate yarn to knit these mitts with. or take along one or two of my unfinished sock pairs; there’s a novel idea.

why, you are probably asking did i even spend that long on them?? well, with my squeeze me hat finished, i didn’t have anything else at just the right point to travel—stupid me, i didn’t pack a pair of socks to knit.

but forget that for now, let’s talk about happy knitting. i love this hat! it’s nothing short of deLISH! when we got home, i wove in the ends and gave it a bath; it came out so lovely and soft.

with the perfect amount of droop; the weight at the back keeps it in place at the front so it doesn’t slide down too low over my eyebrows. that pouch is like a little heater—the soft folds hold nice warm air near the head.

i need to write up the pattern for this; i’m pretty sure i won’t get to it before i go, but who knows, i might find some time to do it during my trip. if not, then certainly when i get back.

isn’t my hat form fun? david found that somewhere and gave it to me for christmas. i just love it. i’ve never seen one with a face before . . .

here and there i’ve been working on the boy’s sweaters that i had hoped to knit for christmas, but never got off the ground. i did manage to get a full set of measurements for each boy when i saw them, so now i can proceed with confidence. this is a good traveling project too—some small pieces for on the go and bigger pieces for TV knitting. i could get pretty far with this if i bring it.

and of course i’ve always got secret knitting—there’s never a shortage of that. it will be good to get further ahead on club projects as well as some designs for the new yarns.

actually, one of those bags has a non-secret project-to-be. i’ve had this idea in my head since last march to make a shawl that coordinates with our BNK yak ensemble, the peu bourgeons and peu de pluie accessories. and now i’m going to knit it using our own breakfast blend DK in the gorgeous earl grey color, yay. i can’t wait

ok, so yeah, who needs an annoyingly fuzzy mitts project after all? to the frog pond it goes for reassignment as something far more wonderful.

i think i’m pretty well set for doable travel project with what i have here, but for insurance,  i’ll probably add a sock to the mix as well.

ok now, kiddies, time for me to take a hike and get my suitcase packed. i will be back with photos of the sun, the beach, and the many wonders i’m sure to encounter over the next week.

erica will pop in over the weekend as well to tell you who won the vintage knitspot giveaway and chat you up about whatever she’s knitting.

enjoy the cold and snow while i’m gone, you hear?