Sn-oatmeal

Let's ignore that this is two snows ago (sounds like American Indian timekeeping) - and remember that I am trying really hard to catch up, shall we?

Sometimes the silliest things become "family traditions". When the kids were very little I would scoop up a little snow on their oatmeal and call it snow oatmeal or sn-oatmeal. Mind you, we don't get much snow around here, so it is a rare breakfast treat.

Imagine my surprise when we had a little dusting a few weeks back and my daughter hurries into the kitchen asking breathlessly "Can we have sn-oatmeal?". Well - yes you can! And here it is - in all its frozen, gray glory:



And since it had finally "snowed", we even scrounged up a few marshmallows to add to steaming mugs of hot chocolate:



And what do all knitters think of when it snows - knitting! I had just finished working on a pair of mittens for myself and thought the snow was a perfect backdrop. Here they are in their frigid, gray glory:



This pattern was posted on Jimmy Beans newsletter and linked to the pattern from Pure and Simple. I used Rowan Biggie Print from JBW. After being chilled to the core for most of the winter, I really wanted thick, sturdy mittens to tend to outdoor chores, like chicken arc mucking. The yarn was supposed to more about shades of brown, but the actual yarn came out to be more like gray, white, and red. Prettier, indeed. And so easy! The pair took less than 3 hours on size #10 dpns. The short wrists are perfect with a coat and the thickness makes them super warm. I loved the proportions - not too long in the hand or the thumb. Very wearable.



A word of caution about this pattern - be careful with your yarn. Each skein makes one mitten, and this is what I had left - after both mittens!

Really, I Do Still Knit

It's true - I still knit! Just way slower and with more distractions (like re-reading the Sue Grafton Alphabet mystery series - seemed like a fun idea this summer, but man has it cut into my evening knitting time).


Carpal tunneling went well, so I am trying to pick back up where I left off with some oldies, but goodies. The best of the best is the Mitt-A-Long:




How long ago did we start this, Pam? A year at least. Anyway, Pam has discovered the secret to life by way of fair isle and we've both gotten re-energized. I think that I am almost half-way done on the first mitten? I've found tons of mistakes, but I am looking at this as a technical practice piece. If I get a wearable mitten out of it, great; but if all else fails, they'll make a fun Christmas decoration.




Now that I've posted all of this, I'd better take less than another year to finish!