snow and Antifreeze

 Blue skies...

...before the "storm."

A nice dusting of snow that quickly melted (we got more snow later in the day but I was in bed with a headache and, like the snow, the brief window of time melted away before I had a chance to document it).  Temperatures are back up to 60 this week, which makes it the perfect time to finish up yard work.  The side garden has been an overgrown mess...

...but I managed to get it mostly cleared.  Having arthritis in my lower back makes it a lot more difficult to do this sort of work, but if I do a little bit at a time, the job gets done.

Sometimes I find things that remind me why I love having an overgrown garden, like this bird nest in my mint.  We have a rabbit, too, living in the above garden...or we do during the summer.  It's nice to make a safe place for them that we also enjoy.  

Todd made short work of the brush.  

"I have...made fire!" - Tom Hanks, Castaway

(pretty smoke!)

It's been a knitting week for sure.  First, I was gifted a box of Berroco Vintage yarn from someone on Ravelry...just enough to make a sweater!  I love this robin's egg blue color too.

Speaking of sweaters, I finished Carbeth.  It mostly fits, but it's a little bit more snug than I prefer.  I'm going to store it until I lose another 10 pounds.  At least it's washed, blocked, and ready to go!

I am trying to use up the odd skeins of yarn in my stash, and remembered how much I loved the balaclava that I knitted for Todd last year.  His was mostly ribbing, though, which I don't enjoy.  I found another pattern (Antifreeze) that was mostly straight stockinette knitting.  I used up what I consider a luxury yarn in my stash, a skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Magnolia Leaf.  Soooo lovely to knit with but at $30/skein, too rich for my meager sweater budget.

I wasn't quite sure if I had enough yarn for the whole project.  What I *should* have done was use a provisional (temporary) cast-on for the head portion.  Then, if I had enough of the Madelinetosh left over after knitting the head, I could remove the temporary cast-on and knit the ribbing.  But I didn't think of it in the moment.  Instead, I used a very soft mystery yarn for the ribbing.  Sadly, by the end of the project, I did have enough of the good yarn for the section in question, but I was unwilling to do it over again.  Still, I'm really pleased with the result, and it's SO warm.

(too dark for a good photo but you get the idea!)

Cold weather is expected soon, so I'm enjoying the last of the leaf color...

...finishing up the last of the seasonal puzzles...

...and in general, taking a cue from the cats.

It feels good.  Have a great week!