Snow!!!!

On Friday night, the forecast was for Saturday snow showers with no accumulation. At about 11 AM the snow started, and didn't stop for about 8 hours. We had 6 inches of "no accumulation". It's a good thing that I love snow. ; )

I actually didn't get to take advantage, though. My back has been bothering me all week. I went into work for part of one day and that's all. It's been rest, medications and gentle stretching the rest of the time. That sounds good when you don't have to do it, but it's not much fun when you don't feel well enough to do much else. Even my knitting efforts were limited - it's hard to knit on a sleeve with the rest of the sweater attached when you have to be flat on your back to be comfortable. That sweater is heavy!

I did manage to get the sleeves done, mods (ribbing instead of garter stitch cuffs) and all, and the collar mod (also ribbing instead of a rolled collar), too. The He Gansey is waiting for a final fitting session and then ends will be woven in and blocking will happen. Yippee!!

My new project, the Mondo Cable Pulli has been started. The yarn arrived on Thursday and I cast on that night! LOL. This Angel Kiss yarn is so nice to work with. The yarn feels soft and cuddly, but seems to be fairly strong. I don't know how it will hold up under wear, but I did test my swatch with friction, and I didn't see an excessive amount of fuzzing and I didn't see any pilling. I have hopes that this will be a sweater that I wear often and love.

The color I chose, Ocean, is a wonderful blend of blues, some green and teal. That's the best I can do to describe it - it really does look like Pacific Ocean hues. I'd love to see an Atlantic Ocean colorway - shades of greens - for another sweater. I love the tonal shades in the yarn, though the solid colors are deep and true, also. I just prefer not quite solids.

I've gotten as far as the join at the center and am now knitting in the round. The rounds are long, but will get shorter soon, as I put the sleeve stitches on holders and knit just the body. So far I find the directions to be clear and easy to understand. This knitting in much easier to do on my back, which give me a great excuse to do more. : >

I do, actually, want to be a little further into the pattern when the KAL starts. I know that I am not responsible for "teaching" but if I've knit it I should be able to help troubleshoot better if someone has a problem. I'd like to knit the tank top version of this pattern also, and have some cotton/linen yarn that I purchased quite a while ago in mind for it. In fact, in the fall, I swatched and so I can knit on that if I feel the urge.

I had originally wanted to knit the cardigan version and changed my mind because I fell in love with this yarn, which is much more appropriate for the pullover. I am now considering spinning the yarn for the cardigan version. I had considered doing that for my own personal Olympic challenge (spinning it, not spinning and knitting), and I'd like to do that. However, between my back hurting and the KAL, I am afraid that I might be taking on too much right now. I may still do it - I'd really like to - just at a later date. It would be a great challenge for me to spin an Aran weight yarn, as my default yarn is more like sock weight. Also, to spin that much yarn would be a challenge due to the potential for boredom. To spin that much yarn a consistent thickness would be a great challenge. I really want to do it.

My car repair was even worse than I thought. The repair took 4 days instead of the two they originally promised (it's a good thing I didn't go to work much this week) and was over $1300! I need a reliable car to go to work in, though, and we don't want to take on a new car loan at this point. The economy is still unstable, as far as I can see, and the wonderful (NOT) state of Maryland is going to furlough us. Again. Public transpo in this area is terrible - only 3 buses going to and from Baltimore per day, not at workable times for me to utilize for commuting, given my work requirements. Again, thanks to the state of Maryland (NOT) for fulfilling the residents needs. So, the repair seemed like the best choice for us. Whenever I do go back to work I should have reliable heat and not have to worry about the engine just stopping dead on me. I guess that's worth $1300.

I think it's time to go take a rest period for my back. Have a great day.