It's Beginning to look a lot like...

... Global Warming? Spring Time? - I know you thought I was going to say Christmas. But - it couldn't be further from the truth. Again - gale force winds bringing temperatures into the 40's (Chinook Winds) have robbed us of snow, yet again. Actually, the snow left some time ago. This weekend's wind just added the finishing touch. The photo to the left is of the back yard. The patches of snow you see are remnants of the only good snowfall we've received this year, the week prior to Thanksgiving. I promise, this photo was taken this morning at about 11:25 am - I tried to get a time stamp imprinted on the photo, but couldn't find that feature on the camera. Oh well ....

Here's a glimpse of the front yard:

The advantage of the warm winds was that the streets and our steep driveway are devoid of ice - making it much safer to walk down the street & retrieve our mail. Earlier on this week the streets in our neighborhood were covered with glare ice - slippery as snot - a couple of times I slid past our driveway coming home. I wasn't driving fast either, just the coefficient of friction was very, very, low.

The disadvantages of having no snow in the 2nd week of December are many. Days are getting shorter. The sun doesn't peak above the mountains until after 10:00 am - then it dutifully sets by 4:00 pm. Without snow, it's pretty dark - nothing to reflect the city lights.

When it's dark - it's gloomy. When it's gloomy, people are sad and do crazy things. The headline in last Monday's paper reported about "Bloody Sunday" where one person was killed by a machete and two people were shot - one died from his wounds. On Tuesday morning we find out another person (whom it turns out we know from soccer) was shot during a carjacking. It turns out the same individual was responsible for all this mayhem. It was extremely scary, but it's also somewhat comforting to know that there aren't 4 separate psychos running loose in Anchorage. The Anchorage Police captured the individual responsible. I don't think we can blame his actions on the lack of snow - perhaps there's a history of mental illness?? - but it does emphasize the fact that it's pretty grim around here without snow.

Okay - onto some happy things. How about a knitting update?

I found some more Mission Falls 1824 Wool in the correct color to finish up my 2nd pair of Fetchings. Our lys - Far North Yarn - has increased their color section. To my joyful surprise, their inventory has greatly increased and diversified. It was hard getting out of the store without going crazy. One more cable row, 4 rows of 4x1 ribbing & the thumb to go. These are a Christmas gift.


Update on my Vintage Sock: Only a couple of more pattern repeats to go before I knit the heel flap. Not too bad. I've been pretty good at knitting one pattern repeat each day. I have to have these completed & in the mail to my secret pal by January 7th. So far, so good...

While at Far North, I picked up the correct size circulars so I can work on another Christmas gift - the Norwegian Star hat from Charlene Schurch's book, Hat's On. I love this book! The patterns are well written & there's a pattern for everyone. It's so hard to choose. While I'm knitting this one (I started yesterday - it's an addictive knit), I'm thinking what I'll knit next & the colors I'll use. I'm using my coffee bean stitch markers from Eva - aren't they cool? Margaret gave me that idea - use a marker at each end of a pattern repeat so I can easily figure out if I made a mistake. Before, I'd wait until the end of an entire row to determine if a mistake was made. And of course - the mistake would always be near the beginning of the row meaning I had to tink several stitches. So not fun. This way is much better & I get to use my stitch markers. :0)

I finished the Fair Isle Mystery Hat. I have mixed feelings about this one. Because of the number of colors, it means tons of ends to weave in. Again - not fun. Also - my gauge changed drastically & the hat is very tight. I like the ways the colors play off each other. I think I just need more practice with my Fair Isle technique.


I've been slowly making progress on the Alligator scarf. The pattern & yarn is from Morehouse Farm. The yarn is a bit scratchy for my taste (it's supposed to be 100% merino, but it doesn't feel like it) - I hope it softens up when I wash it. I'm at the part where I'm repeating the pattern over and over again to create the bumps. It's a brilliant design, but requires the M1 technique by inserting the left needle into the strand & knitting it. I don't really like that because it's slow. Oh well.. I'm trying to finish this as a Christmas gift for Orion. As long as I don't shove it in a bag, and faithfully work on it everyday, I should be okay.

Last, but not least - The Sock I Don't Love.. Earlier in the week I was struck by the "I gotta cast on something new" and took on learning how to do a picot edge. I found the instructions here. I was pleased with how it turned out. However, the love quickly faded. The pattern is Synesthesia, which can be found here. I love the pattern - I love what the sock is supposed to look like. I'm not loving what I've made so far. I'm giving it one more pattern repeat (of only 8 rows) before it dives into the frog pond. I think the picot edge flares too much, making the ribbing very loose. I can only imagine this sock falling down & pooling around my ankles. I'm using the same yarn (Cherry Hill Tree) the pattern suggested as well as the same size needles (Size 2 US) - perhaps my gauge is the problem. We'll see - perhaps I'll come back to this over winter vacation.

That's what I get for not posting for so long - one looooooooong post. Well - back to knitting, laundry, and baking. I'm just ignoring the pile of grading hidden away in my school bag.

Happy Day! Ciao~