It's another wintry weekend. We were forecast up to eight inches of snow but again we were lucky and got only about one more inch (plus an inch of sleet, of course). Temperatures were just a little too warm, so we got quite a bit of rain instead, then the sleet, then the snow. I don't think it will have improved the roads much, but at least they won't be any worse.
Andrew emailed me with a request for some wristwarmers - how could I refuse? He asked for black - the color I swore after Alex's afghan that I would never use again. Of course I made them in black. When I went out to get the wool I went to Hobby Lobby and they only had black in 100% wool (a no-go for a teenager) and bulky Woolease. With the icy roads and my schedule last week I did not want to try driving around to find something more suitable, so I thought I'd give Fetching a whirl in that weight. Three tries later I had found a combination of needles and repeats that I thought might work and made them up. Before casting on for the second or putting in the thumbs I cornered a young man in the office to try it on to see if it would work. For the curious, I went with 35 stitches instead of 45. For the center ribbed section I went with 13 rows instead of 18, and to set up the thumb I went with 6 stitches instead of seven. I went with #6 dpns, although for the others I have made #5's worked out better for me. I think they will work for him, although they are pretty dense. If I ever make another pair in this size and weight I might go for a different pattern. Anyway, they are in the mail already, so he will have to judge for himself.
Andrew emailed me with a request for some wristwarmers - how could I refuse? He asked for black - the color I swore after Alex's afghan that I would never use again. Of course I made them in black. When I went out to get the wool I went to Hobby Lobby and they only had black in 100% wool (a no-go for a teenager) and bulky Woolease. With the icy roads and my schedule last week I did not want to try driving around to find something more suitable, so I thought I'd give Fetching a whirl in that weight. Three tries later I had found a combination of needles and repeats that I thought might work and made them up. Before casting on for the second or putting in the thumbs I cornered a young man in the office to try it on to see if it would work. For the curious, I went with 35 stitches instead of 45. For the center ribbed section I went with 13 rows instead of 18, and to set up the thumb I went with 6 stitches instead of seven. I went with #6 dpns, although for the others I have made #5's worked out better for me. I think they will work for him, although they are pretty dense. If I ever make another pair in this size and weight I might go for a different pattern. Anyway, they are in the mail already, so he will have to judge for himself. 
I finished another pair of socks yesterday. This is a pair of Magic Stripe from a marked down skein I got a couple of years ago. Magic Stripe is not the most stylish and gorgeous, but it's cute and wears like iron, and this pair only cost me $3.00 - a bargain, I'd say. I have already cast on and started a pair of basic stockinette socks to work on while watching movies this weekend. I have a couple of nice projects to work on, but since Rita is here talking nineteen to the dozen and we are watching movies a simple pair is what's happening now! So far we've watched Little Miss Sunshine (eh) and Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (entertaining, but eh), six inches of sock leg. Still to go: DaVinci Code. Tomorrow I cast on the for second Parting Ways sock, and pick up the Kimono Shawl again. 
I'm struggling a bit with 365 Photos - my year may end up more like 232 Photos. I am pressing on, with an idea of taking pictures mainly of the most ordinary aspects of my life. I'll be uploading them to my Flickr Gallery, if you want to see them. My theory is that later, much later, this is what I will want to see. This is a snap of my African Violets. They live on my sunny windowsill in the summer, and the shady one in the winter. The ugly one in front is the first (and only) one I purchased. The others were all started from cuttings off the original. They do bloom quite well for me, although at the moment only the last one is blooming, and only a few blooms. They have proven to be surprisingly simple to take care of. Like most plants, if they are happy where they are they will not require much care. They prefer a bit of benign neglect and a porous pot. My camera has mysteriously lost it's identity and is showing up as a flash drive when I try to upload pictures. It's OK for the moment, although unsettling and annoying. I'm hoping to get the issue settled pretty quickly though, because some aspects are better if it is correctly identified, such as deleting the pictures from the camera. You CAN do it from the camera, but the readout on the camera's screen is so small I have to have good light and reading glasses.
The most fun lately has been planning activities for later in the year. Shana and I have decided to drive to Florida, combing a road trip with our beach vacation. It should be fun, and save us a ton of bucks. We'll stop in Arkansas to visit Shana's cousin, and see Graceland. I'm weighing driving to Denver this spring instead of flying. I had to have some brake work done on my car, so I'd like to save a little on that trip, too. If I spend less on transportation I could spend a bit yarn shopping at Showers of Flowers. If I drive I could also take Roxy with me, which would be a load of fun. I could also take a bicycle. I'm dreaming of cycling & have not been out geocaching since the weather has been so bad. I've hardly even been out walking with Roxy - I'm getting cabin fever!
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