Winter Knitting

One thing I learned during my most recent stay in Massachusetts is the value of knitwear.  In Oklahoma hand knit accessories are a colorful accent and make a thin sweater suitable for a cooler day.  A cozy scarf can take the place of a sweater and keep you warm in the movies.  Gloves are nearly never needed in Oklahoma unless you are (rarely) shoveling show.  fingerless mitts are more useful because you can use them to keep your wrists warm in  cold offices while still being able to type.

I took a long walk every day on the Cape, and my opinion is now that hand knits are a very good way to preserve life!  The Cape is windy, and the closer you get to the shore the breezier it gets.  I was reassured that the coat I had purchased last year specifically for dog walking in Massachusetts will be exactly what I need.  I thought I might have overestimated the amount of protection I needed, but my coat was perfect.  Jennifer sent me two beautiful (but hard to photograph) skeins of worsted weight alpaca for Christmas last year.  I started on a simple cowl as a traveling project, and accelerated my knitting when I got there so I'd have something cozy to tuck in my coat to keep the wind off of my neck.  The yarn is a brown and purple hand spun in a light worsted that knits up sproingy and delicious. The cowl is long enough to wrap around my neck twice.  

The other thing I noticed is that Massachusetts in winter is brown brown brown, as opposed to Oklahoma, which is more golden brown.  More color is definitely needed!  Hence my current knitting (which is brighter in person than in the photo) - bright orangey red self striping yarn for a pair of socks, and a lovely bright hand dyed alpaca fingering weight for a hat and mitts.  I'm making another sock yarn slouch hat like I did with the fingering weight alpaca Jennifer gave me for Christmas year before last.  I makes a pretty, sort of dressy cap that is really warm.