wintry fun

Old Man Winter sent us about a foot of snow on Tuesday. Paul worked from home, and we took made the most of it by going for a midday walk around our neighborhood and a quick jaunt to the Southport Grocery and Cafe for lunch (mmm... the grilled mushroom/spinach/brie sandwich is to die for).All this wintry weather has been perfect for curling up under my giant granny square afghan with a good book (currently The Children's Book, by A.S. Byatt). I'm still weaving in ends, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying it. I would have liked to make it a little larger, but I ran out of yarn. Man, this project truly was a yarn-eater.

Pattern: Craftstylish granny square tutorial + Grand Granny Square Afghan

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, various colors, countless skeins
Hook: Clover Soft Touch "J"
Size: 44" x 44" (unblocked)

I'd love to start another big crochet project, but my stash just isn't up for it. I prefer machine-washable yarn, as the prospect of hand washing a giant blanket fills me with dread. I just don't have that much yarn in the same weight, in coordinating colors, in the proper amount. Time to visit the knitting shop?!? :-)

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Last weekend's trip to Madison with our friends for the Camp Randall Winter Classic outdoor hockey game was fabulous. One of the best weekends ever, plus the Badgers beat the Wolverines!

keeping warm at the game

In less than 36 hours we managed to visit:
- State St. Brats
- Capital Brewery
- Great Dane Pub/Microwbrewery
- Genna's Lounge
- Sunroom Cafe
- Lakeside Fibers/Coffee Room (great view of Lake Monona)
- New Glarus Brewery, which has a beautiful new building

snow day

March came in like a lion; apparently it's going out like a lion, too.
Yesterday's rain turned into snow overnight. I awoke to a wintry wonderland. My poor daffodils were all set to bloom!

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Oh well, a few good things to keep our spirits up:

• The rain put no damper on a fabulous show by the Fruit Bats at Schubas last night. I expected a more mellow show, but they really rocked. Highly recommended! The older woman (seriously, 60+, how great is that) standing next to me waved a fruit bat finger puppet during her favorite songs.

• Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits book arrived on my doorstep over the weekend, and it's just precious. As much as I love the convenience of pattern PDFs, there's something wonderfully tangible about leafing through a real book.
• My second Ishbel is nearly complete! The yarn is Malabrigo Silky Merino in Teal Feather. [I'm still seriously behind on blocking and photographing FOs -- the other Ishbel is first in the queue.]

• Capricha in another one of her trademark "cat yoga" poses. See those little paws peeking out?

• I made it to the Bohus exhibit at the American Swedish Institute while I was in Minneapolis last week. It was neat to see all the sweaters, but my expectations were a bit too high. I wish I had made it to the kick-off event with all the classes and lectures.

The Turnblad mansion, home of the American Swedish Institute

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Yesterday's snowfall:
A side street right near Wrigley Field:
There's more snow in the forecast for tonight, too. :-)

Marianne sent me a wonderful parcel of goodies from the UK for the Fingerless Mitts Swap -- neat magazines, yummy biscuits, chocolate, and tea, fancy soap (always a big hit with me), a twinkly tree pin that I will wear on our annual Christmas sweater pub crawl tomorrow night:
Best of all (aside from the great mitts), there's this super soft yarn in scrumptious colors:
It's Rooster Almerino Aran, a 50/50 merino/alpaca blend that's just not sold in the US, as far as I can tell. The darker teal is destined for a pair of Fetching mitts. Thanks, Marianne!

December already?!?

A winter storm dropped 5 inches of the white stuff on Chicago last night. Paul and I went for a moonlit walk in the snow, and it was absolutely magical. Our neighborhood is mainly comprised of 20- and 30-somethings densely packed into condos and apartments, so it was a delightful surprise to see people out throwing snowballs, building snowmen, and walking their dogs.

The quarter is almost over; I've been too swamped with grading and schoolwork to post, although I have desperately wanted to and there are plenty of things to share. The grey dreariness of November is also to blame -- decent photography has been nearly impossible. The reflection off the snow really helps with the photography.

Inspired by brainylady, I knit up a pair of pocketbook slippers. What a fast and easy pattern!
They don't look too much like slippers, do they? Here's an action shot:

Project Details

Pattern: Pocketbook Slippers, a free pattern from Knitwits Heaven
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Superwash, less than 1 skein (maybe 150 yds?), Blue Diamond
Needles: US 7 Brittany Victorian walnut, the old pretty dark brown ones that are discontinued
(one of mine is held together by Scotch tape -- very classy)

These are incredibly easy, and the results are interesting. A little odd, but also strangely charming, possibly even elven. They're cozy, very stretchy, and they fit my size 9 feet quite well. I used a skein of Lamb's Pride Superwash that had been marinating in my stash for quite some time, courtesy of Micki.

Next time I would try the modifications by Miss Twiss, available here. Why? The button is very cute, and the button/strap combo looks much nicer than the lumpy seam in the original pattern.

What else? I'd go down to size 6 needles; I might even use a heavy worsted. These would be heavenly in Malabrigo, but superwash seems like a better idea for slippers. Especially since these would make great quick gifts (esp. combined with other cozy things, like fancy hot cocoa mix and a wintry mug).

Why, oh why isn't there a superwash yarn as soft and lovely as Malabrigo? Any suggestions, you guys? My stash contains hardly any worsted weight superwash.

I'm working on a very basic stockinette watchcap from Charlene Schuch's Hats On for my dad. He's a no-frills kind of guy. The yarn is Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran Tweed, in a dark blue (surprisingly enough, not purchased in the big WEBS sale).
The unfortunate part? This is a horrible thing to knit. The dark blue is hard to see, the tweedy bits in the yarn are hard on my hands, and the Knitpicks metal circs are killing me. And it might be too big. At least it's just a hat and should be over soon. :-)

Marianne sent me a lovely pair of fingerless mitts for the Fall Fingerless Mitts swap:
It's the Miss Potter pattern from Yarn Forward, and they're absolutely perfect for me. I've been wearing them a ton already, even at the very cold library while typing. The yarn is Freedom Spirit by Twilleys of Stamford, and it's quite nice and woolly. I've never seen it in the US! Marianne sent loads of other thoughtful goodies, too, which I'll share in my next post.

Another nice surprise -- the new Knitty is up! I quite like the Matrix mittens.

Back to grading term papers...