Winter weather

WIP Bulky Cabled Alpaca Hat

/ LDSVenus / 11 Comments

This WIP (work in progress, for my non knitting friends) hopefully soon will be an FO (finished object, again for my non knitting friends.). I started this a few weeks ago and the progress was not fun as I had eye surgery on both eyes 2 weeks apart about a month and 1/2 ago and seeing anything close was, well to blurry to see. I had an around the neck magnifying glass my daughter got for me but it made everything look 3D, lol. So I’d knit for a bit then put it down and the Ott light my son got me was awesome for light.  But last week I found a pair of my old glasses from 4 years ago and I can see through the midrange section to read!!  So I have started working on this hat again for my son-in-law, who gets to go out in this very cold weather to do farm chores with the alpaca. 

I had made him a hat some months earlier but it was a bit tight and even tho he said it a fine, it wasn’t fine to me, so this new one. The yarn is bulkier (yes the yarn is from their alpaca :)) and I went up a size needles so I wouldn’t have to adjust the stitch count, this should be correct, the pattern was written for a woman’s size and my son-in-law can’t wear that size very well.  Because the yarn is bulkier, I did not make this a fold up brim, it would just be too heavy. You see a new owl chain stitch counter on there. I had to order an XL one that had bigger rings for the bigger needles (size 11).  I love it, it keeps the count so I don’t have to go back and keep recounting as I get closer to the row for the cable, saves time and aggravation having to keep recounting. I get these from Twice Sheared Sheep . The link is to her best sellers so you can see some of the things she carries, but to see all her things just click the home link and then on the 3 horizontal bars on the top left of her home page. She has some for only up to 5 rows, and some that are in a circle if you don’t like the one going to 10 rows hanging down so far on your work. There is a little clip thing on it (you can see it on the 0 by the owl) and I suspect it is for counting crochet rows instead of using the rings that go on the knitting needle, but as a knitter I would use to put on the numbers to tell me how many times I’ve done the 10 rows in case I needed more than 10 rows so I wouldn’t lose count (think socks). Her things are pretty darn cool!

I go back next week for a vision check and to get updated glasses, so my sight should be adjusted back to normal, yea! 🙂

Hope everyone is staying warm, we had -30’s again last night and for tonight -20’s, but starting on Monday we get our midwinter thaw and will be in the 30’s woot woot!!!

Monday Funny – For a Very Cold Day!

/ LDSVenus / 4 Comments

My son and his spouse, Ev, had this picture taken at Disney World a couple of years ago. We are all Star Wars fans and Ev sent this to me because it seemed appropriate today (return of the Jedi is my favorite), it felt like we could be on that planet with temps Sunday night forecast to go down to about -50.  I asked him if I could use it on my Monday Funny and he said sure! 

Everyone stay warm!

More Snow, A Blizzard, Spinning and Some Roving

/ LDSVenus / 11 Comments

Yeah, more snow. Started early this morning about 1am and should be stopping soon, looks like about 4 inches extra on top of the other snow, so total about a foot of snow? The winds have kicked up gusting to about 50 mph off and on and causing blizzard conditions until about noon tomorrow. We also get wind chills from now until Tuesday morning. I think the coldest will be down to -35 or -40 on Sunday night with the wind chill. Ok, it’s officially brrr.

On to nicer things :P. I am working on the Tweed Pop Rox color roving, it’s so pretty, not quite to the point yet that I need to make up my mind about how I want to ply it, but I’m getting there. The last picture is a roving I bought, oh my gosh maybe 10 to 12 years ago – a long time ago. I saw it and fell in love with it. It is 64% BLF-Corridale cross, 27% Alpaca and 9% Sari Silk waste (left over when the silk is processed that will give some texture to the yarn as I spin). You can see the black wool blended with I think the blue is Alpaca & green Sari Silk waste. I am trying to work on older fiber purchases that I bought because I loved it, to work my stash down a little. The Pop Rox color way was newer, but it was calling me to be spun :P. The After Midnight color way will be next :).

Stay inside and warm, it’s chilly out there!

SNOW!! and Some Spinning

/ LDSVenus / 11 Comments

The snow pictures are in order, last night about 2 hrs after the snow started, it wasn’t sticking to the road yet *(actually I think this is the start of the last snow we had, but they look about the same so I mixed them up, and now I can’t find the picture I took lol, so oops). Then this morning just before sun up, and last tonight after sun down.  It snowed for about 24 hrs and we got about 7 inches tho at the airport they measured 13 inches, whoa. I’d say our Christmas snow arrived a little late :P. More snow storms coming this week but not sure how much snow they will bring, I’m sure they will add to the pile as our temps are going down :P. This one was a very big storm.

The last picture is the Pop Rox I am spinning. Had some eye surgery a few weeks ago and I go back to the doctor later this month for new glasses so I can see better.  All in all it was worth it. I can see the color on the roving and yarn so much better! I’m about 2/3rds done with this bobbin, then one more to spin before I ply. Trying to figure out in the mean time if I want to just ply regular or try the chain ply again so the colors stay together. I need to figure it out before I finish this single because if I chain ply I will just continue to spin on this bobbin until it’s full.

Hope everyone is safe and warm.

Forgot the cutest one! This is Everest from my son’s alpaca farm, he was out in the snow today and decided to come in the barn for a bite or two. They come in and out of the barn as they wish to get out of the wind or other weather. Note that the snow doesn’t melt on him, his fiber is very dense and water resistant. They are lovers of the cold, me? not so much!

More Knitting Accountability and 1st Ground Cover Snow for Winter 2022-23

/ LDSVenus / 2 Comments

Trying to stay on task for my knitting accountability. I am ready to start on the sleeves of the Tin Can Knits Flax baby sweater, then to weave in ends, wash the sweater and then gift it ;). I’ll get one more picture when it’s done before I gift it. The 2nd picture is another Dandelion Headband. I should have taken the picture on a dark background but it’s already been gifted, so sorry :P. I think I am going to make her a cowl with this design for next year. I need to keep working on the hats for warmth project.

The last picture is the first ground cover snow we had a week or week & 1/2 ago. It didn’t stay long our weather was cold for about 3 or 4 days and then back into the middle to upper 30’s and 40’s. 🙂 I know it’s coming, but every day winter is not fully here yet is one less day of winter before Spring and one day less you have to hear me ask “Is it Spring yet?”

Hope everyone had a good time with family and friends and enjoyed some Thanksgiving dinner. Even the alpaca at my son’s farm got to have carrots for Thanksgiving (one of their favorite snacks) amazing how friendly they are when they know you are bringing them carrots, lol.

Yep, More Snow and My Christmas Cactus is blooming.

/ LDSVenus

Well my Christmas cactus finally started blooming, hehe, better late than never :P.

The 2nd picture is before our newest snow storm on Friday 1-14-2022. I took this before it started, we had just had our mid winter warm up so a lot of the last snow was melted. The 3nd picture was taken about 3 hrs into the snow storm. It ended about midnight on Friday, we got about 5 inches of snow with this storm. This coming week on Wednesday and Thursday we will be in the single digits Fahrenheit during the day and 12 to 18 below zero on those nights. The rest of the week at night will be mostly below 0 temps, our hard winter is here. Below 0 temps in the day are coming, sigh.

I’ve been working on going through storage totes that haven’t seen the light of day in I don’t know how long and tossing things I will never use and shredding old paperwork, lol I will be shredding for weeks or months. I just keep telling myself, look at all the room you will have for new spinning fiber :P.

I have started working on the scarf again and hope to be finished with it by the end of the week so I can work on a hat I promised a friend. Trying to juggle going through the totes and knitting. I should have the correction on my Little Lace Cat’s Paw Scarf toward the end of this week. When it’s done, it will say corrected. The correction will be on row 5 and I will be inserting a knit row and pearl row right after that so the pattern row numbers will change after row 5.

Hope everyone is enjoying their winter, I know some out in the North and East and way up to the North West have had very heavy snows, stay safe and warm.

Happy New Year, and I thought Mother Nature was Done :P

/ LDSVenus / 3 Comments

I hope everyone has had a very Happy New Year. Mother Nature has given us entrance to the New Year with a snow storm. It started about 11 am and will continue until about midnight tonight. They said we should be getting between 4 to 7 inches. I’m leaning on the 7 inches. Feeling lucky it isn’t the up to 10 inches that those south of us are in for, lol. We will be somewhere around -28F in the morning with wind chill. I know this is just the beginning and that by the end of this month and beginning of Feb we will be hitting -40’sF with wind chills even to -50 with wind chill, is it Spring yet?

Everyone stay safe and warm. 🙂

First Real Snow in 2021 and Late Christmas Gift and Fixing that Pattern.

/ LDSVenus

Our first real snow this winter season hit us yesterday. They predicted a trace to 2 inches, we got 2 1/2 inches of snow. Snowing more this evening they are predicting a trace to 2 inches again, it isn’t snow as hard as yesterday so I figure less than 1 inch. But they said a bigger storm is coming on Saturday, yea :/. They said we will be about 10 below zero on Saturday night and might hit 20 below zero (Fahrenheit) with wind chill, yea :/. We are bouncing around between upper 20s to lower teens (above 0) in the day. -20 F = -28.888 C. I’m not good at knowing this stuff, had to look it up :P. Suffice it to say the mid-west USA winter has begun and we will be seeing much lower temps and more snow as it progresses, sigh. Is it Spring yet?

The second picture is the scarf I have started out of my hand spun baby alpaca fiber, and it is now a late Christmas gift, but along with knitting it I am fixing one of the lines on my pattern, Little Lace Cat’s Paw Scarf. I will be uploading the fix in the next week so stay tuned for that, I will mention it on the pattern that it has been updated. The scarf doesn’t look like much right now, lace never does until it’s blocked, but it is a long skinny scarf and tho after blocking it will be a little longer and a little wider, tho not a ton, the lace however will look much better :p.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you much peace in the New Year.

Another FO and a WIP Plus Our First Snow Flurries of the Winter

/ LDSVenus / 6 Comments

The FO (finished object) will be the last of the striped Flax baby sweaters. I will still knit the Flax baby sweaters but I have decided to go with muted or mottled colors so I don’t have color management on the sleeve stripes to have to fool with. It will make them faster and less fussy to knit, less weaving in of ends and more enjoyable since I knit so many of them :P.

My WIP (work in progress) is another charity hat, a simple 2X2 with a fold up brim to give extra warmth to the ears. I know it’s a simple stitch and hat construction but I always try to use pretty yarn colors so the recipients will enjoy it in warmth and looks. I should have this done by next week and ready to send a package out to our local homeless shelter with a few hats in it. If any of you knit or crochet or sew and feel so inclined, this would be a great time of year to make some hats, mittens, or scarfs for your local homeless shelters. There is always a need.

I have another WIP that I need to get to, I will get a picture of it after I get started on it. I’m finishing it for a friend and I need to get my head around where she was at in the pattern and what the pattern is all about. I keep telling my self it’s a hat, it can’t be that hard, we will see :).

I knew that this would eventually happen, I mean it is November and Winter is almost upon us, but I was hoping for a few more weeks or months :P. No accumulation just flurries but it’s a reminder of what is coming soon. I know out west they have already been bombarded with that white stuff, ugh. Next week we will be back up into the 40’s but colder nights, most below freezing. I will enjoy those warmer days for as long as I can before our much colder sub zero winter weather gets here, brrrr. I did get my car tuned up, new battery, tires and brakes in prep for winter this year. I hate when all of those come due at the same time for winter because here, if any of that is due, it’s a must. Just a heads up too, my mechanic said tires may be harder to find in the next few months, so my advise is, if you need them, don’t put it off.

Wishing everyone a blessed day!