Cold start to a New Year

More snow and bitter cold temperatures, thanks to a north wind blowing down on us today. The snow is one thing, but the cold is just brutal. It does make for nice fiber time. Right now I am in a crocheting mode. I have been feverishly working on this sweater using some recycled cotton yarn from an x-large mens sweater I got at a thrift store. It has 4 or 5 strands twisted together that are in various shades of grey. It took a little time to dismantle the sweater, but I think it will be worth it when the sweater is done. I am probably going to add some length to the body and do the sleeves in HDC with only a few rows of the shell stitch on the end of a 3/4 length sleeve. I would really like to have it done to wear this weekend. We shall see if I can accomplish that. I hope to make it to work tomorrow and with the lovely weather we're having I think it will be a long 12 hours so maybe I can get it completed.

Gusty with Gusto!

I was supposed to work the entire weekend, but Mother Nature had different plans. The winds are really starting to get to me. Today was bitter cold on top of things, but I finally made it to work late this afternoon. I did get some pretty pictures of the snow that I will post when I get them downloaded. There were pluses and minuses to be stuck at home. I was able to finish my Christmas presents and get them wrapped, but I have to use 25 hours of my vacation time to get my full paycheck. On top of that, the heater in my SVU can't keep it warm when it is below zero. I wouldn't have never gotten out of our driveway if it weren't for said SUV, which I love other than the heat issue and the low gas mileage. I guess there are trade offs with everything. I am glad to have my presents finished. That leaves tomorrow for cleaning the house. So much fun!
I want to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas andHappy Holidays and I will, hopefully, have pictures to show of the handmade gifts when I return after Christmas. Stay safe and God Bless!

Winter

This is what it looked like at my house yesterday. Other than it being freezing cold and blowing like a banshee, the snow that was falling was beautiful. The flakes were so fluffy and HUGE. I don't mind the snow, it's just the cold and the wind that makes it miserable. Today is above zero with much less wind, but I think tomorrow is supposed to snow again and the temperature will drop.

As far as knitting goes, I just finished a scarf for a friend for Christmas. It is the Chevron Scarf from Scarf Style. They have some really cute accessories in this book. I recommend checking it out.

I hope you can see the stitch definition. It is hard to capture black yarn accurately. I wanted to use a really nice yarn, but the budget didn't allow so I found a nice acrylic, yes I used acrylic, called Love This Yarn. It was less than $3.00 and comes 355yds to a skein so it took just one skein for a decent length scarf. She is a shorter gal so I think this will be just right. I have been trying to make as many gifts as possible for this Christmas. It has added a little stress, but I have to finish knitting one hat and add some fleece to the inside. I will hopefully have a picture of my 3 nephews in their Thorpe hats at Christmas. My oldest- he'll be known as Bud- said that they needed a tassle on top, so I will be adding that, hopefully, this weekend along with their linings. I hope I get everything done and wrapped in time. I do need to knit one more, the patterned one, but that one doesn't have to be done until after Christmas. I wish I had more time. Don't we all.

Good luck getting all your presents done in time for the holidays.