Sensing Spring

Spring is coming! Can you feel it? Here in Nashville we are looking forward to temperatures in the 70's. I know it's only a fleeting warmth and they are talking about a chance of snow later this week, but for a few days I can pretend we are well on our way to warmer weather.

Cold weather makes me want to knit - there's something about bundling up on the couch with that warm wooly project in my lap. But thoughts of spring make me think of bright colors. I got the bug in my head to dye some brightly colored yarn and I couldn't let it go. So I stocked up on Kool-Aid and got to work. I dyed two skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes and one superwash wool blend sock yarn from Joann's. I love the way they turned out - all those speckled colors like the first signs of spring poking out from the ground.

I don't know what I'm going to knit with these yet, but they will probably turn into something for the baby. I tried to keep the colors relatively neutral, but who doesn't love a baby boy or girl in bright colors? I can't wait to see how these knit up and I will definitely be attempting this speckling technique again. Until I find the proper projects I will just continue looking at the yarns and dreaming of warmer weather and all the pretty colors it brings.

This Week

This week was very long. Monday was the epitome of Mondays - I wasn't feeling great and work was crazy and I knew Tuesday was right around the corner. Because Tuesday we had to wake up at 4am, which greeted us with a dense fog covering the neighborhood. Apparently we live in a valley because as soon as we hit the highway, visibility was clear. The early morning gave me a chance to catch up on a bunch of things at work and then I visited the mothership to pick up some fabric and plans for a new quilt project. 

Wednesday brought another day of work as well as a box full of yarn. The grocery store didn't have what I needed for dinner (what a pain!) so they gave me a $10 gift card for the inconvenience (how nice!) By the time I got home, I was exhausted from the last few days and all I could muster after a late dinner was some easy knitting and Olympic watching. I cast-on a lightweight sweater for the baby with my new yarn and I love the way it looks so far.

Thursday brought 70 degree weather and a new outlook on the week. I had a baby appointment in the morning and everything checked out. Listening to the heartbeat never gets old and I love to know that all our levels and stats are where they should be. We found a foot and the baby rump, but the overall position was a bit of a mystery to the midwife. That little bony butt made an appearance Wednesday night while I was trying to relax on the couch - rumbling back and forth across the top of my belly. My mom was concerned to hear her grandbaby is already twerking! 

After my appointment I set to work drafting a pattern for the new project I mentioned above. It wasn't as straight forward as we had hoped, but after a lot of math and a bit of a redesign, I made it work. I use my middle school geometry and algebra a lot when quilting, so thanks to those teachers. I'm sorry I don't remember your names.

After enjoying open windows all day, the evening brought in severe weather complete with tornado sirens and uninterrupted weather coverage. I retreated to our only "safe place" - the downstairs half bath. Which is not the most comfortable place to spend half an hour. Knitting on the toilet is also not the easiest, but I managed to get a few rows in while the storm passed.

Which brings us to Friday. I'll work on the quilt for a bit, teach my piano lesson, run some errands, and see what the rest of the day holds. The storm brought a cold front through, but this weekend looks to be a bit warmer and I hope I can open up the windows again and enjoy the fresh air while I work.

Newborn Knits

After years of knitting socks, I have acquired quite a stash of tiny leftover balls of yarn. I've used them for different projects, but I have a new favorite: The newborn hat! 

Oh yeah, and tiny socks. 

The beauty of baby knits is how fast they knit, how little yarn they use, and how sweet they look. I have knit a few already and have more on the way. 

This little rainbow duty is made from many different sock yarns. I just knit a few color repeats of each and then tied on the next one. 

The pattern I am using is called the Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat and here is a link to my project on Ravelry.