Keeping Busy . . .

When Mother Nature dances with Ol' Man Winter, you gotta keep busy, right?  So I've been a good little crafter: my mitts are done!  Aren't they cozy?

Finished Faux-Thrum Mittens

I started another project too: Simple Man Slippers for my man.  He's got big feet and his old ones are rather holey.  I had been meaning to make the fella new ones, but I kept putting it off while I played with other distractions.

With snow days and bad weather, I finally cast-on.  Here's my latest WIP:

In progress slipper with 3 yarns worked together

It's a fairly straight forward pattern from Melissa Mall (link to pattern on her blog).  The original called for 2 strands of bulky Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick.  I thought the Bernat Roving might work, but I didn't have enough of it.  So I used Phentex Craft & Slipper Yarn along with Briggs & Little Heritage as my third yarn.  The latter two should be strong and durable enough to keep the Bernat Roving from falling apart (it does tend to pill a bit).

And I tweaked the pattern a little too.  Instead of a plain stockinette middle, I decided to use garter.  I figured it would be more squishy.  And who doesn't enjoy a nice squishy and cozy slipper?

Stay warm.

Snowzilla Attacks!

I kid you not!  We had a mini-storm Friday and then a big one Sunday which dumped about 20-25 cm of snow.  Then yesterday's doozie of a storm covered us with another 35 cm of snow--at least.  Some areas got as much as 60-70 cm so we didn't even get the worst of it.  Still this Snowzilla attack is the worst I've ever seen.

It has been a busy morning with much digging.  Thank heavens we flagged down a fellow driving a CAT machine who happened to be digging out driveways in the neighbourood.  It was money well spent, but we were still out at least 2-3 hours.

Our car was almost stuck, but we got it out with some help.  With the boys, hubby and another fella, they pushed it out.

As for the second car . . . well, that's gonna stay put for now.  Maybe it'll finally thaw out in May.

Hope your week is better than mine.
Later,

Blizzards and Craftiness

At this very moment there is a blizzard raging outside my window.  I kid you not!  Up to 45cm of snow expected--in the middle of March!!  Needless to say, I am a wee bit weary of old man winter . . .

Nearly done with Faux-Thrum Mittens

At least March break starts this weekend.  I still have to work, but I've decided to take a break from school.  I handed in my project early, so there are no big essays or projects due till April.  The time-off is a rare chance to work on crafty things--like mittens.

Detail of finished thumb

I've made excellent progress thus far.  One mitten is complete with thumb (some ends need to be woven in).  The other mitt has only one thumb left to go (or is that the right one? Hee, hee.  Mitten humour.).  Very pleased with the end results (although there are always little "errors" that ONLY I can see).

Thumb in-progress--almost done 

Already I'm thinking of my next project and no, it's not a return to the rainbow granny bedspread.  Instead I want more quick and small knitting projects.  I'm thinking my hubby needs a new pair of slippers . . . I'll keep you posted. ;)

Coming Up for Air

Books, papers and more on dining table

Yup, ensconced in papers and books--sadly, none of them are crafty related.  One major project is just about complete and ready for mailing.  The joys of distance education--although to date, I've been able to submit essays, projects, tests & exams online.  Even discussions & classes have all been online via video or audio chat rooms or conferencing. Sadly, I've still two more months of classes left--along with a research essay, another project and a test.

Almost finished mitten

At least there has been knitting!  Yup, there's a mitten almost done.  It's just missing it's thumb. 

Two in-progress  mittens 

And the second mitten has been started too.  Slowly it grows.  Will it be finished before winter's end?  Judging by this season's unusually snowy, icy cold weather, this winter season threatens to extend well into March.  Besides, I live on the east coast.  I'm not seeing anything remotely resembling spring until late April.  After all, I live in a province where snow storms can threaten as late as April 30th.  So I'm sure to get some mitten use before spring arrives in.

Enjoy your week!  
Later