Tag Archives: cold

Inspiration: It’s Cold Outside

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It’s cold outisde, and not in a fun “Christmas Cheer” kind of way. As I write this, Seattle is in the 20s, which I realize isn’t that cold, compared to some parts of the country right now. But, we’ve had freezing rain all day, and literally every surface outside is covered in a sheet of ice. So scary!

Needless to say, I’m staying inside where the floor has traction and the air is warm enough that I can be comfortable wearing only one sweater.

But while I’m in here, I’m going to stare longingly out the window and dream about the cozy sweaters I could be making.

First, the Snowy Forest pullover by by Midori Hirose. This is just gorgeous- I love the plump cables and the wildly oversized shape. It’s cozy, but still feminine, and way out of my wheelhouse. It could be a fun project to use to stretch my knitting “legs.”

And it can’t be a round up of cozy sweaters without an Icelandic yoked sweater. Levi by Sari Norlund is just to die for. I love it in the soft grayscale, but can you imagine it in wild rainbow colors?!

I know I’m a bit late to this pattern, but man, have you looked at this sweater? The Handsome Chris Pullover is gorgeous. Maybe not quite as cozy as the other two sweaters, but I think I would wear the heck out of this one. You know me- I do love a cabled sweater.

What’s your favorite sweater to reach for when you’re cold?

Snow Day Knitting

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It’s a Snow Day!

There’s three inches of snow on the ground, the roads are slushy, buses are on limited routes (my husband’s bus has been totally canceled, so he’s staying home too!) and school has been canceled!

It’s a real, honest-to-goodness snow day.img_4542Seattle really does snow the best way, It’s here for a day or two, everyone has fun, takes walks, builds snowmen, then it all melts and we go back to normal.  None of this Midwestern snow-that-sticks-around-gray-and-frozen-until-mid-March nonsense.

I know all this Seattle snow is probably one of the signs of the apocalypse, but today I’m enjoying it.  I already took the dog on a walk, I’ve got a hot cup of coffee and I’m thinking about breaking out a movie and some knitting (surprise!).  Ollie loves the snow, but doesn’t love how his fur creates little snowballs all around his feet.  I love that though, it looks like he has little pompoms in his fur.   Adorable!img_4536I’ve got some socks I’m probably going to go work on after this, but if I had planned for more snow-day-appropriate knitting projects, I might have picked one of these:

I love the little frolicking deer in this snowy forest!  It reminds me of cross-country skiing in West Virginia as a kid.

Snow Roe Deer Beanie by Sandra Jagersnow_roe_deer_beanie0_medium1This snowflake shawl is almost too pretty for words (but I bet it would take quite a few snow days to complete.

 Snow Queen Shawl by Janine Le Crasyarma_medium21And, nothing says “Scandinavian snow day” quite like red-and-white color work mittens.  I think I might need these.

Snow Ghost Mittens by Aimee Alexandercontrast_medium21How’s the weather by you?  Have you had any snow days this winter?

Inspiration: It’s Colder Than Balls (of Yarn)

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So, you remember when I was complaining about how cold it was?  Turns out I was completely wrong.  20 degrees is lovely, balmy weather.  Practically a tropical paradise. It seems especially lovely when you have Christmas cookies and hot chocolate, and the only time you go outside is when you feel like going skiing.

Real cold has now settled in.  The kind of cold that makes people worry about frostbite when they run to the 7-11 down the block.  The kind of cold that makes the state of Michigan (Michigan!) close down every single public school.  The kind of cold that makes you curse the first Norwegian trappers who found Chicago and said “Hey, I bet this would be a great place to start a city.”

It’s the kind of cold that cancels almost 2000 flights at O’Hare Airport.  That’s right, two thousand.  Including mine.  (I was supposed to fly back to Seattle last night).  I have still not actually managed to reach a real person to help with rebooking, but their computer system automatically gave me a new flight.  Next weekend. That means that I will be spending an unexpected week in Chicago, before getting back home.  Luckily, my folks are letting me stay with them, so I don’t have to stay hotel for a week (yay!),  But, it means I have to stay another week in -13 degree (-40 windchill) weather, before going home (boo!).

At least I have plenty of knitting to keep me busy and a good book on my Kindle, so I’ll be a happy camper inside the apartment.  If I have to go outside, however, I think I’m going to need knitwear a little more extreme than my usual hat and mittens.  Maybe I’ll make myself an emergency balaclava or two.

I could go girly:

From Russia, with Love: Cabled Balaclava by Nikol Lohr

3968160718_7d53180fb6_z[1]I could go classic and functional:

Antifreeze by Jenna Adorno

ravelry2_medium[1]Or, I could go viking:

Dwarven Battle Bonnet by Sally Pointer/ Wicked Woollens

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It’s Cold As Balls (of Yarn)

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I’m spending my Christmas break with family in the Great White North (of northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin).  It’s cold, it’s snowy, it’s windy. I’m spending the week curled up with my leftover Christmas knitting and a cup of hot cocoa.

But, when I leave the house, there’s nothing I want more than to wrap myself up head-to-toe in three sheep’s worth of woolens.

I’m going to go fill up the kettle again and daydream about these super chunky patterns.

150-4 Little Red Riding Slippers – Slippers with cables in Eskimo by DROPS design

4-2_medium2[1]Twiggy Cardigan by Jane Richmond

Twiggy_Cardigan_070_medium2[1]wham bam thank you lamb! neckwarmer by Susan Chang

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