I’m still at my parent’s house. It is cold enough here they cancelled school today. That means I did nothing but drink coffee and knit all day. OK, there was also red wine towards the end of the day, but I didn’t knit much after that.

The other night John asked me why I hadn’t knit with handspun yet. I had no answer. I decided I should probably cast something on. I cast on a bandana cowl in the blue gradient handspun I adore. I grabbed my bag Alissa made me, because it matches beautifully and because she is a magical human I am so incredibly happy to know. I followed a pattern until I decided the pattern would just lead to a lump on my back (which I have on my own due to horrible posture, thank you very much). I think garter stitch with a split at the back of the cowl will be a great addition to my winter outerwear. I would have worked on this all day, but I neglected to pack a longer length needle so things were getting tight.

When I was in Wisconsin for The Worlds Most Incredible Girls Trip of Amazement I picked up a cowl kit at the yarn festival. The yarn festival was secondary. The comradery was primary. Anywhoo a cowl with 50% Tibetan Yak Down and 50% wool and colorwork? Just take my money. I started the cowl today. I love it. I did not think to pack my magnetic board I use when reading charts, so after ten rows I decided to put this away for now. This project is living in my Tierney Creates bag. If you follow Tierney you probably remember her amazing Tula Pink backpack. I love Tula Pink fabric, especially the raccoon print. I reached out to her to see if she would be open to an exchange. Thankfully she was, so one pair of socks later I’ve been blessed with this raccoon bag. I’m not usually a fan of trash pandas, but I love this fabric. Tierney is so creative and talented it gives me an anxiety stomach ache to think of someone so talented (seriously, have you seen her quilts??) making something for me. A bag this special deserves a special project, and this is it.

I’m still plugging away on my Vertices Unite shawl. If I finish it this year I will exceed my goal. It is a relaxing knit. The progress marker, just up from my Godmother, shows where I was last week.

If you are working on the Vertices Unite we will be doing a call on Feb 5. So far I have Ivy, Jess, Marilee, Alissa, Kirsten, Kath, Laura, Bonny, and AJ on the call. If you want to join us please let me know.

I hope your projects are going well. If you are travelling I hope you packed enough projects and all of the tools you need.

The kids and I headed up to Cedar Falls today to visit my parents. We’re staying for about 48 hours. Apparently that means I should pack four projects.

We had a busy day today. I spent an hour on the phone dealing with a home warranty issue. We went to the library. Audrey had a Girl Scout meeting. It made for good knitting time. I’m on the heel flap of my second Knit Spin Farm Little Known Holidays Yarn Club. The colorway this month is Inspire Your Heart with Art Day (January 30).

Are you knitting socks this week?

I spent some time to day working on a merino spin from Yarn and Dogs in the Sea Glass colorway. I’ve now spun with enough breeds to know that I don’t love spinning merino. I love knitting with it and wearing it, but I would rather spin BFL. I have two 100 g braids of this fiber, so I’ll be working on it for a week or two.

I’m also working on a spin with Audrey. We bought some raw fleece at the orchard we spend all fall exploring. I washed it and Audrey has been carding it. We’ve both been spinning it. The wool is not great, but it is a fun project to do with Audrey. She has requested to dye it yellow with marigolds and wear it to the orchard next fall.

I hope you had a cozy Sunday enjoying your hobbies.

Yesterday the kids and I got out of the house and headed to the Des Moines Art Center. I wanted to see the Justin Favela exhibition before it closes tomorrow. I also wanted to walk around a big building for a couple of hours to keep the kids busy because it was too cold to play outside last week.

The Favela exhibit was created on site and was inspired by other works in the museum. The kids thought the huge taco pizza was really cool. I really liked the tissue paper murals.

We all agreed that the pizza chandelier was really cool. We are taco pizza fans and art fans, so this really brought it all together for us.

I enjoyed talking about the art with the kids. Audrey loved seeing the paintings and didn’t want to leave. Elliot, however, was ready to go by the time we got to the last gallery.

I would like to be better about getting to the Art Center. They have a nice collection to explore. Next time I might leave Elliot at home with John.

I hope your weekend was full of adventures.

I finished John’s hat. He really likes it. He always asks for beanies, but I have finally figured out he wants skull caps. I am going to size down his hats in the future, as he really likes small hats. The yarn is A Yarn to Dye For DK in their Feasting At The Farmer’s Market colorway.

I’ve been spinning this week too. I spun some silk Marilyn sent me. I loved spinning it, and look forward to spinning silk again. It was so luxurious.

I finished my Hinkley spin, and continually annoy my husband by making him look at it and then yelling “I MADE IT” in his face. He is a patient man. I also spun some gray alpaca/silk (also from Marilyn, who is amazing). The fiber was so soft I would like to create a nest for myself out of it. I have no use for a personal nest, but I would do it anyway. I also plied some leftover singles into a random skein and I like it best of all. Go figure.

I hope you had a good week. If it is cold where you are, stay warm. If it is warm where you are, please step outside and feel the warm sun on your face for me.