Cabin Fever

Well we finally had some snow here!  I know, I know, if you are living in one of the colder ares of the country you probably are sick and tired of the snow that has been inundating most of the country.  The forecasters have been promising snow for weeks now and Monday they predicted a blizzard.  Growing up in Maine when the forecasters call for a blizzard we knew to get prepared.  Here in Virginia preparation is still good, but not quite to the extreme that is called for elsewhere.  Are you ready to see the massive amount of snow that we got?

Yup, that's grass sticking up through the snow there.  If you look carefully you can see the nearly bare street in front of our house.  I took this picture early in the morning and by lunchtime most of the snow had melted. 

It has been pretty cold here over the past couple of weeks.  I'm taking full advantage of being inside for most of the day by working on some projects.  There is a really great tutorial from Martha Stewart on how to make Felted Knitting Baskets from old wool sweaters.  I had saved a sweater that had shrunk when I washed it to use for craft projects and decided to give this a go.  I tossed it in the washer with hot water and a little Dawn.  After it dried, I followed Martha's directions and voila!

That's Best Worsted from Indieway Yarns in Howlin' Wolf on the left, I'll be Home for Christmas in the center, Black Currant in the very back and a skein of Gnome Acres fingering in Aquaman peeking out on the right (that was from Andy for Christmas because I had a crush on Aquaman when I was a kid).

The basket was so easy and fun to make that I headed over to Goodwill to see if they had any wool sweaters that could work for another one.  I wound up finding two in the men's section for $3.75 each!  I felted both of them and have already turned one into a basket.

I put them on the shelf in the living room for now.  Eventually when the yarn/craft room/office is organized they will go in there. 

I have a couple of new designs that will be coming out very soon.  Margi just finished test knitting Scrowl and it will be released next Friday (1/31).  It's knit up in Shalimar Yarns Edie Aran and only takes two skeins.  It's a very versatile accessory and can be worn as a cowl, wrap, and a scarf!

I finally figured out a name for the socks in Peppino!  I'm calling it: Frostwork.  Margi and Andi are test knitting it and the release date is February 21.

 The other upcoming release will be Spark.  It's knit up in Shalimar Yarns Enzo Worsted and will be part of the ShaliMarch celebration.  Beth is test knitting it and it will be released in late February. Spark takes about 200 yards of the main color and 70 yards of each contrasting color.

I finished up the handspun sweater and I am so happy with it!  After shopping around at a couple craft stores, I wound up finding the ribbon for the button band at JoAnn's.  I know it's a little glitzy as an accent for natural yarn, but I couldn't resist it.

I'm really pleased with the way it fits.  It's also super warm and very soft.  There is really nothing that compares to wool.  I love the way it feels, the natural warmth of it and the weight of it too.  I have an entralac throw that I knitted a few years ago from two Jacob fleeces. It's my go to wrap in the evenings when it's cold out.

To finish up, here are a couple of skeins that I recently spun.  The fiber is from Rivers Edge Fiber Arts.

The one on the left is Wild Berry Pie in Out of Oz. And the one on the right is Wine Festival in The Monkeys Uncle.

Can you tell I have had a little too much time on my hands and maybe a little too much time by myself?  At least I have put it to good use!