Winter Weekend

If you know me at all, you know that I’m not a big fan of winter. Lately, since we’ve moved out to PEC, I’ve begun to think a little differently about it (not that I like it any better, you understand). In the city, you’ve simply got to be out in it. You walk a lot. You spoil your boots with salty slush and drag the nasty stuff into your car and your house. Not so here in the hinterland. I’ve learned that, if the weather is inclement, it’s best just not to go outdoors. It works a treat! This past weekend was an exception. It was a lovely warm weekend that melted about 40% of the dreadful snowfall we got last week and it was a weekend that brought me a tremendous lot of fun! It involved two new knitting projects, several trips out-of-doors and PIE 😉

Having finished my Flying Geese Cowl last week and considering how much I enjoyed it, I’ve cast on another colorwork project. This time I chose an offering from one of my favorite Queens of Colorwork, Mary Ann Stephens. The Amaryllis Hat is proving to be extremely satisfying and I am loving the colors I’ve chosen, all of which are from stash. (Points for me!) I threw caution to the wind and decided to work the brim facing in red. I had my doubts for a moment but I overcame them and I’m glad I did.

I’ve had a sweater length of Rowan Felted Tweed on hand for about a year. I bought it with a specific project in mind, but recently got inspired in another direction. During the swatching process, I noticed the lovely airy quality this yarn takes on when worked at a slightly looser gauge; a simple, light, garter-edged cardigan began to take shape in my mind. I’m nearly at the separation point in its top-down construction.

On Saturday afternoon, we ventured off to Picton to the Creative Rural Minds meeting/lecture. It was our first time dropping in on this great event which seeks to present networking opportunities and exciting new ideas about how to live and work creatively here in the County. The best part was running into Chris from Cake Tin Hats who generously allowed me to knit away on one of her wrist warmers during the presentations 😉 (Btw…Chris has just recently opened her Etsy shop which is quickly filling up with gorgeous wet felted hats.) We followed this up by dropping in to Books & Company where I picked up this:

My recent attempts to watch calories have been dampening Carl’s pie-eating progress. He made mention of it just before I left for N.O tucked inside a deep sigh <sigh will we ever have pie again sigh>. I made this for him (haha) on Sunday having  bought a big bag of Spartan apples grown in Georgian Bay. They were delicious and utterly perfect for pie. Apple pie and Downton Abbey rounded out a really sweet winter weekend.