16 degrees F this morning according to the radio!

Yikes! and it isn’t even, technically, winter yet!

Its mornings like this that make me glad my hobby involves WOOL! And makes me wish I could knit faster! I have a list of things I want to make for myself in addition to all the holiday knitting, but I won’t get to do much of it until after the gifts are finished. The exception I plan to make is for knitting the hat that I want. I need a new one anyway and with the weather getting so cold I really should be wearing one!

Things I want to knit:

Angora/Merino Fair Isle Beret in Navy and White (spinning yarn now)

Leg Warmers! (hey, they are making a comeback ;)
A long, warm cardigan for work

An Alice Starmore Sweater from Fisherman’s sweater book, though I haven’t decided yet which one.

New mittens

Cable scarf & hat set

Things I need to knit:

Secret project #4

Secret project #5

Angora/Merino Hat for MIL

LB Shawl for Gram

Mittens for Dad

Dune Shawl

And I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, but I can’t remember what!

I’ve discovered another benefit of being a knitter/spinner. I was sitting at home last night, watching Law & Order reruns and taking some measurements on the angora/merino blend to decide if I had enough to ply up the first skein when the power went out. First it sort of blinked out for a few seconds and came back on, like it was testing or joking or something. Then it just went out.

After gathering up some candles and placing them in places were furry tails wouldn’t be an issue, I managed to get enough light to see pretty well and I was able to continue on with what I was doing, sans Law & Order. I managed to ply a 2.75 oz skein of the yarn, which should be enough for one color, while the power was out. Not knowing what caused it I couldn’t be sure when it would come back on. I did check on my MIL, upstairs, to be sure she was okay. She said her other son was coming to get her if the power wasn’t back on by 10 pm and asked if I wanted to go too. I decided to stay home either way, since DH was at work and someone should stay with the dog and cats, besides even if the heat were out all night, with 2 humans, 1 large dog and 2 cats all piled into a king size bed, how cold could it really be? ;)

The power did come back on after something like an hour and a half or 2 hours. I’d missed Gilmore Girls by then, but at least I was still able to work on something. Nice to have some very low tech hobbies that aren’t dependant on electricity!

Here are the stats for the yarn I’m working on:

Angora/Merino blend, 1 pure strand of each plied lightly

Gauge: 7 st. to 1″ on size 3 needles

2000 yds to a lb on yarn balance

I’m figuring something like 2.5 to 3 oz of each of the two colors to knit the 2 hats I’m planning. Of course, I can always whip up some more white if I need it ;)

Well, lots to do today so I’ve got to get back.