Extravayarnza

The weather took a nasty turn over the weekend. We have near freezing temperatures, wind gusts up to 40+ mph, and patches of rain that's closing in on becoming a frozen mess. However no matter how bad the weather gets you can almost always find some redemption...

Like a sudden Rainbow between storms, a brilliant arch of color and blue in an otherwise black sky~

or maybe some whiskers on kittens~

how about a puppy basking in a moment of sunlight?

Unfortunately I couldn't get a clear picture of Trent & Robin eating out of the same dish this morning. They really have started to become good friends.

I'm zipping through my Brennan Cardigan at an almost embarrassing speed. Yesterday I knit the first of 4 diagonal rib panels. I was a little worried about how it would fit into the back (it looked way too small and funny shaped to fit), so rather than starting on the other back panel I did a bit of seaming.

Luckily it fit like a glove!
I also finished up the sleeves during Camelot.
Now I just need to knit one more rib panel for the back, then both fronts, and finally a ton of ribbing for the button band & collar.

I finally got inspired last night to knit up my mittens for the No Humdrum Mitten Swap. This is the second winter I've done a mitten swap & I'm really hoping for better results this time around. Last time I made a fabulous pair of colorwork mittens & receive mittens that I was very allergic to and that we're way too big. I kept telling myself that I'd just knit myself another pair of mittens like the ones I sent, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Now we've come to another mitten swap & I think things are much more hopeful this time around. My partner has contacted me, I've let her know about my allergies, and she seems quite nice. Yet, I've once again fallen in love with the mittens I'm knitting for my pal.

I'm unfortunately going to have to call this one a test mitten, or very accurate gauge swatch. They're way too small. Too small for me even & I have child like tiny hands. So it's back to the drawing board to rechart the back of the hand with quite a few more stitches & back to the trenches to reknit that darn 2 color ribbing.

I also woke up to snow this morning. Tiny flakes just occasionally floating down. Robin seemed very amused by the snow when we went out this morning.

This cold snap & cloud cover has however, been setting the scene for some amazing sunsets!

I have a new pattern almost ready to be released!

Meet Delphine~

And her twin~

The crazy thing is I posted the pattern page up on Ravelry about an hour ago (with a note that the pattern will be available soonish) and it's already been added to 2 queues. That's so wild!

So here's the details,
Delphine Mittens are written for 2 different gauges, DK and Aran weight yarn.

DK version:
Sample uses Debbie Bliss Rialto and Mirasol Hacho
Size 3 double point needles
7sts per inch over stockinette colorwork

Aran version:
Sample uses Debbie Bliss Railto Aran and Socks That Rock Heavyweight
Size 5 double point needles needles
6sts per inch over stockinette colorwork

This pattern would be a great first colorwork project. You never use the same color for more than 5 stitches in a row so floats are less of an issue, plus the palm pattern is pretty mindless.
Each mitten will probably take only a couple of evenings to knit.

I'm super excited about this pattern! The charts are done and the written instructions are roughed out. I just need to finesse things and finish the second mitten. Then the pattern can be released.

My only problem is these eyes keep following me distracting me from my work...

That and the now daily trips to the new dog park right by my house. I love that there is a dog park now within walking distance. It's got nothing on the big park across town, but it certainly gets Robin tired out so I can work.

Minor Setback...

I'm now the proud owner of 4 right hand mittens...

I might need to fix that.

Okay it's pretty much official now!

Rae's Yarn Boutique is moving.

I just had the commitment papers on the loan to purchase our new building dropped off. We're now just waiting for the appraisal and then we can close.

That's such a big weight off my shoulders.

Now I'm just going to go off and enjoy the beautiful sun shiny day with a stupid grin on my face...