Snowy City Adventure

Hello, friends! Last week I drove down to New York to spend time with my mom for her birthday. As you may know,  New York got completely pounded with snow, and I was basically stuck inside her condo for the weekend. Thanks a lot, Jonas. I am so, SO thankful I brought plenty of knitting with me to pass the time.

The storm started on Friday night, just as we were heading to bed, and we woke up to a winter wonderland on Saturday. There was lots of tea, television, and knitting! While the snow was piling up outside, I parked myself on the couch and finished my Downton Farewell socks. I am completely in love with them!

They are just as cozy as they look! The Hedgehog Fibres Sock yarn is (as always) a joy to work with. Though the yarn can be just a smidge splitty, using fairly sharp metal needles (I was using my Addi Turbos) avoided any serious splitting. The fabric is fantastic, and the colorway could not be more perfect for this pattern. They really are gorgeous- and a wonderful first pair of socks for 2016. They also weighed in at 77 grams, so I added a respectable 21 points to my Winter Camp running total. Go me! I can't stop staring at them. I feel like I could dine with Lord and Lady Grantham while wearing these!

After I finished up the Downton Farewell socks, I had to fill the sock shaped void in my knitting- pronto! I started my friend Jessica's Pedi Socks. She requested a pair of toeless socks to wear with flip-flops (don't judge- wait for it!) for winter pedicures. Brilliant!

You'd be amazed at how quickly I cranked this out- not knitting toes sure is a time saver! After seeing this finished sock, I decided I'm going to knit a pair of these for myself- they're so cute! Jess wanted black socks, but I don't have ANY black yarn in my stash, so she chose this beautiful turquoise blue Oink Pigments Oink Sock yarn from my stash. The color is really stunning! I hope I have enough left over to work into my cozy memories blanket.

After being stuck indoors over the weekend, my sister and I decided to venture out into the urban tundra with Atticus and headed to the American Museum of Natural History. It was, how can I put this, an adventure. I grew up in NYC, but left long before thoughts of navigating the subway with a stroller ever crossed my young and carefree mind. Folks, don't do it. Just don't. Especially not after a blizzard. Lesson learned. Though, once we were safely inside the museum, it was a good time. Atticus enjoyed touching EVERYTHING, and he really loved seeing the dinosaur bones- as evident from this gratuitous selfie.

I'm pretty sure he was brainstorming the ways he could escape my grasp and go climb this thing, but fortunately I was onto his schemes. It's amazing how exhausting a trip ANYWHERE with a toddler can be, even a laid back place like the museum. At least I slept well that night.

A successful (read: nothing got destroyed) trip to the museum called for a reward for mommy, and we were just a couple of blocks away from Knitty City... You know how I roll by now. Treat yo self! I showed surprising restraint (for me) and only got two hanks of yarn.

I grabbed this breathtaking hank of Julie Asselin Stella in the colorway A Glass of Bubbly. It's so sparkly! Plus, it matched my nailpolish, so home it came.

This color is a very pale, golden peachy pink- almost rose gold, and very hard to capture- like the inside of a sea shell. It's also incredibly metallic (16% to be exact), so it twinkles like nobody's business! I can't wait to knit with this- but I have to find the perfect pattern first- something really dazzling.

I also picked this colorful hank of Madeline Tosh Twist Light in Electric Rainbow. I've never tried Twist Light, but from the squish factor I can already tell I'm going to like it! And the colors- the glorious colors! Just look at that rainbowy goodness!

This will be ideal for the Suburban Stitcher Rainbowalong next month. It definitely adheres to the "must make you RIDICULOUSLY & SHAMELESSLY happy while you are knitting it" rule! I really think it will make an extraordinary pair of socks- maybe another pair of Monkeys.

I also have to plan out my February Winter Camp projects. The bonus points next month will be awarded for neck items (shawls, cowls, scarves) knit in red, orange, or pink. One of the featured designers is Megan Sanders (who I am a HUGE fan of, as you may already know), so I may finally knit up Carrie- I just have to decide on a suitable yarn. I have LOTS of pink in my stash, so that's what I'm leaning towards- but I may be inspired by something totally different. We shall see!

I shall leave you with this image which captures my NYC moment of zen. Thank you, Doughnut Plant, I'll be back!

This unbelievably delicious square delicacy was a vanilla bean and blackberry jam filled donut- and it lasted approximately 5 seconds before it was in my belly! Worth every single calorie. Yum!

Until next time- happy making my pretties!