Just in time for winter

Here, and knitting, and making progress. Last night I finally finished the wip that I started in February 2012. A pair of fingerless mitts, knit in the sanquhar style on 1.5mm needles.

Finally done only five months late

These started as a knitters study group project way back in February 2012, there was some stopping and starting and frogging as I realized that to make these to fit me I would have to use teeny tiny knitting needles. The pattern is Compass Rose by Beth Brown Reinsel, and was for gloves, but I knit mine as fingerless mitts. The only way to size these is using smaller (or larger) needles and yarn. The thought of working ten digits on such small needles was beyond me. I love the gauge, 30 stitches in 2.5 inches, or 12 stitches to the inch ... But I don't like knitting at that gauge. Those teny tiny needles are just to hard to hang on to for any length of time. Now I just have to block and enjoy - and explain why they have last years date on them. Oh the signs of an optimistic knitter. Imagine thinking I could knit these in a mere 10 months? Now I know they need at least 15 months especially as I juggle several projects, I am easily distracted, and so I spin and do other things in my 'relax' time. Next time I should add the date to the second one not the first.
And you may have noticed the seasonal photo. We have snow, real falling and staying snow, early snow. Bear who is a repository of local weather lore keeps mentioning how we shouldn't get snow before Queens birthday weekend, which is this weekend. And here we have snow in late May. Little cub thinks this is just the best early birthday present.
Not only that but significant snow, still snowing after sun rise snow, schools closed for the day snow. That in itself is unusual as dunedin schools are so used to snow that melts mid morning that the usual response to snow is a delayed start of 10 am. Not today, the radio broadcast all primary schools are closed, and elder cubs secondary schools is as well. I am relieved that I don't have to navigate slippery icy roads to get him to school. That is one thing that makes me tense, driving on ice and compacted snow.
This is what we awoke to this morning, and I love that my 2011 birthday snow gate looks spectacular in the snow.

Snow gate 2013

Now I have only one unfinished languishing wip ... Tammy, even older than the 2012 mitts, as it dates from 2011.
Na Stella ...

Ps it is still snowing

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