Migratory Patterns of the American Snowbird

Tax Day (April 15) usually marks the high point of the northward migration of the American Snowbirds. For those not familiar with the migratory patterns of the American Senior Citizens, retirees living in the North states (and many Canadians too) escape the gelid winter snows by flocking south to the lovely warm weather of Florida, Arizona and Nevada, to name a few. Come Spring, when the weather becomes too hot or humid, they flock back north. You can always tell, because the average speed in the busy Phoenix roads gets about 10 miles faster :)
There are still a few short weeks before the weather hits 100F (40 C) and some local TV station shows a picture of somebody frying eggs in the car hood. This is a good time to empty the WIP drawer and try to finish the projects you definitely don't want to work on during summer!

And here are the contents... scary!!!

Right off the bat, I can pick out the infamous red afghan and the large white Mansweater. They are a load of Alpaca blends, and the thought of having them over my knees in summer makes me break in a sweat.

Most of the rest is lace weight or smaller projects, and the bulk of it are swatches of future projects.




So I spent most of yesterday with some large caffeinated drink power-knitting the blanket while watching the TIVO-ed Runway Project marathon. Gotta TIVO it, it has about 15 minutes of commercial per hour! (As an aside, I have managed to turn my husband to the Dark Side and watch America Next Top Model, but Project Runway is still a no-no. Of course, he is easily persuaded to watch lovely young girls rather than mostly gay men...).

And thus I came to the realization that the blanket, however lovely, needs a bit "wow" factor - otherwise it is just a large rectangular Aran throw. And I decided to go ahead with adding a sideways border. Inspired by the gorgeously constructed Yggdrasil Afghan, which has concentric layers of sideways and outward knitting. And here is a swatch of the border, not quite there yet, I needed to change the proportions on the mitered corner chart. But you get the gist of it.

And I have finished the body of the afghan! YAY!!!

Sorry, no news this week about the triangular shawl, but it is still in good shape. Unfortunately, it is morphing as we speak. One reader made the comment that she wishes it could be adapted to larger sizes, and that brought about a whole re-do of the first section, and it actually may become TWO shawls, one for easier knitting, the other more complicated. AND, I found some lovely pure silk for it... but that's for next time.

I am not the only one powering through projects before the hot weather. The husband's transformation of the side yard is well under way

But let's not talk about the rest of the yard....

That thing behind the tree is a cement mixer that we actually own, as my husband pet projects usually involve mixing cements (and lately, staining it too). Two days ago, there was an actual Bobcat  he had rented, to the delight of the kids that took turns riding on it. Of course Mom was not at home.

Here is the Yarn Porn of the week:

It is Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in their one-time Cotton Stainer colorway. I actually expected more red, but it is quite pink. I could probably be persuaded to part with it for the right trade, since pink is definitely not one of my colors

This is Schaeffer's Audrey - yummy silk/merino single ply lace weight, and a generous skein. It is this season's Year of Lace delivery. To my chagrin, I like neither the colorway nor the pattern, so I can also be persuaded to part with this one. However, I do love the yarn, the feel of it is unbelievably soft and I believe I would love it in a different colorway. My complexion and pastels just don't go along.

Remember this guy? It is an attempt at knitted Amigurumi in frog shape. I have been planning a different head shape, and I also want to give it some clothes... a hot pink dress maybe? It is made with light worsted weight BFL leftovers on size 1 tiny DPNs to make it tight and nice, and it is barely key chain size. Great fun to make! I did write down the pattern as I was going and maybe I will release it when it is refined properly.

AND.. The Scrublets pattern is finally up in the KnitPicks site. And the samples are home just in time for a girlfriend's baby shower. All is good.

Next FrogBlog we will cover a little review of some yummy pure silk for knitting, more news on the shawl, and a little bit on the upcoming May monthly pattern!!!