I went out to the mail box this morning and it was -5 degrees F. Hello, January!

On Monday, my dh went out and broke some cross country ski trails around our property. We got some second hand skis a couple of years ago to try, but this is the first year the weather has been good for it. Yesterday was the first time I went out. It was fun, but hard going, since we got what looked like 6 inches of powder on top of the trail since it was last used. By the weekend, the weather is suposed to warm up, so I think I will enjoy being outside more then.

I recently got Cat Bordhi's book New Pathways for Sock Knitters and I knitted a sample Coriolis sock out of some worsted weight wool that I dyed in my "Cool Pool" colorway. It is baby sized. I am excited to start a grown-up sock with the pink/red yarn in the photo. I have until I finish knitting some mittens to decide for sure which socks I want to try. The book explores ways of knitting socks that place the increases at places around the foot other than those traditionally used. It makes for some interesting socks. I hate knitting socks with traditional gusssets because I strongly dislike picking up stitches. I can do it, but it is certainly not my favorite thing to do!

To the right is my new version of the mittens I started back awhile ago. This version is much closer fitting, with a very boring "lice" pattern. Winter is here, my old gloves have a hole in them, and I refuse to buy new ones from the store. I need something I can finish quickly, so I didn't want to take the time to work out something that had to be centered, etc. I wanted to knit with two colors because winters here are very cold. I think I will have enough yarn for these. The yarn is some beautiful handspun that I got from Holly during the Spin-to-Knit exchange last year.

I hope everyone is having a great new year. Now that the Holidays are over, I am hoping to finish some projects that I have been putting off, and get some serious knitting time in!