Mittens and Forts

I would like to say that my absence from blog land has been filled with excitement and adventure, but in reality, it's been pretty mundane and filled with domestic splendor :) Cold temps and snow persuaded me to finally finish the pair of mittens that I started last December. I am also a little over half finished with my stripey Noro scarf. I didn't set out to make this scarf in the beginning. If I am remembering correctly, there are well over 3000 of these in existence per Ravelry. That said, I was gifted 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite from my SIL K a few years ago and thought it would be perfect for this project. So, last year sometime, I purchased the other 2 needed skeins for said scarf and CO for it this year. If the second half of the scarf is as long as the first, this little baby will end up being over 10 feet long before blocking. Perfect for my 5' frame don't you think :) As much as I hate k1p1 ribbing, this scarf is surprisingly fun to knit and very addicting. I can see why there are so many of these out there!

In the last week or so, I have also started working on a handful of projects for my friend J's upcoming Wizard of Oz club which will start in May I believe. I have one pattern finished, written up, and being test knit, the others are still in progress. Somewhere among all of that, a black and white pair of Toast was whipped up for my SIL A's recent birthday per her request :) She liked her greenish ones so much she wanted a pair she could wear while at work.

This snow has been good for one thing though, snow forts!The hubby constructed this particular snow fort with the aid of the minions last weekend while I was at work. It's melted down a bit thanks to a mini warm up, but the minions still think it is the greatest thing ever. It has been so cold lately that the minions haven't had much outdoor time. We all enjoyed a little fun in the snow this afternoon. Little man even informed me that "this is great packing snow"! Evidently, the hubby has been letting him in on some Winter-y secrets :) I think little miss and I might be in trouble.A few weeks ago now, the minions and I ventured over to my Grandma D's house so they could play with their cousin T. He was sleeping when we first arrived. It's hard to believe he's over a year old now!
I am very excited about this weekend. The 3rd Annual Des Moines Knit In is happening and I was lucky enough to be able to donate some of my hand dyed yarns to the cause :) 3 days, well almost 3 days, of yarn perusal, knitting time, socializing... It should be a good time. I'm having some difficulty deciding what to take with me to work on though. Is it better to have too much or too little...?

Here's a little evidence of our wee thaw, I'm sure it wont last long!