I’ve noticed that recently I’m focusing most on warmer weather tasks. It’s nice to focus on the May retreat and working in neon.

Warmer Weather Colors – Working in Neon

Yes, I am definitely doing some frigid-weather tasks. Shoveling snow, for instance is something both Thaddeus and I are kind of enjoying. We’re obviously also bundling up warmly anytime we go out and making sure our guest bathroom pipes don’t freeze up.

But as I was taking photos for today’s blog entry, I realized how tropical these neon colors were. Working with them is almost like using a light-therapy lamp. The bright colors have been very satisfying and comforting during the recent darker days.

I’ve also been doing a lot of work in preparation for the Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat in May. Just looking at photos from prior years makes me realize Spring is right around the corner. Easton Mountain in mid-to-late May is such a perfect time (usually). Often I can even use the pool and enjoy sitting out in nature enjoying a nice cigar. Working on spreadsheets and website updates isn’t quite the same thing. But it puts me in that frame of mind.

One last, personal thing I’ll note about the Winter this year. I find that I’m tolerating the cold much better than usual. With this latest spate of frigid temperatures, I’m very grateful for this recent change in tolerance.

Readers’ Comments/Questions

Regarding the Melt the ICE Hat, Leslie writes:

“When I first saw this pattern I thought that this would be a great use for a CSM with all that 1:1 ribbing. I take it I’m wrong since you didn’t crank out a few instances of the ribbing to use for this and for any future hats. In fact, you could sell the ribbing to those of us who do want to knit the hat but are not crazy about 1:1 rib. The money (after expenses) could go to a worthy cause.”

It’s possible that I could do ribbing on the sock machine using DK weight yarn. But the number and length of the stitches would have to be manipulated and fudged a bit. My machine has a fixed number of needles (either 80 or 100) which means I’m limited in terms of how many stitches I could knit in ribbing to 80 or 100 stitches. My hat used 108 stitches, so I could potentially rib 6-9 inches of 1×1 ribbing using the 100 needle cylinder and then increase the number of stitches when I start the crown. But I’m not sure the small gauge of the 100 cylinder needles could handle a DK weight yarn. And I’m also not sure I could increase the stitch length to make the cuff of the hat big enough on the machine. Overall, it would probably be easier to just knit the miles of 1×1 ribbing by hand.

Fred also writes:

“As a Continental knitter, moving from knit to purl repeatedly is not that big of a deal; might you try that for ribbing, Joe?”

I can do Continental and tried it with this hat. But it feels uncomfortable and I usually end up switching to my old way within three or four stitches. One of these days, I’ll force myself to continue Continental knitting until it gets comfortable. Tom also notes he uses combination ribbing which makes it easier. I would have to agree with this. My hat ribbing was done entirely in combination ribbing which both looks better and is slightly easier.

Current Cranking/Knitting

First of all, I went back to my Neon Striped Thermal Crochet Hat project.

My plans are to make it slightly longer than the first thermal crochet hat I just finished. So here’s how much more I need to crochet.

So this project is moving right along.

I also grafted the toes and wove in the ends on the neon yellow CSM socks.

The dark line around the heel happens because of the sock machine. It’s sooty oil that comes off on the stitches while the needles are taken out of service. It washes out easily, so I never fret about it. But you can see how these socks could make even a Winter-hater like me feel a little warmth.