Annie Knits: What a Difference a Day Makes...

Twenty-four little hours.

Yesterday? Snow, and no hole.

This morning? No snow, but cold... and a giant hole. More on this later.

Did I say cold?

Luckily, while we were away last week in Florida for Cardinal baseball spring training, I knit a scarf.

It's Brickless, by Martina Behm, in Madelinetosh Sock, Rhubarb colorway. The scarf is bright and airy, but warm. See that puffy coat? Not in the closet yet.

Brickless was my baseball knitting last week -- we attended three games plus batting practice. The pattern is interesting to knit, but I don't have to look at my hands much which qualifies the pattern to be baseball knitting. I'll make more of these.

There was lots of sitting in the Florida sun and knitting. That's my idea of a vacation.

We rented a beach house outside of Vero Beach, and there was literally no one else renting along our stretch of beach. At least not anyone who actually came down to sit on the beach. So I had the sharks (yes, I saw a largish -- at least 5 feet long -- black tipped shark amble past my beach chair) and the jellyfish ( lots of little clear lunch-baggie sized balloonish things with blue edges and tips which, it turns out, are the part of the Portuguese Man O'War jellyfish that floats on top of the water) all to myself. Yikes. Too cool to swim anyway -- mid 60's to low 70's. Lovely, actually.

At the baseball games, there was knitting...

And eating, ... (that's a fish taco that was yummy!)

And ogling... Mike Matheny is a great manager, yes, and he really appreciates fans -- he chatted up this kid and signed a ball for him ...

But you've gotta admit, that is one fine... manager. Hottest in baseball I think. : )

But enough about that... What else is going on in my world? The pool/patio referenced above. Today, the pool guys are installing the rebar that will reinforce the pool's walls. Good.

Also today, I'm working toward the shaping on one of my spring/summer knit along sweaters, Hitofude.

I'm using a laceweight hemp by Lucci yarns. It's very drapey and soft. The swatch on the right shows how this stuff blocks out... opens up beautifully. I kind of love it.

I'm knitting this sweater with needles that I do not love, however. The Signature interchangeable needles that I got relatives to get me for Christmas? Not happy at all. First of all? You have to buy cords by length and by needle size. In case you can't wrap your brains around that, it means that you buy size 5 tips and size 5 16", 24", and 32" cords that can only be used with size 5 tips... Now, I don't mind expensive tools and I love my fixed Signature needles. The middy point is a perfect fit for my knitting style. The interchangeables come unscrewed very easily though, as you hand tighten them, and this hemp is constantly catching in the ever widening join. Boo.

I sent the Signature folks an email about this exact issue and got back a lovely letter saying that discontinuing their fixed needles and offering only interchangeable needles is what their customer base has asked for. Chopped liver over here... I politely responded that I won't buy them again until I can get the fixed version. Boo again.

Reading today: The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle ( Michael Crichton meets Dan Brown scifi conspiracy thriller about how the increasing incidence of autism is the harbinger for an evolutionary leap for humans the likes of which we haven't seen for 50,000 years... so fun!)

Watching today: Shameless season finale.

Finally, a gratuitous dog picture. While we dig the hole, Bacon and Monte have been relegated to the west side of the house. Doggie sad face.