Snow Day!

Caution, picture heavy!

Hello!

Today, I got a snow day! I called off work after finding out that The Ohio State University had canceled classes! Here's a lovely example of what was happening this morning:




The snow died down around noon, but there's over a half foot of the stuff out there now. Crazy!

One of my snow day activities was to try out this 5 Minutes a Day for fresh baked bread. I made the basic Boule recipe, only a smaller amount because I only had one packet of yeast. Lucky you, I was a good blogger and took pictures along the way!

Here's the dough rising:



And in loaf form:

Post baking:

Pre-enjoyment:

The bread has a really nice, chewy texture and a good crust. As you can probably tell, I did half whole wheat flour, because I'm not a huge fan of plain white bread. I'd highly recommend trying this. There's enough dough for 2 more loaves in my fridge. They'll acquire a nice sour-dough flavor the longer they hang out in the fridge (less than 2 weeks, though). I think this bread will become a part of my weekly routine.

Something else I worked on was the sleeve for my Owl sweater. Yes, I cast on another project. I saw this sweater on SweetP's blog and decided that was what my Cascade ecowool from the Wndowpane Coat wanted to be.

I am, however modifying it so that it will be a zipper cardigan instead of a pullover. I'm also adding owls to the sleeves:



I'm almost done with sleeve #1. I'll cast on #2 tomorrow maybe. The owl is a little hard to see. There's a column of purl stitches on both sides of him that are visible when I'm wearing it but are recessed in the picture.



A few days ago I finished Fidget, and bought some buttons from Heavenly Creations for it. I absolutely love it and have worn it several times.


Fidget:



Specs:
Yarn: Elisabeth Lavold Silky Flamme', Alpaca/Silk/Merino blend (Fab!)
Pattern: The Fidget by Robin Dodge
Mods: I changed the button and button hole placement. Instead of yarn overs for the button holes, I bound off 3 sts and then cast them on for the next row.
Thoughts: I love the twisted moss stitch! It makes a cushy fabric, and I like the way it looks with the thick/thin of the Silky Flamme'.



I was also planning on sharing the saga of the Chur Relic-Purse with you today (along with a picture), but I'm not particularly in the blogging mood and I have a few other things to attend to, so perhaps tomorrow!

Snow

There's something so beautiful about fresh snow. It's clean and white, and in my current case, fluffy. I covers everything indiscriminately, blanketing the city with its encompassing whiteness. I especially love how snow-covered trees look. In their stark and barren state they are once again made something beautiful by the white fluff that rests on their branches, the dark underside drawing a stark contrast. If a tree or bush does happen to have leaves they get much the same effect, although with slightly more mountainous mounds of snow because of their cup-like structure.

Did you ever notice how snow creates a quiet, even in the city? I was walking home and enjoying the fat white snowflakes piling up on the houses and trees and even cars, and doing so in a quiet enjoyment (except for those blasted snow-blowers!). The sounds of the city are muffled. The car engines and sounds of traffic are distant and you can even imagine that you're in a different place. A snow muffled walk home is beautiful, if slightly eerie.


Hoping you stay cozy,
Me