Here’s what the Great Blizzard of 2015 looks like from my home office today:

Blustery!

The nice thing about my job is that I can more or less do it from wherever there is a computer with internet/network access. However, that means I don’t really get snow days, I get ‘work from home’ days. At least I’m still in my PJs, right? And I’m honestly just grateful that I don’t need to be out in that mess.

Overdyed Cypress vest, inching towards the finish line.

Here’s a small mess I had to tackle this morning. I knit on my vest all weekend long, racing through the neckline decreases, feeling the possibility of finishing this thing inching ever nearer… only to discover when I reread the directions that I was supposed to change the rate of decrease about halfway through the neckline before reaching the shoulder shaping. Rip, rip, rip. Luckily, I only had to rip back about 3″ of knitting and with all of the decreases there really aren’t too many stitches on the needle right now (benefit of knitting in pieces vs. in the round!). It’ll be a bit of a stretch to finish this by part three of my birthday celebration this Saturday, but I’m still harboring hope. If I can finish the front and block the pieces today, I can seam tomorrow night, and hopefully whiz through the armhole and neckline ribbing and tubular bind-offs (because tubular bind-offs are ever so speedy — ha!). And then, of course, we’ll all have to keep our fingers crossed that the thing actually fits.

My first Plucky

I’m remaining focused on my vest, but my newest yarn acquisition is begging to be knit. I acquired this lovely grey-with-the-slightest-hint-of-teal skein of Plucky Bello Fingering (55% Merino, 45% cashmere) specifically to knit Thea Colman’s Black Tea hat design. I handled the sample at the Knitting Weekend (part one of my birthday celebrations) and fell in love. The luxurious yarn is held double and the cables stand out nicely even while the fabric is covered in a delicate halo from the cashmere. I fiercely coveted the hat, so I hunted down the yarn and now can’t wait to get started. It will be my post-vest prize, other knitting goals be damned (I’m the worst at plans).

The Breakers

Splendor

The mansion’s namesake

View from the water

Details, details

My sweetie

My parents

Our amazing desserts

Speaking of the weekend, my parents came up to celebrate part two of my birthday extravaganza. We saw John Oliver perform at the Foxwoods casino (I’ve never heard anyone utter the phrase ‘like a menstruating snail’ in my entire life, but it was hilarious. Go see him, he’s genius.) and managed not to lose too much money. The next day we headed to The Breakers, the ‘summer cottage’ of the ridiculously rich Vanderbilts in Newport, RI. It was gorgeous. There’s a whole string of such mansions to check out, if you’re so inclined. (There were people surfing in the water, btw. Crazy!) Then we headed to an excellent Irish pub and ate the hell out of some whisky-and-Bailey’s-infused desserts. Well worth the caloric indulgence, I’d say.

Last day of the sale! Click for shop.

I’ll leave you with a wee reminder that today’s the last day of my 30% off birthday sale at Sweet Sheep.

Are you experiencing a snow day? How are you spending your time?