Dear Ellen,
I’m sure you’ve heard about our big snow down here in the mid-atlantic. We thought our big snow day was last month when we got the 14 inches and got a day off. As it turns out, that was just the warm up act. Mother Nature definitely upped the ante the last few days. Right in our neighborhood 
we got about 18-20 inches, but they got up to 30 inches not very far from here. Today is a beautiful sunny day, but I think we are literally in so deep that the city may still be closed down on Monday. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for the extra day. As the Metro Rail system has not yet 
announced when it will reopen, my hopes do have some basis.
Dale and I spent a goodly amount of time shoveling to the point where I’m confident I can make it out if I need to.Remember the deck photos from last storm? You can see 
how much more we got this time with this side-by-side comparison. I am very glad that unlike the owner of this car, we are able to park both cars in the garage. He’s not going anywhere fast.
This little guy found a hiding place in a sheltered bush on our patio.
I have been hard at work trying to finish course assignments so I can declare my work on a Ph.D. complete. No, I haven’t completed the Ph.D., I just reached the point where I was very confident that my future plans do not include options that would be enhanced by having a Ph.D. so I am not going to finish it. Every examination of pros and cons tells me that after I hang up my uniform (2-5 years from now), I want to shift focus to family and the creative process so I’ve decided to recapture time that has been expended on keeping other doors open. Once I finish the current course, you may find I actually meet my commitments to things like correspondence and Twin Set Designs.
Speaking of designs, I did take your Handed Yes, Fingered No mitt pattern (have you seen how many folks have already made these?) and adapted it to make my first ever pair of mittens. Dale was rather convinced that as a sock knitter I should not be so pleased with myself for making mittens. (He’s certain socks are more challenging.) Nonetheless, I love my mittens and am rather surprised it took me this long to get around to them. I made them with 2 of the 5 balls of Mini Mochi that I had picked up a few months ago. Of course I had to do something with the remaining and decided to make up a beret pattern. No, I didn’t take notes, but might go back and recreate it as I’m pleased with the head band. It’s 2X1 ribbing with a row of eyelet and folded back on itself which gives it a nice semi-scalloped edge. Then on the inside I picked up and crocheted an inner band to keep it from getting stretched out of shape. The colors are very happy.
I’ve made progress on Sea Glass too. I’m at 6 and 1/2 repeats of the basketweave and think I’ll do an extra repeat for some added length. I love the Alpaca Lace yarn, such nice color play and it slips along the needle so smoothly. I’ll probably take a break on it during the Olympics though. I have lots of WIPs to wrestle and a shrug to frog and maybe a mini-shawl to finish up. As for WIPs, the Cinnamon Tee is on the list as are A Stitch Away from Genius and Not So Naive. 
Here’s the current state of Not So Naive. Lots to go there, but it knits very quickly, so I’m optimistic. A Stitch Away from Genius only needs buttons and some embroidery embellishment. Cinnamon Tee is just as I left it last summer. Quite a lot to do.
Hope your weekend has been a fun one.
Love, Jan
Anyway, the Vaqueros last week were yummy and kept me from feeling hungry until about 45 minutes later in the day. This week’s bean is Vallarta, a small white bean with a green undertone. It smells of fresh cut hay as you wash it before soaking. And it tastes like browned butter after cooking, with a texture perfect for baked beans - toothsome yet smooth, like a firm ganache.
In addition to cooking beans, I made some progress on Swedish Hawthorne yesterday, though competing events (aka Valentine’s Day) distracted me somewhat. I’m about 2/3 of the way through the colorwork. I’m trying to withhold judgment, but it is becoming clear to me that while the Kimmet Croft yarns are marvelously soft and fun to knit, the Bohus designs at this larger gauge just don’t work as well. We’ll see what blocking does…
And even though I was killed, my death came with some very nice socks in teals and blues. They were made by Raveler cfabrication. More pictures are 
Jan and Ellen are identical twins who have always had an innate fashion sense. Crafting is an integral part of their lives and they stay stitched together sharing their love of knitting, family and community.