We got a snow-storm a-coming

That's big news around here.  The last time I saw it snow was probably December 2011...maybe 2010?  I can't remember actually.  It was December and David was on the coast and I went outside and took pics of snow on the palm tree.

I'll never get that picture again "thanks" to the tornado, oh well.  I'll be sure to post pics when I do get them though...they think the business will start in earnest tomorrow morning.  I'm actually kind of excited.

(and those of you who knew me when I lived in Kentucky know this isn't normal for me...to be excited about snow...)

I did spend a good bit of the weekend working on my Dragonfly Cowl. I'm laughing at my overly optimistic self of last week that thought I'd finish it on Sunday.  ha!

Colorwork is slow going.  Even if I could knit with two hands, and I can't, I'd have to keep rechecking my pattern...and I'm no good if I have to carry on a conversation while doing it...or listen to a book...or watch tv.  Or even be distracted by Pearl.  I did mention concern that I might not finish because of past mishaps...and not wanting to be stressed or frustrated...

Well, I did make it just shy of half-way.

You can see the bottoms of the wings taking shape.  I do love the look of this yarn. It's so pretty and rich and very soft.  And of course, it's all kind of gorgeous  knitted up like this.  I will persevere and finish...I do know that.  This is definitely what the yarn should be.  A beautiful cowl in dragonflies.

In order to help myself get through the pattern, I decided that I needed to call upon a strategy that I used back when I used to cross stitch.  I'd keep my place in the pattern by marking out the pieces that I'd finished.  I used to be creative and get different colored pencils each day so that the final pattern had a unique look to it too.  What i decided to do with the knitted version is mark in the white squares with the blue pencil on my first pass through the repeat and then red on my second.  It has allowed me to keep track of where I am, get back to it if I have to take a quick break, AND provide a really quick realization when I'm on the wrong row (which did happen).

After this point, I also decided that marking the numbers along the side will help me keep myself on track and make sure that I'm going back to or up on row when needed.

And because I know everyone wants to see the inside of the colorwork...here it is.

I'm working really hard to keep my tension even, but I'm not perfect at it.  I'm also working really hard and making sure that my purple yarn goes to the left when I'm finished knitting with it and the green to the right.  This way I keep them from getting tangled and making a miserable mess of my yarn ends.

And because it's really hard to resist...here is Pearl trying to distract me.  She's very good at distraction, in case you're wondering.