Anticipating... the arrival of virtual-visit Covid tests.

Celebrating... my mother, and what would have been her 84th birthday on the 31st.

Enjoying... my sister's visit! It's been so fun having her family all so close by, able to walk over for a visit or to have dinner, swinging around the corner to pick her up on the way to the store. They've been back & forth between here & Madison a few times... tomorrow they head back down there, and we won't see them again until summer. They are flying back to Lima a week from today.

Hoping... just... holding on and HOPING! Y'know that the end finally comes into view.

Knitting... I've been quite lackadaisical about knitting/crocheting all month. Recovering from holiday hoopla. Enjoying my sister & family. Being quiet.

I am in the process of ripping a couple of rounds of the border on Hexi Love... maybe all the way to the beginning. I'm just not happy with it, so I'll keep doing it until I am. It would be nice to have that project finished, though (so close).

I'm not doing the actual knitting yet, but I have been deep into planning a Temperature Blanket project (whenever I find a spare minute)!

Those are spreadsheets with hi/lo temperatures for each of us (from birthdate to first birthday, in the location where we were at the time), a simple sketch/worksheet, a not-to-scale mock up on paper, and Rusty's chart and row-by-row instructions.

The idea is a 12" x 60" panel for each of us with hi/lo temps for each day. It'll be garter stitch, so two rows/one ridge for each day, with a little bit of intarsia -- the curving line represents hours of day/night. Rusty was born in Southern California the day after Christmas, so his "day/night" chart is close to symmetrical. I was born in Milwaukee and lived most of my first year in Escanaba, MI, so mine is a little different. The girls are basically all the same, with their birthdays falling between April 16-25; the temperature/color is where differences will be interesting! Kate represents the Oregon Coast, and Ali & Maddy are NE Wisconsin. They'll be sewn together in the end, probably with Rusty & me flanking the girls. But we shall see. There's a lot of knitting to do -- but the data already exists, so I am not limited by current/future events.

Inspired by a bunch of people:

• Cara/January One, the most creative, colorful, obsessive (in a good way) knitter/crocheter I am lucky to know (and who is giving a talk on this subject next month on VOGUE KNITTING LIVE!), and author of A Temperature Project on Modern Daily Knitting.
• MDK! Kay is doing her own inspiring temperature blanket projects (garter stitch FTW), and it was a post by Ann that I found Stitch Fiddle, which is invaluable in planning my project.
• And Tara, because THIS BLANKET (Rav link) is just the bomb!!!

So those are my rainbow-y colors, above; Rowan Felted Tweed (mainly because I already have at least one ball of each color, and dye lots are not going to matter if/when I need more) for a large garter stitch throw; coldest (-19F) on bottom left, warming as you move right and follow around to the top row and hottest (97F) on top left.

Looking forward to... 85°F (or so) and a week in Puerto Rico soon. I'd booked this vacation back in September when things were looking pretty good for travel, and PR was an "easy" destination. Omicron changed that, however, and now PR requires a negative Covid test within 48 hours of arrival, and I've been getting increasingly worried about securing said test. I stopped at Walgreens last night to talk about it... and learned that they'd administered their last in-stock test yesterday morning, tests are now on back order and they have no idea of delivery. GREAT (not!). At least we won't have to test to return (knock on wood!).

Needing... to find a travel project that is more portable than a rainbow blanket! I am thinking socks for Viv, but I know me... and I'm going to need more than one project, even if I actually work on neither!

Organizing... my workroom/office (always!) is a complete disaster. But at some point in the near future, I will be removing/archiving all of the coffee shop bookkeeping/records, and that will give me room (even if it's just head space).

Planning... a trip to Denver with Kate at the end of April! She'll be here for a couple of weeks April-May, and she just told me this morning that she's been approved for an even longer vacation in July -- when Maddy & Viv plan to be here, as does Ann & fam! A regular ol' reunion in the works!! (Can we adopt the UK vacation/leave policies please???)

Reading... I've been as lackadaisical about reading as I have about knitting/crocheting.

Sewing... I'm not sewing anything yet, but when I saw this fabric at Target the other day -- on a pair of knit bellbottom pants -- and discovered that each leg has only one seam -- my gears started turning. There isn't a particular pattern/garment in mind yet, but they'll eventually transform into something for the girls -- a top, a skirt, a dress... I don't know. On a whim, I tried them on when I got home and was surprised that they actually fit (yay for stretchy knits), even if they're a bit long. Annie bought a pair two and want us to wear them together! What a sight! Maybe I can make a headband or something out of the waistband for myself. I just can't get over that print -- so simple, but so much to love!

Thinking about... what the end game is with this amaryllis! Methinks there must be or was a bug.

Watching... Around the World in 80 Days, All Creatures Great & Small, Finding Your Roots.

Wondering... What's up with you right now!?