Seams Slow

I got a few more rows done on my colorful mitten lining yesterday at lunchtime (Weight Watchers meeting -- another 1 1/2 lbs -- 1/2 lb from -10!). It is slow going, but with my other new mittens and signs of spring, I'm not feeling quite the push to get mittens done that I was, though I'm definitely not done knitting them for the year. I've got yarn to make a pair of Lilac Mittens (free pattern on Ravelry) in purple and white, but won't let myself start them until I get these Fiddlehead Mittens done.

Last night, while dinner slowly cooked, I put in some prep time on the Tibetan Clouds Stole I'm making for my sister-in-law-to-be. I printed a bigger copy of the chart and color-coded it so it will be easier to work with. I started a swatch a few weeks ago, but the chart in the book is so small that I misread a couple of the symbols and made a mess. I'm hoping to get this project on the needles this weekend and now I'm prepared. I brought a little square swatch with a couple of the beads to show the bride last weekend and got the nod to go ahead. I'm so excited about doing this pattern!

After dinner, I sewed the collar on the gray jacket. I've got two jacket pattern books, one by the diva of knitted jackets, Jean Frost. The book this pattern came out of isn't by her and the instructions aren't as detailed as hers are. I found a similar collar on a jacket in her book and am using her assembly instructions. I sewed the collar on with an overcast stitch, with the right side of the collar next to the wrong side of the sweater so that when I flip the collar back the ugliness will be covered. I also used the chain stitch with a crochet hook to seam the sleeves onto the armholes and will use that same method to do the side and arm seams. Then weave in the ends and I'll have a new jacket/sweater!

I also got a call with the last piece of information I need for completing my taxes. I neglected to ask my contractor for some documentation last fall when they were working on our porch, but now I have it and can use it to claim a tax credit for insulating the porch and putting in the new windows. When we had an energy audit done on the house, that was the number one heat loss source. Even though we didn't put a heat source out there and therefore can't really use it in the coldest weather, there is clearly a difference in the adjoining rooms this winter. I'm so looking forward to even slightly warmer weather as it will become usable space much earlier than ever before. And the windows don't rattle!