Hot water bottle cozy

I hate being cold. I'm often cold. I feel like I've been cold too often lately. It's difficult to find a happy medium when you are cohabiting with someone who is hot all the time. Unless he is planning to go visit his sister in Chicago, terrified by the weather report, and planning on wearing his ski suit, pants and goggles, to the city. I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably, imagining someone strolling down the main drag in a ski suit. Hopefully it warmed up for him.

I was hoping to tell him that in his absence, the weather here had been gorgeous. Unfortunately, it's been kind of a miserable cold and rainy weekend. Friday was beautiful, warm and bright, full of the promise of an early spring, as flowers start to bloom and cherry blossom trees become bright prink. But, as it does every year, it's barely more than a tease, and winter is still here. Which is a good thing, since snowboarding season started so late, and I've only been a few times. But it makes long walks with Noodle less pleasant, puts to the test my rain jacket (thank you Patagonia), and make me long for some warmth and comfort.

I found warmth and comfort in the company of friends, in yummy mexican food, and also in knitting this new project in the ever so lovely Eco Duo yarn from Cascade. 70% alpaca, 30% merino, it is so soft I'm thinking of knitting everything out of it. Which is great, since I ordered an extra skein by mistake. It is perfect for the Hot Water Bottle Cozy pattern from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. The pattern, as usual, is well written and clear. The only potentially new skill is the cable cast on, which I had to learn, but it was easy enough. I ended up using needles a size bigger, because I know that I tend to knit a bit tight, but mostly because I realized at the last minute that I didn't, actually, have the right needles. It turned out perfect. The yarn was lovely to work with, but it was a bit slippery especially on double pointed needles, so I had to pick up a few dropped stitches along the way. I am very pleased with the result, and have been using it to warm up my toes and relax my lower back.