A Valentine Tradition and New Project!

I don't remember exactly when this tradition started, but probably the second year that my husband and I were dating: he took me snow camping for the first time, and it just happened to be Valentine's Day weekend. Now most people proably wouldn't consider snow camping to be at the height of a romantic getaway, but we kinda like it. We go to our favorite hot springs, Gold Bug, which means that if you get cold, you just have to hike "upstairs" (it's quite a huff, actually) to the most beautiful hot pools.

Sadly, this year my knees just wouldn't cooperate. I thought I'd be okay, but three months and one day after surgery, I guess I expected too much. I couldn't even carry my backpack the whole way (and I'm sure having crampon's on my feet didn't help). Thank goodness for my wonderful husband who not only carried my pack, but stayed with me in the tent while I just slept and slept. Bummer, but at least it was a good hike and a fun time in the tent. This is Kodi and me, looking out the next morning:
And now, for some knitting. Well, as you might expect, there's been a fair amount of de-stress knitting going on amidst all the school and studio-flooding mayhem (I think I've had three total floods so far, although I'm losing count...not to mention a power outage and THEN the furnace in our house went out Saturday night...sheesh!). So, I've been doing a lot of knitting that I haven't told you about, and I've been buying yarn like there's going to be a shortage soon, but this is a much-anticipated project. Ever since I saw the Interweave Knits Spring Preview and the Auburn Camp Shirt by Chrissy Gardiner, I've been waiting no-so-patiently for the issue to come out.

I love the pattern, and was actually thinking of hand-dying some yarn especially for the project (see, there's something else I haven't told you about!), but when I actually saw the yarn, and saw the exact color I wanted, well, I was sold! The yarn is Naturally Dawn, a 50/50 blend of merino and silk, and is a soft, floppy, totally gorgeous pile of fingering-weight bliss that I'm about to use for a sweater. Well, leave it to someone who brilliantly designs socks to make a sweater out of the same weight! But, oh, is it lovely!
The color is so perfect for a summer knit--with a bit of a tan, it will make my eyes just pop. I can't wait!