I Stitch You a Merry Christmas

On Saturday, I got up early and braved the freshly covered roads and cold to voluntarily run four miles.

Even as a pretty consistent runner that has completed a marathon, I'll admit, it felt a little crazy. The snow was about 3-4 inches thick on a course that hadn't been shoveled or plowed. I did feel accomplished for being able to still run four miles over halfway through my pregnancy, but that was about where the good feelings ended. My hip flexors were screaming at me, but my biggest struggle was in just how tired I was when all was said and done. I usually have boundless energy after a run, but running on what felt like a NordicTrack (remember those things?), along with baby sucking all of my energy and my body trying to stay warm made me completely zonk. I went home, took a bath, put Lucy down for a nap, and immediately crashed for about three hours.

When I woke up, Eric asked if I wanted to go outside, but I had no interest. After spending a couple hours in the cold, wet snow, my only desire was for warm and cozy. So naturally, I spent my evening (after Lucy went to bed) knitting up some quick, easy, warm and cozy projects.

If you are a knitter or crocheter and you've never checked out Ravelry, do yourself a favor (Ravelry has no idea who I am outside of my username; I just happen to love them). They have a huge library of patterns, that is really easy to search. I knew one of the projects I wanted to create was a coffee mug cozy, so I typed that in, and then I was able to narrow it down to knitting projects that were free. I wanted something simple, and after searching around, I came up with this pattern.

With Elf still playing by the time I finished, I managed to knock one more project out. I ended up making this cinched ear warmer. Sometimes, you just need a quick project to suit your mood and to make you feel accomplished.

I will say that the ear warmer felt more like a head wrap and less like something that would actually keep me warm. I would like to make another one of these with less stitches cast on and much thicker yarn. Also, I don't know about any of you out there that have knit, but blocking? Ain't nobody got time for that. I appreciate so much when I can find a pattern where the edges don't curl up. So when I go to make this again, I think I'll also go back and forth between knitting and purling each stitch, which would carry the added benefit of matching the stitching on my favorite chunky cowl I made a couple years back.

The only problem with my mug cozy is that suddenly, all of my mugs in the cupboard look like they need their own little sweater. This picture makes me want to curl up in my bed with a little nightcap (of tea, if there was any question) and a good book. Yes, please.

What projects do you have going on right now? How are you staying warm? I bet it doesn't look anything like this pre-run picture.