Snow days, Skiing, and Winter Knits

Winter in Albuquerque is a combination of snow-dusted mountains, holiday traditions, and fun outdoors. It’s also a great reason to wear some warmer, heavier knits. Getting up to the mountains is one of the best parts of winter here. Sandia peak is close enough for a spontaneous ski day, while heading to Santa Fe can feel like a real winter getaway.

The snowstorm that came through Albuquerque left us with a few inches of snow, enough to give us a true winter moment. The best part was seeing the cactuses covered in snow, piling up on the prickly pears. It didn’t last long, most melted later that day, but it left a special memory.

This year we also explored Old Town around Christmas time, enjoying the decorations and festivities. Many of the shops had Christmas cactuses, luminarias, and the tree in the center of the square was decorated with lights. While walking around, I wore my Esther jacket, by Petite Knit, which I made with Juniper Moon Patagonia organic merino. I love this pattern, its light enough with the moss stitch, and still warm enough for winter.

This winter my goal was to complete my Inge sweater by Le Knit. This one has been a work in progress for about a year, with many times placing it on the shelf forgotten. I had used Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair for this, which has made a dense and warm finished knit. One of the challenges with this pattern was the gauge, which may have been impacted by the yarn weight. At first, I expected the neck ribbing to stay tighter and more turtleneck-like, but after blocking, it sags downward onto the yoke. This led to the yoke/armpit to be about 3-4 inches lower than anticipated. I had to frog the bottom two inches and redo the bottom ribbing. In retrospect, I may have chosen a lower weight yarn, or adjust the pattern to knit a smaller yoke. You never know what will happen after blocking – it’s always a surprise! Still I am excited to bring this sweater out onto the slopes, or even on our upcoming winter adventures.

We also spent a weekend in Santa Fe, visiting the Hacer yarn shop. This is down the road from La Mama, a cute and delicious breakfast spot. We enjoyed a hot chocolate from them, then browsed through the yarns. One of my favorite things was the sheep figurines out front, so adorable. We finished that day at the Kakawa Chocolate House. They were so welcoming, and we left with several chocolate truffles.