I do. I do get a lot done when I can’t do anything but lay in bed.

So early last week I threw my back out while I was working out. Further evidence that I should never ever exercise. I am now on doctors orders not to. Perfect!

Just as my back was getting better and I was able to actually bend and move on my own and without the aid of muscle relaxers I started thinking my allergies were maybe a little worse than usual. Until I woke up yesterday morning to discover that I have a full fledged cold. And a bad one. Chills, fever, sweats, coughing, congestion, goopy eyes. The whole she-bang.

Last week while I was just sitting around trying not to move my back I made some more progress on my Braided Pullover I’m working on.

And it’s lovely and I adore it. I’m making the medium size with Karabella Aurora 8 merino and it is absolutely gorgeous. It goes pretty quickly too and stays very interesting because there are sections of purl, sections of ribbing and then the super interesting cable that’s tons of fun to try to keep track of which row of the chart you’re on.

I also cast on for a store sample sweater to be knit up in some new yarn we got in at the shop, Wisdom Poems. It’s 100% wool and it does the Noro-esque gorgeous long color changes but it doesn’t have twigs and berries in it and it’s a much more even twist so it doesn’t create a lumpy or uneven fabric.

That is the back panel of the sweater I’m knitting up for the store. It’s an adaptation of a Noro pattern by Jane Ellison.

Saturday I was flipping through the new Interweave Felts magazine and fell in love with Nora Bellows Polar Bear pattern in that issue.

So I had to immediately cast on for one.

I have named him Binky, after the polar bear that lived in the Alaska State Zoo when I was a child. He was much loved by Alaskan residents. This Binky is much loved by the residents of my house, my yarn shop and mostly my dogs who think I made him for them as a toy.

He was a nice distraction but I should probably get back to one of the two sweaters I have on the needles.