oh, the cruelty . . .

Posted on Posted in designing, food and garden, projects

ok, mother nature, we know you love a good joke, but is this really necessary?

sigh.

although. the sky is an incredible shade of blue this morning—just like every other WARM day this week. except it’s 28 degrees. and that’s after it warmed up a bit.

the poor flowers

they popped fully open yesterday afternoon and by last night an icy draft of weather had kicked in to punish them. (they’ll recover; this has happened every year since we’ve planted them and they always survive mightily).

i had no idea it was going to snow—i don’t keep up with the news as well as i should. it was raining all last evening while i was focused on my knitting and barely aware of anything beyond my needles. then i got up to stretch around
11 pm and saw this outside the door

a scene much more suited to december than to the season we’re in right now. but then, that’s ohio for ya . . .

i thought for sure it’d be gone this morning but no

it’s not much but i don’t like the way it’s clinging in an icy coat on every single bud—the hydrangeas just started coming to life and they don’t care for this sort of thing. we missed having them last year because a similar storm at this same time burned the buds.

the lilac will be ok, i’m sure (thanks for the great tips everyone, about how to rejuvenate them; we’re going to try that)

it’s a good thing i have knitting to cuddle up with and distract me.

i haven’t fixed the beret yet because i wanted to finish up my last pine and ivy and after that, i felt like doing some easy knitting. i had plenty of less challenging knitting on the needles to play with.

the first baby blanket is on its way, after i ripped back and reknit the border on a smaller needle (i meant to start the first time on the smaller needle and i forgot). this is such an easy and soothing project—doubly so because i’m knitting with this soft, delicious classic merino sport from knitting notions. i’m enjoying how the pattern looks like little cradles rocking. i keep stopping to admire the perfect blue colorway, but i can’t help but note the irony—winter sky indeed.

i got this far while we watched a rather bad movie about coco chanel—the story was a bit choppy and not well written, but i will always be entertained by great costuming and satisfied to watch scene after scene of sewing and millinery work (it was really good for that).

i seriously think someone should create a fiber network, where we could tune in an just watch hands at work in all manner of needle arts. channels devoted to the production of knitting, sewing, millinery, beading, spinning, and the like, with and without words. even factory work and manufacturing of materials—it would be fascinating and very calming.

if i had the time and skills, i’d do it myself—i can see the whole thing in my mind. but sadly, i’m lacking that way. . . . all i have is a very active imagination. which i really shouldn’t share so readily; it can make me sound crazy.

anyway, i was feeling kind of chilly and achy last night (i’d got into a new yoga pose the day before that left me feeling a little sore; it was one of those one-legged ones that i usually can’t do—i have awful balance—and i was so stunned to be doing it that i stayed there to see how long i could actually hold it and now i’m sorry, haha. i’m not in pain; just feeling muscles that i didn’t even realize could get sore. i dunno why i didn’t think to just. stop.).

so i needed something cheery to brighten and warm up my evening and i went back to work on swatching with my neon STR mediumweight (rare gem colorway, scored by my friend gail).

and i finally hit on something i like a lot. the pattern progresses with the spiral of the colorway, while bending and squeezing a bit for an optical effect. i’ve had this motif earmarked for a couple of years, but never found a yarn i liked it in. this tight-twist yarn does the trick; its stiffness and spring accentuate the pattern and the bendy turns it takes.

working on it last night was like having a little fire in my hands; i enjoyed it so much i forgot about working on anything else. it doesn’t look like i spent all evening on, but it took hours to get this far—mostly due to my own mental sluggishness. first, i knit a couple of swatches before i started because i just had to be sure, you know? then i started and knit some and decided the cuff should be different, so i ripped back and restarted. then i realized i’d meant to make the pattern travel in the opposite direction, but i’d forgotten, so i needed to go back yet again (just partway this time). now it’s good.

and because i’m still enjoying everything about it after all that, i know i’m on the right track.

once i was set on the right course with that sock, i went upstairs to watch late-night TV with david and took up my fearless fibers sock again.

i just adore deb’s MCN luxury; it’s so smooth to knit with and feels yummy going through my fingers. the fabric is lovely; i can’t wait to test drive it underfoot. and the color is truly sublime, with soft transitions and little glints of light.

i know i said something in the beginning of march about taking a break from socks but obviously, i was talking out my back pocket—who am i kidding? not having new socks underway is like not breathing; i just can’t do it. and i like both of these so much. one is very loud and cheery and fast to knit. the other is soft and sophisticated and sensual. i love them both.

i’ll get back to the beret project this evening and maybe work on the blanket a little more, while i try to stay warm and hope for a thaw.

right now, it’s time for a little of the hair of the dog that bit me—as bad as the prospect sounds at the moment, a session on the exercise bike and a little after-yoga to stretch should warm up these stiff hip muscles and set me right as rain. or snow.

have a good weekend wherever you are.

31 thoughts on “oh, the cruelty . . .

  1. We had that same storm over the weekend in NE Kansas and it melted in 2 days.
    That pinkish red yarn is wild! Yoga awakens things you needed to move & sometimes it makes you sore. My daughter is a yoga teacher and says it’s good for you anyway. HA!

  2. I love the snowy lace pattern in your walkway! And I’m intrigued by that baby blanket. I’ll look back in your archives for more info and I’ll be watching to see it develop.

  3. Oh, a cruel joke indeed! It’s just chilly here, but it was a surprising chilly too. It was much warmer yesterday.

    That neon STR is gorgeous. I like the idea of having two socks going at the same time. One wild, one more soothing. Seems right somehow.

    I ripped out my Freshman cable sock last night, after trying it on. I was at the “start the toe” point, but it was way too tight. Too bad I didn’t try it on earlier. Or plan the socks for a gift. But the sock is gone now!

  4. Oh, gosh. That just seems wrong, all that snow there on those lovely flowers! We’re headed for snow this next week in Mammoth, but it’s staying put in the mountains, where it belongs 🙂 Stay warm!

  5. The cold is headed our way tonight. I’m afraid for my tulips and may try covering them. I am anxiously waiting to see the Sublime sock. I’ve got my skein tucked away waiting for your crazy imagination to make me look good!

  6. We had this last weekend. Fortunately it just watered and insulated the new sprouts and now it is 70. Love it!!!

  7. I spy chiclets!!! Awesome!! And what a perfect antidote to that snow!!

    The Fearless Fiber sock is intriguing me, too!!

    I’m with you…I just can’t not have socks on the needles no matter how hard I try!

    Happy weekend!

  8. Yes, snow on the daffodil sprouts here in Maine too! And I had to scrape the windshield this morning – ugh. But, we’ve been lucky with the delightful weather we’ve had for most of March.

    I think a fiber network is a fabulous idea! Not crazy at all.

  9. no snow on ground or anywhere right here in northern westmoreland co., pa. but it is to be high teens-low 20’s tonight. brrr. i am not a happy camper.

  10. We may get snow next week! And to think, I have tulips, daffodils, and blooming raspberry bushes! Your blog always makes me feel better about having sooo many projects on the needles 🙂

  11. that rare gems color is practically edible, it is so vivid! I’m with you on the yoga, some balance poses I can do, most of them I just tip over for no reason. I also trip walking on flat ground, so that is no real revelation….

  12. i had to scrape my car this morning. i’d thought i was done with that. but it’s supposed to be warm (50s) and sunny tomorrow.

    the baby blanket looks so incredibly cushy, it almost makes me want to start a blanket…but i think i’ll refrain…enough knitting in these parts without a new project!

    have a great (and warmer) weekend!

  13. Love the idea of The Fiber Network Channel! What fun! Maybe there’d be a program wherein one could watch fabulous things being knit, things one loves but knows one would probably never knit in real life, sort of a dream fulfillment?

    Love the rare gem STR socks. That color is really an eye-opener, no?

  14. It’s snowing like mad here in Denver and I’m darn well tired of it! I hope your garden survives. I don’t dare put out anything for another six weeks. Oh well. Leaves more time for knitting.

  15. 27 degrees here tonight–so sad. Love the idea of a Fiber arts channel. I’ve always been partial to movies or shows about designing, etc. The BBC series House of Eliott was a favorite. And, I love Project Runway–Tim Gunn is fabulous!

  16. Yes, I’d watch that channel, too. And argh, you have tempted me to knit with my new screaming pink yarn. I have to remind myself I have socks going in a rather intense orange already! That will chase winter away (but since I am in Texas, it’s pretty OK here, though cooler than usual).

  17. “oh, the cruelty” is right….. it is pretty but after a taste of warm spring weather, just so hard. While we didn’t have snow in MD, it did get cold and I got to wear my favorite hand knit sweater one last time for the season before it’s summer bath!

    Happy knitting and weekend!

  18. I swear Anne, when I saw that stuff sitting on your tree branch, I thought, “what the heck is Anne doing decorating with cotton batting in her trees???” My fingers are itching to start that Ivy and Pine shawl. . . . . I gotta finish my Spross though!!! You wont’ slap me if I start another project, will ya??

  19. We had that snow last weekend; now the sun is out, the forsythia is blooming, and it’s supposed to be in the 60s today.

    Oh, how I’d love to have a fiber channel to watch! As if the rest of the family would let me, but a girl can dream!

  20. Wow. Snow. Sorry about that. We got a frost a couple of nights ago – the night we forgot to cover the hydrangeas. They aren’t looking very happy. What is looking good is my fishbone gansey. Starting the heel today! I love all the yarns you use. Is it just that you’re a terrific photographer or that you know where to find the best textured yarns? Or you just can match project to yarn like a pro? Oh, that’s right. You are a pro! Happy weekend.

  21. Oh it is crazy this weather. We are cold here today too, no snow thankfully. Last week I had all the windows open this weekend I have the heat on!

  22. I love your photos, despite the grim news. I have some from a few Aprils ago of snowfall on the pulmonaria blossoms.

    I just finished a sock pattern obligation and am ready to plunge into some shawl work. (More antique stitch patterns adapted and graphed)

    Today is a day between times, knitting as I feel like it and watching F1 and NASCAR with Oscar.

  23. channels devoted to the production of knitting, sewing, millinery, beading, spinning

    oh my gosh!! i was thinking the very same thing last night!!

    great minds and all that… ‘->

  24. The weather is really unpredictable. It’s the same here – we had no rain since Nov last year & last week, we had 2 hours of heavy rain & hail & it created a lot of damages.

  25. I did the same thing in yoga about a week ago, but it got my collarbone and just a little down dog makes it whine. However, my balance is probably better than it ever has been (and I did ballet for 10 years growing up) so I’m eager to recover and return. Meanwhile I’m working on getting my pink spring knit on. It’s such a challenging season!

  26. If it helps, I present the following IM exchange I had with my boyfriend, the Irishman, the other night:

    Me: Well
    it is shower/bedtime
    The Irishman: enjoy your showerbed
    Me: oh wow
    a showerbed would be AMAZING
    you could sleep and still be clean
    oh, those are called bathtubs, huh
    TI: it took you how long to figure that out?
    Me: um
    as long as it took me to type it

    You are not the only one with good ideas!

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