wake UP, it’s spring

Posted on Posted in designing, food and garden, lace/shawls, projects, yarn and dyeing

happy spring everyone and what a difference some nice weather makes, eh? the sun has been shining down on us the last few days, making everything feel a little cheerier.

i got out there early today while it was still pretty chilly and the crocuses were shut up tight

after a bit, when the sun comes over the house to the front, they warm up and open their petals, even more yellow inside than out.

there’s always a surprise or two

i’m not sure what this is, but we have just one of them each year . . . some kind of freesia or snowdrop, maybe?

another surprise was how many tulips have poked up in just the last couple of days—the back yard is carpeted with them in patches and more are appearing every day.

and holy cow—new strawberries plants a-plenty. fingers crossed we have some nice berries this year. it’s our third year and i’m hoping this is the one when the berries are truly sweet. they’ve always been plentiful, if a little underwhelming in flavor.

i thought the big hyacinths were coming up earlier in the week, but now i have proof—and something has already been nibbling at them, haha. hopefully it tasted bad and they won’t try each one.

and the daffodils—i can’t believe they were mere shoots just a week ago.

now they are sporting big fat buds. i hope i don’t miss them blooming (i’m leaving for the pacific northwest in nine days; i’m going to miss a lot).

all the way in the back garden, where it’s cold and shady til later in the spring, a small rumblings of the ground waking up are starting to be heard. the hostas are poking tips out of the ground to test the waters and the lady’s mantle is emerging nearby as well

one not-so-nice surprise is that i think i lost my beloved hellebores (lenten rose), though i don’t know how—it just doesn’t seem to be coming back. curious, since it did so well last year after weathering its first winter. i’ll have to look for more of those plants and try again.

another reason for the return of my good mood is that i’ve been able to get out to ride my bike on a regular basis this week, instead of relying on the exercise bike indoors. i couldn’t be happier to leave the machine behind; i’m antsy to be out in the fresh air.

the other day it was in the mid 60s and very sunny, so i took the route that goes by the swan’s pond to see if they were out. yes, they were

i can’t actually tell which one is the male and which is the female (or which is last year’s offspring, for that matter), but i can’t help thinking this one is the male

he swam right over when i pulled up on my bike and proceeded to parade back and forth, left to right, the whole time i stood there, haha, while the other one hung back.

it does my heart (and my brain) good to see so much new activity all of a sudden; it puts me in the mood to get organized. i’m actually looking forward to cleaning out my closet and getting some yarn put away this week as a treat for finishing some pattern work up.

my sock camp class plan is done now; i just have to finish up some samples to bring along. i’m knitting those in leftover yarns from winter projects, such as this lovely slackford studio nimbus cloud, mmm. it brings back very fond memories of knitting the aria delicato scarf.

i’m starting to gather my travel knitting into little piles—why not, right?

some extra lucent yarn in colorway lady slipper arrived from the woolen rabbit the other day and i wound it up, pulled some needles, and printed out a chart to knit a neckwarmer and scarf during my travels in april, to match the eliza mitts.

i’m working on a good-sized secret project which i mentioned was giving me fits last week. i could not get the same gauge in the project that i got in my swatches; very unusual for me.

well, i decided to trust my scientific method and just keep knitting to see if my gauge tightened up. miraculously, it has (even though i say it’s my scientific method, it always surprises me that it works, haha). anyway i’m very happy it did. the area near the start which is looser than it should be will have a knit-on trim, so i’m thinking that will tighten things up there as well. phew—crisis averted, i think . . .

i’m on the very last rows of the crooked walking shawl—literally, i think i have just one and a half rows to go, but i got interrupted yesterday mid-row and have not been back since.

that is to be remedied as soon as i finish up here—i’m dying to block this baby and see how it turns out (i bet the yarn is going to be awesome once it’s washed). the pattern is written and with the test knitters and proofer now; it will be ready for release pretty soon.

as you can see, i’ve used just about every bit of the second skein too; i’ll have just a few yards left when all is said and done.

yep, i’m looking forward to settling in and maybe chatting with cookie while i finish. in fact, that thought is getting might distracting—i think the time is now. waddaya say, are you about ready for some knitting too?

28 thoughts on “wake UP, it’s spring

  1. Your garden stirrings are wonderfully inspirational, Anne. Today (in Maine) a snowstorm is predicted to celebrate “Spring.” Sigh.

    Love that the new projects are coming up like the daffodils!

  2. I love seeing all your photos. The daffodils are poking up in my garden. They are usually the first to show themselves. I would have to agree with you that the swan who came up to you was the male. They are very protective of their mates. One of the garden centers in my area backs up to a stream/pond and they had a pair of swans. Everyone had to be very careful because the male would actually come out of the water and chase people. When they had garden tours the guide would carry a broom to push him away if he got to close.

  3. Yep, a snowdrop. Enough snow has melted around my house that I’m seeing daffodil tips as well, and just a hint of the doorway lupine plants. But, like MicheleinMaine, we are expected to get 3-7″ of snow in my part of VT. Sigh.

  4. Here in Georgia we had Bradford Pear “snow” yesterday and today most of the flowers are off of the trees and their bright green leaves are showing. The hyacinths are gone, but some of the daffodils (the later ones) are still going strong. And lots of buds on the azaleas. Spring time is lovely, isn’t it?

    I can’t wait to see this latest shawl.

  5. The igarden photos are so cheery and hopeful on this rainy, cold, second day of spring! And the shawl is so gorgeous that I did an end run on the exact same yarn, which is now on its way to me – because I know from past experience that once the pattern is released, it will be gone in the blink of an eye:)

  6. Thank you, Anne, for these beautiful garden photos—it’s snowing like crazy right now, here in CT. Sheesh. Can also confirm that’s a snowdrop.

    Love the crooked walking shawl. 🙂

  7. Yes, a snowdrop – though here in Switzerland they are known as little March bells in Swiss-German as opposed to the regular snowdrops, which bloom slightly earlier. These are distinguished by the green inside, which the ordinary kind don’t have.
    From books, though, I gather there are many, many different kinds of snowdrops (galanthus and otherwise, apparently!).

  8. Beautiful pictures, Anne. I loved the photos of the swans. So majestic.

    The almost-finished shawl looks great! And love that you’re working on something to go with the Eliza mitts. I do love that pattern.

  9. We had a sunny weekend here, so headed off to the beach where I ate my first icecream of the year!! There really is nothing like sunshine to lift the spirits. Have a good trip.

  10. Yes, that is defintely a snowdrop…they are all over and done with here except a little pot of ‘doubles’ – oh my they are so good to look at when you get up close. Lovely swans too, yes that’s the male making sure you keep away from his lady friend.
    My DH cut the lawn today for the first time…not too low but it looks so tidy now. Still a lot of tidying up to do and a wall of ivy to cut right back as it has grown out so much we can hardly get past it on our path. The forsythia is blooming, the crocus are over and the narcissi will be in bloom soon. Our time changes next Saturday night….love the lighter evenings…so good to be alive.

  11. I am so envious of your signs of spring! Here in frosty Calgary, we are -4c (24.8F) with a wind chill of -8C (17.6F) and light snow. The willows are baulking the unending winter weather and are greeting us with pussy willows, I’m sure we’ll see spring soon!

  12. That’s a snowdrop. And I’m envious, you’re further north than I am and have hostas poking up their heads. I’ve been looking here in Columbus and haven’t seen mine yet.

  13. I love the renewal of spring. We’ve had things in bloom for at least two weeks are longer and seeing daffodils, tulips and even azaleas in bloom always makes me happy. You have so many things budding that it is going to be gorgeous around your house in a few days.

    We are in the midst of a heavy pollen fall but you can still see the buds and beginnings of new plants under it all. I’m hoping that we still have something left to bloom when May comes because even the peach trees are budding. Our temp is supposed to be 86 tomorrow. Such is life in the deep south.

  14. I love springtime and always enjoy your “awakening” pictures. North of Atlanta, my dark purple hellebore has been blooming for several weeks, our daffodils are about done and the Loropetalum are gorgeous.

  15. bleeding heart, wild geranium, and tiny mayapple heads are peaking up here in MD – finally! Oh, the shad bush is getting ready to bloom and the columbine is coming up. I think spring is on it’s way!!

  16. Wow! Lovely crocuses and that snowdrop looks cute. How cool to be able to go so near to the swans!!!! Lucky you. I’d like to see how it turned out after blocking.

  17. You’ll regret missing any of your own flowers, but you’ll see many in the Pac Northwest, I’m sure!

  18. The swans are SO beeutiful!! How lucky for you to have them to visit on your bike rides.

    You can probably guess what we were blessed with here on the first day of spring….sigh. Oh well, we will have nice fertilized flower beds. 😉

    Have a fun time on your trip!

  19. I love when things start coming up in the spring. My yard looks much like yours right now – with little buds and noses sticking up testing the weather.
    As usual – the knitting and yarns look lovely. I SO wish I could have made it to Dallas – but – alas! Maybe next year!

  20. I am definitely ready for some knitting time! Not finding it, though… And I’m so close to finishing Leaving – one sleeve, then just button bands and collar to go. So close, and yet so far. Enjoy that spring weather!

  21. Was cleaning up around my hostas today and thought of you and how you turned decaying leaves into a beautiful sweater design.

  22. Just to add my voice to the many: snowdrop, also known as galanthus if you want to get technical. i’m kind of surprised you always have only one; they are tiny bulbs and usually will spread.

    Lovely to see what’s blooming out your way. Here in CA there are many signs that spring has sprung but the torrential rain we’ve had has knocked much of it to the ground!

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