wind, snow, and sun

ah spring, what can you do? my first day back was warm and balmy, the temperature zooming up into the high 60s. it made for a nice transition form the sunny west coast. but then we woke up yesterday to rain just pouring down—spring torrents of it, much more the norm. this morning it was sunny once again but i saw that yesterday’s puddles had iced over and while i got dressed, a flurry of snowflakes whirled in the high wind we’re experiencing at the moment.

that’s spring in ohio for you—much more temperamental and volatile.

but oh, how it makes us appreciate those sunnier moments.

today i went for a short walk around the yard (that wind today is cold) to see how things progressed while i was gone. i know there was snow, rain, and much wind while i was away.

none of that seems to matter to our emerging bulb flowers—the daffodils have all budded out and look to be about a week away from blooming, maybe?

that would be pretty early, so maybe a little longer, we’ll see. more crocuses are showing every day—the white ones have started to open, though the purple ones haven’t yet.

hyacinths are making a good show, too; i can’t tell if they’ve been chewed along the tops or if that damage was due to the snow and freeze—the lilies and tulips are like that too, so i’m not sure. it could be bunnies or some other critter.

wow, tulips are showing up everywhere now. each year david plants lots of bulbs all over the lawn and garden beds; i never know where until spring—it’s a new thrill every year as i discover patches here and there.

sigh, while i can hardly believe that another year has passed, i’m always happy to watch spring unfold, especially now that we have a yard and garden.

note to self: order garden seeds THIS WEEKEND.

things have not changes all that much on the knitting front—at least, not things that i can show you. i have to admit, i’ve been doing a LOT of secret knitting. i  need to remember to keep some things going that i can talk about.

my fine-gauge simple mitt in laceweight yarn has grown, but not enough to be noticeable. it’s so lightweight and small that i keep it tucked into my purse, which means i forget about it when i’m home—ooops. i think what i should do is begin the second mitt on another set of needles and keep that one out where i can see it. in that way, i may actually make noticeable progress on the pair. for those that asked, i do plan to write up the pattern for these, probably with a couple of simple variations for styling.

i’m almost embarrassed to admit (but not really) that i did not finish the back of david’s woolen rabbit kashmir sweater while i was away, as i had planned. not entirely my fault though; cookie dreamed up a gift knitting project for us to do together that used up a couple of days’ knitting time—and i don’t feel one bit bad about that.

i did at least knit most of the way to the underarms and i managed to get to that landmark point in classes on wednesday. last night i finally sat down to knit at around 1 am, did the uunderarm bindoffs and a few more rows and then promptly started falling asleep. maybe tonight will be the night i finish this thing up, haha. then i could sew it together while i visit with susie and debby tomorrow.

meanwhile, i’ve gotten the pattern back from tana, so now it has many many sizes. as soon as i can go through it, and someone can proofread it, we can begin the test knitting (and i know lara and barb are chomping at the bit). i have lots ot take care of this weekend . . .

and then there is also david’s blue basketweave sock that i thought i’d finish during my trip. sigh. guess what? i didn’t.
(i really DID do a lot of knitting but apparently, not on the right stuff!).

today as i was photographing the second sock, i discovered this

my ball of remaining yarn is in serious danger of running out before i ever get near the toe.

here i have been merrily knitting along, confident in my yarn supply and it has been quietly running low in the background without so much as a peep to warn me. huh.

now, i have used this yarn before and run out at the very end of a pair of socks for david—so i am aware of the dangers. THAT is why i kept the sock leg a little shorter and why i weighted my yarn after sock #1 was finished to confirm that i had at least the same amount left over, if not a little more. what happened??

i re-weighed sock #1 this morning—hmmm, that seems a little higher than i remembered, but ok . . . then i re-weighed sock #2 and the remaining yarn ball.

RUT-roh—even with the weight of the needles included it is well shy of the necessary amount. hmmmm—what could i have been thinking?

i thought and thought, then sighed and stared putting everything away—denial seemed a good tactic until i could deal with the issue later . . .

then i felt something in the project bag

ah! a tiny ball of more yarn—now it all came back to me; while winding the yarn, i found a knot so i undid it and saved that little ball aside. i prefer to choose the placement of my joins rather than be forced to join up wherever i run out. ok, that little whack of yarn must weigh something.

it’s still gonna be close, but at least now i have a fighting chance. if i have to add on, it will be somewhere in the toe and i know david won’t mind. phew.

and who knows; since this was a zen yarn garden club colorway, i may be able to score some leftovers in the ravelry group . . .

ok now, we have some book winners to pick—let’s do it!

the winner of alice yu’s socktopus book is: elise H
and the winner of clara parkes’ knitter’s book of socks is: phoebe o

congratulations to the winners and many thanks for the generosity of the publishers in offering books for a giveaway.

ok, i think that is all i can do today—we need to go pick up our new car; david is hovering and i still have to locate the title for the old vehicle, oy.

have a great weekend.