The temperatures in our area have managed to creep into the low 50′s during the day while dropping back down to the high 30′s – low 40′s at night. This morning when I looked out my bedroom window, I could detect a definite color change in the grass. A visual verification by Samuel indicated that yes, I was seeing green grass in small patches! I couldn’t believe my good luck so I grabbed my high power binoculars (I’m an astronomy buff and use the binos for star-gazing) and stepped out on the balcony to scan the tree line next to the bike path on the far edge of the field behind our building. I can see buds forming on the trees! A quick scan of the field showed small bits of green throughout the field too. Even though spring does not officially start for another two weeks, I think it has finally arrived. :)
As long as we are talking about green things I should give a brief update on the IPMW (being knit in the “Good Luck Jade” color-way). I’m currently working on the 10th pattern repeat. According to the pattern there are 11 pattern repeats and then the Applied I-Cord bind-off is done on what would be the 12th repeat. I’m concerned I may not have enough yarn for the 11th repeat plus the I-Cord bind-off. I’m seriously debating finishing the 10th repeat and then starting on the bind-off.
On Saturday I received my February Spunky Club fiber. The fiber is Superwash BFL and is silky soft to the touch. The color-way is “Ooh-LaLa-Tropi-Cal” and is comprised of yellows, oranges, purples and blues in succession. The colors are reminiscent of the bright plumage of those found on tropical birds. When I first saw the color-way, I wasn’t too excited by it. Last night I decided to fluff the fiber and the more I worked with it, the more I liked it. I will spin this to keep long runs of color and either chain-ply it to maintain the distinct color runs or spin it as singles. I gave some consideration to fractal spinning the fiber and doing a 2-ply to create a colorful barber pole striped yarn but ultimately decided against it.
Some time this week I will receive my very first Happy Hooves club fiber from Enchanted Knoll Farms (EKF). I am very excited to get this month’s fiber and it will used for my spring break goal of spinning four ounces of fiber.
When I feel better (this cold is killing me), I want to take photos of my fiber with my new camera. The new camera is so nice to use and my photos have been fantastic! My other camera has a bad habit of turning red things a hot pink that reminds me of yarn my mother used in the 1970′s. Yuck!
As a birthday gift, my mom sent me the URL of a yarn website and told me to pick out $75 worth of yarn and she would order it for me. I found some beautiful Alpaca in a color-way that will be used for knitted stuff for Melody. I found some Alpaca in a color-way that I think my mom will like too. I’m thinking of a hat/scarf combo for next winter. This same site had some lovely sock yarns and I ordered enough sock yarn to make 3 pairs of socks. One of those pairs will be going to my mom I think. This was a very thoughtful gift from my mom and I think it would be nice to give her some knitted goodies to show my appreciation. :)
So far, outside of this wretched cold, my spring break has been very nice. I have the windows cracked to let in some fresh air and I’m watching some of my birthday DVDs (Godfather and Godfather II on Blu-Ray) while I knit and snooze.
