Goodbye March!

Dear March,

Thanks for coming and spending 31 days again with us this year. Sorry to say it, but this year it felt longer. You started off in that foul temper with snow and I had honestly thought that you would think better of leaving us with more snow, but you have a mind of your own, don't you?

Now the kids didn't mind getting off school at noon yesterday because of your tantrum, but enough already! I would have thought that you might have kept the charm up until the end so that we would look forward to seeing you again next year. And let's face it, you were very, very charming last week.

Remember how warm you were? Last Thursday evening I decided that I had better get my pink wool hoodie all stitched up so that I could wear it Friday. I was afraid that it might be too warm before I had a chance to wear it otherwise. Boy was I wrong! On the plus side, I really like the sweater and I'm glad that I got it done.

If you're lucky - and face it, most years you are - memories of your tantrums will fade over the next 11 months and I'll look forward to seeing you in 334 days.

Much love,

Miss Me

P.S. I'll post some FO details once I can find them... It is Paton's Classic Wool and a Paton's pattern, but that is about all that I can give you right about now.

Score!

Knitpicks sock books are on sale at 40% off! So what did I do? I got out my VISA card and headed straight over... I order Sock Innovation and Kilt Hose and Knickerbocker Stockings. Seeing those 2 titles together looks strange to even me, but Mr. Me does love his kilt. I thought that I would take the opportunity to order Mr. Foster while I was at it, but alas, he is SOLD OUT!!! (Note to self: Order the next edition quickly.) I consoled myself with some sock yarn instead. Truthfully, I feel a little guilty about the yarn, but considering that it is the first yarn that I have purchased this calendar year, I'm sure that I should be able to find some way to rationalize the purchase...
Like many impulse purchases, this was not without a hiccup. The last time I ordered from Knitpicks, it was Princess Knitsalot's birthday present. To save time and extra shipping costs, I had Knitpicks ship it directly to her. Yup - I forgot to double check the shipping address. I'm going to try and make sure that they send it to me once I get my order confirmation, but I have warned my niece and my sister that it may arrive on their doorstep. I've told them they can look (and even fondle and sniff) but then I'll transfer the money so that they can send it home to me...

Can You Have Too Many?

Can you have too many pairs of handknit socks? I washed my "delicates" earlier this week. The "delicates" included 16 pairs of handknit socks. 13 of them were mine... 3 pairs were Older Son's socks. One of the pairs in my 13 were knit for me by someone else, but that means a full dozen were handknit socks, handknit for me, handknit by me. And let's be clear on something, I didn't have to wash socks. There were still quite a few pairs in my socks drawers.
This is making me wonder if perhaps I'm selfish with my knitting. Or maybe I'm just discerning about my socks? Yeah - we'll go with that...

The Laws of Cultural Attraction

I have a question for the rest of you: is it just me? Often as I surf the patterns on Ravelry, I find myself attracted to patterns that I might be able to knit, but only if I was to learn the basic knitting terminology of languages that I do not currently know... I could work through a French pattern without issue... English is no problem - clearly! Spanish I could manage in a pinch... But what I TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY LOVE are patterns in Finnish and German. Do I require professional help? Or just advanced language training?

P.S. If you require proof of my obsession, I do not speak a word of German. I have just joined a German speaking group on Yahoo...!

Spring Potholes

As anyone who lives in a Northern climate knows, Spring means potholes...! It is the result of the repeated freezing and thawing that our roads must endure. In many respects, it could be considered a rite of passage from the bitter cold, ice and snow of Winter to the heat, humidity and haze of Summer.
In the Fall 2003 edition of Knitters, there was a collection of sweaters that had "road names". I knit "Soft Shoulders". Over the years it has become one of most favourite sweaters. Imagine my dismay when I discovered that much like our seasonal roads, my sweater had developed a "pothole"...!

This clearly was not a "cold patch" kind of job. I had a bit of a time finding the right yarn in the stash for the mending, but since I can't positively identify the "patch" in the after photo, I must have done alright! Either that or it is another example of my less than excellent photographic skills.Like most knitters, I don't really enjoy darning, but I would have missed my beloved sweater too much if I didn't make the effort to fix it.

Groundhog Days Socks

Back on Groundhog Day, I attended some mandatory work training. For me, mandatory work training often equals KNITTING TIME! I've had them done for a while, but here, 28 days after they were started are my Spring Forward (aka Groundhog Day) Socks. I think that the yarn is an OnLine yarn but I can't find the label right now... The colours of the yarn make me think of Spring flowers like crocus' (what the heck is the plural of "crocus"?) and tulips.
Here in New Brunswick, it is March Break this week but it really isn't looking like Spring outside! The Sons are off in Nova Scotia visiting with MIL. I had originally planned on driving back from taking them down today, but given our lousy weather forecast, I decided to come back yesterday. Since I already had the day booked off as vacation time, I decided to leave it that way. That meant that I got to finish off two knitting projects (currently blockin, photos later) and one sewing project (it's a hat, photos when someone else can take a picture). It also meant that I was home this afternoon and got to listen to The Point on CBC Radio One. One of the items tied in with my post of Friday. Should parents be held responsible for the crimes of their children? The case that raised this particular point involved a 12 year old who was convicted of murder. A very interesting topic indeed!