Spring Notes

Spring, yes Spring. Today's sky is gray but the extended forecast is for four or five dry days. I often plant my few vegetables and herbs on Mother's Day weekend so I may be able to get them in the ground soon. Spring skies are changeable. The lilacs, mid-size phlox, and bleeding heart are blooming. Last summer I wondered if the bleeding heart would survive August heat and pests. I am happy to see it looking hearty and gaining some growth. I plan to sow zinnia seeds to add to the summer blooming black-eyed susans. The chives have buds while the sage and oregano are taking more than their fair share of the herb garden. I potted up some of the oregano and gave the sage a good trim. This week I cut some fresh thyme and oregano to season a marinara sauce. Happy days.

I knit the baby sweater up to the sleeves, left the stitches on a circular needle and cast on the sleeves. They are knit flat and then joined with sweater stitches at the yoke. Ravelry is so helpful. Project notes of this pattern confirmed my thoughts that the sweater body is slightly wide and short. I knit two extra inches. I also knit a pair of fingerless mitts as a graduation gift for a sweet young neighbor. I planned to make regular mittens but the yarn, sold as DK weight, feels like a lightweight sport. It doesn't seem heavy enough for winter mittens on a Nebraska college campus. I enjoyed the yarn though. It had a nice hand and the color changes were fun to watch. I thought I'd found a point mid-skein where the colors began to repeat but obviously not. These are playful fraternal mitts and I think that is just fine.

I'm listening to the biography, On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson and enjoying it. I wasn't sure if I liked the narrator but after listening to a few sections, I find his style suits the story. The author includes some history of conservation as well as back story about books and scientists that influenced Carson. It is long so I hope I can finish listening before my library loan expires. Oh no - more listening and knitting time, how will I ever cope? ;-) In her second published book, The Sea Around Us, Carson commented on melting glaciers and rising oceans, a woman ahead of her time. This book won many awards and is now on my to read list.

I haven't unraveled any knitting this week, how about you? Click on over to Kat and the Unravelers to see what other makers are creating this week.