Mid- March

Oh March, she is a tease. After a string of warm sunny days, the temperature dropped and the wind blew in sheets of rain. The bright side is rain doesn't have to be scooped and the yards are turning green. This week the maples sport the red fringe that comes before leaves. Even if it is 34 degrees and damp, the year turns toward Spring. Today is gray, damp with no rain in the forecast. After I put some soup in the crockpot, I plan to layer up for a walk in the wind and dripping trees. I'd love to have some children with me to jump in the puddles. 

In the meantime, the knitting continues. I almost skipped posting with Kat and the Unravelers because I have been working mostly on the Habitation Throw and it doesn't look much different than the last time I posted. That is how my knitting goes. One does have to work on a project in order to finish it. Ha! I'm enjoying having it on my lap these chilly evenings. I wonder whether the leftover yarns will stretch to the end of the blanket or if I will need to break into a new skein. If I were to knit this pattern again I would make a two stitch edge and skip the i-cord edging. I am trying to knit it loosely but I have the feeling it's going to restrict the size of the throw. This is the second time I've tried i-cord edging and not been crazy about it. Do you have any thoughts about i-cord edging?

I did figure out the mistake in the spine of the red shawl but haven't knit on it this week. I cast on fingerless mitts in order to have a small non-garter stitch project. Once upon a pandemic, I ordered a few skeins of yarn and one of them was this sport weight from Luna Grey Fiber Arts. This Indie Dyer hails from Colorado which is somewhat local to me. I have also wanted to try this yarn. The Nova Sport is non-superwash merino and it has a nice hand. The yardage in the skein is generous. I can also report that it holds up well to frogging and re-knitting. I knit the cuff from two other patterns for mitts before settling on the Biblioglove pattern on size four needles. My daughter sent the pieces of beach glass to me for Valentines' Day. 

As for reading, I am listening to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. The narrator is excellent. This young adult book is not an easy story but it is important. The main character is a sixteen year old African American teenager who is with a friend when he is shot by a police officer. The consequences of this shooting drive the story. At the same time, the code-switching required of this young woman as she navigates between a white upper class high school and her neighborhood is thought provoking and also part of the story. I look forward to discussing this with my book group. 

Before I drift off to sleep at night, I read from the poetry anthology, Healing The Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection. Some of the poems are familiar and others are new to me. The poets come from all walks of life and cultures. I am enjoying a few each evening. According to the note on the back of the book, this book "urges us . . . to move past the negativity that often fills the airwaves, and to embrace the ordinary moments of kindness and connection that fill our days." Amen.

I wish you a vaccine and moments of kindness this week.