More Lion Than Lamb

March ends with chilly gray blustery days. I'll need a winter coat on today's walk. Yesterday I took advantage of the warmest day of the week and pulled weeds and grass from the small daffodil/iris bed in front of the storage shed. I left the dried iris leaves because overnight temps will remain below freezing for the next week or so. I was warm enough in a heavy sweatshirt and jeans. The ground is dry but it was lovely to get my hands in the dirt. After trying to clean a bird feeder that hangs on a shepherd's crook, we decided to replace it. It was inexpensive and already sported a mended crack in the top. 

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers. Sunday I finished knitting the Anker's Cardigan. The second sleeve was an adventure that I'll post about next week or whenever the sweater dries and is ready for photographs. I plan to block it this afternoon and I need buttons. Perhaps you heard my song of celebration from afar. I loved knitting with the yarn but was ready to be finished. I have a shawl languishing in a bag but feel like working on some smaller projects. 

I knit on this sock and cast on the fingerless mitts that will be a birthday gift for a niece. This is my fourth time knitting the Alfresco Mitts pattern. The all-over ribbing accommodates to different sized hands. I have used heavy fingering yarn, as in this mitt, as well as older Quince and Co Chickadee, a heavy sportweight. Late last summer I ordered some Chickadee and it wasn't as heavy but I digress. Anyway, I appreciate the details in this pattern. The cable is created by shifting stitches from the ribbing in a set-up row and the thumb gusset has nice detail with one rib running up the center of the gusset and thumb. 

I am currently listening to Violeta by Isabel Allende. In a letter to a young woman, Violeta looks back over her life that has spanned the twentieth century. Although the author does't specifically name Chile, at least in the beginning, I assume that is the setting for most of the story. Reading about world events from the point of view of a Chilean woman is interesting especially after reading Allende's nonfiction book, The Soul of a Woman. She is an accomplished storyteller and writer. 

My word this year is Kindness. And so I loved this message from Jonah and his kindergarten class. The painting on the letters are handprints of children at his school. The message in the dot of the i reads, "Be the I in kind." As I bend my hands and heart to kindness this year, I find some challenges. When representatives of political candidates canvas the neighborhood prior to the May primary election, my goal is to be respectful and kind. It takes courage to go door to door and whether I agree or not, I hope to respect that courage. It's not easy.  

 

Ravelry Links

Valentine Socks

Alfresco Mitts