Familiar Lessons

Yesterday we had a taste of Spring. The day was warm enough to walk in shirt sleeves and so I did. Earlier this week, we attended the funeral of an acquaintance who died suddenly. I decided grocery shopping could wait ninety minutes. At the edge of town, I walked on a trail and sat on a bench facing the sun. Later I carried my knitting to the deck. The sun was lower in the sky as the robins and finches sang to each other. I'm sure the dust continued to accumulate in the house but the warm day was too fine not to be outdoors.

On the deck, I bound off the Kindness Shawl. It was a well fought game of yarn chicken. I knew I might not have enough to finish the bind off but decided to try. I ran short so I cut the tails from the cast on and one other place where I had removed a knot in the skein. I used those two little pieces to finish. I confess I tied knots after pulling the ends to the back. That corner is not going to win any prizes but I did finish the shawl without tinking back two long rows. I think I won the game but a sudsy bath and blocking will tell the story. If the ends unravel, I will not.

This shawl will be a donation or a gift.  I am not crazy about the tonal variations and color in this yarn. Both looked better to me in the skein than in the shawl. The yarn has a nice hand and the pattern is easy to follow. It just doesn't seem to be a good match for me. Perhaps someone else will enjoy it. The lesson here is not to persevere when a little voice in my head raises questions. How many times do I need to be reminded that not all projects need to be finished? The yarn would have made great socks.

Today the sky is partly cloudy and the day is not as warm. No matter, my Texas grandson and his mother are in town and we are meeting them for pizza this evening. That will be sunshine enough for this day.

Ready for Spring

Welcome March, the month of windy mercurial weather, winter one day and spring the next. Today looks more like winter with the latest skiff of snow on the ground. The color block sweater is finished. I will enjoy wearing the sweater into the early Spring. Except for the cuffs, I used yarn leftover from two projects so my stash is a tad bit lighter. You know you are a knitter when you order yarn for a project that was supposed to be knit from leftover yarn.

After we photographed the sweater, I looked down at my feet. You know you are a knitter when you wear out one of a pair of hand knit socks but save the other to wear with another sock missing its mate. The lavender sock has been in my drawer since last winter waiting for a mismatched mate.

While the sweater dried, I knit on this shawl from another skein of yarn buried in the stash. It feels good to knit with yarn and patterns on hand. I picked the color to remind me of the spring flowers that will soon push up from the ground.

I am listening to Personal History by Katherine Graham. Graham became the publisher of The Washington Post after her husband's death. She experiences many privileges from being born to a wealthy parents. However she also experienced some anti-Semitism due to her Jewish heritage through her father. My Dad was a Circulation Manager of a newspaper and my brothers continue to work in the field so I am interested in the autobiography from the standpoint of newspaper history as well as the education and professional life of this strong woman. 

I am reading The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, a light hearted, feel good literary romp set in a small town in Iowa. It is good company for recovery from cataract surgery late last week. This is my second eye to be repaired and the procedure went well. I plan to have new glasses in time for Spring travel. 

Joining Kat and the Unravelers. What are you knitting and reading this week?