Where’s Spring??

I know this is a common theme across the US this year. Where is Spring? In Tennessee, we’ve “enjoyed” all 4 seasons in a single week. Below freezing on a Tuesday and then above 60 on Thursday. I’m over it. One of my daughters asked me, last week, to make her another scarf and to send more socks. She lives in the northeast. It’s March 31. And she was serious. Ridiculous.

But today the sun is shining and the air is warm. It feels like spring, finally — the question is how long will it stay this time?

I’ve spent much of this late winter/early spring working on crochet projects. I’m deep into the International Granny Square swap on Facebook. Now that I’ve finally figured out how to crochet a granny square, I can start and finish one on my daily train commute. I’ve sent about 30 of 70 out but have only received back 10 or so. A little disheartening but hoping it’s just because I’m close to the bottom of people’s lists. I’ve also picked up crocheted topped dish towels. You know the kind, they hang over oven and drawer handles in your kitchen. My mother in law used to send me a half-dozen or so every year at Christmas. Now in her late 80s, she no longer makes them and the ones I still have are faded and gray with over washing. With a trip to Walmart and a little effort I now have new dish towels hanging in my kitchen.

I also completed a pair of Seaweed socks for my sister and about 1/2 way through a pair of 2×2 rib socks. In my queue is the aforementioned scarf for my perpetually cold daughter and a sweater’s worth of yarn I bought yesterday from Drew Emborsky.

And I’m spinning. Finished up a couple of skeins but really need to start knitting with it. I may start another sweater with a handspun yoke. If you have a favorite pattern using handspun either in whole or in part, please (PLEASE!) pass it on.

Speaking of spinning, big things are happening around here. First off, I’ve made the decision to sell my RoadBug. My first wheel, the RoadBug is a single treadle and has served me well but I don’t use it anymore and prefer a double treadle. Merlin makes a kit to convert it to double treadle but my RoadBug was produced before 2012 so it would have to be upgraded at the factory in Vermont. Not worth the cost to me and I’d prefer to see it go to a good home.

I also have a couple of events coming up that I’m really looking forward to. The Tennessee Fiber Festival in Dickson, TN. I am taking Roo Kline‘s How to Tame Your Fiber. This is a 2 day class where I’ll learn to skirt a fleece, dye it and then card it into batts. I doubt I’ll ever had the need to actually skirt my own fleece but I am interested in the process from sheep to sweater so this is a great opportunity to fill in the gaps.

I have also signed up for the Tenntucky Fiber Retreat at the Lake Barkley Resort in October. There I will take a couple of knitting classes but plan to spend most of my time sitting on the porch, overlooking the lake, with my spinning wheel. Recent personal issues have thwarted my plans to visit festivals that require travel more than a couple of hours by car. I still have Rhinebeck on my radar but not for 2014.

Entirely unrelated to fiber, April will be full of 5k races for me. March 29 was The Color Run — it was a soggy, cold day but I was able to walk the entire distance without pain.  On April 5th I will walk the Run4Kay — in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships. I have tickets for the Final 4 and Championship games and am so happy they are in Nashville this year! On April 12 is the 2014 VisionWalk which raises much needed money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. And finally, on April 19 is the Tap n’ Run. I am confident, with the help of my orthopedic doctor and physical therapist that I will actually be able to RUN by the end of the May.

Let’s hope the recent return of seasonal weather is a sign of better things to come!