Hello!
It’s snowdrop season! A garden I sometimes pass, is carpeted with them.
We have only small clumps here and there.
Maybe they’ll grow out to a carpet, too, over the years. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? For now, I’m very happy with the ones we have dotted through the garden. I just love their beautiful little bells.
But it’s not just snowdrop season. It is also aconite season.
And iris season. We have yellow and blue miniature irises. The yellow ones are a little later, but the blue ones are in full bloom already. They are especially beautiful looked at from above.
Apart from the snowdrops, everything is earlier than normal this year. We haven’t had any real winter at all, and it feels strange to see so many flowers in the garden already. Compared to the 1950s spring arrives three weeks earlier now, according to Nature Today.
It’s crocus season, too. This is a photo I took last week:
And this is what they look like after triplet storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin raged across the country.
Especially Eunice was fierce, but we do not live close to the coast and it wasn’t as bad here as in the north and west, where it killed four people. Although the solar panels on our roof rattled dangerously, they stayed put. The strong gusts tore tiles from other people’s roofs, though, and toppled quite a few trees.
Some weeks the words flow easily from my keyboard, other weeks they do not. This is a week in the latter category. The seasickness-without-having-been-on-a-boat has gone, but my head is still tired and achy, like having a hangover-without-having-had-any-alcohol. It is also filled with worries about the storm hitting Eastern Europe.
How can I write about snowdrops and knitting at a time like this? But then again, maybe these humble little, peaceful things are more important than ever. So here is a report on my progress on the knitting front.
Remember the cardigan I’m designing and knitting for our daughter? (I wrote about it here.) After some initial swatching and brainstorming, I swatched some more and this is the winning swatch:
I scribbled down notes during the process.
The back was simply knit in stocking stitch. I added a cable to the front, next to the button band, but underestimated how much narrower the cable would be compared to the same number of stitches in stocking stitch. I should have made a larger swatch. Almost at the armhole, I realized that the front would be too narrow and the button bands wouldn’t overlap.
So I ripped the whole thing out, cast on a few more stitches and started again.
This is my favourite type of cable needle. Its V-shape holds the stitches really well, and it is easy to manipulate.
I’m halfway through the second front now, and have good hopes to have the entire cardigan finished by next week. Or am I being too optimistic? Anyhow, I hope to see you again next week. Bye!
Signs of Spring! Wonderful! Here in midwest USA, winter is still upon us. I do see the very earliest signs and one day last week we reached 50 degrees. Today cold and snowy.
I consider myself very fortunate to always be able to turn to knitting for comfort and entertainment. It is always there. We can do something simple or difficult..
Your sweater looks lovely. Thank you. I am enjoying your posts and photos.
I wish you could send some of your snow and wintry weather our way. Although I do love spring, I’d love to have some frost, snow and cold as well. Yes, knitting is a great comfort. Thanks for your kind words.
Thank you for a glimpse of spring, it’s heartwarming.
Your sweater is lovely. You’re a fast knitter, amazing to have it done so quickly.
I agree with you, it is important to include peaceful things in our days during these tumultuous times.
Take care.
Well, it’s a very thick yarn, so the sweater almost grows of its own accord. It’s thinking everything out that slows me down. Thank you for reading and enjoying the glimpses of spring with me.
Thanks for the beautiful flower pictures. Thankful for this beauty especially now with what is going on in Eastern Europe, Covid, and all the world problems.
It’s a great pleasure to me to share some beautiful things with others, and I’m glad there are people like you to share them with. Take care!
The picture of the garden covered in snowdrops made me catch my breath. Just what I needed on a terrible day like this.
We had a snowstorm the other day but the snow is melting rapidly. I have the small yellow flowers in my garden too.
It’s amazing, isn’t it – those hundreds or perhaps even thousands of snowdrops. So beautiful. The last time I was in your part of the world it was us who were melting, on a hot summer’s day. I’d love to see your city covered in snow someday.
It’s never wrong to focus on beautiful things, especially when there is so much ugliness in the world. We have to be aware of the bad, of course, but remember that there is always good.
We are far too cold right now to even think of spring, at least for today. Tomorrow it can be different. Last weekend it was 20 degrees C here, and yesterday it was -10 C. Psychotic weather! I am so grateful that my knitting chair is in a warm part of my house, but near enough a window I can see what the weather is doing outside.
Your daughter’s sweater is really going to be beautiful! It’ll be fun to watch you make it. I’m making lots of socks right now, nothing fancy, just warm socks and lots of them. They make it easy to watch news by.
Oh, those are huge temperature shifts. At minus 10 sitting in a warm chair knitting seems like one of the best things to do. Strangely enough there are no socks on my needles right now. I almost always have a pair in progress. They are such comforting things to knit. Happy sock knitting!
I’m just now catching up on your last post, and am sorry to know about your discomfort and vertigo during this time. There’s really not much one can do when this occurs. I stayed in bed for one whole week when I suffered with vertigo many years ago.
I do hope that more will be discovered scientifically to ease your pain. My mom suffered from migraine headaches, and my heart would break for her. I send good wishes for healthier days ahead.
Yes, to knitting being such a comfort and source of enrichment in all times, but especially during these times in our world. Putting our mind on a different level, so as not to dwell on the tragedy taking place all around us is a help.
The sweet, little snowdrops are a welcome sight, as are your other photos of the earth starting to wake up after a long slumber.
I look forward to your blogs very much, and, again, wish you better days, free of pain.
Also, your daughter’s sweater is lovely! The cable on both sides of the front portion makes the sweater pop!
Maybe I should have stayed in bed at first, too. Maybe I’d have recovered sooner. I’ll keep it in mind for next time (which is hopefully far away or never). I love knitting cables but haven’t knit anything with them for quite a while. I’m happy with how they look, too. Thank you for your well wishes and just for stopping by!