AuntyNin's Place

Midwinter blahs, the bane of February around AuntyNin's Place, have set in with a vengeance. Most of the drifts of snow from the Valentine's Day storm are still obstructing progress of both vehicles and pedestrians. Dragging the reluctant body out of bed in the morning has become a major challenge, in spite of slight improvements in the mobility arena. There's something about six-foot-high snow piles that just makes me want to pull the covers over my head and whimper.

Besides that, all the current knitting projects have suddenly become intensely boring, which foreshadows an imminent case of Startitis. Not that I really need to start new projects with all the stuff currently on the needles. Still, the SeaSocks swap socks (try saying that three times fast!) must get done, if only I could decide on a pattern and yarn.

Progress has happened in a couple of areas. The Sorbetto cardigan only needs to have its buttons sewn on and a cold pressing to set the front bands, and it'll be ready for wearing. Over the weekend, a ball of leftover worsted in bright colors almost magically transformed itself into a pair of kid-size mittens for Dulaan.

Now the question arises: with Sorbetto as good as done, should I (a) swatch for the Celtic Icon pattern, or (b) finish the top-down t-shirt before heading out on vacation. Decisions, decisions. . .

Perhaps the arrival of the first Rockin' Sock Club package will break the grip of the blahs. Time will tell.

Sn*w. In my vocabulary, this is one of the worst of the four-letter words. This is particularly true when the first thing I see in the morning is a fourteen-inch-deep drift on my windowsill, and nothing but swirling white beyond it. Thus started yesterday. And to the people who scoffed at me when I predicted that we'd eventually have to pay for all the good weather in December and January . . .

Fortunately, my boss agrees with me that it's better to take an unscheduled vacation day than to risk a broken hip trying to get to the office. Since there was nothing particularly urgent on my agenda for the day, I stayed at home.

In spite of having had a deliciously decadent day, curled up in my Knitting Throne, sipping fresh-brewed cinnamon coffee and knitting my fingers off, I must confess that I'm tired of this "winter" thing. Cold and blustery and slippery underfoot gets old really fast. I'm ready for it to be spring, with crocuses and daffodils blooming and bright-green leaves peeping out of the trees.

On the knitting front, the Sorbetto cardigan is moving along nicely; the plain stockinette is good for showing off the yarn, and is utterly mindless to knit. It's on the second front now, and the only potential obstacle to completion would be my absent-minded knitting of a second left front instead of the right front that it needs to become. Since I'm completely capable of this kind of brain-spasm, there are no guarantees being offered at this time. Still, even if I did have to re-do part of it, the odds are looking good for it to be done in time for SeaSocks in late April.

Aside from Sorbetto, the only project that's getting attention right now is the baby cable rib sock in Austermann's "Step" yarn. This yarn has a lovely feel, and is knitting up quite well, almost no problems aside from a slight tendency to tangle. These should be done by the end of the month, as I'm already midway down the leg of the second one. That'll put me right on schedule to start a pair for my SeaSocks Sock Swap partner, as soon as the matchups are announced.

Five weeks to the official start of Spring. That's about six weeks too long for me.