Sheep Shots

March.

Yesterday's weather (and Thursday's) was to be expected. After all, we've had snowfalls of over a foot on St. Patrick's Day (March 17). So a wintery mix followed by a blustery day was nothing out of the ordinary.

Mother Nature's failure to raise the temperature much above freezing, however, left shady places (sidewalks, parking lots, the street in front of my house, the path to the blasted garbage can ) a solid shiny sheet of ice.




But I pulled on another pair of warm, wooly handmade socks and ventured out with the Other Half in search of spring.

The Lehigh Valley Garden Show will never rival the one in Philadelphia. But it's a lot closer and at $7 admission, a lot cheaper (Philly's is $24, I believe).

We got to see some new garden ideas, reminding ourselves that the very pretty fountains and pools we saw are a lot less pretty when the water is green and sludgy in July. Been there, done that, finally gave away the fish and the plants and packed up the "pond."

Looked at some cute garden ornaments, reminding ourselves that once away from all this ambience, they will look every bit as schlocky as they are.

Saved a bunch of money!

Coming home, some moron in an SUV (with a cell phone plastered to his ear) pulled out and nearly got our front end in his driver's side door. There's a 3-day wait for a gun in this state. What about sledge hammers?



Meanwhile, back at the Koigu ranch, when I reached the 100 stitch point (round 22) I switched from double points to my circular and put in some stitch markers at the four corners. The safety pin marking the beginning of the round has been there all along. I need the tactile reminder!

For those new to the technique who are following along, the easiest, safest, and most efficient way to "switch to" another needle, whether it's a different size, type, or length, is to just let go of the needle in your right hand and pick up the new one. Continue knitting. Make sense? No need to slide those stitches any old place and risk dropping one or twisting them.




And now, I am at the end of the openwork patterning in my square. If I stretched it out flat, it would be 8" (center to needle is exactly 4") and you'd be able to actually see the openwork. That means that I need an additional inch on each edge.

I am back in planning mode. I'd like at least 2 more rounds of stockinette stitch (to set off the "candles") before I edge it.

So, about 3/4" of garter or seed stitch. Because I will still need to increase at the markers, I fear that seed stitch won't do.