Archives for March 2010

I’ll pick up my knitting needles again this weekend for the first time in a month. PT is helping with the flexibility in my hand, and I prefer to believe that knitting will only supplement the progress I’ve made despite all indications to the contrary. First up, finish the last sleeve of my February Lady Sweater, which did not get completed in February after all.

Although Spring is fully underway here, I should get lots of end-of-season wear out of it in the evening when the temperatures still dip down into the 40’s. I may need some votes on the button choices, however, and will post photos of the options.

Next up is a secret project that I’m excited to start on, as well as a couple of other projects that have been languishing in my WIP pile for far too long considering how close they are to completion. Another cardigan is one of those WIPS, and it’s still in the WIP pile because I got discouraged at how small it seems in its unblocked form even though I made a few sizing modifications. It’s the Mr. Greenjeans pattern from Knitty’s Fall 2007 issue. Now that I’ve taken another look at it, I am hopeful that my yarn choice (Elann’s Peruvian Sierra Aran in a luscious bottle green) will block out nicely. Again, just one sleeve to go!

I’m not sure what’s up with the military references the last post or two, but I’ve been pre-occupied with hands lately because of my recent surgery.

I got the stitches taken out of my right hand today, so I couldn’t be happier. In two weeks, with any luck I’ll be knitting again – once the physical therapy has had time to kick in. Even now, my hand feels better than I expected. I can bend and flex the two fingers that were operated on and although it hurts to make a fist, I’ll be working on that exercise to re-build my flexibility. What a relief!

More recent appearances in the garden:

I’m always amazed at how tenacious the California poppies are. The seeds scatter in the fall, and rebloom reliably each spring – but ONLY in the sections of the garden where they get full sun. They are concentrated in the front, and have (so far) never gotten a toehold in the back garden. The hostas return every spring. This is when they look their best, actually – before the snails and slugs get to them.

An all-volunteer army of flowers blooming, that is. Now that the rain has stopped and the sun has come out, the garden has exploded. Much of what I’m finding was planted years ago… gotta love those perennials.

Each year the mounds of low-growing blooms spread more widely across the ground.

The daffodils and narcissi bulbs divide themselves underground so that every year the clusters are more heavily populated.

These black callas are always among my favorites, despite the fact that they smell like elephant dung and bear an uncanny resemblance to a certain human anatomical feature…

Not that I’m complaining. For melodrama in the garden, they really can’t be beat. Plus, that chartreuse and deep merlot color combination is a visual thrill.