"Every year, back comes Spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants."*

Spring comes to different people in different ways.  Judy marks the season with peepers and hummingbirds.  Both tap elemental, euphoric, visceral memories of spring where I grew up.  Peepers are holy and astonishing.  My rite of spring passage was the search for frog eggs in the local wetlands.  In that time, we called it a swamp.  The water levels rose and fell with the spring rains.  Mud sucked our sneakers into the mire, and empty coffee cans were soon filled with the ebony-spotted gels.

Sam Allis, in the Boston Gl0be on Sunday, voiced our relief and euphoria.  Go read his "Soft Spot for Spring".  It is perceptive and funny.

I find that the blog is picture-driven.  No pictures?  It's harder to write blog posts.  The FOs stack up, waiting for the sun.

Whisper Rib and Shepherd Lace Socks

Lorna's Laces, Island Blue

Needles:  Crystal Palace 1 and Knittingsmith Lorrie's sterling silver beauties, size 1

When Wendy blogged about Celtic Forge's sterling silver needles, I almost ordered a set.  Molly asked me to draw the point I wanted.  How do you draw a point for a non-sockknitter that is somewhere between a Crystal Palace 1 1/2 and a Knitpicks Options needle? Lorrie stepped up to the plate,  instead.

She is a metalsmith, an artist, a knitter, a spinner, an editor, and a knitgoddess.  She made these, AND the silk case.  They are sensu0us knitting tools.  She blogs just enough to escape being sadly blogless.  The watch cap in her most recent post is a deceptively simple FO that makes the prospect of future cold weather almost bearable. 

Woolapalooza on March 31st was a fiber-tease.  I thought the full-fledged fiberfest fever would start with Connecticut Sheep and Wool on April 28th.  (Yes, I will be there.)  This year, my fiber season started with a "Baaaaa" on April 18th.

Beadlizard Sylvia pointed me to WhiteFishBay Farm for Corriedale fleeces last year.  Word on the blogstreet was that they sell out immediately after posting the spring's shearings.  Ms. Lorrie, who works near a computer all day, took pity on me, because I don't.  She snagged a beautiful fleece for me, sweater-sized, and had it sent to the Wooly Knob boys for processing straight from WhiteFishBay. 

I have used "In Sheep's Clothing" as my informal shopping list.  I'm done.  The occasional coup de coeur is allowed, but I now have the wools I want.  Spinning the Coopworth fleece (he was a BIG boy) has given me graphic respect for just how much spinning each fleece represents.  I think I have about three years of processed fleece stockpiled.  I am happy.

Cabled-vest-monogamy didn't last long.  I cast on for the obligatory mindless st st sock in Fleece Artist burgundy, 3x1 ribbed cuff. 

And finally, I am THRILLED to present this picture of the Etherknitter spring garden.  White bells start the festivities, and herald the yellow trumpets close behind.

*Dorothy Parker, 1893-1967

Comments

[Juno]

Oh I remember the days when there was just this idea that fleece was not going to enter your life.....

Socks are gorgeous.

Needles even more so.....

[Manise]

Great FO's, beautifully crafted needles and a lovely Andromeda. Mine are fungally doomed- in need of spray, pruning and general rescue.

[LaurieM]

I feel like a yappy little bird myself when spring rolls around. I think of myself as a solar powered creature.

[Caroline M]

My yellow trumpets have been and gone and now look a mess. This is the point where I think hard about just digging them up for good (but I won't). The burgundy is a lovely colour, rich enough to be a reprieve from grey.

[margene]

Whisper Rib socks make feet look happy in the sun. Some how I just imagine there will be no fleece in your life for three years to come.

[elizabeth]

Lovely flowers! I've been spinning Corriedale lately and really love it. I'd love to know your favorite wools, if you feel like sharing!

[Marcia Cooke]

I am sadly reaching a point in my life where your title quote says it for me...darned birds. Darned plants. (Damn deer!) Now, I do have a Corriedale source for you if you are interested....! Sterling silver needles...must get those! Socks are magnificent (says she struggling to finish a plain vanilla pair) and the vest is delicious. See you Saturday! (Himself, who is going to be my "lovely assistant" should I decide to do a little wool combing demo for the Nutmeg Spinner's Guild, is thrilled that he will finally get to meet Etherknitter!)

[Chris]

Hope to see you Saturday! I'm teaching a workshop from 9 to noon and demonstrating bunny grooming at 2. So maybe in between we'll bump into each other. I'll probably be looking at spinning wheels.

The socks, the needles and the white bells all are yummy!

[Anne]

Those socks are a lovely spring-like color. They should make for a very happy pair of feet!

You are in good company with the Whitefish Bay fleece - whichever one you got. Carole Rhoades SWEARS by them. Pics please when it arrives!

[Sylvia]

A 3-year stockpile sounds about right. Of course you can extend that by spinning froghair. Can't wait to see what you do with the WB fleece -- does it go to the end of the 3-year line?

[Teresa C]

No more fleeces. AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Nice socks.

Nice post.

I just went back and took out three exclamation points from this comment. I know I don't speak in all excamatory phrases.

[Theresa]

Happy Spring!

[Lucia]

I thought I heard a carillon and a flourish when I walked outside this morning. (Today it is not spring, it is summer. Spring again tomorrow.)

Beautiful socks!

[Marcy]

Somebody out to canonize Dorothy Parker. Or something. The woman was a peach.

Nice socks!

[kmkat]

Spring peepers are my definitive sign that the season has sprung. And I heard them last week -- aaaahhhhh! Pretty flowers.

[Cheryl]

I have ALMOST all the wools I want. Remember my fleece list? I've been slowly accumulating them. Some seem to require trips to Turkey or Pakistan though, so those might have to wait a while.

[Birdsong]

I love the quote at the beginning... so true and yet I still feel poetic about spring after all these years. Guess I just am an optimist! Those are some bright, fab socks...

[Romi]

Ooh! I *love* the socks! Happy spring. :)

[Beth S.]

Oh, Dorothy! I love her. :-)

Your socks are marvelous! I pulled out that very pattern a week or two ago, opened it up, saw that there were no charts, sighed regretfully, and put it away. Did you knit from the written directions, or did you make up some charts of your own? That's what I should do, but I am Lazy.

[scout]

I love the socks!

[Lorette]

Great socks!
I love the Dorothy Parker quote.
Those needles are definitely going on the "husband should buy this for me for birthday" list.

[Kim]

Flowers......you have flowers!

Those needles are pretty awesome and the socks are not so bad either! Very nice!

[vanessa]

me wanties those needles :-)

[Monica]

There's always Shetland, if you don't already have it, very small fleeces... ;)

Happy socks, and socks happy for sun! Love the flowers.

[Cindy D]

Those socks are awesome!!!!