Winter isn't done with us yet and FLoF!

After a break in the sunny, warm, breezy Florida Keys last month we had to come back to central PA. Now don't get me wrong I love where we live now - trees, hills, valleys, countryside, lively college town, lots of locally grown produce throughout the year, so many great things, and all four seasons.  Usually I enjoy winter, even the cold snowy days and especially when the sun shines on the bright white snow, however that sort of weather has been in short supply this year and we have had lots of grey days, rainy days and precious few sunny days, in fact it was like being back in a UK winter - but this year they have had enough rain to float a battleship!

Just before we left for those southern latitudes my amaryllis sent up its flower spike and a few days after I got back it was in full, glorious bloom with 4 scarlet trumpet flowers atop the stem.

Spring can't come too soon now and the signs are there: my daffodils are sending up leaves and flower buds, the birds are starting to sing and milder days seem to have arrived some of the time.  I am looking forward to spring flowers, all the fresh shades of green as the trees burst into leaf and the glorious pinky-red-magenta colours of the redbuds as they come into bloom.

With that in mind I am still knitting a cold weather project: the Noro #9 cowl.  I am using Noro Silk Garden yarn for this that I bought at our wonderful local creative re-use store Scraps and Skeins.  S&S is the most wonderful place where you might not get what you went in for as the stock is always changing, but you will probably come out with something that whispered (or even shouted) "Buy me!"  That is how I ended up with 5 balls of Noro Silk Garden, all in different colourways, a couple not quite full yardage, but they asked to be bought and I obliged!

My aim is to have this finished not just be then end of the month for my One Monthly Goal, but in time to wear at FLoF #10 on Saturday 14th March. "FLoF? What is FLoF?" I hear you say, which is pretty much what I said when I first heard of it.  For the Love of Fiber (note that I can spell like an American when appropriate) is a one day fiber festival run by the Centre Knitters Guild (and yes that IS the correct spelling of centre here in Centre County PA).  As I upload this posting I have knitted 27 inches with 10 more to go by then end of the week!