What a season! Dangerous cold, snow, sleet, freezing rain, graupel, wintery mix – we’ve lived through it all this winter in mid-Missouri. Every day our pipes don’t freeze in our trailer is another victory.

Interspringle

I made up a word this morning and you are welcome to use it. The word is interspringle. It’s a mix of intersperse and intermingle. “My purple and grey yarns were interspringled.” This is what happens when I am not paying attention. New words and yarn snaggles.

Recent activities

A highlight of this winter was my church’s annual women’s retreat. I was lucky enough to be a keynoter and I got to talk about yarn. Special thanks to Pat Klein for her inspiration and support. Warm thanks to Genevieve Perso for being my impromtu yarn prop manager. Big thanks to Audrey Spieler for these great photos of my talk.

A blessing during silent time was seeing a rainbow. Although it was silent time, my cabin neighbor said, “Amen!” She couldn’t have said it better. Thank you to all the women who were there in person – or in spirit. I felt loved. I felt like I belonged. I appreciated hearing so many stories. It strengthened me.

Ripple success

The positive side of being indoors, for months, is a lot of time to knit and crochet. My constant kitty crochet companion, Freyja, appreciates that.

When you last heard from your blogging heroine, I was starting a ripple blanket. I am pleased to announce that I have it almost done. By almost done, I mean I have to sew in my ends. So that will only take me a year or two and then I will have a nice blanket! (Sewing in ends is a chore and I would rather muck out Miko’s pen than do it.)

Tea cozy success…and disaster

Sometimes you have to fail spectacularly before you can succeed. I made this lumpy mess first.

Wow, it made an attractive English teapot look awful. That is almost impressive. I was sad to waste that yarn and time. Then I decided I would try again.

Better, right? More like a tea cozy and less like something one of our cats spit up.

Where there is more yarn, there is always hope.

Lent

Today begins Lent, the season we shed old habits like selfishness and judgement.

For Lent, I will not buy yarn. I’m a little nervous that I will run out before Easter but I have already had generous friends offer to give me some if I need it. Isn’t that what friendship is, knowing what matters to each other and being willing to give it?

Now we turn back toward God with clean and ready hearts. May this new season bless you with health, wholeness, happiness and a sense of what you truly need for the road ahead.