Whew, after a very mild start…we plunged into the deep end of winter. Yes, it has been cold and wintry here in the south hills of Pittsburgh! But as we inch past the half way point, I am finding some uplifting things to bolster my days! Daylight being the best and brightest of all the things!
My early outings with Frankie (not really walks as it has been much too cold to do that, but we do amble about a bit) have a sky that is now a deep indigo rather than being black as night! And this past week, the hints at the coming sunrise have been gorgeous despite the bitterly cold air temps. Now, these have not been wildly colorful sunrises, but beautiful pale pinks and oranges… almost like a watercolor painting in their translucence. And yet they are so fleeting… a moment there and the next gone. A good reminder that though this weather is here today… it too will soon be gone and so I am savoring these wintry days.
And yes, these bitterly cold days have been accompanied by loads of bright sunshine and I love every bit of that! The angle of the sun is perfection right now, it streams in the windows brightening every single room! It is the best thing about this time of year and I will take these cold sunny days over cloudy milder days.
My thoughts were filled this past week with all the bulbs that are tucked away beneath the snowy blanket. At this time last year… (and for most previous years as well) I had snowdrops blooming. We are supposed to have a big warm up this week and I have been thinking that it might be fun to have snowdrops sprouting up with a bit of snow still on the ground!
And speaking of the weather, I have had an idea rambling around in my head for a long time and I think this might be the year for it to step beyond the thinking stage and into reality. So I have been doing some “prep work” since January… charting temperature highs and lows and jotting a note or two about the days weather. A couple of years ago Jo Avery (who is all kinds of inspiring when it comes to temperature textiles) created a book of the temps and weather. I like the idea of making it really just as simple as she did… a small square reflecting the high temp, a circle reflecting the low temp and a few stitches to indicate the weather. Right now I am working on figuring out fabrics… unlike hers (which is measured in Celsius) I will need to have “ranges of temps” in the Fahrenheit scale. Believe me, I have contemplated using Celsius, which would make things much simpler however my expansive knowledge of temperatures on the Celsius scale is limited to 0°C and 100°C. Anyways, I am closer to gathering all the bits… and I hope to begin this shortly after I finish The Great February Bang Out a Sweater-a-thon! (I knit a lot over the weekend and still have miles to go before I get to the sleeve divide but more on that on Wednesday!)
Header photo by Ylanite Koppens and though it has been too cold for any snowman making in my neighborhood, I am hopeful that this week’s warm up will provide the requisite moisture for the snow to hold together and some snowpeople begin popping up!
The strong sunlight has been such a blessing, hasn’t it? I love seeing the sunlight hours getting a little longer. We even heard a wren singing a Spring song over the weekend! I’m so curious about your new project involving temperatures – can’t wait to learn more about it!
I am eager to see your temp book as it evolves. The weather is so so so cold!! I like it but it doesn’t have to be this cold.
I love Jo Avery’s minimal take on temperature stitching and will be anxious to see yours when it begins to come together. My grandfather always said that a big blanket of snow was the best thing for bulbs, so I’m hoping for a lovely show in spring.
I did a knitting temperature project (10 years ago!) and really enjoyed it. I didn’t do all the record-keeping myself, which was easier, but not as personal. Your writing on your early morning walks was a great way to start the morning
Oh my, Jo Avery’s temperature design is gorgeous!! When I was figuring out how I was going to do my temperature blanket, I chose one color for each 5-degree interval and was really quite amazed at how often I was changing colors! At one point, I thought that maybe I should have done 10-degree intervals! haha. We are heading into a warm-up this week & hopefully that means that you will soon feel it, too.
I appreciate your positive spin about the light and the sunshine on these cold days. But I still hate it. LOL
The sun shining makes everything feel a little better! Even if the cold seems relentless this year. I’m looking forward to a bit of a warm-up/thaw . . . AND to seeing your “weather watch” stitching project come to life! XO
What a beautiful post on light and sunshine this time of year. The stitching project looks like fun. I like the simplicity of a circle with a bit of stitching. I think circles are beautiful and interesting as shapes for stitching.
Just in the past couple of weeks, I’ve been opening the blinds at the back of the house for the afternoon and it’s been bright enough that I haven’t had to turn on the lights. Plus that sunshine feels so good! I’ll be keeping my eye out for snowdrops this week while Ruthie and I walk.
I love the idea of those circles in squares as a way to chart the temperature changes. I’m sure you’ll do something fabulous!
I vaguely thought about making a temperature scarf this year.. but life intervened and I didn’t. It hasn’t been very cold for me this year just WET, and it’s raining again today.