Delusions of Springtime (and a winner!)

I should have known this would happen.  It’s practically a given.  If I’m going to spend a week being under the weather and stuck in the house, then as soon as I feel well, I am going to take myself to the nearest shopping center and do a little damage to my wallet.  The more colorfully the better.

Something about being ill on the cusp of spring… By March I have already had more brown and gray than I can stand, but fever and congestion bring a whole new dimension to the colorlessness I already feel.  It’s inevitable that I will bounce in the other direction as soon as humanly possible.  Last year, I emerged on the other side of the early April stomach bug with a loud pair of pajama pants.  Today I postponed my morning routine and dropped $30 at Old Navy, where I bought two t-shirts and 3 pairs of shoes in bright Spring colors.

Matchy-matchy colors, I might add. Two new pairs of shoes to match the two new shirts.

And one new pair to match the shirt I had on.  Are you feeling that Spring feeling yet?  I totally am.  Still, it’s really not spring here in New Jersey, technically-speaking.  There are no flowers in sight, no buds on the trees, and no real greenery anywhere.  The average temperature during a Jersey March is 39 degrees.  Which brings me to this…

It’s still scarf weather, folks.  And you know, I am just desperate enough to see the end of winter that I can’t bring myself to wear the heavy gear I’ve been sporting for the last few months, even if it is still technically required.  I want to believe warmer days are imminent.  You can’t wear a heavy Winter coat and a wool neckwarmer when spring is right around the corner.  You just can’t.

Call it denial, if you want.  I call it optimism 😉  And I think it requires a festive Spring scarf to go with my green vest.

For the curious, I made this tubular scarf on the 24-peg blue Knifty Knitter.  Each end involves 8 rows in a K2 P2 rib, and the rest of it is done in stockinette, 4 rows of each color.  I used Patons Classic Wool and Lion Brand Lion Wool from my stash.  A good project to keep me busy while I was nursing my flu.

For everyone else – all of you who have been reading along so patiently, waiting for me to stop yapping about the weather and just divulge the winner already – the time has come.   I visited random.org to help me choose a comment on my last post, and the winner of Christi Freisen’s fun new book Polymer Clay and Mixed Media – Together at Last is commenter #11 – Iris Mishly!  Congratulations, Iris.  I’ll drop you a line shortly so I can get your shipping information and get the book in the mail to you this week!

For those of you who didn’t win but would still like a copy of the book, I’ve got more in stock here.  Until Midnight on Friday, mention the blog in the comments section of the shopping cart, and if your order includes a copy of Christi’s book, I’ll give you 10% off that order.  Just my little way of thanking you for hanging around here and reading my ramblings.  Enjoy!

And Happy Spring!  It’s almost here.  I am sure of it.