Sunday, March 22, 2009

I think spring finally showed up!

sugaring in our yard

A couple of things clued me in to darling spring's arrival. I haven't been as cold as usual which is always nice. Then we noticed a few weeks ago that our maple trees were tapped! I've seen sugaring going on in the valley, but I've never lived right next to it. To my surprise, the sap is pretty abundant, if you are standing next to the buckets, you can hear the drip drip drip of the sap. The bucket fills up daily and a truck with a big plastic tank comes by to collect the sap. Hopefully we will score a little of the final product.

inside the sap bucket

This bucket just got emptied. Elliott and I also went to the North Hadley Sugar Shack this morning for brunch. You can hang out in the sugaring room and be tortured by the delicious fragrance of maple syrup while you wait for your table. Honestly the best thing about this place is their bacon. I ordered an extra slice of bacon with my french toast.

leyburn socks

leyburn socks

I've got a couple of finished knits to show off:

Leyburn socks all done; nice and green for spring and st. patrick's day.
pattern: Leyburn socks by mintyfresh
yarn: Madelinetosh sock in the Jace colorway.
verdict: love the pattern and I love this sock yarn - put them together for sock heaven!

handspun ribbon lace scarf

I finally finished my scarf!

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery
Yarn: handspun merino tencel in the colorway "seascape" from the Sheep Shed @ Mountain View Farm. (4 oz.) I got the fiber at the Mass sheep and wool festival.

I’m really pleased with how this turned out. I had this pattern in mind when I spun the yarn and was excited to get something close to what I was imagining.

I'll leave you with one more bit of spring...

spring!