Spring has… Or has it?

Spring has definitely arrived… I think. All month, the temperatures have been on the cool side; we’ve even seen snow at slightly higher elevations as recently as yesterday. However, we’re seeing flowers in the garden. The Star Magnolia is blooming and the tulips are opening. The Forsythia is in full bloom, and the grass in a sheltered area is looking lush and almost ready for it’s first cut.

With the arrival of spring, a restlessness has also arrived around here. Knitting has been sporadic and un-inspired. I did, however, pull out the Shetland Christening dress. I wanted to work on something that required no thought and, seeing as it’s all garter stitch, it fit the bill. There’s a problem, though.

I was happily knitting away when I ran out of thread; it had shredded! I thought that perhaps I’d hooked the yarn on something and it had snapped so I joined the tail to the ball and merrily knit on. It happened again, three rows later. I’m not sure what’s going on, but the yarn has been shredding, almost as if it’s been… dare I even think it?… nibbled. I’m not sure it has, though. I didn’t see any sign of little critters in the yarn and it’s been stored in a cloth bag, in a storage container in a room that has no carpeting. I’m hoping that it may just be breaking because I poked the ends of the needles into the ball (I do that… I shouldn’t, I know). I will continue on, but if I encounter any more of these very thin spots, I may just abandon the entire project. That’s drastic, I know, but I wouldn’t want to finish something so special only to have it fall apart. That would just be sad.