A labour of love

Finally the jumper is finished!

Almost completed in time for Valentine's Day but N says it was worth waiting for - it is wonderful to make clothes for someone who is so appreciative of the time and effort that goes them.  The jumper fits a treat which is a bit of a bonus, given the number of times I've had to unpick it and the fact it was knitted without a pattern :-o  

The moss stitch and garter stitch detail on the yoke and at the top of the sleeves has worked very well, and although I had misgivings about knitting the welt in moss stitch, it actually looks well on and I guess that's the main thing.  Do you see the little bit of dark-coloured wool at the back of the neckband?  Apparently the front and the back look the same to N - he asked for a marker so he didn't put the jumper on back to front!! 

More wind and rain.  Yesterday on the way home from volunteering the roads were completely awash with run-off from the fields.  At one point the water was right across the road, several inches deep - I've not seen flooding there before.  N took some photos on his mobile but I haven't got them transferred to the laptop yet.  In addition to all the rain falling, there is now so much groundwater it is forcing it's way up to the surface in the most amazing ways - we even saw it coming up between the kerbstones and the tarmac of a pavement, gushing out in a fountain - quite bizarre to see.  Everyone has fingers crossed that the weather is going to calm down a little over the next few days, hopefully giving some respite to those people badly affected by the flooding.  

And finally, on a quick dash to the garden in between the rain, I spied the first crocuses of the year, hopefully a sign that Spring may be lurking just around the corner.  It's certainly been a grey, wet and windy old winter but the evenings are gradually pulling out, the sun sets a little further along the skyline each day, and new life in the garden lifts the spirit and reminds me I have much to be thankful for.  Sometimes I try to make life too complicated when in fact it is the simple things which are likely to put a smile on my face.