Springtime has come to Sycamore Cove in a sudden burst of green leaves, yellow buttercups, violets and azalea blossoms. Winter is good and gone. It’s time to put up the winter knitting supplies.
My jewel-toned yarns of burgundy, teal, dark blue, and greys go to the zipped-up bin in the upstairs closet where I won’t use them until autumn. My “works-in-progress” baskets scattered around the house now hold yarns in pastel pinks, spring greens, and cheerful yellows.
Putting up the winter stash elicits mixed emotions. Thinking of the Christmas gifts, winter hats, and warm sweaters I made last season gives me a satisfied sense of accomplishment. But then there’s the projects I planned to make and didn’t, the yarns I had pegged for sweaters or hats or lap blankets that just plain didn’t get made. I wonder if I’ll get to them next year. I wonder where I’ll be in my life, whether that yarn will “speak” to me like it did last year, or whether I’ll come up with some new and unexpected use for those unused skeins.
Life is sometimes like that unused winter stash – projects you planned don’t pan out, you don’t have time for them, or you lost interest in them. Maybe you’ll get back to them, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself with a great new idea next year that just hadn’t occurred to you this year. You feel good about what you did accomplish and give yourself a pat on the back for completed and successful items that gave joy to others or served some useful purpose.
But for now, it’s a new season. New yarns mean new projects, new opportunities, new possibilities. It’s springtime – a time for new beginnings in life and in knitting.
Cynthia Coe is a writer, book reviewer, and avid knitter. Her books and blog posts can be found on her Amazon Author Page.