Second spring

In more ways than one.

Every Friday I send out a newsletter for paid members of my Everyday Knitter community. Once a month - or when I feel I’d like to share with more people - I do a free one for everyone to read.

There is a running joke in the UK about the seasons and the fact that the weather likes to play tricks on us. Yesterday was a case in point - I walked through beautiful Cambridge in just a top and jeans, not even a cardigan in sight. This morning I started the car engine and the ‘frost bong’ came on to alert me that the outside temperature was below 4c - such is life.

I could only find this graphic online - apologies - as we are now firmly into the Spring of Deception. Actual, real spring is still some weeks away. But despite that I saw my first shirtless man walking the streets of Cambridge, so what do I know?

I recently came across the concept of Second Spring in a different context though and was thoroughly taken with it. In Japan they have a word for menopause - Konenki - which translates to the renewal years. In other words women’s second spring. And honestly, how beautiful is that.

A new emerging. A new life in many ways. Being born anew, but this time with the benefit of wisdom and learning from our past mistakes. Well, in theory anyway 😂

And I love that for us. There’s a fabulous article on it here if you are interested in reading more about it.

What’s making me smile this week

🌿Finally sorting out my enormous pile of yarn leftovers into different weights. A pleasingly satisfying activity I have to say. And I was surprised at quite how much DK weight yarn I had accumulated. Time for some scrappy DK weight blanket patterns I think - or maybe some boot socks.

🌿 On the subject of sorting I have also got around to setting up a bookshop affiliate link. With the UK indie website bookshop.org - I have created an Everyday Knitter book recommendation list. You can look through the yarny related books that I recommend and if you do make a purchase I get a small amount of money in commission. Unfortunately this only works for UK folk at the present time and I am looking into doing this on other international platforms as well. I am trying to avoid Amazon but it might be the easiest solution for now. See the book list here.

🌿I caved in and bought the i-cord tool I mentioned last week. So I’m keen to try it out on an i-cord bind off. I have been planning such a bind off on a large project I am tinkering with but was somewhat put off by the large numbers of stitches involved. I’m hoping that this might save my bacon - and don’t worry - I’ll report back.

🌿I really enjoyed this lovely piece on journaling by rachel lee .Specifically I loved the fact that she helped to break the practice down into small achievable chunks - a great reminder that it can really be as simple (or as complicated) as we make it. A great read if you want to get into journaling more - or to get back to it this spring.

🌿Hedgehogs! Well one hedgehog in particular that I spotted outside my house at 4am the other morning. It was uncharacteristically early for me - as I was getting ready for a long drive north to see my mum - and I think my appearance in the garden was a surprise to both of us. I was delighted to see this little chunky chap though and after regarding me for a few minutes he trundled off into the hedge. I have often wondered if we have hedgehogs - heaven knows our garden is untidy enough and now I know. I am now of course obsessed with being able to study them more closely and so I’ve ordered a Hedgie House complete with trail camera. My excitement knows no bounds!

If all goes to plan I might have actual hedgehog photos to show you 🧡

Paid members: Don’t forget to check the member resources tab at the top of my Substack homepage. There is an A-Z there of free patterns and resources available to you as part of your membership.