Preparing to March Forward

So February is over.  I'm reasonably glad to see the back of it - it was far too cold and damp for my liking.  However there have been some signs of Spring - crocuses and snowdrops in the gardens - daffodils in the shops.  So now I'm looking forward to March.

Progress has been varied this last week, so I'll start with the most progress and work down to the least.

 Beginning with the Panda Hat, the basic hat itself is finished - it just needs the back seam sewing up and blocking.  The two black pieces are its ears, which need blocking, oversewing round the edges and attaching to the hat.  Still to do are the two eyes, which will also need blocking and attaching to the hat before I embroider the pupils on.  However I do have another week in which to get this done, so fingers crossed.

Moving on to Baby Express, I have completed the stitching on the second carriage and started the back stitching.  I am unsure whether the black and white creature is a zebra or a cow - what are your thoughts?  The next stage is to finish the back stitch on this section and then stitch the right hand border.

I did manage to get one more cable repeat knitted on my handwarmers, but at the moment it looks like they won't be completed before the weather changes for the better.  However, if I can get at least one repeat done a week, they will eventually reach the finishing line.

And finally a new start!  My fingers were getting all twitchy because I had no socks on the go.  So, having finally managed to ball up the yarn I wanted to use, today I cast on for "Hermione's Everyday Socks" by Erica Lueder.  The yarn is "Clovelly" in The Natural Dye Studio's Godiva HT 4 Ply/Sock (100% single spun merino).  It feels absolutely lovely!

In other news, I had a day off on Friday to have my new toilet fitted.  The porcelain on the old one was disintegrating and my plumber said that he had never seen anything like that before.  The replacement only took about 3 hours and I had the rest of the day to myself.  The only drawback was that the car had had to go into the garage to have a flashing dashboard light investigated (no definite conclusion reached - just have to wait and see what happens), so I just pottered about at home, knitting and stitching.  At least I didn't have to go to work :-)

I didn't get weighed on Thursday, partly due to the car issue and partly because I had to go to a meeting that evening, so I don't know whether I made any progress in that area or not.

I have a busy week ahead of me, so will finish now and wish you and yours all the best and may the frog steer well clear of your needles.