interknitter: To February

Dear February,

I understand that you may feel small and sad compared to the other months of the year. I know it must be hard to feel your importance as the last month of the Roman calendar has diminished since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, and being only 5’2” myself I sympathise with your shortness. I know it must be hard that once every four years you’re given an extra day, only to have it snatched away the following year. I really am sorry that you may feel you’re the dregs of winter, a holding bay for life while the year stretches, yawns and thinks about bringing on the spring.

I am therefore not asking for very much. I am fully aware that -2˚C is really not at all cold and that the purchase of some sensible shoes would solve all my grocery-shopping problems, that I could avoid exposing my toes to prolonged numbness if I would only embrace the occupancy of clumpy-shoe-ville. I am in fact requesting only a teeny-tiny effort on your part, and it's this.

A ray of light, please. Just one or two a day would do the trick. How about lunch time? Go on, I'll do my bit by making sure I'm outside at midday to catch the full benefit. I know it's only one day in but since you and I have met before I have an inkling you might make this an ongoing theme. I have needed the desk lamp on just to see through the gloom to my computer, and this despite the fact that I have carefully positioned myself by the window. As my landscape photography is really not up to showing you the variety of shades of grey around today, I enclose a colour sample kindly donated by my mother*:

Thank you for your kind attention in this matter.

All best wishes,

Philippa

*(To those not responsible for the weather, another interpretation of this picture could be 330gm of 100% alpaca 4-ply, cast out of one warm cupboard in present sweater state under accusation of inducing 'rabbity' apperance in wearer, looking for a home in my yarn drawer).

Also for the purpose of illustration my sister was kind enough to follow the yarn for the kidney-warmer from Sheffield, and can be seen here modelling the original.