March has been a slow month, but at least the daffodils have been busy.

I have ambled through the days, enjoying my triumvirate of inked pens which I’ve rotated, day by day, for my journal writing. Each has its own character, and two of them tie as my favourite. The little Kaweco is such a jolly pen, and I always like Diamine’s Honey Burst ink. In fact, the honey tones of the ink complement the gold trim on the pen in a very pleasing way.

If I didn’t have the Kaweco inked up, the Waterman Hemisphere would definitely have come out tops this month. I just love the Waterman Inspired Blue ink in this pen and I’ve been using it in my planner as well as for journal entries and notes. This means that the Namisu Orion has been my least favourite, although it has still been a pleasure to use. Funnily enough, though it was my least favourite, I’ve noticed the Diamine Meadow ink getting a lot of love in the comments.

Having finished my lilac cardigan (which will make a finished object appearance at some point), the knitting needles have largely been at rest. Last week I picked up a ball of sock wool which had previously disappointed me and made another start. It’s early days, but I think I will continue to work on this whilst I dream of what to make next.

I’m not sure how this wool will wear when the socks are finished. It’s got quite a hairy texture which can lead to felted clumps in places which get most friction. Then again, it might be quite the workhorse – you can never quite tell until you’re done and the socks are being washed and worn.

There was one bit of excitement this weekend as I joined in a YouTube live chat hosted by Waski Squirrel, a popular American fountain pen YouTuber. I’ve always been quite sniffy about these live feeds, but actually it turned out to be rather fun.

Thinking back over the month, and taking stock, I’ve made myself a list of things that I really need to accomplish before April comes galloping in. Top of the list is giving the lilac cardigan its post-construction bath so that I can take photographs and start wearing it. I’ve got pens lingering from February which need to be cleaned out and put away, then next weekend I’ll have to clean out March’s pens. I don’t think there will be too much ink left in them. I’d like to put in the work and get the socks well on the way. Then, as we enter the second quarter of the year, it’s time for a new garment project. What will it be? I have no idea! None of the yarns I have are quite enough to make the kind of garments I like so there may need to be some judicious combining of yarns. Still, the lighter evenings may make it easier to come to decisions about whether certain yarns would work together.

So, it’s been a long, slow march to here, but it looks like April might bring a much-needed shot of energy.