Summer Afternoons

I love summer afternoons. Being perpetually cold-blooded, I especially enjoy the summer heat, and I also love the scent of newly mown grass, the hum of cicadas, and the shimmering sunlight filtered through overhead leaves. 

Although the season seems languid, I've been as busy as the honeybees buzzing over my lavender plants, in my case attending wool shows and knitting conferences, swatching for new designs, working on huge home projects and enjoying the fruits of our gardening labors. 
 

 

 

The lavender shown in the main photo at the top of the post was glorious this year, although waning a little by the time I managed to get my camera out to the garden. My  plant is a piece from a large lavender shrub that grew in my grandmother's garden for at least 50 years before she passed away. I have very fond childhood memories of working by her side in her garden and drying and pressing the flowers we grew there to make collages, cards and other artwork. 

My grandmother's lavender shrub is now in my care and I'm propagating it to spread baby plants around to my siblings and cousins in the hopes that the plants will help the memory of my grandmother's amazing creative gift to live on. 

Although I knit a bit more slowly in summer, I still love it no matter the season. I've been swatching up oodles of new ideas, I've finished knitting the project in Malabrigo Silky Merino shown in my last post, and I'm nearly finished with my crochet jacket (photos one of these days). We've had gorgeous weather this year for the most part and I plan to make the most of the rest of the season. I hope you've been enjoying your summer and stitching some nice things as well. 

I'll be posting soon about the interesting wool shows I've attended in the past year, including my last trip to Taos. Until then, thanks for stopping by my studio today. Peace, blessings and happy stitching to you!

"Summer afternoon—

summer afternoon; 

to me those have always 

been the two most 

beautiful words in 

the English language."

~Henry James

A note on lavender for those who have inquired: In general lavender is not especially long-lived but certain varieties readily self-sow or multiply themselves through a process called layering. The plant shown above is really a descendant of my grandmother's original lavender plant. However, with a vigorous variety such as mine, you often won't be able to easily see where the old plant has died back from the center and new offshoots have come up! I've no idea what variety this plant is but it has survived decades of brutally cold winters in my grandmother's northern home with no fuss or  attention. Lavender in general requires full sun, well-drained soil and warmth but some varieties will tolerate winter given consistent snow cover.

Pattern Sneak Peek & Test Knitting

It's been as hot as blazes around here but that has not kept me from working on my next pattern projects! The swatches in this post are from one of three versions I've knit for development of my next pattern.

I enjoy the entire process of designing including concept sketch, pattern writing, knitting, photography and graphic design, and although I love doing all of these things, I also have a small team of helpers to assist me including test knitters and tech editors.

A draft for this pattern has been sent to the technical editor (who requests to remain anonymous, but you can listen to her podcast A Playful Day). She's the first line of defense in checking for errors in stitch patterns, charts, grammar, etc. and offering her suggestions for clarity and improvement.

After a successful tech edit, I have a wonderful group of test knitters who I work closely with to polish up a pattern. These men and women receive the pattern well before it's public release and offer valuable input and feedback as they knit their projects and afterwards. 

I'm always happy to consider new test knitters, so if you are interested in participating in the pre-release test for my next design just drop me an email or Ravelry PM with your email address and I will contact you. 

Some FAQ about test knitting:

Do I have to be an expert knitter to test knit? 

Not especially, of course you need to know the basics - simple cast on methods, knit, purl, decreases, increases, etc. but anything unusual or tricky will have information links to my blog or special tutorials in the pattern. And in many cases, being a less-experienced knitter can be a plus as a pattern instruction may not be intuitive for you and that helps me see where confusion or trouble spots might pop up for other knitters.

What sort of commitment do you require?

I need reliable testers who can finish, block and photograph their completed projects within a set time frame, which varies depending on the complexity of the project. Test opening emails include the time frame specified for that project. 

When the test knit is concluded, testers must answer a few questions on a short survey.

In addition, testers agree to not post any photos, description or pattern details of any kind, online or elsewhere, until you receive notification of the pattern's release. 

What sort of photos do you require?

Simple, clear photos from several angles in natural light. In order to be considered for a test knit opening, I need to see examples of your previous project photos, these can be from your Ravelry page or blog, or emailed to me. The better your photos, the better your chance of being accepted to participate, but I am happy to offer suggestions for making your projects shine in pictures!

Today brought a small, but welcome, respite from the unusual, record-breaking heat (103 degrees F in the shade yesterday) in my area, and this lovely lavender lemonade recipe from Rachel Ray that I found on Pinterest

looks so refreshing I believe I shall pop out to the backyard and clip a few lavender stems and try it.

Stay cool everyone!