Inspired By - Sand & Surf

A sunny beach with warm sand and sparkling surf seem so quintessentially summer that when I saw this knitter's beautiful Sand & Surf Sothia on Ravelry, I thought it was great inspiration for a post as we hold on to these last warm days near summer's end.  

Although our climate is temperate we do get a few weeks of summer heat, mostly during July and August. Even during hot weather though, I often reach for a knitted item to warm exposed skin in air conditioned settings, and I especially love a light shawl to cozy up with on cooler evenings.

I love this summer-y version of Sothia, knit in sand and aqua colors by Ravelry member tannastanley. 

 

The daughter of Tanna's friend was recently married in a gorgeous country wedding and Tanna's post on her blog The Brick Street Bungalow showcases many photos of the event, including several of her wearing her beautiful shawl.
 

I wish everyone a wonderful week and I offer many thanks for the inspiration Tanna!












Beach photos are linked from my Breeze Pinterest board.

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.

Update

Summer has seemed almost as busy as the holiday season, what with outdoor events, yard work, family plans, health challenges, Independence Day, etc. My self-imposed deadline to publish my next shawl design - the end of August - is looming! But not to worry, things are looking good and the pattern should be released in the next week.

The pattern itself has been finished for a while, but there were tech editing, test knitting (with several test knitters on holiday) photography and other tasks to accomplish as well as a new project.

Although this new peripheral project has slowed up the pattern release somewhat, it's been a lot of fun and I can't wait to share it with you. Hint - I've seen this type of project done before but, at least in my experience, not by knitwear designers...

The blocking photo above shows the main pattern project, knit in my favorite purple color. I hope to post a few more complete project preview photos and details within the next few days here on the blog.

Lately I've been spending a lot of time sitting at my computer going over photos, outlining new designs and knitting swatches, interspersed by a Pinterest break every now and then for fun. I am definitely looking forward to the cooler temperatures and slower pace of fall, but I intend to enjoy the rest of the season, and I hope you enjoy the remainder of your summer as well.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week and happy stitching!

Welcome Summer!

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing 

on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar 

conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” 

 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 

Happy First Day of Summer!

 

New Knitting Pattern - Sweetgrass Triangle Shawl

This project has been under wraps, so to speak, for a long time and I'm thrilled that I can finally reveal it! I'm happy to introduce the Sweetgrass Triangle shawl pattern, published in the Summer 2012 issue of Knitscene magazine. 

This classic triangle shawl's simple stitch pattern is repeated from the center top down and out to the bottom edges for the bind off. A graceful, retro-macrame style knotted fringe edging adds soft movement, reminiscent of beach grasses swaying in the wind.

Knit in aran-weight, hemp/ cotton blend yarn in an open stitch pattern, Sweetgrass knits up fast but remains airy, adding a light extra layer for cool summer evenings.

Sweetgrass is a fun, simple project with a little something 'extra' in the fringe detail. I'm thrilled to have this pattern included in this edition along with the many other cute designs therein, and I'll have more details about the development of this pattern in a future post.

Knitscene Summer 2012 is currently available for download and will soon be available for purchase at your LYS or bookstore.  Photos Knittingdaily.com

Sweet Summer

Ahhhh, finally - sweet summer!

It's 80 degrees, the flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, a lovely breeze is blowing...

...and my smile is as big as my dog's.

Enjoy every day, and may you have much peace, blessing and happy knitting!

Stay Cool

I love to knit with wool pretty much all year 'round, but with so much of the US and the northern hemisphere sweltering in record heat, even I've been hard-pressed to pick up the warm stuff, switching to the lightest of wool lace-weight yarns, and other, cooler plant fibers.  Despite the heat though, my preference for wool (and mohair, angora, alpaca, cashmere, etc.) has not abated and I needed a wee bit of motivation.

Hence I share this collection of cooling images, courtesy of Winter 2010/ 2011.

Remember when it was actually really cold?  

Perhaps not.  If you live in an always-warm weather area, I hope you especially enjoy the refreshing scenery.

 

OK, now back to the wool...  Enjoy and stay cool everyone! 

Knitting Pattern WIP and Knitscene Summer 2011 Review

It's been tough to get online, on Ravelry or blog lately as I've been crazy busy with several things, including this new knitting pattern project, shown above.

The striped project is one of about four I'm knitting (another one was shown in a previous post), in different combinations of color, yarn, etc. and all in various stages of completion.  I love the process of experimenting with color, texture, shape, proportion, etc.

This WIP version is finished, but not blocked, and I don't consider a project a true 'FO' until it is blocked.   The pattern should be ready for test knitting soon, probably by the end of the month. 

The little bit of warm rain we've had recently has brought a fresh cleanness to the air and the evidence that although the old saying may be "April showers bring May flowers," in our case here in central Ohio, it's April flowers!   This is only the beginning of a spectacular show to come.

This little cutie, Dutchman's Breeches/  Dicentra cucullaria, always reminds me of my grandmother's love for wildflowers and our many times walking together, admiring them.

Anemone/  Thalictrum thalictroides is blooming in abundance in the woods right now.  I loved this double-flowering beauty. 

Sorry for the grainy photos, but the light was very poor and it was windy, thus it was difficult for me to catch the flowers without motion.

Of course, these flowering bulbs from my garden are not wildflowers, but I think they are pretty nonetheless.  I love the gentle fragrance and joyful abandon with which grape hyacinths/ muscari reseed themselves. 

These lemon-hued miniature tulips are sweet and cheerful and make for beautiful photos.  Can you tell I admire Georgia O' Keefe's work?

 

You may have been as excited as I was to hear that Knitscene magazine, a sister publication of Interweave Knits, has just published it's first ever Summer issue, and will now be published four times per year.  I always enjoy reading Knitscene's articles and love it's patterns that emphasize clean, straightforward, fashionable looks.  Congratulations editor Lisa Shroyer and everyone on the staff at Knitscene!

With this great news, I wanted to post a few of my favorites from this auspicious issue.  I always think it interesting to see what patterns end up being the popular ones from any new book or magazine.  

There are a lot of great looks represented here, many of them touching on hot trends for the 2011 season, including stripes, simple shapes, and lace (all patterns and photos, Knitscene.com). 

Amy Christoffers was the featured designer in this issue, and her Windsor Cardi presents an abundant lace look in a restrained silhouette, perfect for dressing up or down. 

A simpler look for those who only want to dabble in lace is the Strafford Tee, another Amy Christoffers pattern.

Courtney Kelley's Starboard Cape is a cute little topper for camis or sundresses.

And summer is always a great time for simple knitting projects to take along with you as you travel, get together with friends, etc., and this issue is packed with examples of that, including some top-down constructions, like Tanis Gray's Lodi Cardigan,

And Hannah Fettig's Sackets Harbor Pullover. 

Of course, there are many more patterns than I can show here, so check them out.

Goodbye Summer and a Peachy Recipe

 

As expected, summer has flown by!  The empty swings at the park made me feel just a bit wistful as I contemplated the season's passing, but I love autumn and am definitely ready for cooler weather.  

I can't believe it as the end of August already and I've hardly managed to accomplish half my to-do list.  At least I did finish a few knitting projects and I've started a few more.  

Off the needles this week was my grey-beige alpaca lace Lesia Loop cowl project, currently blocking. The Brushed Suri alpaca yarn makes this a lovely, cozy knit.  Although the brushed fiber is slightly difficult to frog back - as I soon discovered! - it's not quite as tough as ripping out mohair.  

I've also finished my lightweight alpaca lace shawlette, but I'm waiting to take photos for that momentarily. 

This week I'm beginning a mohair pullover, and working on several gift cowls and hats, including this lace cowl in natural-color Kid Mohair blend by Feza.  It's not my favorite mohair yarn, but I had it in stash already and wanted to use it up.  I plan to knit this again in something softer, probably alpaca.  I am using a traditional Estonian lace stitch for this project.

The garden has lost it's steam with the record heat and lack of rainfall, but I still go out every morning and pick a ton of ripe tomatoes, chives, rosemary and other herbs.  I think I feel a marinara sauce coming on!

This time of year I also love to indulge in fresh peaches - as pies, cobblers, smoothies, slightly warmed and topped with creme anglaise, cooked into preserves or compotes, or just plain sliced and eaten as is.   Although we mostly stick to a low-glycemic lifestyle, we still love to make room for special occasion treats.

 

Last week we celebrated the dog's third birthday (any special day is a good excuse for a treat like this!) with a special peach pound cake and ice cream. And yes, the dog had a tiny taste of each too!

I must say that I LOVE to cook, but I love to knit more.  So to balance out these two things, I usually use little cooking short cuts, in this case, a good-quality packaged cake mix as the base for this recipe.  Doing this also allows me to keep just a few basic mixes in the cupboard without the need to take up space with full-sized packages of things I use only occasionally - flour, sugar, etc, and saves me more time to knit!

The chopped peaches in this recipe cook on the bottom and create a sort of baked-in fruit compote that works wonderfully when the the cake is turned updside-down to eat.  We like a slice just barely warmed and top it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a few fresh peach slices.   I hope you enjoy this easy, quick summer indulgence. 

Upside Down Peach Pound Cake

Ingredients:

8 oz. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar or equivalent substitute (I use stevia)

1 tsp. vanilla

6 eggs

1 yellow cake mix, 1/4 cup reserved (mine is Trader Joe's brand)

2-3 cups chopped peaches (fresh or frozen, I like it sort of gooey so I use 3)

Several fresh peach slices to garnish, if desired 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*

Grease a 9x13 cake pan (I use the empty butter wrappers to do this) and set aside.

Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar/ substitute in large mixing bowl with an electric mixer.  Add vanilla, then, one at a time, add eggs, beating thoroughly after each addition.  Slowly add cake mix, beating thoroughly.  Set aside.

In another bowl, stir reserved cake mix over peaches to coat, spread coated peaches evenly in bottom of cake pan.  Pour batter over peaches into cake pan.

Bake until center of cake is done and the top springs back slightly to the touch, about 50-60 minutes.  Cool before serving.  This cake can be eaten immediately after cooling, but it is even better if it rests, tightly covered, for several hours or overnight before serving.

Inspiration - Water Lilies

This morning I emerged from a wooded trail to the sight of this peaceful pond against a brilliant blue sky.  The clear light and sweet bird song made me stop in my tracks for a few moments to soak in the serenity of the place.  

It's kind of hard to see in the photo (sorry!!!)  but the surface of this pond is covered with water lilies blooming in the softest shades of creamy pink against a lush green backdrop, similar to this free photo I found online.

As I headed back down the trail, the soft pink lilies inspired my thoughts towards knitting (big surprise!) and how that beauty could be interpreted in stitches, preferably lace.  I'd probably start with soft, shimmery yarn in a similar color, and something with a bit of silk would be nice.

I've had this Adrienne Vittadini Celia silk yarn in my stash for a while, waiting for just the right project. Or maybe a soft, hand-painted roving or batt, like this one from Oceanwind Knits  spun into an ethereal lace weight yarn would be a good choice? 

I think the Estonian stitch I've seen called a 'star' stitch, like the one used in Elizabeth Freeman's Laminaria Shawl is absolutely gorgeous and reminiscent of the shape of a water lily.  The shawl itself is a work of art, but the stitch alone could also be used in another type of project.

The Echo Flower shawl by Jenny Johnson Johnen might be another pretty option.
  

Sigh... I probably won't get to this anytime soon, but it is fun to dream!  Who knows where it might lead?  Other ideas?

 

Summer Knitting

Summer is truly upon us now that the 4th is over and the days are in the 90's, but that doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for picking up my knitting!  I admit; however, to a preference for lightweight yarns and projects.

June was my month to work up the slate Hempathy top, mentioned in some other posts.  I'll try to get a few good photos of it posted this week sometime.

I've also been adding bits here and there to my little alpaca shawlette.  This is one of those projects I love to have around to pick up and work a row or two when I don't feel like working on other things.  It's also light enough to not feel hot while it sits on my lap. 

I had a vague idea that I wanted a textured shawl in my favorite wide triangle shape, so I just went ahead and cast on the yarn, Misti Alpaca Lace in a lovely hand-painted colorway #22.

The purples, greens, blues, pinks and golds reminds me so much of the wildflowers along the nature trails where we like to hike and run.  In the spring, there's columbine, cranesbill, dogwood, violets, trillium and phlox and those have phased through to wild roses, honeysuckle, Queen Anne's lace, echinacea and rudbeckia amongst many others in recent weeks.

 I started the shawl with a garter stitch tab and began working down in garter stitch, with a 3 stitch border on each edge, and increases worked on each outside edge and on either side of the center stitch on right side rows, and on the outside edges only on wrong side rows.   This increase method makes the triangle shallow and wide - a great shape to wear draped as a scarf or wrapped to accent the shoulders.  And I love working multi-colored yarn in a texture like garter stitch because the nature of the stitch adds a three-dimensional quality to the surface to help break up pooling and splotches.

I'll be posting more about this project and yarn later.   Right now, I' m also working on a bunch of new designs - a soft cardi-shrug, a scarf pattern and several top-secret projects for publication.  The cardigan was a big hit at the knitting events I've attended lately but I want to knit it up in a couple of other yarns before making a final decision.  The pattern is mostly written though, and will be test-knit soon. And that's just for starters, there's a few other things cooking at various stages of 'done-ness' as well as those mentioned already, but I'll save those for another time.

Have a great week!