Hi, Knitters,
The summer is going a little too quickly around here. But one thing I really look forward to is the ripening of our backyard garden. We have a good-sized garden in a sunny spot that is fenced in to keep out the rabbits. We have two raised beds and I think this year we finally have it down. The plants are spread out and supported nicely and this is paying off. Our trouble has always been overplanting.
This year we have a couple of kinds of peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, a big variety of tomatoes from cherry to Roma to heirloom, and tons of basil. My favorites are the tomatoes. I love tomatoes and once this season hits I can eat a tomato sliced up with salt and pepper for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. It is a highlight of summer.
The shining stars this summer are the heirloom tomatoes. These are the best we've grown. I love the taste, the look, and the color of these heirlooms. I love the folds and gathers at the top, kind of looks like a knit hat.
Anyway, I hope you are having success if you garden or maybe if you get to hit a farmers' market or two this summer.
One other fun thing about August is hiking in our neighborhood conservancy. The paths become enveloped in tall grasses, way above my head, and the masses of flowers are beyond belief. No photo can capture what it's really like. The colors and sounds are so beautiful. Hiking in August is something I look forward to every year and with the rainfall this summer, everything is in its prime.
I started a couple of fun projects this past week. One project I am especially excited about is a pattern that's not released yet but it is coming soon. I cast on and started a red cardigan with pockets and a fun textured stitch pattern. I will keep you posted. I think wearing a red cardigan this fall and winter is going to make me really happy.
The other project I started and finished is this gorgeous Erland hat. Tanis Gray is the designer and she wrote the pattern for Barrett Wool Co. I love this kind of hat that is simply casting on and following a chart for the entire hat. Erland is one of my favorite knits ever.
I finished it up in one day and here it is blocking. I modified the original Erland pattern a little bit but not much. I knit the hat on a US size 7 needle at 5 stitches per inch. I added some corrugated ribbing for extra length to cover my ears. And because I was knitting at a bigger gauge I took out one of the repeats, so instead of four repeats I only did three repeats.
I misjudged the length a tiny bit. After Erland dried I realized that I should have only done one-inch of corrugated ribbing instead of two-inches. So I tucked the cast on edge under and whipstitched it to the inside of the Latvian braid so the brim is doubled, which I love.
Now the hat is perfect and the fit is fantastic. When you only do three repeats instead of four repeats of the chart the top of the hat becomes slightly pointed. I blocked out the point as much as possible and when the hat is worn there is no visible point.
Anyway, I love this hat. I feel like it is a tiny piece of art. Thank you to Tanis for such a rewarding design. I haven't had this much fun knitting a hat in awhile.
I finished writing up all sorts of good tutorials and updates on the Gigi Cardigan. It has been really fun to walk through a typical modification series for a simple top-down cardigan.
There is a lot of good information for sweater knitters here!
Okay, friends, thank you for the Smooth Operator Socks pattern love. The discount has been extended through the weekend. No code is necessary for the discount on the pattern.
Love to you and yours.
xo ~ susan
