Surface & Summer Garden

My "Surface" cardigan by Norah Gaughan is finished, just in time for the Custom Fit Cardipalooza KAL.

Such a fun sweater to knit.  The blister pattern on the collar and sleeves was a great thing to learn, I'm sure I will be incorporating it into designs of my own.  Knit of KnitPicks Gloss DK in the color Sea Spray.  It was F2F Sweater #4, in "My Year of Knitting for Me". 

Custom Fit gave me all of the numbers necessary to make the sweater fit perfectly. It is a little warm for Summer wear, but I think it will work well in the Fall, or with a turtleneck in the Winter. I'm hoping to find the time to knit it again, in a finer gauge and a cotton blend.

F2F #5 was supposed to be "Bloomsbury": , but the beginning of the Custom Fit "Summer Sweater KAL", has caused a change in plan.  So . . . . "Bloomsbury", becomes F2F #6, and perhaps Summer Sweater #2 for the KAL.  That is, if my fingers will knit fast enough to finish both by August 15.

F2F #5 is now going to be a custom fit "Laura Leaves Tank". I know, you have seen me knit this pattern many times, but it has never been for me (unless you count the one that was frogged, because it didn't fit). I will be using a custom fit recipe for this one, so future frogging shouldn't be a problem. I'm working up the swatch right now, in Fyberspates Scrumptious (my all-time favorite yarn). I'm planning to downsize the needles a bit, to help with the fit and drape.

If this is successful, I'm going to try to learn how to release my own "Laura Leaves Tank - Custom Fit Recipe", to help others get a perfect fit with my pattern.

Here are the links for the patterns I have talked about in this post:"Bloomsbury" ; "Surface"; "Laura Leaves Tank"; KnitPicks - Gloss DK; Fyberspates - Scrumptious Sport 4-ply

Summer has definitely arrived, with daily temperatures in the 90s.  It doesn't usually get this hot so quickly in Salt Lake City, but we have taken full advantage of the good weather.  Our flowers and vegetables are all planted and doing well.  That is, everything except the eggplant, which we planted from seed this year.  We may need to purchase some starter plants.  I thought it might be fun to post some "before and after" pictures this year . . . so here are the "befores".  I plan to post the "afters" in September or early October.

String Bean Stands-June

Peas in front - Cherry Tomatores in back 



Bell Peppers, Garlic, Eggplant 

Strawberry Pots 

 

Marigolds, planted from the seeds from last year's plants.

Geraniums in Pink Fizz

The Lemon Tree (which has done well over the past few years, but suffered a bad winter in the house). 

Squash and Cucumbers

The Hanging Basket I received from my Boss for Admin Profs Day

It's another Summer of gardening and knitting. Hopefully, we find the time for a few vacations or camping trips, which always speed up my knitting schedule. Happy Knitting!