It would probably be odd if I didn't say that I have hit August having completely missed the mark on my plans for summer knitting. Although these were fairly loose plans, I still managed to basically ignore them altogether. There was a list of socks, and an early start to Christmas knitting--though I think I should get points for having at least amassed the yarn stash for said Christmas knitting as scheduled. I'm going to blame the July order for 70 skeins of yarn in the same colorway for my lack of progress. I'd tell you about that, but I'm under contract to keep secrets until the reveal later this summer.
Instead, there was a new lacey tank top design that I can't show you because it's part of the book I'm collaborating on with another amazing artist, which was finished just last week. There was the cast on for another Market Street Shawl, which was flying off the needles until last week when Rocket decided that she needed me to whip up a shrug--in black acrylic--for the first day of 6th grade (and bet me she won't even wear it).
It's blocking this morning, but isn't needed until Friday because Friday is the first day of school because that made a whole lot of sense to the school board, just not to the parents. There was a pair of Jay Walkers in Little Pigs (Velvet) that are half of a leg in (x 2), but which, after much repairing of an incorrectly worked 2 stitches, I find that I don't really like working.
I don't think it's the pattern, it's probably just me, but maybe it's the pattern. I've found another that is more engaging and I will probably cast on this week. There was a second test-knit for a cardigan pattern for the book that I began in May and has one whole back panel finished. Hmmm. I guess I can forget plans of having that finished by Labor Day, but I think that's the next big push anyway.
It's not like I've just been ignoring my knitting, either. Mother Nature has been excessively vindictive this summer season and it's been a daily struggle to get anything to grow. It's like trying to grow crops in the desert! You'd never know that we were in the North Georgia Mountains with temps at or above 97 degrees for the last 6 weeks and so little rain that the ground is blowing away like we're in the Dust Bowl. The veggies we are getting are twisted and scarred. Our sunflowers, though the yield was good, had weird alien mutations from too little water and scorching sun. They were smaller than expected and the yield was low--only about 5 gallons of seeds, which is the same as last year, only with double the plants.
Every morning since the beginning of May I've had to get up before the sun to work around the farm because there's only about 4 hours before it's 90 degrees and 50+ percent humidity. I have had to assign that mid-afternoon block of ungodly heat and humidity to the housework, which is consistently less productive than I'd like because after working outside in the heat and humidity (before noon the humidity is usually about 70%), I'm one tired farm hand by lunch time. I said to my husband last night that I hope it cools off for just a day because wouldn't it be so nice to go an entire day without being soaked through to the underwear from the humidity? On a farm, you can't just hide in the air conditioning, you know. At least the lambs are growing up and we haven't had any more problems after that initial 5 weeks of bottle-feeding a sheep.
Puck, however, daily reminds us that he is not a sheep, but rather a dog, and takes advantage of every opportunity to get out of the pasture and fuss at the back door to come in the house. It's a circus every day on this farm.
So August begins with a Market Street Shawl, a latent pair of socks in need of a do-over, and a cardigan sweater on the needles. I guess I had better get to it before I'm posting about how short August was for knitting, huh?
Instead, there was a new lacey tank top design that I can't show you because it's part of the book I'm collaborating on with another amazing artist, which was finished just last week. There was the cast on for another Market Street Shawl, which was flying off the needles until last week when Rocket decided that she needed me to whip up a shrug--in black acrylic--for the first day of 6th grade (and bet me she won't even wear it).
It's blocking this morning, but isn't needed until Friday because Friday is the first day of school because that made a whole lot of sense to the school board, just not to the parents. There was a pair of Jay Walkers in Little Pigs (Velvet) that are half of a leg in (x 2), but which, after much repairing of an incorrectly worked 2 stitches, I find that I don't really like working.
I don't think it's the pattern, it's probably just me, but maybe it's the pattern. I've found another that is more engaging and I will probably cast on this week. There was a second test-knit for a cardigan pattern for the book that I began in May and has one whole back panel finished. Hmmm. I guess I can forget plans of having that finished by Labor Day, but I think that's the next big push anyway.
It's not like I've just been ignoring my knitting, either. Mother Nature has been excessively vindictive this summer season and it's been a daily struggle to get anything to grow. It's like trying to grow crops in the desert! You'd never know that we were in the North Georgia Mountains with temps at or above 97 degrees for the last 6 weeks and so little rain that the ground is blowing away like we're in the Dust Bowl. The veggies we are getting are twisted and scarred. Our sunflowers, though the yield was good, had weird alien mutations from too little water and scorching sun. They were smaller than expected and the yield was low--only about 5 gallons of seeds, which is the same as last year, only with double the plants.
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| 4 sunflowers growing out of a single stalk head |
Every morning since the beginning of May I've had to get up before the sun to work around the farm because there's only about 4 hours before it's 90 degrees and 50+ percent humidity. I have had to assign that mid-afternoon block of ungodly heat and humidity to the housework, which is consistently less productive than I'd like because after working outside in the heat and humidity (before noon the humidity is usually about 70%), I'm one tired farm hand by lunch time. I said to my husband last night that I hope it cools off for just a day because wouldn't it be so nice to go an entire day without being soaked through to the underwear from the humidity? On a farm, you can't just hide in the air conditioning, you know. At least the lambs are growing up and we haven't had any more problems after that initial 5 weeks of bottle-feeding a sheep.
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| Bonnie & Clyde |
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| Puck |
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