Preparing for Summer

The weather here has been in the 90's, hot and muggy. Summertime has arrived! We are making preparations for when school lets out in a few weeks.

Sand toys at the ready

Some beach reading material (my current obsession)

A new clubhouse in need of "paint"

Plymouth Covington in silver

Taking a short break from my current WIP's by swatching for a new summer sweater. Since this cardigan involves an allover lace pattern, I am going to play it safe by washing and blocking out the swatch. It's always so exciting to start on a new project but nothing is more boring than knitting gauge swatches. In the past, I have sometimes gotten away with knitting a few rudimentary inches, measuring for gauge while the stitches were still on the needles and going up or down in needle sizes based on a hunch. It was nothing but pure luck that the finished garments actually fit. Now that I've been burned a few times, especially when it came to row gauge which I never used to bother with, taking proper gauge measurements is a necessary step. And who knows, these dull swatches may even end up as useful objects themselves, as shown here.

Now for something more exciting: new buttons from one of my favorite etsy shops.

Fiona Macneil buttons

 Also, check out these wonderful blogs participating in WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS.