summer begins

Not being a gardener from lack of practice, I was thrilled to see this hydrangea revive after a freezing winter and blossom back to life. Mind you, it only had two blossoms like this, still, very beautiful and pleasing. I need to make more room for it in its bed. It is wedged between a very active jasmine and a wild hydrangea, that, though much larger, had little to show for itself this year. It reminds me so much of the hydrangeas in front of my mother's last and beloved home in San Diego, overlooking the ocean. So, a touch of nostalgia.
We are having a very hot beginning to summer. Thunderstorms. Heat index up to 105 - 110 degrees. The indoor/outdoor thermometer has had readings consistently over 100 degrees for over a week now. Two weeks? Hard to remember, it just feels like it has always been hot.

So, what do I decide to knit when the temperature goes soaring? Socks! About a month ago Knitting Daily sent out a free Cookie A. pattern called Cubist Socks. Here is my just about completed pair made with a wonderful self patterning sock yarn from Schoeller +Stahl, Fortissima Colori, Socka Color, color #9048. I love how it turned out looking like I did a lot of Fair Isle work. And I have to say 'bravo' to Schoeller and Stahl who arranged to have both skeins of wool start at the same place in the color sequence so that creating a pair of socks that match was pretty effortless on my part.

Having had so much success with the cubist socks I decided to go looking for other Cookie A. patterns. I came across one called Pomatomus from Knitty, the winter 05 issue, and here is my start of that one. This one had a little bit slower start due to all the knit stitches being worked tbl, but now I've got about 4 1/2-5 in. and it is going well, intriguing pattern. This is Lana Grossa's Marmi, color #7002, a 100 g. skein with @ 420 yards, so one skein should easily do the pair.

In the meantime I am working on making some hand spindles and practicing spinning on them for a class later in July. It has been so long since I have spun on a drop spindle! So practice, practice, practice!