Summertime

Peaches in season, here in New Jersey.

Jury duty is over; verdict rendered; justice served, more or less. I managed some knitting during recess and finished a face cloth in Peaches & Crème yarn.

Appropriately enough, I'm calling it my Peaches and Cream face cloth. I also started some experimental knitting: trying out Crystal Palace chenille on size 6 needles for face cloths and such like. It's not the knitting so much as how the chenille will hold up to wash and wear. For the record, I dislike working with chenille. It's less elastic, if possible, than other cotton yarns. I don't mind working with Peaches & Crème at all (I like it more than Sugar 'n' Cream, will say that). I never minded working with Bernat's cottons (Gloucester, I'm talking about you). But the chenille- ugh! At least I got the 5 hanks pretty cheaply, and if the experiment goes well, I'll make some nice soft gifts for folks.

Signed up for unemployment, and had my unemployment interview. That means I explained why I no longer work for the Department of Veterans Affairs. As if I had a choice. NJ Department of Unemployment is so dysfunctional I received contradictory instructions from 3 different sources. Not having patience for that sort of thing, I called the governor's office and demanded action. Yes, I did. I was put through to the Commissioner of Unemployment herself, who recruited someone with a name and phone number to help me. That person, from Trenton, recruited a supervisor in my local (Newark) office to expedite my case. No one should ever be told that their case will not be reviewed for 5 weeks after receiving a last pay check. Just unconscionable. I'd heard of folks in NJ who were at a new job and had yet to receive unemployment benefits. No excuse, NJ. You can raise great summer fruit and veggies; you can do better for your working people too.

Nautical Knits

Minquiers Breton Sailor's Shirt by St. James of Normandy


Nautical knits appeal to me. The crisp stripes in contrasting colors, usually some shade of blue plus white or écru, the flattering bateau neckline, easy fit, and perhaps interesting textured stitches, ribbing or cables are all design elements I like. I've made a few in my day, and wear them nearly year-round. To me they go beyond spring or resort wear; they are seasonless and timeless.

Here's my interpretation on a Martin Storey nautical knit. I used the flattering fit, bateau neck, and general dimensions to turn a striped sailor top into an evening sweater made of sparkly Filatura di Crosa Sera.

I still like the original, especially the red bobbles along the ribbing; I may make it yet.

This Cornelia Tuttle design was published in Vogue Knitting way back in 1987.

It needed bulky yarn; I chose Schoeller and Stahl Merino Stretch in Midnight (deepest navy) and Cream. It's actually light enough to be worn into May where I live, and the stretch in the Merino a nice body, clings without being too obvious.

Kristen Spurkland turned blue and white into black and taupe for Vogue Knitting in 2002.
A novel twisted stitch that begins in the ribbing creates a rope-like plait. The taupe is Classic Elite Avignon (sadly, discontinued) and the black yarn is Lion Microspun. I wear this nearly year-round; it's good for warding off frigid air conditioning in summer; with a cotton turtleneck underneath, it's good for winter.

Though I haven't made this one yet, AS' Mystic has long intrigued me. I keep thinking I should make it more fitted, use one anchor motif in the center flanked by ropes and braids on either side. I'd like to use a DK-weight cotton-wool blend in a lovely shade of blue. We'll see.

I should have kept this cutie-pie gem I made for DD#1 (also worn by DD#2), found in VK Spring/Summer Special 1991.
I didn't make the matching beret, being that both Ds preferred baseball caps. I made it in Bernat Berella in a pretty aqua, rather than the specified yarn, Gloucester.

And speaking of Gloucester, we come to my current nautical knit, one I made previously of blue and cream Gloucester. This is Michele Rose Orne's toggle knot cable pull, also found in VK Spring/Summer Special 1991. I brought it along on a business trip to Switzerland so I could finish the sleeves and wear it. On the train from Grindelwald to Geneva, I finished the last stitch. I wore it to my conference, sightseeing to Annecy, France, and on the plane home. Wore it so much that I wore it out. Now I'm remaking it out of another cabled mercerized cotton, Reynolds Saucy in Natural and Denim, great buy from WEBS.

Look at how well the knot pops out. I love dimensional cables. Saucy is a bit thinner than Gloucester, almost DK-weight. It'll be more fitted, which is what I want. I'll make it longer, instead of a crop-top. I'll make J-sleeves, rather than dropped shoulders. Just by decreasing 5 or 6 sts at the beginning of 4 rows is enough to take a lot of bulk away from the armholes. Will I keep the round neck or make it into the bateau neckline I so love? For that, stay tuned: I have yet to decide.

Late Summer Musings

I don't know what it is about summer that makes me so nostalgiac, almost homesick, for my childhood. Is it the hum of bees in the flowers, the heat and humidity, the more languid pace, the summer diet with its abundance of fruit? Whatever it is, I find myself thinking back more and more to my childhood home on the northwest corner of Baltimore, in a then-undeveloped neighborhood that was bordered on 3 sides by woods. I can almost smell the soft scent of the azaleas that heralded the coming summer; every house had its pathway lined with these bright bushes. And I can see the 4 o-clocks and phlox that grew along our patio wall. I was fascinated to watch the 4 o'clocks open every afternoon- and remain asleep on cloudy days. I remember our neighbors' rhodedendrons (orange) and mophead hydrangeas (blue and pink and lilac). I can taste the punch my mother used to make from fresh Maryland strawberries (we never had soda in the house in those years), and I can still enjoy fresh local peaches with sugar and cream; that was often a hot weather supper in our house.

Well, whatever it is, I've been missing it intensely and trying to recreate it however I can. I've been enjoying our local Jersey peaches and tomatoes (this has been an exceptionally good year for fruit). I pulled Betsey-Wetsey out of storage to model my baby knitting. She like me is a Baltimore girl, coming from I & L Toys, now defunct, on East Lombard Street. I grow a lot of hydrangeas, some of them mopheads that shade from blue to pink to lilac. I've planted black-eyed Susans, in honor of my home state. Even my knitting is meant to soothe my nostalgia. Especially the cotton knitting I've done with Peaches & Crème; I'm sure it's the imagery on the label of a ripe peach and a jug of cream that reminds me of home.

My new project in Peaches & Crème is a kitchen towel; the pattern is by Janet Carlow. This will be the first replacement of our old kitchen towels (if DH and I like hand-knit towels, that is).


I finished the Diagonal Baby Blanket

and made a berry-nice hat as an added bonus:


Summer is fast-over; nights are already cool, even if the days are hot. Now I can knit again with wool. Yesterday, I began DD#1's belated birthday present (her birthday is late May; she didn't need a wool sweater for the summer, right?):

The pattern is Bonne Marie Burns' Twist hoodie, and it's available at her site, ChicKnits (link on the sidebar at left). Yarn is Rowan Magpie, saved in my stash for a special present. I think a birthday present for a dear daughter counts. Which reminds me again about Betsey-Wetsey: she was a birthday present too; I got her for my 3rd birthday. I lost her original clothes but have long dressed her instead in cast-off baby clothes from my brothers and now from the daughters. She was a big part of my summers in Baltimore; she was a playmate when no one else was around. DH thinks she needs a hat of her own. And I think she needs a sweater to match it.

Some Colorful Knitting and Marvelous Music

Is this blindingly-colorful and super-patriotic or what? The pattern can be found through the link on the Ships project site, it's the slip stitch pattern, and soo easy. The blue and cream are Rowan Magpie done with size 9 circs. (and yes, that's a Guernsey cast-on to start) while the red is Beaverslide Dry Goods wool and mohair on size 7 circs. I redid the red part but didn't photograph it, just did not like the dec instructions, so did my own to make a smoother finish. Also made the hat longer, more like 9"long. And not pointy at top anymore either. What was I thinking?

Last night DH and I went to this concert. The NY Philharmonic was in top form, as was Loren Maazel. The guest cellist was superb. Don't tell Glenn Dictorow, but I half-expected a clarinet to tune the orchestra! DH is not yet convinced that DD#2 deserves an upgraded clarinet, though she lobbies hard... she wants what Stan Drucker the Principal Clarinet for the NY Philharmonic plays (in case you are curious, that would be a Buffet et Crampon model R13, in grenadilla wood).
That would also be about $4800 list for the thing, not including mouthpiece,ligature, barrel, reeds, and other assorted parapharnalia. Hence DH's reluctance. Though he did say last night that he could see (and hear) DD#2 sitting in Stan Drucker's place, leading the Fifth Symphony......

Rogue is done with the entire back and the left front is nearly completed. This is going much faster than I ever dreamed. So satisfying to watch it grow and grow. Did I mention how much I love Magpie? I'm sure that's more than half of it.

Check my side-bar to see the new Trees hat pattern I put up for the Ships Project. Each pattern is only $3.25 and all proceeds go straight to the Ships Project to defray the cost of mailing items to our troops. Which comes to $2000 per month.