Settling into summer

I know the calendar says summer, but someone forgot to notify the state of Maine. We have had rain and clouds for nearly 4 weeks straight. My garden is a muddy, weedy mess now, but I did sneak out for some more pictures a couple of weeks ago (on a cloudy day). I'm not sure how the garden will look for the rest of the summer, so I will post some pretty pictures for today:

Evenstar Gloves

I knit these a few weeks ago and have been wearing them quite a bit:

This yarn is so soft and warm!

Here are the pattern details:
Pattern: "Evenstar Gloves" by Audrey MacDonald, free on her blog
Yarn: WOOLganic DK in "Leura", 1.5 skeins
Gauge: 5.5 st/inch
Needles: US#7/4.5mm

Comments: Pretty quick. I knit these on 2 circ needles and charted the pattern. I only cast on 42 sts, not 48.

New yarn!!!

I am so excited about this. I am happy to announce that we have partnered with a great new company: Australian Organic Wool! We now have all colors in stock in 2 weights: DK/8 ply and Worsted/10 ply. I LOVE this yarn. It is a super soft merino spun with a slightly increased twist to reduce pilling. And it's organic: the sheep are raised organically, the wool is washed using a biodegradable detergent, the wool is spun in a mill specifically certified to handle organic fibers, and lastly, they use metal-free dyes in fabulous colors. Take a look...

I have been searching for a line of solid color wool and I really couldn't be happier. I have been playing with this yarn for a while now and I can't tell you how soft it is. You can easily wear this wool against your skin. I made a pair of fingerless mitts with this yarn last month and have been really impressed on how this yarn handles. It is easy to knit with, has great stitch definition, and really has very little pilling. CLICK HERE for all of the yarn details.

I am in heaven!

Garden--last week of May

It's raining here today, but here are some pictures from a couple of weeks ago:

This flower is almost 12 inches across!

More bracelets

I finished these a couple of weeks ago. I like to work on these late at night when my mind is too tired for kitting. As you can tell, they become a bit addictive!

Block-a-month: April and May

I fell a little behind with these, but I am just about caught up. Here is April and May:

April
April's block was hosted by Ruth aka Ravelry 1derful



May

May's block was once again hosted by Julie aka Ravelry Fibers, our fearless moderator.

I haven't had a chance to start the June block yet because I am hosting the July block and I am finishing that up right now. Should have it ready by the beginning of next week and then I will start working on June's block. I know that if I fall too far behind with these blocks I won't finish, so I am making an effort to keep up. So far, so good! As I mentioned yesterday, I will be focusing on lace over the summer, but once the kids are back in school, I will start piecing this quilt together.

Summer knitting

I have been doing some knitting lately. Not nearly as much as I would like, but hopefully things will quiet down soon and I can settle into my summer knitting routine. During the kids' summer break, I focus on lace. I usually have a quiet 1-2 hours every morning before things get crazy around the house and it is a great time to sit and work on lace. This summer I hope to :

1. Finish my Hanami (60% complete):

2. Finish Serendipity Stole (MS4): long way to go on this one, only 15% one...

3. Finish Girasole (25%) complete:

That's a lot of lace. And I am not sure if there will be a Mystery Stole 5, but of course I will want to work on that as well. I will be REALLY happy if I can finish these 3 projects--wish me luck and speedy needles!