Midsummer

The sun has finally arrived and we're enjoying a taste of summer here in Maine. It's typically in the low to mid 70s during the day and chilly at night. Perfect weather, really. It'd be nice to get one of those rogue HOT days, but I'm not complaining!

We've settled in to the perfect summer routine. No schedule most days, sleeping in, taking the day slow, splashing in the kiddie pool on the deck, hitting the beach, hiking, exploring. It's all good. This cooler weather has me constantly thinking about fall! I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I'm totally a nut for fall. Every year when the trees finally leaf out, I just see potential for a glorious fall display. I'm sure that we are in for a treat to be living here in New England. I'm already gearing up for major drives and an obscene amount of photos of foliage... just you wait!

Thinking of fall always kicks my knitting in to high gear. Honestly, so far this summer I've had many knitting failures. I've frogged more than anything. Perhaps it is just my mental state spilling on to the needles... indecisiveness, feeling fickle, at odds, etc. It affects everything. I figured out that I should just knit my go-to knitting... stock socks. Simple stockinette socks with a trusty old friend yarn -- Opal in this case.

But last night I dug out my Staghorn pullover that has been hibernating for quite a while and knit a few rows on it. I snuggled under my afghan in front of the open window... chilly Maine summer air spilling in and knit away on my sweater. It was awesome. It filled up my spirit a little bit and I feel motivated to get this sweater done.

I want to get this done not only to enjoy the process of learning something new (saddle shoulders). But also so I can move on to another sweater. Can you believe I've already accumulated a lot more yarn? (I sent most of my stash back to Iowa to friends earlier this year). I have several sweaters-worth sitting in the stash tote and it's beckoning to come out and play. I am eager to knit some more sweaters... I'd love to knit the Central Park Hoodie using the autumn-red/orange Cascade Sierra in my stash, I'd also love to knit the Cable Down Raglan using the purple Ultra Alpaca I have. I'm also always on the lookout to find a nice vest pattern for the Kathmandu Aran.

I did knit a sweet little hat for my 2 year old son using Berocco's new Vintage Wool. I have to say that I do like the yarn a lot. It's not scratchy at all but still warm which is perfect for my boys' noggins. I have enough Vintage Wool to knit each of them a sweater as well.

This is the tough part -- so many sweaters, so little time! I best get knitting and hope I can stir up a whole lot of mojo so I can get at least a few of these done.