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| photo by daughter Kate |
These last July days are hot and humid. Jonah's sunflower is in full bloom in Connecticut. The geranium blooms on my porch are a little sparse but tomatoes wait on my kitchen counter. Late last week I dug up several potato plants. Each one produced ten or so potatoes, including several large enough for baked potatoes. What I was thinking when I planted ten potato plants? Last week I made a potato salad. It tasted good but we can't eat baked potatoes and potato salad every week. I know they are supposed to keep in a cool dark basement but will they? Likely, I'll give some away.
Tending the garden in the evenings means less knitting time but my projects are coming along - in fits and starts. This week for Kat's Unraveled Wednesday I have some unraveling to report. Somehow I lost a stitch when turning the heel of the second shorty sock. I couldn't find the errant stitch but my stitch count was off by one. The heel isn't a good place for a lost stitch so I ripped it out. It didn't take me long to re-knit. Besides turning the heel is my favorite part of sock knitting. Even if I have to do it twice, turning a heel feels so smart. Ha. The foot of a top-down sock goes quickly. This evening I'll finish the toe, she said with optimism.
Some evenings I turn on a fan and work on this everlasting shawl. Near the end of the yarn I didn't have enough to knit a proportional garter stitch border with a picot bind-off. I modified the pattern so wasn't surprised the shawl looked a little off-kilter. Lord knows I don't need any extra off-kilter these days so Sunday I ripped out three sections. I knit the third eyelet section longer and am now onto the last garter stitch border and bind off. It's all knitting and eventually I'll finish the shawl. The Spring Rewilding Shawl might need another name, maybe Everlasting Shawl. I'm getting my money's worth out of this yarn.
I am reading Horizon by Barry Lopez. In this memoir/nature writing, Lopez looks back at the places he traveled during his life. He reflects on six regions of the world: western Oregon, the Arctic, the Galapagos, the Kenyan desert, Botany Bay in Australia, and Antarctica. With the exception of the coast of Oregon, these are places I will likely not visit so I'm enjoying this tour. Lopez weaves the stories of the explorers and indigenous peoples, the effects of colonialism, and climate change with his remarkable life. I think I read that he finished this book with the knowledge that he was dying. His ideas challenge my perceptions and his writing is a gift.
I hope you are staying well and finding ways to enjoy these hot days. I hope to finish my sock later today but first I have tomatoes to sauce. The kitchen will be a little steamy but tomato sauce in the winter means a little taste of summer.
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Jonah's sunflower is just lovely, and not a type I've seen before. I don't know why I don't embrace unraveling more; your sock heel and shawl benefitted from it and you got the pleasure of knitting things twice. I hope your sauce is as tasty as those tomatoes look!
ReplyDeleteI love that shawl pattern, favorite in my Ravelry, and I always end up ripping back and changing shawl patterns, ( I guess Im not a great planner, just a great starter.) Your tomatoes look delish! Its hotter that Hades here and smoking/hazey to boot.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty and condensed sunflower! I am not familiar with that variety either. the shawl and sock are both lovely and you've had the pleasure of extra knitting time on each! I spent the morning making sauce with our neighbor's tomatoes. I want to pick more for bruschetta!
ReplyDeleteI intended to comment too that Barry Lopez is a favorite author of mine. I had not realized he passed away (last Christmas!!).
DeleteI, too, love turning a heel, so I understand why ripping and redoing was no hardship for you.
ReplyDeleteI've just added Horizon to my TBR list. It sounds like a fascinating read, and I do have an "about travel" square on my bingo card to be filled.
I am so impressed with your garden this year (mine is an complete bust... I am holding out hope for getting a few tomatoes...fingers crossed!)
ReplyDeleteYour reading this week...it sounds perfect! My hope is my library has a copy of that book!
Turning the heel . . . definitely the most magical thing in knitting! :-) Those are some gorgeous tomatoes you've got there. (I can't seem to grow them anymore. Every year I get blossom end rot . . . so I've given up and just visit the farmer's market now.) Jonah's sunflower is a BEAUTY! Stay cool.
ReplyDeleteI wish I was closer. We eat potatoes at least 4 times a week and how lovely to have them fresh from the garden.
ReplyDeletewell don't you have a lot of tomatoes! I am done with summer and the problem is that summer in no where done so I have to be patient. Thank goodness for AC and being indoors!
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes are amazing. The photo by daughter, Kate is a winner !
ReplyDeleteI fear (aka KNOW) that I’ll never have to worry about unraveling back to correct a sock error - I’m having one heck of a time trying to “cast on” stitches for a second sock! Can’t figure out what the stumbling block is - grrr. Enjoy your tomatoes and thanks for the book review; shall add to my TBR - a new author for me. Stay cool and soon Aug will be here to torment us until lovely Sept rolls in. Cheers~
ReplyDeleteI would happily eat potatoes multiple times each week ;-) and tomatoes, and anything else your garden grows. and I laughed out loud at this line "Lord knows I don't need any extra off-kilter these days" - preach it, Jane!
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