I'm going to be holding down the fort here on the Purly Gate while J is in Provence for a week. I'm not sure how much I'll post, but we'll see how it goes.

Over the last few months, I have not really been knitting. I couldn't say exactly why, but I guess it has to do with adjusting to a new work schedule, warm weather (I prefer to knit with wool) and a lack of interesting new patterns. I think all of that is going to change this fall since the Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and Rowan previews all show promise. Plus, I've heard that Kim Hargreaves is publishing two new books this fall comprised of patterns that were previously only offered as kits. Personally, I never liked the fact that her patterns were only available as kits since it took yarn choice out of the knitter's hands and the kits were prohibitively expensive at the current exchange rates. So, I've actually been waiting for her to make this decision for a while. All I have to say is yay! There are several things that I can see myself knitting from the new magazines and books that are coming out.

I was also really pleased with the Knitty surprises that were released at the end of last month. So much so that the day after they came out, I drove over to La Jolla to buy some 2nd Time Cotton to cast on for Hey Teach!. It's coming along really well. I have the back and one of the fronts done. The first front only took a couple of days of sporadic knitting, so I'm hoping to be ready for seaming next weekend. I'm enjoying the simplicity of the pattern. It's the kind of pattern that combines several simple elements to their best advantage in order to create a cute, fashionable, wearable garment. I'd say that's sort of my bliss when it comes to knitting patterns. It's got stockinette to appeal to my mindless requirements and it's got some lace to keep me from getting bored. The shaping is done subtly using stitch patterns instead of overtly (decreases). I think it's going to fit well, now that I've added 4 inches (to accommodate my very long torso).



I was hoping to get a lot of sewing done this summer, but my sewing machine has been on the fritz. Turns out that it needed a rather costly tuneup, so it's in the hospital as we speak. Hopefully, I'll be back and sewing in no time.