summertime

Steamy, sticky days here in Chicago after a cool and rainy start to the summer. Playground trips, fort-building, running through the sprinkler, swimming, picnicking, flying kites. Summer is much more fun with a busy toddler, though exhausting.

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pattern: yoked cardigan, by hannah fettig

yarn: mountain colors 4/8's wool, winter sky, 1 skein

needles: US 7 bamboo circs for the body, US 8 for the sleeves

size: 2 years

my ravelry project page

notes:
I'm not sure that this cardi is really a size 2T! Seems a little small. Easy pattern, fun to knit, and I love the yarn. Smooth and springy, lovely dark shades of blue and purple, plus it had been marinating in the stash forever. Next time I'd try smaller needles when picking up stitches for the button band.

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my favorite easy-peasy summer sandwich

French bread or ciabatta rolls topped with roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, and a healthy sprinkle of garlic salt, broiled or baked in a 400-degree oven for 8 min. or so, then topped with fresh basil from the garden

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reclaimed prairie at Winnemac Park

savoring these summer days

walks at Winnemac Park, where reclamation of the natural prairie is underway:

 

splashes in the backyard:

 

crafting -- a sweet knit baby doll for Erik's friend's first birthday:

pattern: knit baby doll pattern set, by Amy Gaines

yarn: knit picks comfy worsted, in honeydew, peony, ivory, and creme brulee

needles: US 4 Brittany straights
my Ravelry project page

notes:

This knit baby doll was fun and fairly quick to knit! I followed the directions (aside from making the body a couple rows longer) and knit it flat. I saw some versions knit in the round on Ravelry, but I think the seams give it a little more structure. The finishing work was a little fiddly, but it really wasn't too bad. Embroidering the face was the hardest part. I'd definitely make this pattern again -- I found it much less painful than many other knit toy patterns. Perhaps because I wasn't monkeying around with DPNs?

The yarn was leftover from some crochet projects, including yet another diagonal box-stitch baby afghan that I recently finished!

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summer eats:

crockpot North Carolina pulled pork

smitten kitchen's zucchini bread (recommended by Tinks and Frogs Rue)

easiest fridge dill pickles (also from smitten kitchen)

spicy squash refrigerator pickles