Summer Knitting

It’s summer, officially. In Upstate NY, that does not mean the hot muggy days and severe weather of northern IN.

It’s a quieter life here. I would consider this area rural, and the gentle slope of “mountains” or hills as they call them, tells me that it is rural.  Where I used to live, the streets were nicely laid in a grid type structure, allowing several ways to get from point A to point B. Not so here. The way is winding and round about. You have to backtrack on one road to get to where you need to go. It’s sometimes frustrating, but I’m getting used to it.

One thing I really enjoy is the weather. It’s almost the same as where I used to live, but there are some major differences. We don't get severe summer weather. There are no tornado sirens. It does rain a lot and the temps are about 5-10 degrees cooler, but it’s nice. The humidity of the day is relieved by the cool of the night. All you need is to open your window and enjoy the natural air conditioning of nature. I do enjoy that.

And it’s windy. A  lot. Not just a breeze, but a steady wind. 5-10 mph, several days a week. I am used to it. When it stops, I only notice hours later. I like to see the curtains flapping in the breeze and it cuts down on the cost of having fans blowing constantly (and the noise!) And sadly, no, no central air at our house.

So it’s the perfect weather for knitting, right? Low humidity usually and lots of nice fresh air. Here is what I’m working on now.

This scarf/shawl is called Objects in Space (Rav Link), but I call mine Eye of the Tiger. I used KP stroll in the colorway Tiger.

I made the 80” size and I’m not sure how wide to make it. I’m not even sure how close to 80” I made the length. After I get brave enough to cast off I will cut the scarf down the middle for fringe. Cool. I can’t wait until it’s done. And since it is stockinette, it’s perfect for TV watching, or kid watching at the pool.  Right now, it’s a little over 12” wide, including the curled edge. I’m not sure if I should use the whole skein of the yarn or just half…maybe I’ll just knit until I’m bored. I’ll have a very long, very skinny scarf. I wanted it kinda shawl sized, but since it curls so much at the ends, it might look weird. Just not sure.

Here is a crochet scarf I’m working on. It’s the Claudia scarf, and I’m using KP Pallette in the colorway Lipstick.

The color comes across as pink on my screen, but it’s really a deep red. This will be 6 feet long when I’m done. It’s taking FOREVER. I’m not a good enough crocheter to not look when I hook, therefore I really cant’ watch TV when I work on this. But using fingering yarn and a small hook= a forever project. I’m trying to hurry so I can start the other projects I have waiting in the wings.

Another thing that’s been keeping me busy is my new toy. I saved up and bough a Sony Reader Touch Edition. I love to read and I thought this would be a good investment. When I found out that I could borrow books form my local library, I was ready. 

The Reader is similar to the Kindle. It has a touch screen, can hold up to 350 books, and is lightweight and portable.

This is a comparison to a paperback I grabbed off my bookshelf. I carry this around with me when knitting isn’t really an option and can read a few pages quickly and easily.  It’s best to see the screen in sunlight, there is no glare or eyestrain, believe it or not! It’s takes a little more doing in a room lit by bulbs; sometimes you have to tilt the screen to keep the glare off. I may invest in a booklight for this purpose, but so far I’ve been doing fine with it.

Here’s another angle to show how big it is compared to a regular paperback. It’s the perfect size! And I love how I don’t have to hunt to find what page I’m on, it gets saved for you!

The Reader is less  $$ than a Kindle and this version does not have a wireless connection to download books. You have to hook it up to your computer, but for me it’s a non issue. I’m at home all the time and have a computer handy for that purpose.  But the Kindle does not allow you to borrow books from a library or share any books you have.  And the Reader allows  you to read in PDF, yes, that’s right, you can take your patterns with you without paper or worry about losing them. I might try this and let you know how it works when I do!

Ok, off to read or knit…