Hot Days, Kettle Shrug

August... hot summer days, bright mornings and evenings. I love the summer, but I admit that, by the time August comes around, I'm kind of ready for a change. Perhaps it is the long days: I feel the need to make use of all the daylight, and therefore I'm up earlier, go to bed later, postpone dog walks until the cooler part of the evening, and well... I'm tired.

I've also been surprised by the hot, dry days in our new hometown. The general belief by most who don't live here is that it rains all the time in British Columbia, and that they don't get the hot, dry days that most of the rest of the country gets in the summer. I believed it myself, until the hubby, ever the logical, pointed out the weather statistics, and he was right. And not only that: I've been living through it. It's hot. It's dry. I get it now.

Therefore, taking photos of finished knitted projects is kind of a drag, no matter how pretty they are. I was determined to get them done today, though, because I have a few busy days coming up and I wasn't sure when I'd get another chance.

So, behold: The Kettle Shrug, made with the yarn from my blog friend, YarnKettle.


It's a little snug, but I think that might be partly due to the fact that I'm a little warm and... expanded... from the heat. It works well over a little tank dress or tank top, and I'm quite sure that, when the weather calls for a little more coverage, it will be used well. It may get some early use because the air conditioning at the office makes for some chilly days sometimes, so coverage of any type is welcome. This might be a tad more professional than the blanket I wish I had sometimes...


I really like how the star stitch worked with this yarn. It's quite pretty, and looks really good with the variegation. The yarn is surprisingly difficult to photograph. It's much more red than what you see here, but for some reason, no matter what settings and filters I applied, it was determined to be plum-purple.


It was a long project from start to finish, especially for something that only took one skein of yarn. I was surprised even as I entered the start and finish dates on Ravelry for it: started in June, finished in August. That's a long time. I'm glad I stuck it out.

So next, I've wound a skein that I blogged about a few weeks ago: a big skein of Fleece Artist in light fingering weight. It's a lot brighter in the yarn cake than in the skein, which was not what I was expecting. It also snapped near the end of the larger yarn cake, so I ended up with one smaller one, which will be ok for stuffing into my bag as I work on it. And what will I be making with it, pray tell?


I have no idea.

I do know that I need to focus on making something I can wear during the not-so-glorious days of summer, because goodness knows that the warm weather will not last forever. I'd like to make a garment of some type, but I'm not sure what 999 yards of fingering weight yarn will get me. I might have to get pretty creative with it.

For now, though, I'm off to get a glass of ice water and lay down near the fan. Happy August, everyone!

Comments

YarnKettle said…
I think the shrug came out beautiful. The star stitch is lacy without being lace. I hope you enjoy it!

Many people think of summer in South Dakota the same way. It's know for its winters so summer can not be anything warmer than tepid. Not true, summer can remind you of a blast furnace. But it is a dry heat.
Rows Red said…
Duuuude, that's my yarn! What a great way to work a variegated yarn into something fabulous and functional! *happy*
AdrieneJ said…
You betcha! I loved knitting with it. It will be well-used once it cools off.