Summertime Knitting

            Having taken the last little while away from knitting (gasp) and focusing on my responsibilities at our local theatre I am excited to get back to my lovely world of fibre. To my surprise it has become summer in the last couple of weeks, which begs the question what do you knit in the summer time? Some people just give up knitting, cold turkey, claiming that it is too hot to even consider holding wool! I however have a stronger addiction then that and can feel my fingers beginning to itch for the needles.  The first thing that I do in the summer is switch patterns. I go for shawls mainly, with a few knit animals and other non-wearable knits thrown in for good measure. I don’t want to have a half finished sweater draped over my lap in 30C weather anymore then the next person!

My current lace weight pattern available on Raverly.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rock-island

knitted animals are a fun, small, summer project.

            The next step I take is going with a lighter weight yarn. If you have been trying to work up the courage to use that gorgeous skein of lace weight purchased last December now is the time! Challenge yourself and you will end up with something lovely and light to wear on those long August days because lets be honest it is going to take you until August to finish anything in lace weight!

Trust me, get away from those big bulky wools!

  Next, change fibers! My alpaca and wooly wools go back on the shelf and out come the cottons, silks, bamboos and the linens. It is summer and my articles of clothing need to be able to breathe. Be aware that these fibers have different qualities then wool and will behave differently when knit. These are all heavier fibers that have a lot more drape then most wools. They also tend to stretch out after a long day of wear. This is because the individual fibre strands don’t have the same amount of crimp that wool does. It is the crimp that lets wool keep it shape. You run into this problem using fibres like alpaca as well, don't worry there is an easy fix! Make sure to look at the suggested yarn your pattern is calling for and look specifically for patterns that are designed to be made with cottons etc.



                Merino wool with lots of crimp

                           Tussah silk with zero crimp

The last thing I do is take my knitting outside! I almost always take my knitting everywhere with me and that doesn’t stop in the summer. I throw it in my hiking backpack, my beach bag and the car for road trips. It may be summer and it may be hot outside, but I’m certainly not putting down my needles any time soon.

Mountain top knitting!