Oh my goodness was I ever excited to receive July's Knitcrate's. Honestly... JOY in a box!
The theme was Modern Primary.
"Explore a fresh look at the familiar rainbow with bold, intense color!  Tangerine, grass green and sunshine yellow play against navy and ultraviolet.  Mix and match this month's pigmented hues with rich neutrals and camel, caramel and stark white for pieces that pop!"
This months sock crate might have been my favorite.  I truly almost squealed when I saw the colorful insert, the bright yarn and the awesome project bag!  A reminder written on my bag on how to do Kitchener stitch?!  Well... that is ALWAYS necessary when I am knitting socks. I don't know why I can't ever remember that stitch!  Two beautiful possible colors to receive of the sock yarn.
Yarn:  Pictured Yarns in Tetra Colorway.  420 yards of 75% super wash 25% nylon.
Pattern:  Summer Rain by Hannah Woodhead
Extra:  Yep.  The most wonderful little project bag.
I really love the yarn + pattern I received with the membership crate.
There were four possible colors and to be quite honest I would have been happy with all of them!
I'm all over the knitting project for this one!  US size 10 needles makes this project a quick one.

Yarn:  Knitologie Bouncy Worsted.  180 yards of 100% super wash merino.  This color way is Dashboard.
Pattern:  As always, a knitting pattern and a crochet pattern.
              Knitting:  Beach Ball Cowl by Virginia Sattler-Reimer
              Crochet:  Yoga Socks by Virginia Sattler-Reimer

If you want to try a knitcrate, your first crate is 20% off when ordering with code FKW20!

Meet Motive.  A new pattern named after my hair salon.  Because my hair stylist, who owns the salon, requested a pair of mitts as long as Toast but with more of a shape of Those Mitts.
Long enough to pull down over your fingers on those super cold days.  And can easily cuffed to free your fingers when you need to use them!
I added a heart to one mitt and like to wear it in the palm of my hand.  But since they are reversible can also be worn on the top of your hand.  Or you can add a heart to both mitts if you like.  Totally up to YOU!
The pattern is intended for a worsted weight yarn on size 6 needles.  I like to use Lion Brand Wool Ease because it can be thrown in the washer and dryer and wears amazingly well.  I also like the price point for a project like this.
The heart motif is written in a chart and row by row in case you don't like to follow charts.

The color combinations are endless!  I can't wait to try more combinations.  And, as my sweet friend Kristyn just mentioned, she is getting an early start on Christmas knitting with these!

What the Fade was one of those projects that pushed me to try something new.  Brioche.  How in the world have I been knitting for 30 years and never tried this stitch?!  I love the texture and the reversed effect.  After I caught on, it became very methodical and relaxing.  But, let me tell you... it took me quite a while to catch on.  So much so, that the first attempt was frogged.  Too many mistakes which I tried to overlook but in the end I just couldn't.   It took me a couple of months to get the motivation to try again.
Just as soon as I was tiring of the Brioche stitch, the pattern introduces mindless garter stitch.  Oh ya. NOW I could travel with my project.  That's what I'm talking bout!
The mindless garter is perfect for the times when your people are all around.  Or those evenings on the patio with a glass of wine.  I love having a project like this.

I'm not sure if I mentioned my whole quarter plan?  I don't think I did here.  (I did on my YouTube channel which I am going to get back into... soon!) So here goes. :)
I decided this year to break my year up into quarters.  January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December.  Each quarter I would be able to start new projects.  One for the head, heart (thank you, Darby), hands and feet.  So, the head would be hats or scarves.  The heart would be sweaters or shawls, the hands would be, well hands/arms.  The feet would be, well, feet/legs!
And... If I finished the project during those 3 months then I would not be able to start something new. I would have to go to my unfinished projects and work on those.  I hope this helps me from starting too many without finishing my other projects first!

SO... yesterday I started my feet project for this quarter.  They will be socks for Libby and I just loved the color.  It's a Knitcrate sock crate :: yarn and pattern from June.  The five o'clock somewhere socks.  AND... I was so excited to pull out my new small project bag for this project.  LOVE it!  Sandy makes these bags and has a shop update monthly.  The bags can be pretty hard to snag but if you happen to be reading this before noon on the 12th, head on over to her site.  She has an update today!

 However, since it had been sitting as stitches it was wavy when I unraveled it.  I didn't think curly tassels would look as nice as straight, but I actually considered that it might be fun.
I hung the tassels on the fence for a nice dry and voila!  Straight yarn tassels.

Happy Day, Friends!

I debated on if I wanted to add the tassels to my What the Fade, but my sister convinced me that it would be fun. And if I ever became tired of them, I could just snip them off.  SO... today I will be making three tassels.  Sounds like a fun thing to do on a Summertime Saturday.

Happy Saturday!

It's about 95˚ today and I couldn't be happier. Front porch knitting in the heat? Im in! Especially when I have a new project. Ya, I agree. Working on a large project draped over my legs would not be fun.
I started Oak out of Plain & Simple.  I must tell you that this book is A M A Z I N G!  I truly want to knit each and every pattern. (Thank you, Jane!)  I decided to start with Oak.  But who knows,  I truly might knit each one.  A personal goal like that would be fun!
And, because I don't want to forget and thought maybe I would share... Purple potato salad.

I've been working on healing my eczema from the inside out.  If you have been around this blog for very long, you will remember, I have attempted this in the past.  But never to this degree in regards to determination and willpower.  Working with a naturopath, I have been doing the elimination diet.  I have not omitted night shades or eggs, but pretty much everything else.  Dairy, Gluten, Grains, Legumes, and anything out of a package.  I think it is basically Whole30 with a little wine thrown in for good measure.  (It's summer afterall!)  The ingredients are below.  If you need any help with specific directions, please let me know!

Purple Potato Salad:
1 1b purple boiled potatoes cut into pieces.
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
3 green sliced scallions
1/2 cup fresh chopped, parsley
Salt and Pepper

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 small avocado
juice from 1 lemon
Salt and Pepper
Blend on high in the Vitamix for a thick creamy mixture.

I'll be serving this today!
Happy 4th Ya'all!