Apparently, that is what it has come to here . . . All Neckwear All Summer Long. And I can’t say that’s a bad thing!

First, I finished my “experimental” summer Sophie Scarf.

             

And . . . it’s okay. Of course, it didn’t help that I had Tom take photos on THE hottest day we’ve ever experienced at our cabin (last week). It was well over 90 and stiflingly humid and really quite a miserable day to be sporting . . . neckwear (even for just a few minutes). I knit my experimental Sophie from Rowan’s Creative Linen in the color Foggy (which is not really gray and not really blue, so aptly named). It’s soft enough, but . . . thicker and heavier . . . than my usual Sophies, and it turned out bigger all around (gauge). I’ll probably wear it . . . but NOT during a heat wave.

This week, I started (hold on to your hats here . . . ) a DIFFERENT neckwear PATTERN! Yes, friends. I know it will be hard to believe, but I am putting the Sophie Scarf binge aside for the time being to make room for Something Else.

This is the Saltwater Bandana pattern – one of Purl Soho’s (many!) free patterns offered on their website. This photo shows the earliest phases of this bandana. (In real time, I’m actually nearly to the halfway point.) (But not stopping for more photos right now.) I’m really liking the shaping of this bandana, which is a very different shape from my beloved Sophie.

I’m using the Japanese Denim Cotton, also from Purl Soho (but, sadly, not free . . . ) in Deep Denim. Oh, my. THIS is the most lovely cotton yarn I’ve ever knit with! It’s light and has a great sheen and drape and, it looks like denim. Kinda fade-y already, and I’m thinking it might actually fade like denim with washing (which I consider a major plus here).

Really . . . I can’t wait to finish this bandana, so I’m highly motivated. (Although I likely won’t wear it when it’s hot, I will certainly wear it often when the weather cools down!)

And in a slightly different bit of knitting neckwear, I’m still plugging away on my rust-spotted assigned pooling shawl. It remains entertaining, and I like it more with every (slow) inch I knit. I have knit through the first skein of yarn, now, and I’ve attached the second . . . so I’m getting there!

This piece of knitting has gotten me through many hours of World Cup soccer matches. Although it might look complicated, it’s really not – once you get the hang of those floret clusters – and serves well as TV knitting. Sadly, the World Cup will end before I’m finished. But it’s been a good companion as I watch the games with Tom.

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How about you? What are you knitting (or working on) this summer?