What's On the Needles...What's In the Garden

I have made an important non-discovery this week. There are no easy tank top patterns out there! Everything I have, and everything I've found seems really complicated--even though some patterns claim they're easy. So, on my pink acrylic fat knitting needles in a supersoft chunky monkey tweedy yarn is a future tank top. Oh how I love knitting with this yarn!

Ready to turn red any day now!

The mission: design a tank top--as I go--in an XL size (somewhat loose), with easy instructions
The timeline: maybe a month or so
The goal: to have a beautiful, soft knit tank I can wear before summer is over!

Maybe this is the beginning of a book of easy patterns. We'll see. But this seems to be coming along quickly.

Although...

I am calling this summer a slow, sweet season. It is slow because the garden got started a little late, we are doing a lot of things around home this season, and I've been blessed with beautiful mornings on my greenhouse sunporch with a mug of coffee, some knitting, and good conversations. Last week's weather was beyond beautiful and perfect--sweet cool breezes, gentle rains to water the garden, and lots of sunshine.
This weekend, it is heating up. Here's how the garden's going as of a few days ago--everything is growing really fast and already looks different from this photos.

The baby spaghetti squash here is already big and yellow! I can't wait to cook some up sauteed with mushrooms in olive oil and butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Yum!

I have stashes of lettuces everywhere--in the garden...in five different big pots around the garden and even around a tomato plant in a big pot. This keeps us with plenty of fresh salad for dinners. This is cut-and-come-again lettuce, so if we just keep cutting it and keep it watered well, it doesn't bolt.
The greatest thing about home garden lettuces is the incredible flavor, and knowing that there are no pesticides. With that said, it is important to wash it well right after picking. I wash it, toss it around into another colander, wash it again, put it through the salad spinner, and then keep it in a container in the fridge until dinner time! My lettuces last longer in the fridge than store-bought too.
 

My basil is growing fast--it is planted all around the tomatoes, its favorite place to be in the garden. Pretty soon we'll be making bruschetta every night! Click here for how to make bruschetta.

Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch Happy