More of the Same, But Slightly Different

It's been a busy week at Kittywompus Cottage.  I've been knitting on the challenge sweater from Knitting Daily, just turned the hem.  It's really nifty!  You knit the first 6 rows, joined so it's all stockinette, then purl one row, knit 6 more rows, and then you pick up the next stitch, reach down to the cast on row and pick one stitch up, and knit them together.  I love it!  I want to use it all the time!  Now it's 1 1/2" of boring purl--it's reverse stockinette--and then start the decreases for womanly curves.  It's a good t.v. project.  Another good t.v. project is the lemon-lime cardigan, but who needs two t.v. projects?  I yearn for something more complicated!  Did I mention that the beautiful floral cardigan has an error in the instructions?  And that I knitted 20 rows before I found out?  I'm going to re-knit it, with my changes to the instructions.  See, this is why I want to start designing my own knitting projects!  If there are mistakes, at least they'll be mine!
  As you see, I'm almost to 12" on the beaded lemon-lime scarf.  I have one more section with beading, and then it's WHEEEEEE!!! downhill to the last 12", when I'll start beading again.  I love the pattern.  It's a simple overshot, and the warp gives it just the right character.





 But it hasn't all been fibery fun here!  There's been a whole lot of weeding going on!  I planted Bee Balm last year, and it looked pitiful all summer, but this year, it has come into its own.  I love the flowers, but I thought they were supposed to smell good.  They don't.  Trust me.  I do love the way they contrast with the yellow Yarrow.
  The echinacea has just started blooming, and I added some new colors, yellow and orange, Cherokee variety.  They are puny still, but they should catch up to the pink ones next year.
  The sidewalk garden is switching from annuals like zinnias, cosmos and sunflowers to perennials like Black Eyed Susans and Shasta daisies and catmint.  There will be plenty of the old guys hanging out this year, but the goal is to have it be mostly perennials by next year.


My new fig tree has itty-bitty figs on it.

The latest addition to the garden is a place to sit!  I found these guys at an antique store on my way home from work.  The guy tried to tell me they were worth a lot more than I wanted to pay, until I started to walk away.  Their value reduced drastically, the closer my hand got to my car door!    I've put the shepherd's crooks near them to hold Citronella candles to keep me bug free while I survey my yard.  Eventually, they'll get a good scrub down and repainting.

The tomatoes continue to thrive.  They all needed to get re-staked this weekend, due to all the weight they're carrying.
  I decided to keep the cucumbers from flopping all over the garden this year by putting them in tomato cages, too.  I've seen it a lot in gardening magazines lately, and wanted to try it.  We'll see how that goes.  Maybe I won't miss as many ripe one this year if I can see them hanging off the cages!

Parting shot is my baby Anaheim peppers.  The plants don't look that great, but the peppers are coming out on all of them!  I cannot wait until my first dinner party featuring all my produce!
  And when it gets too hot to weave, there's always a loom calling out to me!
Happy summertime weaving!
  Maggie