Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of… Knitting?!

SUMMER KNITTING

This statement is not a mistake.  You can knit in the summer.  Really. 

 

One of Miss Allen’s fondest memories is knitting as she sat in a deck chair, enjoying the ocean breezes as she cruised through the Baltic, during one of the hottest summers in Scandinavian history.  And that knitting became something very important:  the perfect pillow to support her head as she snoozed in that chair for hours at a time.

 

My own experience aside, one need not lay down their needles and yarn just because of the temperature, or locale, or even travel.  Of course, a non-knitter would say, “Knitting? In the summer?  Whaddya crazy?  A sweater in your lap?” 

 

YOU, gentle reader, are an INTELLIGENT knitter.  You will not have a sweater in your lap, unless you are in beautiful McMurdo Bay, just off the coast of Antarctica.  No, you will have smart summer knitting – small, easily made items that take into account the heat, the lessening of concentration, and the stream of interruptions that summer brings (“MOM!  Timmy’s down the well AGAIN!!”). 

 

Let me suggest to you that now, even through the heat and humidity, that one would be prudent to think about CHRISTMAS PRESENTS.  Nothing large, mind you, just the little luxurious gifties that everyone loves:  alpaca scarves, a soft wool hat, a pair of snugly knit mittens or even a pair of socks knit from hand-dyed wool.  These small items can be completed in a day or three, as you watch the children take turns drowning each other at the beach.  A hat could be taken out of your bag and worked on while you wait in line for the rides at Amuse-O-World. 

 

A few skeins of yarn, simple patterns and the possibilities are endless, given time and preparation.  So what should be in your summer knitting bag?  Appropriate needles and yarn for each of your small projects, which  should be  individually bagged in ziplock bags.  This keeps everything together and clean, safe from grubby hands seeking snacks.  Patterns should be photocopied and the originals left at home.  The copy itself should be placed in a page protector; all the better to keep it from smearing when someone uses it for a coaster. 

 

You should have moist towelettes available in every bag you carry, and your knitting bag should be no exception – you need to wipe the sunscreen or other substances off your hands before you start knitting.  Pack tissues, for blotting perspiration from your head and hands, or better yet, a set of cotton hankies – cheap, washable, non-linty, and you can use them for so many other things, like binding wounds or wiping off blood and tears.

 

A handtowel — as “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” recommends, you should not leave home without a towel.  A hand towel is the perfect size to lay on your lap while you are knitting, and will serve as a protective emergency cover  for your knitting when you are forced to launch yourself from your comfortable chair to forcibly arbitrate a sibling dispute (“MOM!  He’s DRIPPING on ME!”). 

 

And you should be a lazy, crazy knitter – after all, you’re on vacation!  Try something new, like domino knitting, or slipstitch patterns, or just make little sample swatches of new stitches, or get out your stash and mix it up, color- wise for the “crazy” part.   Make garter stitch squares now and sew them together this fall for an afghan or blanket.  Gracious, make a garter stitch anything! That’s the “lazy” part.

 

I’ll be off on my annual trip-to-the-family later this summer, and I’ve got to get my knitting bag together sometime before that.  What will I be taking along to work on?  Probably at least one wool sweater for Mom, a shawl, and most assuredly a set of fingerless gloves to add to my growing obsession with this particular genre.  Yes, I KNOW I said “no sweater in your lap”, but, there’s air conditioning in Kansas!!