Hello, summer

After this point, I will not be properly dry until late September. Yes, the humidity has hit, the mosquitoes are biting, and summer is upon us. The garden is going nicely, despite some piggish squirrels and/or birds, and we've opened the grill for business. Lilah and I had our first beach afternoon. Time for me to finish up Sizzle! The back is done and the front is clicking along. Edited to add: And it's done! Squee!





Details:

Pattern: Sizzle by Wendy Bernard
Size: 38"
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Coffee, between 4 and 5 skeins
Needles: Size 7

Notes: I love this pattern! It’s simple and cute. I made the 38” size (for an actual measurement of 36”), but I should have gone with the 34”. Two inches of negative ease made me nervous, but I probably should have done the math to make it 36”. I added an inch to the length before waist decreases, and made the neckline an inch higher so I wouldn't fall out of there. I realized that I screwed up the trim - you’re supposed to pick up and knit 2 stitches for every 3 rows and I picked up every stitch. The armhole edging is looser than it should be, but not terribly so. I would make this again in a heartbeat. Wendy’s patterns have never let me down. Cute, simple, ingenious stuff.


Reading: I'm working to get caught up on the book blog. I'm currently reading Fall Asleep Forgetting by Georgeann Packard, and it's fantastic.

Writing: Eh.

Cooking: We grilled! Matt made ribs, and I made stuffed poblano peppers for us vegetarians. I made an absolutely divine dessert from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, a frozen custard-truffle-thing called Darkness in the Delta. Man, that's some good chocolatey stuff. Whenever we grill, I throw on extra veggies, corn, and tofu to eat in lunches during the week. This time, it was tofu slabs (marinated in lemon juice and garlic), baby artichokes, and zucchini. And extra cobs of sweet corn. I used the corn, some brown rice, and a can of black beans as the basis for a yummy salad, finished with a simple lime vinaigrette. Oh, yeah.

I was not impressed with Godiva's pistachio ice cream truffle. Not nearly nutty enough. So I shall embark on the quest for the perfect pistachio truffle once we get back. From Paris. Oh, yeah, I'm going to Paris. Did I not tell you? Matt has a conference there, and we had frequent flier miles and grandparents to babysit, so we're going on our first trip alone together since Lilah was born!