Early Summer Update

Hello knitters and fans of adorable toys! Are you busy at this time of year? I certainly have been. Between getting my gardens planted and ready for the summer, having a short visit with my mom, taking off on a quick trip with my husband, and helping my kids get through the final weeks of school, I feel like I barely had time to catch my breath for the whole of May!

A cheery koala, enjoying my spring flowers.

If you follow me on social media, you would have seen me working on a new design for a capybara toy. While it might have seemed like I was close to releasing it this Spring, I decided that the past month was just far too hectic and packed to add in all the extra work of preparing a new pattern. As well, I find that many people knit less between June-August, so it made sense to hold off a bit. However, I plan to have it ready for the end of August, so you can look forward to that! I'll be sure to share more photos, too, as I get closer to finishing the design.

My upcoming capybara chef design.

I'm also considering hosting a mystery knit-along in October, if there is enough interest. Some of my past MKALs have been super popular, but I ran them on Ravelry, which many people no longer use. My website does have a forum section, so perhaps that's a good alternative? If you're interested, you can sign up to receive email updates on what my plan ends up being (just fill in your email address under my photo here). My updates are infrequent, but useful if you don't follow me on social media.

Do you love a good mystery? Then join my mystery knit-along. I guarantee cuteness!

I'm not sure if I'll create any other designs this year, it depends on how much time I find, and if I get any great ideas that I just need to knit! I'd like to make some more tutorials for this blog. If you have any suggestions of a technique you'd like help with, please let me know. I intended to stick to photo tutorials, as that's what I prefer using myself, and there's already tons of video content out there.

View from the Torres de Serranos in Valencia, Spain. A small part of a lovely holiday I took in May.

What are your plans for the next few months? I have a few small knitting projects planned, like some socks, and a cropped t-shirt. Although once it gets hot and humid in Montreal, I usually lose all desire to knit! I'm also working on a pile of quilt squares, made from all my fabric scraps. I have no idea where I'll use another quilt, but my scraps bin was overflowing, so I had to do something. I found it very soothing, cutting out piles of tiny squares and rectangles, while listening to audio-books. My main plan for the summer is to pick up my ukulele again (my Christmas present from last year), and actually learn how to play a song! I think my first one will be Country Roads, as the chords seem simple, and I'm a big John Denver fan (a holdover from my childhood in a Rocky Mountain village - I also love Dolly Parton).

Current progress on my scrappy quilt. I love looking at all the fabrics, and remembering where I used them.