This hat! This little project took barely two evenings to make and each stitch made me smile. The yarn, Barrett Wool Co. Home Worsted Weight, is 100% wool and lovely and soft with a great plumpy, cottony feel while knitting. I'm certain it will be next-to-skin soft as a kitten. The pattern is fun to make and completely adorable. It's perfect for scraps but I've always wanted to try this particular yarn and they had little kits on sale (as of this posting, they are still on sale). The kit has enough yarn to make two hats, probably three depending on the size you make and if you decide to add any of your stash. I added some orange and white from my stash to add some punch and bright contrast. This is going to be my new go-to baby hat pattern. It's a snap to make and the only fiddley part is the very end when you make the point and have just a few stitches on 4 needles. Torture for a few rounds but you soon get to the end and the funny i cord tip. A very nice knit! Please come on in for the links and for more pictures of my pretty flower garden. 

Stripey Point Hat by Susan B. Anderson

Home Worsted Weight from Barrett Wool Co.

Folks, this yarn is a winner. I tried it out with a little kit that was on sale, and of this posting, it's still on sale.  The kit comes with a free code for the hat pattern. I purchased version 1 color and augmented with two colors from my own stash. I loved this yarn and will definitely use it again. It also comes in a fingering weight.

My Ravelry project page

Now let's head out into the garden on this pretty sunny morning. The sun is peeking out through puffy white clouds that are studded across a bright blue sky. Today will be a gorgeous summer day! After I last posted, and after complaining about how cool it's been, the weather shot into the 80s and 90s and gave the garden a huge growth spurt. We are back into the 70s again which is more comfortable but still good growing weather because it's sunny. I have a ton of flower garden photos here and a few vegetable garden pics, but I'll share a better veggie garden post later in the month. We have begun our harvest of strawberries, green beans, summer squash, cucumbers and onions but will have to wait a bit more for tomatoes, eggplant and peppers. 

We have a dahlia bed of about 50 plants on the side of our house. They are just starting to bloom!

The hydrangea bush in our front got so big that it's swallowing up our flag!

showy zinnias

We have a magnolia in our front yard. The blooms have a lemony vanilla scent. This tree is outside my knitting room, I keep the windows open and the fragrance is heavenly.

My husband prefers the bright pink hydrangea but I love this soft pink one.

Remember when I complained when our neighbors replaced our shared fence that was magnificently covered in ivy? All that gorgeous green that we had nurtured and trimmed for decades, gone in a day. I was completely gutted over it and couldn't bear to look at it for the longest time. Now I'm feeling a little better because the ivy is now growing up the new fence. I'm hoping in a year we will have another ivy wall. Fingers crossed.

Lily of the Nile in the front yard.

It looks like a jungle out there!

Look at that sky!

And now let's go into the vegetable garden.

Lots of tomatoes, but still green. Some are turning slightly orange. Another week perhaps?

I pretty much pick these and eat them on the spot.

The bean tower is always a stunning garden feature.

I took the veg garden pictures late in the afternoon when the setting sun behind the fence cast these striking shadows.

I always like a big vase of summer flowers next to my kitchen sink.

The first harvest of green beans is small and can fit into my hand. Soon I'll be picking tons!

The first real summer harvest is a tiny one. I made a green bean salad and a batch of pickles with this. From top, bumpy cucumbers that I grow for pickling, plus parsley, green beans, dill, spring onions and a zucchini. I'll make sure to make a big garden post when I'm into full harvest and will share the varieties I like to grow.

basil

Read about our peonies here. I love this post. Carter was so tiny and always wanted to help his Papa in the garden.