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Last week was Shark Week, and longtime readers will know what that means. Shark socks! This year, Alissa and I did a KAL of some shark socks that have a little bit of fancy intarsia included. We decided to knit the intarsia parts flat, seam them, then work up from the intarsia piece to make the sock tops and ribbing, and down to make the feet. I did not realize at first that the swimmers on the front and back of the sock was supposed to be the same person. D’oh! Oh well – I’m happy with it anyway, despite feeling a little dumb. I did put all the other projects aside last week to focus on sharks and shark sock knitting, so this week I am back to my two sweaters as well as making a little more progress on these Did you watch any shark week programming or otherwise celebrate?

I haven’t had a lot to report with our flowers and veggies so far year as it’s been pretty slow going. I ordered most of our plants through a mail-order company thinking it would be better. It did not work out that way. However. things are finally growing and blooming! We have flowers in a couple of planters and also in a few areas in the back yard that are finally coming in. My shade garden is all doing OK and starting to fill in a little bit Our tomatoes and cucumbers are starting to do pretty well However, not all areas are doing as well. Behold my very sad pepper plants and the box where there was supposed to be broccoli and brussels sprouts. I’m relatively sure that the rabbits got the broccoli and brussels. Not sure what is going on with the peppers. Oh well – some things to figure out for next year! Another thing that has been doing well is the garlic and onions we planted around the edges of most of the boxes. I read that deer and rabbits don’t like strong s...

In the face of all logic and sense, I’m now working on 2 sweaters for knit-a-longs: She Makes Waves, and Tonnach, a Kate Davies pattern. First, She Makes Waves . Alissa and I are doing a couple of summery, nautical-inspired KALs together this year, including this mermaid-theme sweater, and a sharky project to be named next week! She Makes Waves is a pretty fun knit – I love how it is turning out, and it will be nice to wear on cooler days and evenings in the summer The yarn is a 50/50 blend of cotton and wool, which is a good mix for spring and fall. The Tonnach KAL is being run by Kate Davies herself. I am not using any of the colorways or kits currently for sale, though some of them are tempting! I was able to put together the yarn to make this project from stash, so I’m pretty happy about that. I’m not too far on this one, just the ribbing done so far. I absolutely did not need another project right now, especially with a shark-based project starting next week. But then aga...

The assigned pooling pineapple shawl I started last month is finished! The yarn is Auridon Deluxe Merino Sock AP, and the colorway is Pineapple Assigned Pooling. I did not use a pattern, just the method for the Vortex shawl shape from Custom Shawls for the Curious and Creative Knitter. The dyer created the pineapple stitch specifically for this yarn, though it could be used for other things as well. She has a tutorial posted on her website, which is very helpful! I really enjoyed making this shawl – it was a quick and straightforward knit, and the little pineapples were very satisfying to work. I also bought a skein of Auridon’s strawberry assigned pooling yarn and am looking forward to knitting that up soon too! What’s your favorite type of project for a quick finish?

Every summer I come down with a condition I like to think of as Summer Reading Brain. Summer Reading Brain does not want to think serious thoughts or learn things. It wants to read the equivalent of Anne Rice novels or very lightly plotted mystery novels. This year, SRB struck mid June, as you can see here on my Storygraph chart from last month. I barely finished anything last month because I was struggling with 2 books that SRB was not interested in. Way too serious and wordy. Those books have been paused, and I have given in. The Kindle now has several fluffy mysteries and similar loaded and ready to go. So hopefully I will have more reading progress to report for July! Do you have any seasonal reading urges? Need to read Christmas novels starting in November or horror in October? Do tell!

New cast on this week! I am putting the argyle cardi away for a little while in favor of a new summer sweater – She Makes Waves ( Ravelry link ). The yarn is one that is new to me, Cascade Anchor Bay, which is a 50/50 blend of wool and cotton. I am using Dark Teal (10) for the background, and Aqua Glass (41) for the colorwork. Alissa of AlissaMakes and I are doing a KAL of it, along with several other KALs we are doing this year. We are KAL gals! I am still working on my pineapple assigned pooling shawl, alternating with this sweater, but don’t have a new pic of it – it still looks basically the same as last week, just more of it How about you? What are you working on, and how is it going?