Living in San Francisco, I donāt have a traditional summer. Ā
Summers here are foggy and cool. June Gloom gives way to No-Sky July gives way to Fogust. I can escape the dreary gray by driving just 30 or 40 minutes south or north, but if I want to be a homebody (as I usually do), Iām stuck with grey skies and perpetual low 60s temperatures.
Our ārealā summer comes in September and October, when we have warm weather, brilliant sunshine, and nary a hint of crisp in the air.
This is the most confusing time of the year to me, a North Carolina native who craves sunshine at an outdoor pool and crisp early morning air to signal the imminent arrival of fall.
After 25 years in San Francisco, though, Iāve learned some things about how to lean into the feeling of summer, and I want to share a few of them with you.
For so many of us, knitting isnāt a seasonal hobby. Itās an activity and a joy that is part of our daily lives. But I think it changes a bit with the seasons, or at least it can, and I think these tips will bring a little more slow and easy summer vibes into your life no matter whether youāre in the Pacific Northwest (and also having a cool and grey summer), on the East Coast baking in the heat, or another place in the Northern Hemisphere with grey skies or blue. Mid-August is invariably when summer can feel like itās dragging.
Here are five ways that I bring a little more slow and easy into my summer knitting life:
1.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Taste the summer. Summer is when things are light (literally, with long days of sunshine) and I have adopted a habit of making a sparkling flavored drink to enjoy each late afternoon. I make fruit simple syrups (lemon is our perennial favorite), put a few fingers of it in a glass with ice, squish in a sprig or two of a fresh herb (mint or oregano taste lovely), and fill up the rest of the glass with sparkling water. Itās cheerful even on a gloomy day.
2.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Knit with lighter fabrics or smaller projects. While I might think about knitting on a fall sweater, and air conditioning or fog might make it comfortable for a wool sweater-in-progress to lay on my lap, I feel the easy summer vibes so much more intensely when I knit with the seasons. For me, thatās a fingering weight garment in the summerāand especially ones made with one of my summer yarn bases. Knitting is such a tactile pleasure, and the touch of summer, to me, are filmy fabrics or small shortie socks.
3.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Surround yourself with the colors of summer. Ā Summer for me has become the color of the golden brown California hills, which havenāt seen any meaningful rain since April. I created my Foxtail colorway especially to bring this feeling to life. I love to knit with sun-baked colors in the late summer and to bring in pops of brilliant florals. Which colors in your stash look like late summer where you live? Maybe one of those skeins should become a pair of my favorite Fresh Air socks (links to Ravelry)? (Iāve knit four pair!)
4.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The scent of summer. If youāre a scented candle fan, like I am, you already know what summer smells like. Itās light and fresh and clean. To me, this is lemon and clove. Fresh citrus scents. Clean laundry. Freshly drying wool. Summer is a fantastic time to wash some of your woolens and lay them out to dry. If itās sunny in your part of the world, it will dry very fast. If itās foggy, like it is here, youāll get to enjoy that fresh sheepy smell for a little bit longer. š
5.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Summer sounds on your stereo. I have found this playlist to be like a summer anthem, and I have had it on repeat last summer and this. Shout-out to the creator Jules Acree for introducing me to K-Pop. Itās bouncy and light background music, full of good vibes.
Despite how powerful it can be to think about things, plan or strategize, living in the present moment is something Iāve learned, in ways both hard and easy, actually leads to the best kind of life.
Iām not talking about pretending hard things arenāt happening. Iām talking about claiming joy where we can, even as things are complex, even as our lives may not be as we want them to be, even when we grieve, or celebrate, or hurt.
Knitting with the seasons becomes a kind of gateway for me into the present moment.
It connects me to whatās happening right here and now in front of me. It connects me to what my animal body seems to want, at a particular time of the year. And it connects me to the little kid inside of me, who seemed to notice and live with the seasons more easily than one can do as an adult.
Connection powers my heart, and I think it probably powers yours too. I hope these tips for bringing a little more summer vibes and summer connection gives you a few good feelings today.
As always: thanks for being here.
Iām working hard to make this one of the really great places on the internet, where you feel connected and nourished and like the monthly subscription price is the last thing you want to drop from your budget.
The next big thing for paid members will be a community care event with 7 days of helpful prompts & support, especially for makers, from November 1 to 8. Yāall know whatās happening on November 5, and how the days before and right after it are probably gonna feel pretty fraught for us liberal knitters. Thatās why Iām planning this communty care event.
I love reading your stack. I crochet but this is so soothing
I especially liked this column today. Long ago, I was an elementary school teacher. In late August I feel the urge to "put up bulletin boards" and get out the fall things. I don't have any bulletin boards anymore, but I change the wreath on the front door, change my potpourri, etc. It is my favorite time of year. I live south of San Francisco in the Santa Clara Valley. Very little fog and often very warm.
Mother Nature reminds me of the coming seasonal change with the birds that come and go in at my feeders. In the third week of September like clockwork, "my" White Crowned Sparrows make an appearance to spend the winter in my yard. Their song is a balm to my spirit.
I am so glad that you are planning the community care event in early November. Even though I am newly energized with positive hopes, the time around the election will be filled with tension for me. My knitting will get me through!!
Your notes each Sunday are such a welcome read. THANK YOU!
~Nancy