Too hot for knitting... almost.

Ah. The first hot spell of summer has finally arrived here in beautiful Vancouver. And I've come to realize just how much I hate living in a ground-floor, west-facing apartment with no bug screens. Not being able to open the sliding door in the evening is just KILLING me. When we do cave and crack open the door, we get a crapload of mosquitos and bees. And then at night when the mosquitos are finally gone, we can't leave the door open because, well, our neighborhood is a little sketchy and I don't fancy intruders much. If it wasn't for my fan, I'd just be a melted puddle of humanoid goo on my couch. Of course, I just happen to be working on a freakin WOOL sweater right about now. Needless (needle-less?) to say, it's been thrown into a corner until this heat lets up a bit. And I'm so close to being done too... back done... sleeves done... fronts done til just past the armhole shaping (this pic is slightly old)... Oh well. I have been busy however. A few weeks ago, I finally got my butt in gear and started a little garden on my balcony! I have delicious fresh herbs, some lovely flowers, and I even tried growing plants from seed! I think I've found a new obsession! You put some seeds in some dirt, add water, and then run to the balcony every morning for a week or two to see if your little plants have germinated! Clearly, I've never done this before. I'm sure the excitement wears off. Here are my nasturtiums, planted from seed: And my geraniums: I've also cracked out my sewing machine after a long hiatus. I figure I've spent enough time and money collecting patterns, books, and fabric, I'd better actually SEW something I can wear! And so I finished my Burda World of Fashion top that I started in *cough* December. OK by "finished" I mean, I need to finish a couple of the seams and wash the thing to get rid of the fabric marker. But it's my first completed, wearable garment!!! When it's done, I'll get an action shot. Other than that, the Yellow Baby Sweater of Doom is oh-so-close to completion (pictures coming, I promise). All I need to do is sew on the ties, and then, FINITO! And only 3 months late! Ya, I rock. Ya, no more Debbie Bliss baby patterns for me. I need quick-to-knit, simply-constructed projects that I can whip off for the multitude of wee babes that seem to be springing up all around me! Now I just need to finish Starsky, two socks (their matches are quite lonely in my knitting basket), and another stuffed elephant from LMKG, and then I can CAST ON A NEW PROJECT. And I can't WAIT!