Thursday 5 July 2007

What to do when it's too hot to go outside


When it's this hot outside (our thermometer registered 37.7 degrees celsius outside the back of our house today) a good way to spend some time is with a good book on tape and some knitting. Close the windows and the blinds and zone out! I'm listening to Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason on my old Sony Walkman while making my first pair of Moccasin Socks from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Around. I'm using a ball of James Brett Marble in a new colourway....close up below.


The ribbing with this yarn is only for the leg and top of the foot. The sole will be knitted with plain grey Sirdar Snuggly, which I discovered at the yarn store this week. It's 55% nylon, 45% acrylic, so I'm hoping that it will be up to the wear and tear. I'll be incorporating some grey woolly nylon for extra strength as well.

After supper, I took the two younger boys for a swim at a small beach that we call Pebble Beach, for obvious reasons! The water was refreshingly cool and after a quick swim we had a lovely relaxing time building towers with little pebbles. Apart from the occasional power boat, it was peaceful too.

After we came home, the boys shed their swimshorts but kept their towels on and went crazy on the trampoline. These towels are so useful. I had one when I was a kid. A few years ago, I bought some towelling and made three of these in different sizes. Everyone comments on them as they have elastic around the neck and act as a changing room when you're on the beach or just a cover up to run around in! No holding a towel around your waist and hoping it doesn't slip and show your bum to the other beachgoers! Yesterday at our homeschool group park day, two other people borrowed the big blue towel to change in as well.

4 comments:

affectioknit2 said...

Good luck with the socks - The towels are a nice ides...

Thanks,

Teresa

Katherine said...

Like you, I was listening to a book on tape only instead of knitting, I was at the sewing machine for the hot part of the day! A great way to beat the heat and get in some creative time ;o)

ipsa said...

The towels are a brilliant idea - we so need these for apres beach as I hate my car getting full of sand each summer and Jr. is getting way too big to be comfy with the changing in the car thing.

Did you buy material or actuall towels? And... I hate to ask, how did you do it?

Nicola said...

You could easily make this from beach towels - two sewn together along the long sides and a hem top and bottom. Run some elastic through the top hem and you're done. I used lengths of towelling which I bought at a fabric store which was closing down, and I made them to be ankle length on each boy at the time. Of course, boys grow, and now the middle boy is using the biggest one, and the littlest boy is using the medium size one!