4,000 words on what's inspiring me lately

...by which I mean, four pictures. Got lots of writing and reading to do for the next week or so, but I didn't want another month to go by without a post, especially when I'm actually doing some pretty good knitting these days. So here's a taste of how that's going, and where some of it's coming from, starting with my garden:



I should note that I use the term "garden" very loosely. It would be more accurate to say "bunch of random plants I haven't managed to kill yet," but most of you will get the idea. I have a couple of big pillowy patches of nasturtiums that, as you can see behind this dazzling poppy, are starting to climb up the trellis that my sugar snap peas started on. Their fragrance is amazing; I've been enjoying it as I sit out there with my morning coffee and putter around at the start of most days. My mom told me about nasturtium capers the other day, so now I'm all excited for those patches to get bigger so I can try making those. I've got a bunch of herbs going--sage, three varieties of thyme, a few different kinds of basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano--along with red cherry, black cherry, and better bush tomatoes, some jalapenos, and just bit of lettuce that is struggling manfully in a few different places. I also have what might be either cucumbers or butternut squash or both (I planted seeds for both, but by the time the sprouts were big enough to transplant, I forgot which was which) along the side fence that are on the brink of going crazypants--they've been about four inches high for the last month. I'm pretty sure that in about a minute and a half they're going to start shooting tendrils all over the place.

My cherry tomatoes are especially delicious, and beautiful, too!



I put a lot of elbow grease into hacking back all the creepers that were covering the back fence, in the hopes that I could encourage the pink jasmine, climbing white roses, and wisteria to stampede in once it was gone. The canvas cover of the old patio umbrella we inherited from the previous tenants rotted through and finally tore to shreds in that last big windstorm we had, so I had the bright idea of dragging it over to the corner of the yard and trying to train the vines over that as a kind of arbor. The look I'm going for is "fairy grotto," but at the moment, it's coming off more as "whiskey tango," since the vines are all sparse and haven't covered up the string I wove between the skeletal umbrella arms to give them some handholds. Stay tuned, I have high hopes!

Black and yellow is the number one color combination I've been mulling over lately, along with bronze and blue, and dusty pink and moss green. Mostly black and yellow, though.



Yellow's a tough color for me to love, and I seldom if ever wear it, but I've got a lace cardigan in the works that's in a Madeline Tosh colorway called "Cloak" and I keep wanting to put butter-yellow things on it. I may not be able to resist adding pale yellow shell buttons to this one, although that would kinda restrict its wearability. Here's a little bit more yellow for you...



That's the palm and thumb of a glove I'm working on. It's got a lace panel down the back that extends up through the fingers in a way that I'm sure will end up being fiendishly clever but right now as I'm figuring it out is just feeling fiendishly difficult. You might be thinking "Lace gloves? That's weird. What's the point of wearing gloves with a bunch of holes in them?" But then you would just not be the particular kind of person who would would want to knit or wear these gloves, I guess. I think they're pretty. Although awfully yellow. I might have to make a pair in gray for myself to actually wear.