A Star and a Swatch

Happy 4th of July! We've spent the day relaxing and having fun at a 4th of July picnic, despite being in Nairobi. Part of the festivities was a kids' bike parade, so I decided last-minute to bling out my son's bike a little.Last Christmas I shared that I had completed a Knit Star by Kirsten Hipsky. Last night I dug some mystery yarn purchased in Kenya (mystery in that I know it's stubby cotton, but that's about it) that a friend gave to me and knit one star in red and another in blue. Then I whipstitched the two sides together with white yarn and made a loop to hang it. The great thing is that now I also have another Christmas ornament! I tagged this #cij2015jomr, which breaks out to Christmas in July 2015 Just One More Row. Dana and Brittany of the Just One More Row podcast are hosting their Christmas in July KAL again, where you get a jump on making holiday gifts or holiday decorations from July 1 to August 31. WIPs don't count. There are several prizes up for grabs, including some Kino Knits patterns - so join in the fun! The other thing I did today is swatch for my two linen tops I have planned. Both will be out of Knit Picks Lindy Chain yarn, which is a cotton/linen blend. However, they call for different gauges. I was really, really good this time and knit a for-real swatch with four different needles sizes, ranging from U.S. 3 to U.S. 6. Each section of the swatch has the appropriate number of yarn overs so I can know which section is which. This is a picture of it before blocking. It's having a good soak as I write, and then I will lay it flat to dry, then hang it vertically for a few days before I actually do my gauge measurements because I want to know realistically how the yarn will behave as it hangs on my body. This is why those yarn overs are so critical - life is too crazy at the moment for me to be able to remember which section is which without some creative labeling.If you're celebrating today, I hope you're having fun! If not, have a relaxing Saturday!