As we approach midsummer, I continually find myself thinking summer isn't really fiber season. It is quite hot, after all, to be sitting with a lap full of yarn and there are so many hikes, bike rides, swims, and gardens to explore. And yet I have found myself knitting and spinning more than ever, with so many WIPs I have lost count. So I am challening myself on that thought. Perhaps summer very much IS fiber season. After all, Copper K (to be known in the future as Greycliff) Fiber Festival happened just two weeks ago, and as I sit typing this FiberFest Eureka is well underway! Summer is when all those fleeces that were shorn in March and April have been washed, milled, and dyed and are ready to go. The late evening glow on Mt. Sentinel, the afternoon thunderstorms, and the sprays of goldenrod blooming inspire new colorwork patterns. Sitting on the patio listening to the hummingbirds and bees while I spin brings calm joy.
There is always more to do than hours in the day, whether it is summer or winter. My handspun, lichen inspired yarn lays half knit into a vest that will be felted and steeked, eventually. The four fleeces of Navajo Churro sit in my basement, waiting to be spun, warped, and woven into rugs. I count my minimum rows each day on the wedding shawl that is taking shape for a September wedding. The long, hot days of summer seem, this year, to whisper to me to knit one more row, spin one more yard, start one more project, and I have been enjoying listening. And it's not just me! The internet seems bursting with videos of folks clipping on yarn minders and knitting or crocheting on hikes and on boats. A friend just purchased a small lap loom so that they could keep weavin on summer road trips. It seems that fiber fever has caught many in it's grasp this year and challenged the idea that summer isn't really fiber season. As the we make our way through the latter half of the season, I hope we all remember that every season is fiber season, and crafting doesn't just happen indoors. What new places will you knit/spin/crochet/weave this summer?