Knitting in summer...

Yesterday, I finished off a Jo Sharp cotton singlet. It's a pattern that I've made before - it's in stripes, so it is a great way of using up leftover stash! It's also very comfortable to wear, even when the temperature is over 40 degrees. Which brings me to the point of this post - I wonder why more people don't knit in summer?

Knitting cottons used to be impossible to get hold of (at least when I was younger!), but now there are so many great cottons, bamboos and other summer-weight yarns available! If I look into the shop, I can see Rowan 4ply Cotton, Cotton Glace and Purelife Organic Cotton, not to mention some of the Milk Cottons. I can see some Cleckheaton 100% Bamboo and some of the Tahki DK Cotton. We have two baskets full of Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton and Desert Garden Aran Cotton, not to mention some of the Mango Moon lightweight recycled fibres. That's a lot of light-weight knitting!

The disadvantages are cost (for Rowan) - but we accept laybys. I know a lot of shoppers were underwhelmed by the first Cleckheaton bamboo pattern book - but we've had some lateral thinkers adapt vintage patterns and knit them up with the bamboo, with fantastic results. Ravelry and Knitty have also yielded some brilliant bamboo patterns - and some good options for Tahki, where again the supporting pattern book failed to captivate. I can't think of any issues with Jo Sharp - the patterns are great and the yarns are very competitively priced.

Another thought - if you can bring yourself to knit with wool in summer, you'll be ready for winter, while everyone else is scrambling to cast on...