Can you believe it’s the middle of summer already? I can’t believe so much of summer has already passed except when I step outside. Monsoon season should be starting any minute now here in the desert, and I’m looking forward to the rain and the slightly cooler weather that comes with it. For that matter, I’m also just about ready for fall. However, I’m resisting the temptation to start making fall colorways just yet. With that in mind, I was so close to choosing several wonderful Renaissance and Baroque paintings to use as the inspiration for the August club colorway, but they all have a predominance of fall colors, so I decided to wait on those.

Instead, I chose to celebrate summer with a lovely painting from one of my favorite impressionists. I remember lavishing in her paintings in the National Gallery of Art when I was a teenager, and as a mother, my admiration for her heart-warming portraits of mothers and children has only grown. You may have already guessed the artist I have in mind. I chose Mary Cassatt’s painting, “Young Mother Sewing.” Here it is:

I know many of us have knitted and crocheted and spun and woven and probably sewn as well with children nearby or even on our laps. The fact that we can relate to it is part of what I love that about this painting, and the other part is just the lovely colors. Look at the forest outside her window with soft green grass. Look at the summer dresses both mother and daughter are wearing. Look at those beautiful apricot-colored roses. Look at the thoughtful expression on the little girl’s face. I’m really looking forward to making a representation of this as both yarn and art batts!

In addition to the clubs I already offer, I just added a new club for my Cashmere Sock Yarn base. This one is great for everything from soft shawls to luxury socks. I’m including a few different options to go with it. You can choose just the club colorway, or you can add a 20 gram mini skein made with Sock Perfection for cuffs, toes, and heels. The other option is to add a full-sized skein of Cashmere Sock in a matching semi-solid. If you are already a club member, you can switch back and forth easily from one club to another, and if you’re not, please consider joining one of my monthly yarn or fiber clubs. It’s so much fun to get a new box of “squishy mail” in a totally new colorway every month. I always include a postcard of the painting I used as inspiration in the box as well.

Now, I have an apology to make. If you are a spinner, you probably knew before I did that Tour de Fleece is going on right now. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a friendly competition where spinners join teams to see who can spin the most yarn during the Tour de France bicycle race.

It sneaks up on me every year, and this year was no different. In case you have almost exhausted your stash of fiber for Tour de Fleece or if you want to make sure you have something to spin after it’s over, I’m offering 25% off my hand-dyed top when you buy at least two braids. That sale is good through Monday, and it will be applied automatically when you check out.

If you visit often, you have probably noticed a plethora of new yarn colorways and a few new art batts colorways too. The incredibly soft Dream Sock yarn base I introduced last week has almost sold out, so I’ll be ordering more of it soon. If you didn’t get a chance to try it and have a particular colorway you’re looking for, do let me know. My favorite new colorway is called Smitten, and when it sold out on Dream Sock I made more on Sock Perfection. Here it is:

That’s about it for today. I hope you have a beautiful summer filled with family and fun and lots of lovely fiber artistry!