Beachcomber Bay & Summer Knitting

Beachcomber Bay

&

Summer Knitting

It's time for summer knitting!

Summer is arriving early in California. We are supposed to reach temperatures in the 90's this weekend! So this week, I put my wool knitting projects aside. I have made the switch over to summer knitting. I currently have two summer knit projects on my needles and both are from Louisa Harding's Beachcomber Bay The Accessories Collection.

Mermaid Purse

by Louisa Harding

Being a California girl, I grew up going up to the beach at Santa Cruz for fun (at the Boardwalk) and beach combing. The beaches south of Santa Cruz were always scattered with sand dollars and sea shells. I loved collecting them. I still love beach combing.

Another knitter grew up loving beach combing, too, only in completely different part of the world. That knitter is Britain's knitwear designer, Louisa Harding. Louisa's Beachcomber Bay The Accessories Collection is filled with inspiration from the seaside and her own memories of beach combing. I believe this is Louisa's fourth book for her Louisa Harding yarn line.

Yesterday I cast on for the Mermaid purse. It is knit in Louisa's Flotsam yarn. In her book, Louisa describes this yarn as "reminiscent of washed up ropes and fishing lines." I agree and like it's lofty and slubby texture. I lucked out and found my yarn in a discontinued ocean blue colorway (No. 2) at my LYS.

I am knitting my purse for our summer vacation on the Oregon Coast. I can't wait to beach comb on vacation and embellish my Mermaid purse with shells and bits from the Oregon beaches.

Periwinkle Wrap

I am also knitting Louisa's Perwinkle wrap pattern. The Periwinkle wrap is the reason I bought this book. It is the gorgeous wrap featured on the books' cover!

The Periwinkle wrap is knit in a feather and fan pattern. It is knit in four Louisa Harding ribbon yarns: Sari Ribbon, Kimono Ribbon, Fauve and Glisten. (I modified my wrap size and cast on 76 stitches instead of 40.) I love this gorgeous color combination of yarns! They certainly do remind me of sea waves.

Beachcomber Bay

Accessories Collection

by

Louisa Harding

I highly recommend the Beachcomber Bay Accessories Collection book. It is one of Louisa's early spring/summer collection books from 2006. You are sure to love the "beachy" purses, hats and beach cover ups which are all timeless summer designs.

Louisa says it best in her book's introduction, "I hope the ideas and patterns are a starting point to inspire your knitting this summer". "Next time you look at the beach, look really close and see what you can find to inspire you".

I've been inspired. How about you?