Summer Lovin'

The gray days of winter are here, a storm is allegedly heading this way from Boston. It's 34° outside, windy and cold. Spent Christmas trees blow around and gather around SUVs, a sign that our holiday season has come to an end. The news reports that unemployment continues to rise in the US and Gaza is under siege. Is this time of the season called the Epiphany or the Rapture? I re-fired a meal from some left overs — grilled chicken and pasta along with choriso and black beans... and a bag of Fritos™ — Fritos are awesome corn magic. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't BBQ. I shut of the TV and turn my thoughts to summer.

On a positive note I got some props on Ravelry.com for the Guayabera I designed for the Knit.1 Summer 2007 Issue. Also known as the Cuban Men's Shirt, it's embedded in most Caribbean cultures — Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican. I used Louet Sales "Euroflax", a worsted-weight linen yarn. Here are some of the FOs I found on Ravelry.



Citrus orange and mustard bring out the flavor in any ham, and as you can see Andee's brother is hamming it up for this photo. I think the hat completes the picture. Andee is from Austin TX, she made this for her brother — she originally made this shirt for her husband but she used a smaller gauge and a sport-weight yarn. Her brother got lucky this time around. She started a new shirt for her husband, but this time using larger needles and worsted-weight yarn. I advised her to make a few swatch tests to get the right gauge before she starts.



Ginger, champagne, and mustard — doesn't that sound like high-dollar dressing? These are the colors Carol used to dress up her husband. Carol is from Herndon VA. This shirt would be great on the golf course on a hot muggy day. Linen is a tricky material, it's made from rotted flax fibers, which can be rough and stiff. Euroflax is wet-spun and double-boiled, making it soft to the touch, but still very strong.



Kari from Hollywood FL made this for her father in French blue, willow, and white — an easy fit for easy living. Euroflax is machine wash-n'-dryable, but I'd still hand-wash this shirt. Machine drying on low makes it softer and gets most of the wrinkles out if you hand it right away. But I think it looks much better when it's pressed and ironed.



Go Tigers! I like this Guayabera worn with the baseball-T underneath — although he's has never played for the Detroit Tigers, this Guayabera looks very "Sammy Sosa." Kate from River Forest IL made this for her Sam. She used Gedifra "Korella", a linen/acrylic blend. Brown, green, and natural look very down-to-earth. It has a much softer and casual drape than 100% linen, which tends to wrinkle more than other fibers.