How to knit when it's hot out

I have been hard at work on a secret pattern which is a lot of fun to do and I can't wait to share it with anyone who will listen. This will happen sometime after July 1st, probably here. The best part is that I am knitting with 100% cotton yarn. This time of year I can't bear anything wooly, warm, fuzzy and snuggly. I always get into cotton (or silk, or bamboo!) and wonder why I am not knitting with it all year round.

And then on that first crisp day in autumn when you get a sweater out from the bottom of your closet and walk outside along the leaves and take in that sensation that someone somewhere has a fire going you want to knit wool like your life depends on it. Cotton suddenly feels dead in your fingers, lifeless and cold. The bright colors are garish and embarrassing. Bring on the tweeds, browns, greys, pumpkins, garnets, and all the fall colors in the spectrum. Put that gross, cheap cotton away forever. Or as it happens, until that first hot day in spring.

And then when it's hot outside and you can't get enough cold tea to endure a walk except in the wee small hours, you feel like knitting something clean, cool and lightweight. Something fun and cheerful and bright. And while I can be a total yarn snob, I find myself returning to Sugar n' Cream, Lion cotton, and Peaches and creme every June. I make small projects that stay off the lap and they are usually useful household things, like mesh bags, dishcloths, placemats and rugs. And I wonder why I am not knitting with it all year round.