Independence Day 2018 (with Stars & Stripes)

Happy Independence Day 2018
Happy Independence Day 2018

For those that live in the United States, I hope you had a wonderful July 4th celebration. It was a good time to spend with family, concentrating on the positive.

It was incredibly hot on Wednesday here in Wisconsin – close to 100°F but we also had extremely high humidity. The combination of the two – plus the fact that we’ve had this same weather for almost two weeks is making me feel ill. Literally. We are supposed to get a slight break today (Friday) and Saturday but then it all comes back again next week. Ugh.

We brought our pop-up canopy with to the parade so we would have some shade. Here is Papa and my dad chatting away (they don’t look like they are melting too badly…)

Independence Day parade - Papa and Da

Mom and I brought knitting – of course! Although, I didn’t get much done…

Independence Day parade - Mom and Me

Little Chick kept wanting to sit in my lap (which didn’t help the heat factor)

Independence Day - Mama and Little Chick

The only time she left me was when she went to grab candy the paraders threw. She originally said she was going to take a break this year and not get candy, but we were the only ones sitting in this section and people were being generous! I think she came home with more candy than she gets at Halloween!

Just before we left for the parade, I released this little cutie:

Stars & Stripes Washcloth front - ASimpleHomestead

It’s called Stars & Stripes Washcloth. It’s a crocheted washcloth made with rows of “stripes” (red and blue) with white star stitches. It’s a large washcloth – 9 x 10″ (23 x 25 cm), but the pattern includes instructions on how to adjust the stitch counts to make it smaller.

I also include ideas for a border for those that would prefer to carry the unused yarns up the side instead of weaving in a bundle of ends. The washcloth looks great in a solid color if you don’t want to bother with stripes at all.

Stars & Stripes Washcloth backside - ASimpleHomestead

Even the back of this washcloth looks great – which is something I always appreciate! I’m currently working on a knit version of the washcloth, which should be released soon.

Speaking of soon-to-be-released, the plan is that my Mourning Dove Shawl will come out next week! I can’t wait!  If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter yet, I highly encourage you to do that – there may just be a special discount coupon for this shawl when it’s released (hint, hint)!

Mourning Dove shawl

Did you know that you can make any of my designs this summer – and win prizes?! I’m hosting a 2018 Summer -along in my Ravelry group because July is my birthday month. The full details and rules can be found there, but in a nutshell: make ANY fiber project and post your finished object (FO) in the thread to win prizes. Extra entries can be earned by making one of my designs and/or if you can tie the project into the “summer” theme somehow. Share on social media with #ASH2018SummerAlong so we can all see what you are working on. You never know – I may even pick an additional winner from progress picks! This is the prize I have picked out for the winner:

Summer along 2018 prizes

I hope to see all your wonderful summer projects! Just be sure to finish those projects by Aug 31!

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