Happy Summer y'all! The weather in the city has been fantastic recently. If any of you have ever experienced summer in San Francisco, you know it stays pretty "dreary" until September and then that's when the heat and sunshine kicks in. But lately, it's been all sun almost all the time. It's been pretty amazing. Maybe that's one of the reasons I've been a little less than crafty the past month or so, especially on the knitting front. How many stitches have I knit in the past week? ZERO. I started two pairs of socks. One sock is done, the other one needs to be ripped and reincarnated into something better. That something better still needs to be determined, which I don't even want to think about right now.

Things on the sewing side are moving S...L...O...W...L...Y to say the least. My quilt is still waiting to be sandwiched and quilted. I just don't have a decent hour or two to dedicate to getting work done on it. I had set a goal of sewing a dress for each wedding I'm attending and that is rapidly slipping out of reach (the first wedding is on Sunday). Even if the dress doesn't get done, I'm aiming for yet another ambitious sewing goal, to make three summery tops in time for my summer road trip. When is that you ask... oh, we're leaving either Tuesday evening or first thing Wednesday morning. I know you're laughing, no need to hide it. If all works out well, I'll have at least ONE top to show for my efforts. One out of three isn't bad, right?

Anyways, looking for a little travel advice. B and I are heading up to the PacNorthwest for a week, mainly Seattle. We'll be passing through Portland and I'm interested in stopping to take a look around since I've never been. What's worth checking out besides Powell's? B's not so interested in looking at a ginormous bookstore. While, yes, fabric and yarn stores would be nice, I gotta keep the other half in mind. He doesn't seem too interested in stopping in Portland for longer than a gas and bathroom break. Ideas? Suggestions?

And just to prove I have been cooking/baking, here's my contribution to a 4th of July celebration.

Apologies for the blurry picture. Behold, the Easy Summer Berry Pie from Cooks Illustrated's special summer edition. Really yummy. My crust formation skills could use some work. My filling yield was low as well. See how much of the crust you can still see? I'm not sure what went wrong there. The recipe instructed you to buy by weight, but then cook by volume. I thought that was odd. Either way, still tasted yuuuuuuuuuuuummy, and it was easy as pie!