It only gets darker from here...

...and by that, I mean daylight, of course!  The summer solstice has passed us by, which always makes me breathe a little sigh of relief because that means the summer is on the downhill slope and the wonderful embrace of autumn is that much closer.  The days get a little shorter as we march towards October and I can already envision how the crisp and beautiful fall weather will feel after a long and stressful summer.  It actually kind of even feels like fall today, with it being cold and rainy, and I'm almost tempted to start a fire in the fireplace...hmmmm, what a lovely thought.

After the intensity of my job the last few months, I was really in need of something that I could knit relatively easily (my mind has been picked clean of all creativity and motivation), had a purpose (my boss's birthday), and that I would actually finish in a short period of time, because I so very much needed a sense of accomplishing something...anything, really.  This hat fit the bill perfectly.

 To celebrate the summer solstice, I quickly whipped up a hat that was named in its honor ~ my Litha that was in the Summer edition of Knitcircus!  I had been sitting on some absolutely stunning yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts that I very desperately have been wanting to play with, so last weekend I plowed through the pattern in just one single day.  Of course, it helps that I designed it, which made it go very quickly, but the pattern is incredibly easy to memorize and is done in no time at all.  I made this one less slouchy than the original, but I think it will look great on her all the same.

It's made from Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran Weight Yarn in Teal.  You can check out her other amazing colorways HERE.  Just one skein did the job!

All that was left over after I finished was this cute little ball of yarn yumminess.  If my love affair with Tanis' yarn goes on for as long as I think it will, I'll have lots of these lovely little remnants hanging around my yarn basket for years to come.

 I still have two more skeins of the Green Label that are just waiting for me to create something with them....I'm really into bright, bold, and saturated colors right now, can you tell?!

Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran in Royal Flush

Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran in Peacock

I'm sure I'll be making something with these soon but until that time, they will be perched on my knitting couch as I pour myself into some really exciting knitting and design work that I have on the horizon.  I've been unable to work on them for far too long and I'm really excited to get back in the swing!

Happy knitting, everyone!  What fun things are you doing this weekend?