“Sweet Summer Knitting” is here!

Welcome to the “Sweet Summer Knitting” blog tour, and I hope you are enjoying this Fourth of July holiday! The “Sweet Summer Knitting” tour is celebrating summer with all kinds of special offerings – each blog has something different & fun for you. You’ll have to visit each blog to discover the surprises… The blog list is in my sidebar so be sure to visit each one.

Since this tour is for you to get to know some new blogs & places to shop – and have fun doing it, I’ll start your “tour” of my blog by telling you a little about me (there’s more on my About page)……………knitting is a skill I learned at a very early age, continued to practice off & on while growing up, and as an adult..absolutely love. There is a satisfaction in working out the design of a project, knitting it and seeing the appreciation on the face of the recipient. And some designs just want to be shared with all of you. That is how Desert Rose Designs was born.

In my designing I love to come up with new stitch patterns or ways of constructing a garment that are easier than usual methods. (My early years as an US Air Force brat, living in a small German village where we played in castle ruins, taught me to think “outside the box” as they say.) Looking at something and saying - what if I did this stitch this way, or what if I worked this part that way..what happens – is how I approach most of my designs. The end result, I think, are distinctive & unique designs. It may take longer than just dropping a stitch pattern into a basic shape but that’s ok. When I do release new designs you know they have been well thought out & tested.

And speaking of new designs………..drum roll please………..to celebrate this Fourth of July and the “Sweet Summer Knitting” blog tour…….here is a new pattern for you!

Celebration! is a really fun knit and a versatile pattern. Just change the color scheme & appliques for any holiday or to match your decor. I’ve also included basic instructions for knitting a set of matching place mats.

In Celebration! of the “Sweet Summer Knitting” tour, I’m giving an automatic 15% discount on any cart purchase from Desert Rose Designs. Just use the “Add to Cart” button & cart checkout on my web site – simple.

All my patterns currently available are shown on my blog Patterns page, and can be purchased on my web site. If you’d like to receive notice of new pattern releases or special offerings…sign up for my newsletter. Newsletters are published quarterly with special issues when I’ve got something fun to share with you between issues.

Another unique find on my web site is the new Desert Rose Designs Boutique! You never know what you’ll find here, as the name says – it’s a Boutique. Right now this beautiful sweater is the first boutique offering – a one-of-a-kind design, hand knit from hand spun 100% Suffolk wool. I will proudly tell you this wonderful creation is by Kathleen Triem – my older sister. And the automatic 15% discount applies to the purchase of this sweater too. That’s a real deal!

And what would a summer celebration be without food! Specifically dessert! Well, have I got the ultimate Apple Crisp recipe for you. This recipe was taught to me by my mother-in-law and is a must have at all family get-togethers. Although she’s been gone over 10 yrs now, I know she’d enjoy sharing this recipe with you too. First, I must tell you that I have no idea what the calorie count is..high..the sugar content is..high..but I can tell you the flavor is really, really high! And I’m sorry, no photo….it would just torture your taste buds anyway

I’ll post the recipe here but if you click on this link...Apple Crisp…you’ll get a pdf more suitable for saving and printing.

June’s Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

• about 12 medium size granny smith apples – peeled, cored & sliced thin* (frozen apple slices don’t work as well)
• 1 to 1  1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup butter – stick form
• 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
• 2 cups flour

Utensils:

• really big mixing bowl
• mixing spoon
• pastry cutter
• 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish
• cookie sheet large enough to fit under baking dish

Mix together apples, sugar (taste apples – use more sugar for tarter apples, less for sweeter ones), cinnamon, nutmeg and 2 tbsp flour, stir gently to coat the apples well. Put apple mixture into baking dish.

Using pastry cutter – mix butter, brown sugar and 2 cups flour until butter is pea size. Spread evenly over top the apples.

Place the baking dish on the cookie sheet (to catch drips which there will be) and bake in preheated oven for 10 mins at 450 deg. Reduce oven temp to 350 deg and bake another 50 min or until apples are tender.

Serve warm (vanilla ice cream goes really well with this)

Number of servings depends on serving size.

*using a food processor will speed up prep time for the apples

So there you have it – “Sweet Summer Knitting” and the ultimate dessert for your Fourth of July holiday. I’m spending the day with family and friends….hope your day is as wonderful!

Cheers! Jean