Another hot and humid day

I was forced to get a new computer when my trusty Asus would no longer update and crapped out on me. Everyone I mentioned it to said I would love the new Surface. It's not that much larger or heavier than my I-pad but I'm still learning the ropes so bear with me. 

Oh, and if you hear screaming, it's probably me. LOL!

The six of us enjoyed a quiet afternoon in the cool air from the AC. 

Even Fozzie joined us for a little visit. He's been getting braver about hanging around when the Chicks are here. And his favorite person is Dorah because she knows where we keep the "cookies" and he knows she'll sneak a few to him on her way through the kitchen.

 Barbara B made sourdough peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins so she is the humans' favorite person. ;)

Barbara B finished the Watering the Trees hat, a freebie on Ravelry. The stitch definition highlights the cables beautifully.

I started the Frost Ridge Beanie using Plymouth Encore, a machine washable wool and acrylic blend.

By the end of the two hour meeting I had this much knitted. It has a 5" cuff for folding so I should be almost there soon.

Dorah designed a pair of fingerless mitts using colors from the Helix Hat she finished last week. She used a free pattern from Ravelry that is my go-to mitten pattern. The hand is complete and now she will knit a contrasting ribbing on the thumb.

Maureen is almost finished with her Close to You Shawl, a very easy pattern, also free on Ravelry.

Another freebie is the sweater that Carole just started.

The Oh Baby! Cardigan will be adorable and she has yarn left for a hat too.

Barbara B told me the name of this hat pattern and I thought I wrote it down but darned if I can find it! I'll let you know next week.

The Country Rows Shawl that Barbara K started today is a pattern I wrote many moons ago.

She bought the yarn on one of our yarn festival trips and it spoke to her for this pattern.

Well, I managed to write this whole thing without screaming, although I did not use the photo storage method my son suggested. It was just too complicated and the computer kept telling me I ran out of storage! I hate those "in the cloud" storage things! Just let me do it my way and everyone can go home happy. LOL! Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Too hot and humid for outdoor knitting

When I went out to water my potted flowers on the deck the air was so thick I knew we would be staying indoors.  And since almost everyone was here today and might not be at our anniversary dinner, I decided to give them their thank you gift. Everyone loved it!

                                     

To commemorate our 25 years of service I designed a little charm which can be used as a stitch marker. It is roughly the size of a dime and with the help of Robbie MacCue and his technology skills, I think it turned out pretty sweet.   

                                    Dorah finished her Helix Hat and started a pair of…

                                                  

                                                   Fingerless mitts to coordinate with it.

                                             

Tina has a little more progress on her Ruckle Hat. The wrinkles are achieved by reaching behind the work and catching the purl bumps in with the live stitches.

                                              

                       Barbara K started another sherbert hat with the pretty pastel variegated yarn.

                                              

I have to stop here to explain why today’s blog looks so wonky. Apparently, my laptop is too old to update anymore and it refused to allow me to use the internet. So I have to resort to posting on my I-pad and it’s not cooperating. I might have to enlist my son’s help. I know he’ll be overjoyed at the prospect…not.

 Barbara B worked on her Summer Net Shawl using a lovely variegated sport weight yarn that started out as a different project. Her original idea was voted out by the yarn but it seems to love this shawl.

                                               

                   Maureen continued to add to her Close to You Shawl with the lovely lace edging.

                                                

     She also finished the Welter Hat and the 1898 hat, both in vibrant blue.

                                                                                 

                      Margaret worked on her Fair Isle Hat and finished it before it was time to leave.

                      She had to increase the circumference of the hat because it was looking too small at first. But I always say, it will fit somebody!

Nancy’s Slip Stitch Cowl looks beautiful. Her color choices blend so nicely. She also worked on her Bright Side Shawl which she said is a fun pattern to knit.

Cinzia worked on her spiral socks for her son. They are stretchy and made without a heel because the stitch arrangement makes the sock conform to the foot without having to knit short rows and a heel flap.

                                                 

I’m working on a honeycomb stitch scarf inspired by the Sophie Scarf which was all the rage in the beginning of this year.

                                                 

                                                     Jan has a hat started called Lace Crown.

                                                 

And last but not least, my half eaten Sourdough Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie from the magic oven of Barbara B was delicious. I’m going to have to consult my thesaurus to find other words to describe how good her baking is.

                                                 

That’s it for today. I’m hoping to get the computer stuff figured out before the next time I post. Keep your fingers crossed for me. And keep those needles clicking! 

Bring on the AC

Somebody is lying because my weather app says it's 88 degrees out but with a dew point of 76, it feels more like a humid surface of the sun! That's why all these smiling faces are inside today. 

We're also smiling because Barbara B brought sourdough double chocolate quick bread with large chocolate morsels that melted in the mouth! YUM!

Barbara K finished her Helix Hat with the pretty pastel colors.

 It kind of reminds me of Neopolitan Ice Cream.

Tina finished her Welter Hat. The yarn has a halo that makes it look cozy fuzzy.

I finished my Welter Hat too. I used Plymouth Encore worsted weight for this one. It's a machine wash and dry blended fiber of 75% acrylic and 25% wool for warmth.

Tina's current WIP is the Ruckle Hat made with strategically placed folds to create a crinkled look.

Jan is working the last knit row on her Reverb Shawl and will be binding off any second now.

Cinzia finished sewing the pieces of her cute little pullover so now she needs buttons for the shoulders.

Barbara B is working on a diagonal blanket to match the sweet sweater and hat set that she is making for a neighbor's new grandbaby.

Margaret is doing a beautiful job on her Fair Isle Knit Hat. If you like charts, this one is for you.

Dorah's Helix Hat is ready for the decreasing portion to close the crown.

And I'm binding off the last round on my bandana cowl. I had to knit a garter stitch border to keep it from rolling so I'm using the Icelandic bind off to match the look of the garter stitches.

Nancy is knitting the Slip Stitch Cowl, a freebie on Ravelry.

She has chosen a solid yarn and a variegated yarn with long, slow color changes that magically fit the rounds perfectly. It's such a pretty color combination too.

Well, it just started to thunder and Fozzie freaks out so I need to cuddle and console my kitty.

 Happy Independence Day and keep those needles clicking!

Raindrops and Blueberry Lemon Bars

The raindrops and muggy air kept us inside with the AC today. No one seemed to mind though.

Barbara B made sourdough blueberry lemon bars for us. Soooo gooood!!! She used whole fresh blueberries so the taste was fresh and bright.

 We had a few FOs today too. Nancy finished the Helix Hat that was knitted with a gradient yarn and solid white yarn. We both love the results. And the pompom for the finishing touch is perfect.

I finally remembered to get a picture of the shawl that Jan completed. This was one my daughter designed and started and then life got in her way and she never got back to it. She gave me a bag filled with WIPs and this was the one Jan chose to complete. I am so proud of her too! She was able to examine the pattern and read the stitches so she could continue the design and finish it. This will go into our inventory for a future donation.

Barbara B knitted a Raglan Cowl using Plymouth Encore Worsted. Such a pretty teal color! It starts at the top of the neckline and grows through the raglan increases.

Maureen worked on her Close to You Shawl and...

an 1898 Hat. She had a lightweight variegated yarn left from another project which blended perfectly with the solid blue yarn. What a great way to make this hat unique!

This is Jan's Leftie scarf by Martina Behm. It uses mini skeins of multi colors to create these cute little leaves at the long edge of the scarf. Jan is knitting it for a friend and wondered if it was long enough. We all agreed, if you have to ask, it probably is so, you can stop knitting. She appreciated that answer!

Tina wasn't here when we all started the Welter Hat so she got a private lesson on the short row portion. As I said before, the pattern can be a little tricky so it's important to use stitch markers to denote every finished short row and another of a distinct color to signify the right side of the work. Maureen had a great suggestion to make all the short row indicators on the right side one color and all those on the wrong side a contrasting color to make them easier to count.

Barbara B bought this adorable yarn at WEBS called Plymouth Dream Baby DK Paintpot and it's perfect for her Top Down Raglan Child's Sweater. It's a self patterning yarn and now I feel like I need to get some too. LOL!

Carole used her fancy neck lamp magnifier while she worked on her Welter Hat. 

And while I planned to knit on my Welter Hat, I found I was too easily distracted from the pattern by good conversation so I put it aside to work on it later.

I knitted the Bandana Cowl instead that started out as another shawl my daughter was going to knit but I couldn't bring myself to knit yards and yards of this pretty yarn for what seemed like an eternity. Plan B was put into effect and a cowl it is. I think a few more inches of stockinette and then I'll give it a garter edge border and bind off.

Nancy received a free pattern called The Bright Side when she purchased a skein of "Dark Side of the Moon" by Alexandra-The Art of Yarn. The yarn is dyed in sections so that the shawl is knitted in stockinette stitch until you reach a burst of color. The pattern is available for free on Ravelry.

 Then you knit that colored section in the opposite stitch that shows up to create this raised section that shows up randomly across the fabric knitted. It's a very clever method which Nancy says is good for social knitting but also has enough going on to keep boredom away. 

Nancy was inspired by one of the knitters in my other group who was knitting the same shawl with a black background and multi colored bars.

It's still raining but I won't complain. Next week the first heat wave of the summer is supposed to strike and I'm not looking forward to it. Between allergies and humidity, I'm already looking forward to winter. But I am grateful to have air conditioning so I can hunker down in my comfy chair and knit the day away. Until next week, keep those needles clicking!