Back in the saddle again!

The husband is recovering nicely from total knee replacement almost two weeks ago so it was time to get the Chicks back here. I miss my weekly visits with them! 

Apparently, so does this guy! Or maybe it was just that he was looking for his third lunch of the day. But I'm a "mean mom" as my little ones used to say when they couldn't get their way, and I made him wait.

One of the projects I'm working on is Hoodola by Laura Nelkin. It's a fairly new pattern which was initially offered for free but now it's a purchase pattern. It has an interesting method of construction and comes with links to video tutorials, thank goodness! Because the beginning had me a little stumped. Now that I'm past that point, it's smooth sailing and a really good TV knitting pattern.

Carole is using James C Brett Marble yarn to knit the Mistake Stitch Cowl. The colors in this yarn are lovely and even though it's acrylic fiber, it feels nice to the touch.

The link above is for a pattern on Ravelry but Carole wrote down her own version and just noticed that she wrote "Repeat rows 1 and 1" which should read "Repeat rows 1 and 2".

Barbara B is knitting a baby gift for a friend who is due this month. This is the Gluckskind Baby Blanket. It begins with a pinhole cast on in the center of the square and grows outward with a variety of easy stitch patterns.

Nancy is working on an Ombre Hat with the prettiest color combinations.

She has completed one already and has more coming down the line.

Barbara K put together some pretty yarns for a Helix Hat.

All the yarns chosen were left over from previous projects. Not a strand gets wasted!

And let me not forget to show you this week's treat from the kitchen of Barbara B, sourdough chocolate/chocolate chip cookies with a little sprinkle of flaky salt on top! They were a hit!

I hope you're keeping warm wherever you are but I find this weather perfect for walking, single digit temps, no wind, and bright sunshine. I wear appropriate gear to keep me warm but I do love the brisk cold air! Plus, I earn my knitting time without the guilt.

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

 

It's a cold one today!

With 40MPH gusts of wind today, the Chicks were happy to be seated around the table for good conversation, good sourdough chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, and Masala Chai. I make the tea from scratch, a new skill I picked up after watching YouTube videos during the COVID lockdown.

Ron had to get everyone's attention so he could take the picture because we were so busy talking about  many subjects including college tuition costs, retirement and Social Security, and Janna's recent vacation to Iceland, Germany, Spain, Sicily, and France. She took a cooking class with world famous chef Ric Orlando, who began his start here in the Hudson Valley. 

Barbara B made sourdough chocolate-chocolate chip cookies for our treat today. 

They paired well with the chai.

It must have been cold out there because Dorah actually wore one of her shawls, the lovely On the Spice Market by Melanie Berg. She used yarns from Whole Knit n' Caboodle for a beautiful project.

For the donation inventory, Dorah added a hat and scarf she made using Noro Kureyon yarn which we all agree is not our favorite. It is splitty and tends to rip apart not to mention the splinters from debris that is left in the fiber. They dye gorgeous colors but the fiber leaves us sad.

I completed the Stretchy Swirl Beanie using Patons Classic Wool. It will need hand washing but will definitely keep its recipient warm.

Barbara B is almost finished with the Hoodola, a combination cowl and hat which can be turned up inside the hood portion to be used as a face covering. The designer, Laura Nelkin, lives in the Finger Lake region of New York, west of us, and has some great patterns available for sale on Ravelry.

Maureen finished her Helix Hat and has already cast on for another. Those colors look great together. The interesting feature about these hats is you can take colors that you wouldn't necessarily put together but somehow in a Helix Hat they look perfect!

Janna is working on a hat, 2x2 ribbing all the way up. There are countless number of patterns for this style hat but this one is my favorite and easy to memorize.

Carole has a hat started using a bulky weight yarn. What a great color!

Barbara K is also using a bulky weight for a 2x2 hat. The oatmeal color looks warm and cozy.

Dorah selected three colors to make her Helix Hat.

We must all be working through our left overs because I am also working on a Helix Hat. These yarns were a superwash merino left over from four hats I made for family members last year.

Cinzia and Nancy are playing catch-up on projects for themselves. Cinzia forgot she had started the Fagus Scarf so when she came across it recently, it went to the head of the line to be completed.

And Nancy really enjoyed knitting the Reverb Shawl so she's adding another to her collection.

Our photographer, aka my husband Ron, will be getting his new knee this week so the blog will be on hiatus for an unknown period of time. Keep us in your thoughts and send good juju his way.

 And as always, keep those needles clicking.

Post holiday knitting

We were a small gathering today. I guess the other Chicks were recovering from holiday activities.

Barbara B made sourdough cinnamon buns with sugar icing which I warmed up in the oven so they were soft and yummy, a perfect accompaniment to my home made masala chai. My husband laughs when I make this almost every morning because I drag out the heavy marble mortar and pestle to grind the dried spices fresh for each batch of tea brewed.

We are still working on choosing our next recipient but have a good idea who it will be. I'll let you know who it is when the plans are firm. In the meantime, we are working on items which will be appropriate for any chosen group. I'm using up some superwash merino DK weight yarns that were left over from other projects to knit up a Helix Hat.

Barbara B has a merino/suri alpaca yarn left from a previous project also. So she's whipping up the...

Cat Ears Knit Hat, a paid pattern on Ravelry. The designer has a YouTube video which you can follow to make the hat or you can go to her website and use the pattern for free with ads.

Jan has a collection of sock weight yarns from which she is knitting the Leftie Scarf by Martina Behm. This is a great pattern for using up those little walnut sized balls of yarn that make you say,

 "What can I do with this?"

She made this bias stitched scarf for herself using up other scraps of left overs so they wouldn't go to waste. It's lovely!

Barbara B wore her Easy Goes It scarf which she just finished on her recent vacation to the southwest. The photo doesn't do justice to the beautiful tonal blues of the yarn.

 She also finished this Rocketeer Beanie before she went away. It will go into the inventory for a future donation. She modified the pattern a bit by making the cuff longer so it could be folded up for a double warm fabric over the ears.

I'll be sending wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year. 

May you all be safe and secure and keep those needles clicking!

Tis the season

The Chicks asked me to send you their wishes for a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year! See you in January!

Twas the week before Christmas

All the Chicks were knitting! And...

eating! We had two treats today! Barbara B made sourdough molasses gingerbread cookies and Jan made chocolate bark. Yummy on both plates! Barbara was out sick last week and Jan was afraid we'd go hungry because she wasn't sure if Barbara would be here this week so she made the bark. My Chicks take such good care of each other.

Carole finished the Squarshy Hat for the inventory. It uses bulky weight yarn so it works up quickly.

Nancy made a Swirl Hat for her 6 month old granddaughter. 

The yarn colors are perfect for a little baby girl!

Maureen's Helix Hat has such great colors! And even though it's an easy pattern, there is just enough going on to keep you interested but still be easy social knitting.

Carole chose a Christmas-y green bulky weight yarn to make...

the Easy Cabled Hat. The pattern calls for a size 8 needle for the ribbed cuff and size 10 for the crown. This would be a good pattern to practice cabling without a needle.

Nancy's current project is another hat for her granddaughter who will be the best dressed baby in town.

The Luuk Hat pattern includes instructions for sizes from preemie to adult and it's free!

Jan started a new project with the prettiest bright red yarn.

The One Skein Lima Neckerchief is a pattern that was designed specifically for alpaca yarn. Jan did bring to my attention that there is a mistake in the pattern 

but you can find the correction on the project page.

 

Dorah had some Noro yarn in her stash so she's making a basic beanie, cast on a whole whack of stitches, knit some ribbing for an inch or so, then knit every round until it looks like you should start decreasing the crown, then decrease to the closure at the top of the hat. 

I may have simplified that a bit. ;) LOL!

Barbara B started a new project called...

Basic Men's Large Beanie. She's practicing the technique for jogless stripes for multiple rounds of color and single rounds of color. 

On my needles is a DK weight yarn. I started to make a 2X2 knitted cap and then decided to make tiny twists with the knit2 stitches so it looks like mini cables. 

Nancy wore a gorgeous shawl she knitted for herself called Floatini. It requires a smooth fingering weight yarn and a mohair to create the leaves. If you like knitting short rows as Nancy does, this is the pattern for you. She used the German Short Rows technique but YouTube has many videos to teach other methods for short rows as well.

 We won't be meeting through the weeks of the holidays so let me take this time to wish you all a blessed holiday season and a happy new year. And don't forget...keep those needles clicking!