Warmer Uppers

Maureen finished the horizontal border on the baby afghan tonight. Now she has to pick up the stitches on the two long sides and finish those borders.

 Carole started a new hat called Lotus Hat which she found as a free pattern on Ravelry.

 It has a lovely traveling pattern.

 I finished blocking a few things this week which were finished a while back but I saved to block all at the same time. This is my favorite diagonal lace scarf pattern for bulky weight yarn. This will go into donation inventory.

 Another donation item is a fourth version of Zuzu's Petals from Ravelry.

 This cowl is called Willow also a free Ravelry pattern.

 And I finally finished Leo's birthday blankie.

 It was made with a compilation of sock weight yarns from my collection of leftover scraps and those of my knitting friends. Thanks to everyone who contributed. 

 I used a solid black sock weight yarn for the I-cord border which I thought would take forever and a day to finish. I started it last Tuesday and finished it on Wednesday or Thursday. Not long at all!

 I can't wait to give it to Leo and cuddle him up.

Now my son likes it so much he wants one to fit as a bedspread for a queen sized bed! I'm going to need a LOT more yarn!

It was a dark and stormy night...

Monday night around 11:45, right after Jay Leno's monologue, there was a deafening !CRACK! and the sky opened up with a deluge of rain! A thunderous storm cell raged through our town and lit up the night sky like the noon day sun. Luckily, my son had his camera handy and was able to capture some of Mother Nature's fury. Out of 65 shots these following four were the best at capturing the light show we witnessed.

This one was taken looking over Maureen's house. I'm lucky to have one of my chicks living right across the street from me.

 You just never know where the next strike will hit.

 It was like the Fourth of July all over again.

 This was the best of all the shots captured. All the weather warnings on TV say stay away from windows and the outdoors. And here we are running from picture window to doorways, looking for the best vantage point from which to capture the ideal photo. Hmmmm.....maybe not the smartest thing to do. But look at those photos!!!

 On to the knitting. Liz was feeling playful as she modeled the lovely seed stitch infinity scarf she made for our St. Catherine's donations.

 Her cardigan was finished and waiting for buttons. She found some good ones in the button bin and will show us the finished piece next week, I'm sure.

Do you remember the slipper socks I said Liz was making last week and practically finished in one afternoon? Kathleen admired them and here they are...

so soft and cozy.

Kathleen added the buttons to the little Baby Sophisticate she showed us last week.

These buttons are perfect!

Here's a hat Kathleen made to match a sweater she finished weeks ago.

And this is the Elizabeth Zimmerman Rib Warmer (sitting underneath above mentioned hat).

Another Kathleen donation using Jelly Beanz yarn. Cute, huh?

For her next trick, Kathleen will pull this sweater out of her magic hat!

Well, it seems like magic when you see this much started and a whole sweater will be delivered by next week. This yarn is more of a teal color in person. After Kathleen adjusts the proportions it will be more of a toddler size than little baby size.

I am about 99% done with Leo's sock blankie.

I had to put my donation knitting aside for a week so I can knit the applied I-cord edging to the blanket. I have until next Tuesday to finish the edging and then I have to block, dry, and wrap the gift to give to my little munchkin. Those are a lot of edges to finish!

Last night Karin and Beth chatted away while their fingers kept busy.

Karin knitted the bright orange border on her log cabin blanket.

And here is Maureen's pullover completely blocked and finished. It's beautiful! Look at the great stitch definition in the detail work. She did a great job!

As much as I love sitting here talking to you, I really must get back to the Icord knitting. So have a great week and we'll see what's new later.

Stitch by stitch

This week Liz added to our inventory with this cute little gnome hat. By next week we should be able to see the slipper socks she was knitting today.

 I finished the reversible striped scarf. I used Noro Kureyon and Cascade 220 yarns. The Noro is the variegated color and the Cascade is the blue. I am still amazed every time I knit this pattern. I keep turning it over and over, not believing my eyes as I see the stripes developing in opposite directions. Try one and you'll see what I mean.

 When I'm not working on Leo's birthday blanket I knit this pattern my daughter designed. It's a shawl called "Stacy". I have a long way to go yet but I'm liking the beginning.

 Barbara added many inches to her cabled shawl and is about halfway through.

 Maureen worked furiously on her baby blanket and hopes to finish it before the baby arrives!

 Carole started a new hat tonight. She hunted through library books and found the same pattern that Beth made a few months ago. I can't wait to see another great hat finished.

 Karin worked with her own hand dyed yarns to finish a sock for herself.

 I love the color and stripes. I hope she dyes more real soon. I got shut out of the purchase by another knitter last week. LOL!

I started a cowl this week but there really isn't enough knitted to show you how it looks. By next week I should have some progress to show you. Enjoy your week and I'll see you next time!

Free Patterns and My Babies Went Home Today

Liz has been busy finishing up some donations starting with the Wham Bam Thank You Lamb cowl which, if you are a member of Ravelry, is a free pattern. The bulky weight wool will make it a cozy 

neck warmer upper.

 She was really busy the last couple of months. Here are booties and a baby hat....

 the Irish Hiking scarf, another freebie on Ravelry....

 a pretty light blue diagonal baby blanket...

 a cotton spring weight, feather and fan baby stroller blanket...

 with matching hat...

 and last but not least, a baby cocoon and hat. These are so cute when just a little baby face peeks out from the top.

 Kathleen hunted through three button boxes before she found the perfect buttons for her 

Baby Sophisticate jacket (another freebie on Ravelry).

 Carole finished a beautiful pair of fingerless mitts called Susie's Reading Mitts and you guessed it! Free pattern on Ravelry. You really should join if you're not already a member!

 By the way, last night was Carole's first night to knit on the deck and it was a beautiful night. Finally! It seemed as though we would never get a Tuesday that wasn't rainy or too damp to sit outside. But yesterday was perfect.

 Maureen was a little disappointed to find out she had knitted only 18 inches on her baby gift blanket. Don't despair, it's almost there!

Beth brought her mystery KAL (knit-a-long) to show us. It's a project that a group of knitters work by knitting only the portion of the project from the clue or segment of the pattern which has been released to participants a little at a time. She had a diagram which showed the final shape of the shawl. She has to make a choice as to making it a "V" shaped shawl or a long rectangular stole. This will be the center section. It's going to be really pretty. The yarn is from Periwinkle Sheep.

 Well, after a ten day visit my beautiful daughter is taking the grands back home. They might make me a little crazy with such long visits, but I still cry when they leave. I'm going to miss sitting on the deck with Amanda and having a little "talk time".

 I'm going to miss those chubby cheeks greeting me every morning with a smile.

 And my Moose won't be here to read stories to me. But both the boys need to get back to their regular routines.

As do I! Thanks to my SIL Phil for letting them stay so long.