Your greatness is not what you have, it's what you give.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Catching up

Two weeks have elapsed since I last updated you on our progress. The last time we met Kathleen started a mistake stitch scarf. I'm sure she has finished it by now.
 I used some stash busting yarn to make this reversible cowl of my own design. The chevron stitch edge was a bit of a challenge because I had to twist yarns to achieve this technique. By the time I got to the end of the round it looked like a cat had his way with my yarn. But the next round reversed the twists and so it all worked its way out.
 Carol used the softest alpaca yarn to make this lovely lace hat.
 Beth showed us her mystery shawl in progress. The clues to the stitches are given in stages so you don't get the whole pattern at once and you don't even know what's it going to look like until it's finished. Can't wait to see it blocked and beautiful.
 And after many weeks of knitting her scarf is done!
 I used Cascade Eco Alpaca and Alpacas of Grafton Mountain yarns for this Foolproof infinity scarf. 
 I like it doubled up cozy around the neck. It was a very captivating pattern that was easy enough to knit by the TV but interesting enough not to bore me.
 Barbara chose this pretty coral/pink Baby Alpaca Grande yarn to make....
 This cowl but didn't like the way it was turning out. On to Plan B.
 She designed her own cowl pattern and it is beautiful! And sooooo soft!
 To the inventory Barbara added two pairs of dorm boots. She used silicone on the soles to make them slip-proof. It really works.
 And finally she finished the cabled headband in a pretty purple tonal fingering weight yarn.
 Tonight's collection started with Carole's baby alpaca Koolhaas hat. The pattern can be purchased from Ravelry.
 Maureen finished her two tone cowl. Her stitching is so even and the colors look great.
 On to her next project, a headband earwarmer.
 Just like the one Dorah made a few weeks ago.
 Carole started a Honeycomb Cowl tonight. I love her colors!
I'll be taking a few weeks off to care for family matters. Take care and keep family close. 
Enjoy your holidays.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Chasing away the chills

Kathleen finished a pair of mittens and a pair of Dorm Booties. By using an acrylic yarn, they are machine washable and dryable. That's a good thing for slippers!
Her next project is a Mistake Stitch Scarf. This pattern makes a thick waffle fabric with great thermal qualities for staying warm.
                                 
It seems Barbara caught the Dorm Boots bug too! 
Carole finished her grey scarf and we all admired the interesting pattern the tonal yarn created. It's funny how it changed in the middle of the scarf.
She also finished her cabled cowl. It has a 12 stitch cable crossover. And looks all warm and cozy.
Her next project is this lovely stitched hat. Can't wait to see it finished! She is using a baby alpaca yarn that feels like a cloud.
Dorah is finishing up her Harry Potter mittens. These are something else! 
Look at the intricasies of the pattern and on both sides too!
Maureen's two tone cowl is about 4 inches from being finished. Almost there, unless she gets so bored she decides to bind off and use the extra yarn for a pair of mittens.
I started the Foolproof Cowl a couple of weeks ago.
It's working up very quickly. It is advertised as no casting on stitches, no binding off stitches and I have to admit, curiosity got me hooked and I had to find out how to make this. It's true! No casting on or binding off! You'll have to buy the pattern to figure it out for yourself.
I finished my cabled cowl too. I used Cascade 220 yarn which is 100% wool. It has enough body to stay cuddled up against your neck to keep the chill away.
While I visited the NY Sheep and Wool Festival this year I saw a scarf that inspired me to make this combination shawl/scarf. My friend fell in love with the one we saw on display so I made this one for her as a surprise.
I hope she likes it!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Mmmm! Warm Woolies!

Last night there were just four of us. Dorah zoomed through the start of a hat using Lamb's Pride yarn. Once she found her escaping ring markers there was no stopping the woman!
 Beth and Maureen made lots of progress on their scarf and cowl, respectively. My guess is that they are almost finished with both.
 I took a class on Saturday for this cowl call Foolproof. It states in the pattern there is no casting on stitches, no binding off stitches, just straight garter stitch knitting with increases and decreases. This designer is a genius! I can't wait to finish it!
  I tend to be a stress knitter. What I mean by that is if I need a gift for someone I wait until the last minute for the stress of gift buying to inspire me to knit something. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not so much. This time it works though.
 My go-to pattern for fancy fingerless mitts is Cafe au Lait. I had some aqua Oh So Fine Sock Yarn left over from my Murphy Catkin and decided to use some of it for these mitts. I love the interlocking pattern. I might have to knit another pair for myself to go with Murphy.
 The past few weeks I've been showing you progress on my Mini Mochi Noro Striped Scarf and now it's finished. I love the progression of colors.
Well, enough dilly dally-ing for me. I have tons to knit with a few deadlines which HAVE to be met! Have a great week and I'll see you next time.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Warm hands, warm heads, warm hearts

Barbara was planning on making a scarf with this fingering weight yarn but it turned out to be too narrow and so "Plan B" has been initiated and it will be a headband instead. It will be lovely with those cables.
Today was a bit nippy out so she wore her hand knit cowl. I don't know about you but I love when the weather turns cold and I get the chance to wear all my shawls and scarves I've knitted over the years.
 Kathleen was absent the last three weeks so she brought many items that she finished over that time. She just kept pulling things out of her magic bag!
 First up was a warm woolen vest.
 These mittens will go into inventory for our future donations as they are probably too small for our current needs. 
 I like how the yarn makes a pattern on these matching woolies.
 These mittens will be just right for the ladies at the homeless shelter.
 Love that April Showers scarf.
 One of Kathleen's daughters gave her a set of light up knitting needles. I guess they come in handy if you have a knitting emergency when you're at the movie theater!
 We were busy bees tonight too.
 Maureen's cowl is very pretty with the two tone pattern.
 Beth showed us her Hanne Falkenberg sweater that she made from a kit. She said it took a year to make but when you take into account how many other things she knitted that year too it most surely didn't take the whole year.
 The sweater uses three colors of yarn held together for some rows and used singly for others to make this interesting texture. It's really pretty!
 Carole's scarf is growing longer while her cabled cowl awaits a quiet time so she can kitchener stitch the ends together.
 And Beth's scarf is progressing nicely too.
 I'm in the home stretch of my scarf also. There isn't much yarn left so it should be done by next week.
 I started a cabled cowl also. This has a provisional cast on so I can kitchener stitch it closed when it's long enough. Depending on how bored I get with it, that might be sooner than later! LOL!
But it has just enough going on in the pattern to hold my interest for now. And it's easy to knit when I'm a car passenger. 
Well, it's not too late so I think I'll get back to the striped scarf so I can finish it off before next week. Keep your needles clicking!