A new little chick

Yesterday Liz came to knitting armed with a boatload of FO's! She knitted three different sizes of this darling sweater from a free Ravelry pattern. The blog page offers different versions and sizes based on the same basic recipe. There are also links to other patterns, including a matching hat.

 Her finished hoodie looks so cute too. I love the picot bind off edging. It's a very easy technique that involves YO's and sewing the hem back. You have to make sure you have an even number of stitches then proceed to knit a row of K2tog, YO, (you decide how many stitches you want to knit between the eyelets) ending with K2tog. Then knit a few more rows of stockinette and bind off. Fold the fabric back along the YO row and sew the selvedge to the sweater. Alternately, you could pick up and knit a stitch from the row with a stitch on the needle, sort of like a 3 needle bind off. That's if your sweater is a top down construction. If you knit it from the hem up, make a provisional cast on, knit to the depth of the hem and do a row of K2tog, Yo, (again, you decide how many stitches in between eyelets) ending with K2tog, then fold back, wrong sides together, and knit the stitch on the needle together with a live stitch from your provisional cast on. Make sure you start by picking up the first stitch of the provisional cast on or your hem will be all wonky. Or you could just look it up on YouTube! That's how I brush up on all my knitting techniques.

 Two sweet preemie hats.

 Kathleen also added another pair of  mittens from her favorite knitting pattern.

 Now Kathleen is getting a jump on the next donation project by working on a scarf for the Homeless Female Veterans Home in Saratoga County.

 Carole is wrapping up the last sleeve of her Sunnyside Cardigan. The self-striping sock yarn makes a cheerful garment.

 Maureen finished her Cabin Fever Cardi and has started a hat to go with it.

 Cinzia finished her blanket and just has to block it. I thought I took a group photo of last night's gathering to show you her daughter, Sofia, who will be joining us for the summer. She is a high school student and quite a good knitter already and she just started serious knitting last year! I apologize for somehow losing that photo but.... 

 Here is a picture of the booties she already started last night. She's doing a great job for a new knitter! I'm so happy to see another generation taking on the skills of knitting!!!

Welcome to our flock Sofia!

 Speaking of booties, here are the ruby slippers I made for some friends who are expecting their first child soon.

 I loved this little pattern so much that...

 I just had to make more of these sweet little shoes! The first pair took about six hours to make. These periwinkle blue ones took five. Maybe if I make another pair I can cut it down to four!

 Finally, let me wish my DH a happy anniversary! 

37 years!