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

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Keeping it warm

Kathleen's Cushy Cowl is a free pattern on Ravelry that was designed by our friend, Karin of Periwinkle Sheep. It's an easy pattern but it takes a good two or three inches of knitting before you can see the diamond pattern forming. And it can be made using any weight yarn with the appropriate needle size. 
 Kathleen's little handmade bows added a sweet touch to her finished slippers. She used a bulky weight yarn so they knitted up in a flash.
 She also made a lovely cowl and matching hat with some Periwinkle Sheep yarn. The cowl was a scarf pattern that Kathleen used the kitchener stitch to graft the ends together for an infinity scarf.
 Elaine added another pair of slippers to the inventory. These are the ones I showed you in progress last week. She was all set to knit a sweater when she realized she brought the wrong pattern with her. So she had a relaxing afternoon looking through my knitting books for inspiration for her next project.
Back to Kathleen's projects, she has a keyhole scarf in progress too. The straight garter stitch portion will be knitted to 17 inch length and then a tapered end which will fit through the narrow section.
 Barbara finished her Mistake Stitch cowl using two strands of worsted weight yarn to sub for a bulky weight yarn.
And she finished up her shawl and is running in the ends. It looked so good that it didn't even need blocking.
 Cinzia made a pair of mittens from a pattern and decided she didn't like the thumb placement so...
 She redesigned the pattern so that the thumb would sit slightly off to the side so there is a definite right and left mitten.
 My crazy Liberty Wool cowl is growing steadily. I change yarns every 4 rows using a slow changing color yarn. When I'm happy with the length I'll graft the ends together.
 Beth is cranking out another pair of Basic Cabled Mittens with that pretty purple yarn. 
 And Maureen's cowl has grown a bit since last week.
 Carole finished the ribbed border and worked in the ends on her cowl.
We'll be wrapping up this project soon and then it will be time to knit baby clothes. We are all looking forward to making some cute baby items for a change. It's good to switch up once in a while because you know my motto... if it's not fun, don't do it!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Trying to stay warm

Show and Tell this week starts with our FO's, Finished Objects. This cowl started out as a scarf using the No Purl Ribbed Scarf pattern which is free on Ravelry. I used Cascade 220 yarn and intended to make a cozy brown scarf but as you can see it didn't quite make it to scarf length. Knowing it needed some accent of color, I hunted in my stash and came across this bright turquoise, also Cascade 220, and loved the two colors together. VOILA! A cowl was born! Another stroke of luck hit when I found matching buttons in the button can. You just never know when inspiration will strike.
 Barbara's stashbuster headband/earwarmer turned out to be lovely and stylish. She too had perfect buttons just waiting for the right project to accent. I think she used a bulky Malabrigo yarn for this item.
 Carole also busted the stash with her Turban'd headband/earwarmer. There was just enough yarn left to eek out a cozy band.
 Elaine added another set of slipper socks to keep someone's toesies nice and warm. There are many free patterns out there for this old time favorite for Grandma's slippers. Here's one and here's one and here's another one. Take your pick!
 Mochi Plus yarn is the star of this cowl. Crystal Palace makes the yarn and it has the most beautiful color combos and long, slow color changes. I used the Basic Brioche Cowl pattern, free on Ravelry.
 Elaine worked on another pair of slipper socks this week. They seem to just fly right off her needles!
 And Barbara's cozy shawl is just about finished. The colors look lovely with her sweater. Sorry Barb! You have to donate it! LOL!
 Maureen started a Honeycomb Cowl with some lovely lace yarn she received as a gift. Too bad I can't remember the name of it. It's right on the tip of my tongue...Nope! Can't think of it!
 Carole's cowl is lacy and pretty. She'll probably have it done by next week.
 And lastly I started a Color Theory Cowl with 2 skeins of Classic Elite's Liberty Wool. I can't wait to see the color changes on this one.
The temps almost didn't make it above zero today. Thank goodness I didn't have to spend much time outside. Although I did have to pump my own gas today. BooHoo! Poor me! LOL!
I hope it's warm where you are!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Starting the new year with new projects

Last week I showed you a photo of my grandson helping me wind yarn for a hat he asked me to make for him. Well, here he is in his new hat! We dropped it off at his home but couldn't go in to visit because everyone was recovering from a nasty virus. It nearly made me cry to be that close and not be able to hug my babies. Everyone is on the road to recovery now though.
 A few weeks ago I worked on a stealth project about which I could not speak. Now I can show you the turkey hats I knitted for my cousins dogs. He challenged me to make them after something he saw online but I feigned disgust at dressing one's pets so he would be extra surprised when I presented them to him.
 Come on! Don't tell me that poor dog isn't humiliated! LOL! His mommy and daddy like the hats and that's what counts.
 Back to the Chicks. Everyone is done with knitting Christmas gifts so it was a starting projects kind of day. Barbara started a headband/earwarmer with a thick and thin single ply purple yarn.
 Elaine's friend Jill was visiting (who happens to knit) so we invited her to join us. She started a baby hat.
And I started a brioche cowl with some Mochi Plus yarn. The colors are rich and glorious.
 Elaine finished up a pair of slipper socks by the time we ended our afternoon session. This is a good stash buster project because she used two strands of odd ball yarns.
 Carole started the evening with this much of a headband/earwarmer and was nearly finished by 9.
 And Maureen did finish her cowl. You'll see the finished photo a bit further down.
 Beth made many pairs of beaded mittens for family members this year and finally made a pair for herself.
 The double cuff and beadwork are a lovely touch to add some flair to a simple mitten.
 I blocked a cowl today and I'm waiting for it to dry so I can add some turquoise buttons. You'll see it next week finished.
 I finished the mishmash cowl that started out with one pattern and changed halfway through, partly because I didn't like the way the pattern was turning out and partly from boredom. But now I like it!
 And here is Maureen's completed cowl. A lovely but simple pattern.
 Carole added the Cowl for Every Season in a pretty bright red.
 Up on Top boot cuffs nearly jumped off my needles last week. I was running out of yarn so they are a shorter version than the ones in the original pattern.
Have a great week and check back next time to see our progress.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!

My grands and their parents joined my father, sister, husband, son and me for Christmas last week. It was bittersweet since it was our first Christmas since losing my mother last January 2nd. But the boys were able to keep us cheerful with their excitement over the surprises that were to follow.
Moose helped me wind a hank of yarn so I could knit a cozy hat for him. His gray and lime green jacket will be nicely complimented by a nice bright turquoise watch cap.
 Christmas morning started with checking out what Santa stashed in our Christmas stockings. The boys were thrilled with the gift cards they can use all by themselves when they need lunch at Dunkin' Donuts.
 Great-grandpa Billy loves his new portrait of the boys. Leo was making sure Poppop knew who was in the picture.
 And the socks I knitted for him were a hit too.
 Moose couldn't wait to dig into the Toblerone candy bar and spent most of the day sneaking another bite here and there.
 My son loved his new crazy hiking socks and they fit him perfectly! Whew! It's always a guessing game for me when I knit something that needs to fit.
 And my daughter loved her new KnitPicks Caspian Interchangeable needles! 
 I got the best hugs!
 And a beautiful new scarf that my daughter designed and named after me! Someday when she has the time (HA! with two little boys! Right!) she will write up the pattern and sell it on Ravelry. I'll keep you posted.
 She designed one for my sister, Jamie, and will post that pattern for sale too.
The boot cuffs I made for her also fit perfectly. Boy! I was on a roll this year!!!
 By the end of the day most of the chocolate candy had been devoured and it was time to wind down. Another Christmas was over and now it's time to get back to my donation knitting.
But before we get to that, I have to show you Barbara's granddaughter wearing the sweater that Barb knitted for her. She is a beautiful little girl and her sweater fits perfectly. Great job Barbara!
 The Chicks met on Tuesday afternoon and we had a few things to put into inventory.
Kathleen knitted a pair of basketweave boot cuffs from her new Knitting Calendar. It's a box of patterns for every day of the year. She's going to have fun with that!
 Just for good measure Kathleen added a hat to the inventory too.
Now she's working on another pair of basketweave boot cuffs.
I'm making progress on a cowl which is a mashup of two different patterns. The yarn is a blend of silk and merino so it will be not only warm but very soft too.
The Up On Top Boot Cuffs were finished this week. I was at the very end of the skein and had to squeak the last few inches of yarn from the ball to finish the bind off.
Just before Christmas I finished The Chickadee Cowl using Berroco Quasar yarn.
I added a pair of reversible boot cuffs last week too. These are great because you get two pairs of cuffs in one!
     
Since it was Christmas break from school, Cinzia brought her girls along too. I love to watch the younger generations take up our traditions.
 Cinzia showed us the slippers she's making for her oldest son. I don't recall the name of the yarn but it is a very soft acrylic which will be nice for something that will probably get a lot of washing and wearing.
 
 Sofia worked on a pair of cabled mittens using a very soft and very pretty purple yarn that has a touch of angora in it.
 And lastly,  last week I showed you a picture of an in-progress shawl I was making for myself to wear to my holiday get-togethers. I had doubts if I would finish it in time but I did it! My Outlaw Shawl was ready to wear on Christmas Eve.
 Now that the New Year has started let me wish you all happiness and prosperity and...
the best of health. Oh! And lots of time to knit!!!