Relaxing before the holidays

Barbara arrived in her most festive Christmas finery and got straight to work on her top down cardigan. She has about 20 something more rows to knit on the body and then she can knit the sleeves in the round so there will be no finish sewing except for the buttons.

Cinzia brought us a finished baby hat and the scarf I showed you last week. It's nice and wide to protect against the winter chill.

My husband joined us for a bit and Debbie had to give her injured hand a rest but she joined us without her knitting.

Last week I told you about the baby hood I had trouble getting started. Well, as you can see, I am on a roll! I just can't stop myself. It's such a quick knit that if I do nothing else, I can knit one in a day. But since I have to eat and sleep, it takes me two days. Don't hate me! ;) These are all machine washable and dryable too!

I found one of my daughter's baby dolls to try the hat for size and it's adorable! I wish I had a real little one to model it for me.

Last night I cast on for my sixth one with another machine washable yarn I found in the stash.

Carole showed us her lovely headband she is making for her daughter. She is using Cascade 220 and is getting beautiful stitch definition.

Maureen's ball of yarn is getting smaller and the blanket is getting bigger.

And Carole made it to the bottom of the raglan lines. The stitches for the sleeves are on the holders so she can proceed with the body of the sweater.

Beth's Barley Hat is further along this week.

And she showed us the scarf she is knitting for a niece using the colors of the Green Bay Packers, of whom she is a fan.

I don't have any Christmas knitting to catch up on so I can relax and glide into the holidays without the stress of worrying if I'll make the deadline. But if any of you out there are knitting gifts I hope you get to finish in time. Wishing you all a warm and wonderful holiday season!

Duck, Chick, Mouse

Freddie the Field Mouse came to visit today. Debbie made him for our current donation project to  Community Maternity Services. He is a chubby little critter which will make some munchkin very happy.

Barbara didn't want to have her blue top down sweater photographed again since it doesn't show much progress from week to week but she did show us her lovely cowl she made to go with her blue winter coat. Lovely! She said she wants to block it to firm up the wonky bound off edge.

Here we see Cinzia finishing up her scarf contribution. It's nice and long and warm! This week she'll weave in the loose ends and then into the inventory it goes.

We had a full house tonight. Everyone was busy with baby clothes and hats.

Beth finished her blue Flax sweater just before she ran out of yarn. That little ball there is all that is left.

She was showing us a sock she made using a new method of knitting the heel. It's too hard to describe but it was fascinating how the shaped heel and instep were knitted simultaneously.

Her donation project is a Barley hat. Such a cheerful yellow!

Margaret finished the hat I showed you last week and....

added another sweet little patterned hat too.

Dorah's sweater is showing more of the variegated chevron pattern now. At first she was unsure if she liked it but we all convinced her that with a little blocking it will look great. I guess I volunteered for the job. ;)

Carole's Sunnyside is really showing off those beautiful cables now. They run down each button band and along the raglan lines of the shoulders.

Maureen checked that ball of yarn that doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. We keep telling her the blanket is large enough but she wants to knit until there is no more yellow yarn. I feel you Maureen!

I knitted this cute little pixie hood in two days but let me tell you, it could have been a lot sooner if I could just follow directions! I started and frogged this thing five times. I knew it was something I was misinterpreting because I checked Ravelry for notes from other knitters and no one had the same problem I was experiencing. After numerous emails to the designer and a consultation with my knitting guru, Cinzia, the light bulb FINALLY went on in my head and I was able to finish it. I enjoyed it so much (once I figured out how to make it) that I cast on stitches to make another one right away. Check it out on Ravelry where you can see photos of it being worn. It's adorable.

Even though our Snowbird Liz is enjoying the warm climate of Florida, she had time to knit and send a few items to add to our collection. From top to bottom, a baby sac, a sweet toddler sweater, and two little infant vests. Wait til you see those buttons!

This chick is adorable!

And so is the duck!

I need to get back to my hood now. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Evening knitting

The afternoon knitters had the day off but my evening group joined me for some lively knitting and conversation.

The Baby Sophisticate sweater is drying after a thorough blocking. I'll have to think about buttons but I'm not sure what I'd like to see on it. It would be cute to have those little wooden toggle buttons like the ones on the old car coats from the 60's. Now I'm showing my age!

 I used the left over yarn to make a little hat to go with it and by evening's end...

 it was finished. Sixty-four stitches, 1X1 ribbing for an inch or so, then stockinette the rest of the way.

 Dorah had to slip a little personal knitting in tonight so she could finish before Christmas. It's a gift for someone, Denver Broncos colors.

 Maureen's blanket is almost a square now. We tried to talk her into making it car seat size because she is really tired of this pattern. But she has so much of the yarn she wanted to use it up. Knit faster Maureen! Tax season is almost upon us and then you'll be busy and won't be able to knit.

 Carole's Sunnyside sweater is showing it's cables, although it's hard to see in this shot. Take my word for it, it's darling. Carole does such a nice job!

 Margaret's hat is in the first stages of ribbing but soon it will show the ladder pattern in a contrasting color.

 She finished the sweater I showed you last week, you know, the five hour sweater that took her a few weeks.

Well, as hard as it may be to believe, we do have a life other than knitting! ;)

Busy hands

We had a stretch of holiday rest so it was back to some serious knitting today for my Chicks.

We start Show and Tell with Debbie's hoodie sweater. She is using one of those huge skeins of self striping yarn she bought when our local Lion Brand store went out of business. It's a washable yarn, perfect for baby clothes.

 Cinzia is also using a self patterning yarn which looks like it should knit up into a dotted pattern but oddly enough it is working up into a really nice tweedy stripe.

 Barbara's Cabin Fever Buttons cardigan has shoulders and should have sleeves soon. She is holding it by the collar and shoulders so you can see that it is a top down one piece sweater.

 Maureen's baby blanket is longer this week. I think she's getting bored with it. Next time a quick hat pattern Maureen!

 Margaret's top down 5 hour sweater is going on about three weeks now. It's hard to find time to squeeze in a few stitches when you have a full time job and a family.

 Beth is making a baby Flax sweater. You can see the garter stitch feature on the shoulder and sleeve.

 And Dorah's baby sweater has reached the portion where she will insert the chevron pattern with a variegated yarn. You can see the first few rows peeking out at the needle edge.

 Carole is disappointed that it took her two hours to get this far on her Sunnyside sweater but she has all those markers perfectly in place so she can now breeze on through the knitting. It's important to get the markers correctly placed so the sleeves and design elements line up.

 My Baby Sophisticate is at the very beginning so it doesn't look much like a cardigan yet.

 And now for the gallery of FO's. I found a quick bootie pattern last night for some scraps of worsted weight yarn that was too much to just throw away. They were done in about three hours. And I'm a slow knitter!

 My second Dexter vest is for a little girl. I ran out of pink yarn and had to use a sage green to sew up one of the side seams but luckily it doesn't show.

 I had a bit of left over blue yarn so a quick 2X2 ribbed hat used it up.

 Beth was busy while she was away before the holiday. Her cables are beautifully knitted on this cute little hat.

 The buttons Carole put on her little sweater are just the right touch of color for such a cute little pullover.

 Beth's baby socks are cheerfully bright!

 And her cute little tie booties are sure to stay on.

 Another baby hat....

 and two more from Margaret's needles.

 Carole added a sweet little cap with a twisty top knot.

 And these last few are personal items that first up, Beth knitted. A pretty pair of socks called Hermione's Everyday Sock. She said the pattern was very easy for her first pair of two at a time cuff down socks.

 Dorah showed us her Baby Cocktails Shiraz sweater she made for her daughter. We are very proud of her work! She just has to knit the neck band and it will be finished.

Lastly, Beth had put this beautiful shawl into hibernation for a while but finally took it out to finish. The color choices are gorgeous! If you'd like to purchase the pattern on Ravelry, it's called Drachenfels by Melanie Berg.

Well, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving and have recovered from your turkey hangover. It's time for me to get back to my knitting. Keep those needles clicking!