Feline supervision

Joules would not leave the Chicks alone this afternoon! I could not get her to stay off the table. I didn't want to leave her on the deck by herself for fear she might get into trouble if left alone or even worse, escape somehow. She is strictly a house cat and I'd hate to have to explain to her Daddies how she got away! So we had her keeping an eye on all of us. ;) 

She made sure Elaine was knitting it right. 

 Debbie finished knitting the body of her sock and picked up the stitches for the afterthought heel. Barbara tried the TAAT socks but couldn't wrap her head around the cast on so she opted to make a hat instead. That's fine! We need hats too!

 Joules kept a close eye on my TAAT socks. She didn't even try to play with the yarn. But if some of it dangled over on to the floor, all bets are off!

 Liz worked on her socks with contrast heels and toes. She prefers DP needles.

 Joules stayed with us all afternoon making sure we didn't slack off.

                            

 But she was concerned when everyone left.

 She sat looking out the window as if to say, "Why did my friends leave?"

When the evening Chicks arrived, Joules was in another room watching the Yankees game with my husband. Carole finished her socks and wove in the ends tonight. This Adriafil yarn is so cheerful! I think she has enough to make another pair too.

 Her next project is the 1898 hat and she is halfway through the first earflap.

 Margaret has mastered the TAAT cast on and increase and is well on her way to a pair of socks. I am so proud of her persistence! She didn't give up, even after 12 tries!

 I started a pair of adult socks with the TAAT method. I'm using size 5 needles and worsted weight Wool of the Andes yarn from KnitPicks.

I received an email this week which makes me sad. We have to say goodbye to Barbara Beauchamp. She is retiring her Chick status as life is too busy and she doesn't feel it's fair to the rest of us to not give it her full attention. We'll miss you Barbara! You were a valuable asset to our flock. Good luck and keep those needles clicking!

We have a guest

Joules is on vacation with us for the next two and a half weeks. I'm going to have to do a lot more cleaning as she isn't aware that cats are not allowed on the table. 

 Debbie and Janna practiced the magic loop, two at a time, toe up socks with me while Liz worked on her DP's to make a pair of  mittens. It's taking stops and start overs but they are getting the hang of it.

 Liz's Dorm Slippers made it into the inventory today. A sturdy acrylic yarn makes a hard wearing slipper.

 Joules had to be reminded that cats can't knit. After I shooed her off the table, the insult was too much for her and she left us alone for the remainder of the evening.

 This gave us undivided time to devote to new techniques. Carole's socks are coming along nicely. They are the same size but because the yarn is striped differently, it makes them look uneven. But as a wise woman once said (cough,cough Beth, cough, cough) you can't see it from a galloping horse. And socks go inside shoes, right, so who cares?!

 Dorah's socks look like socks this week. She finished the increase rows and is working her way up to the heel. Soon she'll add waste yarn for the afterthought heel.

 And Maureen has mastered the technique. These are her second pair of toe up, two at a time, magic loop.

She finished the pair she started last week. After viewing Youtube videos, she was able to master the heel and kitchener stitch. Looks great!

Margaret was struggling with the two at a time so we decided to master one sock on magic loop until she wraps her brain around the steps. After many starts, she changed her needle to one with a less bendy-twisty cable and had much better luck. It's not easy to learn something new when you have to wrestle with the cable.

My socks are growing too. Another inch or two and I'll knit the waste yarn to hold the heel stitches until I'm ready to knit them.

I'm very proud of my Chicks for their willingness to try new things. And also for their persistence when it doesn't work out on the first, second, or twelfth try! As I remind them, it's okay to make mistakes. That's how you learn.

Let me thank my former Chick, Beth Mashmann, for gifting us with these funny labels to attach to our work. A friend of hers makes them so if you would like your own collection go to

badbettyknits.com

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Delivery Day and MORE YARN!!!

Maureen, Carole, and I delivered our baby clothes to Community Maternity Services today. They were met with ooohhhs and aaahhhs with each item that was pulled from the bags. Two babies are expected this month alone so the clothing arrived just in time for the new arrivals. Speaking of arrivals...

 Many thanks go out to our yarny godmother, Laura, for the beautiful yarns she donated to our group last week! Our heads are swimming with ideas.

 Carole found some gorgeous superwash merino while Margaret made thoughtful selections.

 Here Dorah and Maureen talked about what this lovely yarn would become.

 Then we retired to the kitchen to work on week two of magic loop-two at a time-top down socks. We had to frog out some stitches but the Chicks are getting the hang of it.

The afternoon Chicks had the day off because of conflicts of schedules so after our delivery Carole, Maureen, and I treated ourselves to a nice lunch. Now that our outside deck painting has been completed, future knit sessions will be held al fresco, weather permitting.

And be sure to come back to visit next week as Joules the kitty will be visiting for a couple of weeks. She will surely make an appearance with the Chicks in the coming entries.

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Wrapping up and learning new things

Janna, Liz, and Barbara helped me label the items which will be donated to Community Maternity Services. 

 There were 24 stuffed animals of all breeds. There were fish, raccoons, hedgehogs, cats, owls, bears, and two bunnies. It was quite a menagerie!

 We collected 9 pairs of socks and booties and a pair of mittens on a string.

 And look at all those hats! 55 hats!!!

 We knitted 5 vests and 16 sweaters.

 And 6 blankets were knitted and added to the donation, along with 1 bib. That brought our total to 127 items! WAY TO GO CHICKS!

 A few last minute additions to the inventory were this sweet little bolero sweater from Liz with vintage buttons. They were on a card with a price of under $1 so you know they were old.

 Her baby hat made it into this donation too.

 And Janna had to knit furiously to finish her Dexter vest to have it included in this donation.

 My evening Chicks helped me count and photograph all the items so they were a big help too. Then we started a KAL where I taught them how to knit two at a time, toe up, magic loop socks. It is so satisfying to me to watch their faces light up when they learn something new. Dorah will deny it if asked, but she said it was actually fun to learn a new technique. They will have to practice the steps a few times for it to feel natural but they are well on their way to conquering another milestone in their knitting skills.

And I am so proud of them for accepting the challenge and trying their hand at something new. I tell my students not to be afraid to try something new. Your brain will love it!