The cicadas were chattering a lot today

 The heat and humidity were almost unbearable today but luckily, it was pleasant again by the river. An occasional motorboat whizzed by and we could see a couple of teams practicing their crewing skills up the river from where we sat.

  Every now and then the cicadas would make their chattering noise and then it would be quiet again.

  Usually there are families or people on their lunch hour. But this week it was just Maureen, Annika, Debbie, Barbara B. and me. Oh, and Annika's father reading his book, sitting close to shore. It was very restful at the park today.

 Maureen added the second sleeve to her Sunnyside cardigan. It's such a joyful pink!

 Barbara B. worked on a pair of baby socks. She said it took her a day to make one. A feeling of accomplishment came over her as she was able to make a perfect kitchener stitch to close the toe. Way to go Barbara!

 Debbie showed us the hat she's making from this pattern from Willow and Lark.

 Her stitch definition is showing off the cables beautifully.

 Annika's hat is almost finished and she is loving her new Zing interchangeable needles. She used the magic loop technique and the new needles are perfect for it.

I finished my Venomous Tentacula shawl and enjoyed every minute of knitting it. It took me five tries to get the hang of those big loopy holes but I'm glad I was persistant. I love how it blocked out.

 Just before we left this huge ship went by, creating a wake in its path.

It almost makes it feel like we're at the seashore, listening to the waves hit the shore. 

I said, ALMOST! 

Now it's back to the air conditioning as we wait for the humidity to break. It doesn't look like it will happen too soon though. Tomorrow's weather app shows a cactus and wavy heat lines. I think I'll stay inside. So until next week, keep those needles clicking, indoors preferably. ;)

Scenes by the river

The Henry Hudson Park was hopping today! I was finally able to get a shot of the bald eagle that flies out from its nesting site each week. Yeah, that's him...or her. Too far away to tell (not that I could tell the difference).

And a fisherman was at one end of the park but I couldn't tell if he caught anything.

But even if he didn't, a bad day of fishing beats a good day of working!

There were plenty of boats too but if I stopped to take a picture of every one that went by, I would never get any knitting done.

At least two flocks of Canada geese swam by too. They were very quiet going upstream but they made their presence known on the way down again.

Janna's and Annika's father came to sit by the water to read and watch the wildlife.

There was quite a group today too.

Cinzia surprised us by bringing along one of her children, Sophia. She'll be heading back to college soon so it was so nice to see her. I haven't seen her since she left for her freshman year!

Sophia hasn't knitted since then either so she was practicing her stitching.

Cinzia put the finishing border on her crocheted baby blanket, perfectly sized for a car seat.

The beige blanket that Barbara B. was working on for the last few weeks turned out to be the wrong color for the new baby girl that was born. So Plan B was to make this pretty one instead.

Debbie was making cables on the hat she started but they gave her some trouble so she had to start over. Her ribbing is so nice and even.

And Maureen joined us today! She's been on babysitting duty for her 8 month old granddaughter since the early spring so it was so nice to see her again. She's putting a sleeve on her Sunnyside sweater.

Janna started the mosaic portion of her Emiliana scarf. But when she realized she didn't have the correct stitch count, she had to tink back to fix it. That's ok, many times I've spent more time frogging that knitting but it all works out in the end.

And here is Annika's shawl all finished except for the crocheted edging which is coming along nicely.

My Racimo Cowl is getting longer but the ball of yarn doesn't seem to be getting smaller. That's what happens when you use a center pull ball of yarn. It seems to stay the same size for so much of the project and then BAM! You're almost finished and you're racing against the clock to finish knitting before you run out of yarn.

Why? Don't you knit faster to finish before you run out of yarn? LOL!

I hope you enjoyed the scenes by the river this week. It's always so peaceful there and these days I need all the peace I can find. Have a good week and keep those needles clicking!

Before the thunder

The Chicks and I were blessed with another beautiful day on the river.

 And it was quite busy today too. Early in the afternoon we watched this ship getting pushed northward...

 and just before we left at 2:30, this one was being pushed southward. I love to hear the wake splash against the seawall after they go by because it sounds like waves crashing on the seashore.

 Barbara B. modeled the shortie anklet socks she made for herself using self striping yarn.

 She bought the yarn from Michael's Craft Store and has enough left over to make a pair of baby socks.

 And this is the pattern she bought on Ravelry to make her socks.

 Debbie wound some yarn so she could make a hat.

 And then she showed us the socks she is making using the shadow wrap short row heel technique. I love that color combo!

 Janna has made lots of progress on her Emiliana Shawl. Soon she will be adding that lovely lighter colored yarn for the mosaic portion of the knitting.

 Annika was so happy to show us how close she is to the end of her shawl. When the last stitch is bound off, she will add a crocheted edge to all sides.

The peace and quiet of the river's edge was suddenly broken by the sound of distant thunder so we decided it would be wise to pack up early and get home before the storm arrived. On my way home the sky suddenly opened up and sent huge drops of rain down on my car but it lasted less than 60 seconds. Now the sun is out again so I just might get out on the porch for a bit more knitting.

Have a good week and keep those needles clicking!

Looking for shade

There wasn’t as much activity on the river this week as there has been in the past. Fewer people enjoyed the park and this little boat sailed past us three times but no others were in sight.

 The sun kept hiding behind the clouds but when it found its way out, it was bright.

Janna worked on her Emiliana shawl and said she’s enjoying every stitch.

 I’m finally getting in the groove on my Venomous Tentacula shawl after frogging it five times. Those holes are created by binding off stitches mid-row on the right side of the work and then casting them back on the wrong side row. All this binding off and casting on was creating very loopy, loose stitches at either end of the openings which I didn’t like. So it took me many tries to figure out what method to use for casting back on and how to twist the stitches surrounding the openings before I was satisfied with the results. I’m a happy knitter now that I’ve worked out all the kinks! This is going to require a thorough blocking when it’s finished.

 Barbara’s baby blanket is slowly gaining length. She is using a light weight yarn so it’s a slow process but it will be worth the work.

That’s all for this week. Keep those needles clicking!