Oh! How I've missed these faces! And the Chicks who couldn't make it tonight too! We caught up on current knitting projects and current events. Dorah hit a dry spell just as I was coming out of one. More on that later. She threatened to quit knitting but I'm a hard taskmaster and told her she should take a sabbatical from knitting for a while and catch up on her reading. We all hit a wall now and then. It just takes time to regroup.
Janna worked on the 1898 hat with a variegated yarn. The stripes very clearly define the direction of the knitting.
Then she made a pair of matching fingerless mitts by following an easy mitten pattern and just finishing them off before the decreasing portion.
To her collection she added her version of the Palindrom Scarf, a reversible cables pattern, but she made an infinity scarf instead of a flat scarf. Very clever!
Maureen used a Cascade DK weight yarn to make a lovely baby blanket for her niece. The waffle pattern will make a nice, warm, thermal fabric.
Carole wanted to make a pleated scarf which is made by cleverly arranging knits and purls.
She inspected the last one she made quite a while ago to figure out the pattern.
Barbara B. took the holiday break time to make a beautiful sweater for herself. I saw a picture on Facebook of her wearing it and it's a perfect fit!
She also made a hat (center top) and...
the 1898 hat in a pretty turquoise and...
a pair of Hermoine's Everyday Socks using Cece's Wool fingering weight in the colorway "Oh Rhinebeck, We Miss You". It's a vibrant, pulsing tonal, almost tweedy orange. Really gorgeous!
Dorah did manage to crank out two adorable Helix Hats which she thoroughly enjoyed knitting.
Oh, and here is one more hat, top center, that Barbara B. made. She's been a busy little bee!
Cinzia made a sweater for one of her daughter's using yarn she bought for a song last fall at a garage sale. She just knitted along without thinking but when her daughter tried it on, all the white stripes aligned perfectly.
In the bottom right corner is another sweater she's working on which has cables. Sorry I couldn't get a better picture.
Lastly, is the project I referred to earlier in the post. This lovely yarn was a gift from my son and his partner when they visited South America a few years ago. It is the prettiest cross between a citron green and a sage green, spun from baby alpaca and a bit of wool. I kept picturing lace patterns and textured patterns for a cowl but no matter how many times I sample knitted and changed needle sizes, nothing was coming out right! Very frustrating! Talk about wanting to quit!!!
Normally, my motto is 3 strikes and you're out but I was stubborn this time and after 12, yes TWELVE tries, I finally hit on a pattern and needle size which fit the gauge for the yarn and I'm very happy with the end result. It's called the Trinity Stitch or Berry Stitch. I have a few more inches to knit and I'll have a cozy cowl before winter's end.
So now that I have my knitting mojo back again I'll head back to my knitting cave and get to work.
I hope the new year fills you with hope and good health! And as always, keep those needles clicking!
