Summer is here!

I put one foot out on the deck and made the executive decision to gather inside today. It was much too hot to expect anyone to knit with wool on a day like this. We saw pictures of Nancy's newborn granddaughter. What a precious baby! Dorah regaled us with the adventures she had with her children on their trip to London where they attended a Mets game. And then we shared our FO's.

Barbara B. finished her baby ensemble. The sweater is the Simple Toddler Cabled Cardigan. She made a hat to match using Marianna's Cabled Hat pattern which comes in multiple sizes from baby to adult. The hat is knitted flat according to the directions but Barbara didn't want to have to sew a seam so she converted the project to be knitted in the round.

Carole finished the Wee Bean and found cheerful yellow buttons for it. She's going to give it a steam blocking and sew the buttons and it will be ready for inventory.

Dorah is hooked on the LOSY hats! 

She added one to the inventory today and immediately cast on for another.

Carole finished the Totally Biased Cowl. She used James C. Brett Marble Chunky yarn to knit it flat and graft the short ends together and still has enough yarn left over to make another.

The mail was delivered while the Chicks were here and I opened the package my grandsons sent from Pennsylvania. It contained a skein of 100% Baby Alpaca yarn in my favorite colors. They know me so well! We all had a chance to pet it before I decide what to make with it.

Dorah finished one sleeve on her baby cardigan and started the second before she decided to frog it back so she can make it match the other one.

I worked on the sleeves of my Oh Baby! Cardigan.

By the end of the two hours we met, the sleeves were done. It needs a steam blocking and then I have to either look for buttons or make my own.

Barbara K. cast on stitches for a scarf. We'll have to see what pattern it is next week.

Margaret added some rounds to her original design hat using bits of yarn left from bigger projects.

Janna's Someday Baby Blanket is a slow going project but the yarn and pattern are beautiful together.

Nancy started the Slip Stitch Cowl, a free pattern on Ravelry.

She chose two lovely, soft pastel colors for it.

Barbara B. is working on Bella by KnitsDuNord, a paid pattern on Ravelry.

It has a sweet little lace front. 

She's using a Cascade superwash fingering weight yarn that is soft as a cloud.

As everyone got up to leave we noticed we had company the whole time and no one knew he was there. His bed sits in the corner of the dining room where we meet and no one saw him sneak in. I think Fozzie is finally warming up to my Chicks and likes to be a part of the action.

It only took three years! LOL! 

Stay cool while you knit and crochet, have a good week and keep those needles clicking!

 

Too hot for deck knitting

Fozzie thought I prepared the dining room for him when in reality...

I was waiting for these lovely ladies to arrive. It was so hot and humid today that the thought of sitting on the deck made me feel the vapors! Thank goodness for air conditioning! We were wondering how the poor kids are making it through the last few days of school without it. I'm sure the town pool is open now for those who like to swim. 

We start off with a few FO's. Barbara B. finished the Kennedy Cardigan but not without some agita. The pattern had a typo and there was something about the lace edging that made her adjust the stitching because the pattern was off. It still turned out adorable.

Barbara also finished the Yellowstone or Yosemite hat in baby size. The pattern uses dip stitches to create the texture of the design.

Carole added her own touch by knitting an I-cord finish to the top of her Simple Baby Hat. I think she mentioned that she used Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn for a machine wash and dry hat.

Dorah finished a pair of socks with a self striping yarn. It created a cool, almost argyle pattern. The pattern is from Knitting Pure and Simple, #216 Beginner's Lightweight Socks.

Jan is making the Wee Bean cardigan in another Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn in a brighter version. The colors make it so cheerful!

Carole's Wee Bean is at the sleeve knitting portion. She is making both sleeves at the same time on magic loop. She used Plymouth Encore which is also machine wash and dry.

I'm working on the Oh Baby! Cardi using a superwash merino wool. I have one more buttonhole to go and then the ending ribbing and sleeves to finish it. I think I might try making my own buttons for this.

Barbara B is working toward the finish of the body on her Simple Toddler Cabled Cardigan which has cables down the shoulders and sleeves as well as down the button bands.

Maureen is almost done with her BERT Baby Blanket too. 

The stitch definition on her work is exquisite.

Carole was getting bored with her sweater knitting and pulled out a fan favorite called Totally Biased. It's a cowl which starts with a provisional cast on, is knitted on the bias, and then the last row and first row are grafted together for an invisible finish. This is a great pattern for those short color bursts of yarn to highlight the bias shaping.

We haven't seen any bears lately so I can go for my walks. But now it's so hot and humid I think I'll stay in where it's cool. I have tons of knitting to keep me busy. How about you? 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

There's been a visitor in the neighborhood who caused quite a stir

I'll give you a couple of hints. This is his footprint. It was about 10" long.

This is what he left in his wake.

And here he is! Last Thursday "Teddy" walked across my driveway, around the neighbors' house, and down our street around 1:30 in the afternoon. He's been wandering for days as I follow the social media posts to track his route. He was a gorgeous specimen of a black bear and it took all my willpower to not run up to him for a hug (just kidding). But he was beautiful!

Now that the excitement has died down, we have other good news! Nancy (second from the right between Maureen and Barbara) is a new grandmother! Her granddaughter was scheduled to arrive on Saturday but decided to make her grand entrance a day earlier. 

We saw pictures of the wee beauty and she is precious!

Nancy is knitting the Wee Bean sweater for her and I know the color will be perfect for her rosy little cheeks.

Barbara B's orange-chocolate shortbread cookies accompanied our discussion of babies and what fun and love they bring into our lives.

Barbara finished the Bee Hive Hat which I showed you last week.

She found the perfect buttons for it at Joann's Fabrics.

Currently on her needles is the Kennedy Cardigan. She isn't happy with the written pattern and after I read it, I can agree with Barbara. We found typos and just unclear instructions so I won't be linking to the pattern. This is why it is so important to have someone test knit a pattern you have written because sometimes we don't see our own mistakes and having someone other than the designer try to knit it can help clarify unclear directions and pick up typos.

Maureen added another band of color to her Bert Baby Blanket. I know she feels like it's taking a long time but I am impressed with the speed with which she is making it.

Jan started the Wee Bean too. The self striping yarn is so cheerful! I can't wait to see it finished!

I am approaching the section of the Oh Baby! Cardi where it's time to put the sleeve stitches on holders so the body can be knitted. This is a cute V neck cardigan which is knitting up pretty quickly.

I should go for a walk but with all the bear sightings the past few days, I'm afraid to be out alone. I'm sure the bear is more afraid of me than I am of him, but I don't want to test that theory! 

So instead I'll just keep my needles clicking!

 

Today the part of Dorah will be played by Maureen and Nancy

We started out talking about cars getting bumped in parking lots and our experiences learning to drive and it was all fun and games until 2 o'clock when Maureen just couldn't hold back and since Dorah couldn't make it today she felt obligated to stand in for her. LOL! You must know we are talking about the taboo subject...politics! What she said sent us into roars of laughter and then Nancy added more to the story. We had to call Dorah to tell her what she was missing. She appreciated the stand-in!

Chef Barbara B made a fruit cookie pizza with her sourdough recipe. It was as delicious as it looks! The filling in which the fruit settled was made with cream cheese, powdered sugar, and the cookie had almond extract. YUM!

She brought a bunch of FO's today too! This sweet little cardigan has the cutest buttons too.

Crayons in all the colors adorn the front and the strap on the helmet hat.

I missed getting the name of this pattern but it's adorable.

I'm really slipping since I didn't get the name of this hat either!

And she finished the set for a new baby in her family.

Carole finished another colorful Helix Hat using left over DK weight yarns.

I finished the Knit Baby Jacket Set and didn't have buttons I liked so I custom made some with the same yarn as the sweater. I will be doing this again as it was very easy and I like having matching buttons.

This is the cardigan on which I made a mistake knitting the sleeves so I turned a mistake into a design element and added a few bands to each sleeve.

Now I'm working on a matching hat with the same bands.

Jan started the Leftie scarf and had some difficulties with holes forming where the wrap and turn stitches were formed. She has it all worked out now and they look fine!

Her donation project is the Honeysuckle Beanie which is coming along nicely.

Maureen's Bert Baby Blanket has another whole band of color!

Cinzia started a pair of baby booties from a pattern book but it was giving her a hard time so she opted to make her own pattern.

Margaret designed her own hat with a cute little polka dot pattern.

Nancy is a good way through the bodice of the Wee Bean cardigan.

Barbara K's pink striped hat has grown quite a bit since we last saw it. This is the yarn she "cannibalized" (wow! that sounds harsh!) from a ball of variegated yarns that had many colors but she didn't want the pinks. VOILA! Just cut them out!

Carole's Wee Bean is at the same point of progress as Nancy's.

This Kennedy Cardigan is free on Ravelry.

Barbara B is using a lovely, machine washable yarn from WEBS for it.

Janna's Someday Baby Blanket is slow going but beautiful!

Margaret finished the Flax sweater and a matching hat. The sweater was a bit tricky but she mastered it!

I need to walk off that cookie pizza but it's so hot out. Maybe I'll wait until the temps cool down a bit. In the meantime, have a great week and keep those needles clicking!