She never bakes a dud!

Barbara B's treats today were sourdough maple pecan scones. I'm not a big fan of scones because the only ones I ever tried tasted too much like baking soda and were as dry as the Sahara. But these deserve a chef's kiss! They were wonderful! Hey Barbara! Do you ever bake a dud?

She is also a terrific knitter. She made this Summer Light t-shirt with a pretty lace bodice. She said it was sitting in time out for a while so she decided to pick it up and finish it. 

And look how nicely it fits her!

Her current WIP is the Look Out! Winter Hat. A friend from our Friday knitting group recommended it to us and we're cranking them out like nobody's business! It's a single layer ear flap version of the 1898 Hat with a wider variety of sizes.

Barbara finished one last week.

And here are my two. The top one is the smallest size and the bottom one is the next size up. They knit up very quickly and the pattern is easy to follow.

Because I was working on those two hats I didn't make much progress on the Helix Hat I showed you last week. But I managed to throw in a half dozen rounds today.

Nancy found a pretty set of gradient yarns on sale on the Knit Picks site. 

This is the Stroll brand of sock weight yarn.

She is starting with the lightest color to make the free Reverb Shawl for herself. I'm loving the colors!

Margaret is working on the Twig Bonnet. She was having issues with the beginning as the written pattern was a little confusing to her. So instead of ribbing, she made a nice seed stitch edge to the hat.

Jan started the Jesse's Christmas Hat with a pretty deep blue yarn. This yarn has a nice stitch definition which will beautifully highlight the cable lines of the hat. And it's free!

Another free pattern is Totally Biased, a cowl that Maureen is working on. The slow color changing yarn is making long spans of color along the cowl.

Someone is staring at me so I'm guessing it's close to feeding time. I swear this cat can tell time!

The heat and humidity are back so I'm going to sit close to the AC vent and get those needles clicking!

Have a great week!

Missing my photographer today

My husband had appointments today so we didn't get a group photo. But I did get a picture of Barbara B's homemade Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies! They were a hit! So chewy and not overly sweet while the chocolate just melted in my mouth. We are so spoiled! Thank you Barbara!

Barbara started the Isobel Bonnet which has this raised geometric border.

She is using an easy wash and dry acrylic baby yarn which was donated to the group.

It does match this Wee Anna Lynn sweater, contrary to what you see. The yarn is more buttery yellow like this sweater. One of these days I'll get the lighting right for a truer color. Both the hat pattern and sweater pattern are free on Ravelry.

Nancy didn't like the impracticality of an open lace cowl which she had started last week. So she frogged it to make this Poyeng's Cable Scarf, 

which describes itself as being a pattern every knitter can knit.

Margaret designed another hat using a raised diamond motif. She is saving the decreasing portion for when she is alone at home with no distractions.

Here are two of the FO's she brought with her this week, a Helix Hat and her own design.

Cinzia brought some FO's too. This little jumper can be worn as a dress until the wee one grows too tall and then pop a sweater under it to be worn as a tunic.

She added a pair of booties and a cute striped pullover to the inventory too.

Jan is ready to bind off the bottom edge of her Wee Bean and then pick up the sleeve stitches to complete the cute cardigan.

Janna had so much Katia Superwash yarn in this lovely magenta that she started a hat to go with...

her completed Someday Baby Blanket. 

We all ooohed and ahhhed at the beautiful job she did on this project.

The Helix bug bit me this week too so I grabbed some leftovers of Plymouth Encore DK yarn and got to work. I love how the colors play with each other.

The yellow yarn was left over from this little hat that I made up as I knitted along.

Well, you're all caught up with our projects. Check back next Tuesday when my grandson will be visiting. Maybe he'll let me sneak a photo of him. He's probably taller than me by now. My oldest grandson towers over me at over 6 feet now. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Seat warmer

Fozzie is so considerate! He immediately jumps on the dining room chairs as soon as I remove the covers to protect them from his fuzzy fur. He likes to keep them warm for when the Chicks arrive.😸 There is no fear that they will be cold today with the temps in the 90's!

I forgot to take a picture of Barbara B.'s sourdough chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache and mini chips but rest assured it was delicious! She made it in honor of Dorah's birthday and my husband's and my 47th anniversary, both which were last week.

In addition to baking such scrumptious goodies for us, she was busy knitting up a storm. She finished the Baby Beanie to go with the Bella Sweater with the sweet lacy accents.

And look at the adorable elephant buttons on the...

Tiny Isla Sweater. Barbara made the Twig Bonnet to complete the ensemble.

She finished the body of another sweater this afternoon.

The Wee Anna Lynn is an asymmetrical lace front cardigan.

Cinzia is working on the Fagus, a paid pattern on Ravelry. She is using a lovely tonal yarn to make a special scarf for herself.

Jan's rainbow Wee Bean cardigan looks adorable! If you look closely you can see a strand of contrasting yarn running through the stitches which is her lifeline, insurance against making a mistake.

Maureen was so busy this week enjoying the company of her grandchildren that she didn't have much time to work on her Totally Biased cowl. But we have time since these won't need to be delivered until the fall.

Nancy found a lovely lilac fingering weight yarn to make the cowl called...

The Waverly Weekend Cowl which has a chevron lace pattern. The original pattern is written for worsted weight yarn but with a little adjustments to needle size and number of cast on stitches, it can be adapted to a lighter weight yarn.

Dorah combined two Periwinkle Sheep fingering weight yarns that have a bit of sparkle to make a basic beanie hat.

Last week I showed you a cardigan I had started with this Plymouth Encore DK weight yarn. I discovered pretty shortly after starting that I misread the yarn amounts and knew I wouldn't have enough to complete the sweater. So I frogged that one and cast on for a hat. No pattern, just winging it!

So that wraps up another week with my lovely knitters. 

I hope you are keeping cool in this heat wave while also keeping those needles clicking!

Red Velvet Cookies and knitting

Barbara B. made sourdough red velvet cookies for us to munch on today. They were moist, chewy, and chocolatey good!

You don't see any knitting on the table because we were so busy talking and snacking that I almost forgot to have my husband take our picture.

 Everyone had packed up to leave when he was summoned to be on duty.

Barbara brought two FO's today. The Bella cardigan is a lacy little sweater with sweet details on the sleeves and button bands. It's a purchased pattern on Ravelry.

Her second FO is the Twig Bonnet, a free pattern with a size range from newborn to 2 years old. It begins with flat knitting and then is joined in the round to close the back of the hat. 

The I-cord ties are knitted on last.

Currently on her needles is the Tiny Isla cardigan, another freebie on Ravelry.

She's using a DK weight yarn and will have a sweet ensemble when this is completed.

Last week I showed you a cowl which Nancy had started using two pastel yarns. The further she knitted, the more she was dissatisfied with the result. So she frogged it and decided to use the yarns, combined with other colors, to make two Helix Hats.

She is much happier with these two projects.

Annika is working on a project for her church bazarre.

 It looks like a variation on the Feather and Fan lace scarf.

Her friend gave her the yarn to make it. 

There is a sparkly strand that runs through the yarn that adds a bit of pizazz.

I started the Sweet Pea Cardi because the pattern said I had just the right amount of yarn to make the smallest size. But the more I knitted, the more I realized there was a problem. It turns out I read the description incorrectly or confused it with another pattern. Instead of 300 yards of yarn, the Sweet Pea uses a minimum of 400 yards. Ooops! So what you see here is no longer on the needle. 

Plan B will have to be consulted.

Maureen started the Totally Biased Cowl which begins with a provisional cast on that is later grafted to the last row, completely hiding the seam in the stockinette section for an endless infinity cowl.

Jan picked up her Changing Staircases Shawl. The short color change of the yarn moves along the pattern of lace and stockinette sections.

Janna is finally nearing the end of her Someday Baby Blanket. 

This ball of yarn is all that is left as she nears completion.

Sending you all best wishes for a safe and happy Independence Day. And keep those needles clicking!