Smoke and Heat

Had it not been for the Canadian wildfires and the heat today, we would have been knitting on the deck. However, when you can smell the wood burning in the air, it's best to stay inside with the AC. There were just seven of us today but that didn't mean there was any shortage of conversation. We've broken our own rule about no political talk so many times already that we just start off with it so we can get the venting done early. We moved on to knitting patterns, grandchildren, books, and of course yarn.

Dorah said she put herself on a strict yarn diet until she uses up what she has. But she was drawn in by the pretty colors of this variegated yarn from Purple Lamb. It was the name of the colorway, Texas Bluebells, that put her over the edge since her oldest lives in Houston. She is planning to make something for her but needs inspiration.

 

I forgot to show you Jan's purchase from her recent vacation to Nova Scotia where she saw cute little puffins in their natural habitat. So naturally she had to buy the yarn that is dyed and named for them.

Margaret is working on a Helix Hat. You can see the first stripe peeking out from under her needle.

Nancy is working on a Fair Isle Hat. She felt confident that she could work on it while socializing until she noticed she repeated a mistake four rounds back. We tried to talk her into calling it a design element but it would have bugged her so she tinked back to reknit it. I'm right there with you Nancy. I would have done the same thing. (It turns out this isn’t a hat, it’s a cowl.) http://papersensei.blogspot.com/2011/04/cowl-for-japan.html

Jan's shawl is coming along nicely. Sorry I didn't catch the name of the pattern.

Maureen added to her Reversible Stripes Scarf and questioned her choice for knitting it in a social setting. I didn't hear any sighs so I guess she's good with it.

Barbara K said she didn't like the first color that was showing up on her shawl so she frogged the whole thing, cut off the offending color, and started over.

Dorah started the cuff of the second mitten. She got as far as the thumb gusset with the gray yarn when I looked over and made her promise not to be angry with me for pointing out that she forgot to knit the palm with blue yarn to match its mate (see next photo). Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt!

I had to tink back four rows because I forgot which project I was knitting and started the edges incorrectly. My last two scarves and this headband all had I-cord like edging but made 3 entirely different ways. Sometimes I have to remember to turn off the automatic pilot in my brain. 😉

This is one of those scarves with the I-cord edge. It's called Ottilie and I'm using Crystal Palace Mini Mochi fingering weight yarn, my absolute favorite gradient yarn! But I heard it's been discontinued and possibly the whole company closed. Bummer! This will be added to the inventory for The Falcon Boutique at Albany High School.

This is the other scarf with an I-cord edge knitted in yet a third style. And you wonder why I'm confused! I followed a YouTube video and wrote down the instructions as I followed along. About halfway through I had to abandon what I had written and just follow my instincts and I think it turned out pretty nice. If you'd like to try it, these are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 videos.

 https://youtu.be/Vm0q8e7rvUY?si=TSCabttVzscPRgRy

                                          https://youtu.be/cE4UkCbYZnY?si=0kusye4CmV4B9xLi

If you hadn't already guessed by the color, this one is for me.😉

There were no treats from Barbara B's magic kitchen this week. It was a close call but we survived.😂

Now I'm off to finish this project so I can choose a new one. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Happy 20 years!!!

I can't believe we've been doing this for 20 years! Time flies when you're having fun. And we do have fun! Elena, Cinzia's daughter (first chair on the left) helped us celebrate. She was only a preteen the first time she joined us and was learning how to crochet then. Continuing around the table we have Carole, Margaret, Maureen, Barbara K, Jan, Barbara B, Nancy, Cinzia, and me. Dorah and Tina couldn't make today's party but I wanted to be sure to thank them too.

We started out catching up with each other...

And catching up with Elena, whom we haven't seen since she graduated from college.

Our main entree was chicken parmagiana which I caved and had ordered from our local Italian deli this year. Everyone agreed it was delicious. And you can see Barbara B's sourdough bread just waiting to be buttered up and eaten.

Jan took a serving of Nancy's Greek potatoes, roasted to perfection with tasty herbs. Jan brought a fresh tossed salad. There were veggies for dipping and finger sized zucchini fritters.

Barbara B made sourdough cinnamon buns with a peach compote topping.

The raspberry oatmeal cookie bars came from Carole's kitchen and Barbara K made Pig Pickin' Cake from the Outerbanks Women's Club Cookbook. You can see the peach compote on Barbara's cinnamon bun on the right side of my plate. 

And don't let me forget to show you what the Chicks gave me! They know me too well when it comes to chocolate. Not shown is the bottle of yummy Ice Wine which is hidden away in my refrigerator so my husband can't find it. 😉

Barbara B visited her family in Rochester and her 14 year old granddaughter displayed her latest crochet designs. She taught herself by watching YouTube videos and even designed the goose blanket on her computer by pixelating a photo to make a pattern to follow! It's obvious to me this young lady has that creative gene and talent. Got it from her Nana! I asked if she'd like to make items to donate through our group and she enthusiastically agreed to help! I'm so excited to bring another generation to the flock!

I thank my Chicks every week for helping my dream come to life but who knew it would go on for twenty years?!?! Thank you again Ladies, for your time, talent, dedication, and friendship. It truly could not be done without you!💖 

Keep those needles clicking!

Deck knitting day!

We had a small group of knitters today. But the weather was perfect for sitting on the deck, having a lively discussion about current events, good places for hiking with family, and all things knitting.

Barbara B made delicious sourdough chocolate chip cookies. She uses the best tasting chips in her recipes too!

 

Maureen finished her Close to You Shawl with the pretty little picot bind off. It's a simple touch that adds so much to the overall design.

She decided to make a reversible striped scarf called Magic Stripe Hot Pad or Scarf. It's one of those patterns that boggles the mind because the stripes are vertical on one side and horizontal on the other. It is achieved by knitting one row twice, first with one color and then the other, slipping stitches and sliding the work to the end of the needle before you turn the work. It sounds complicated but really isn't. Just make sure you aren't distracted while knitting.

Barbara is working on the diagonal baby blanket for her former neighbor's grandbaby. 

The colors are so cheerful!

I am working on the Frost Ridge Beanie by Benjamin Matthews. I am supposed to knit 42 rounds before I begin decreasing to close the crown but I'm at 31 rounds now and it looks like if I knit to 42 the hat would fit the jolly green giant. As it turns out, I am using a size 7 needle and the pattern called for a size 6. Oops! No biggy! I'll just start the decrease section now and it will be fine. Next time I'll double check the pattern a few times before I start.

Tina just started the Dexter Vest, a cute V-neck pullover vest that starts at the lower front hem and is knitted up and over the shoulders to the bottom back hem. Then it's folded at what would be the shoulder seams and the sides are hand sewn. It's a quick and easy project with nice results.

Next Tuesday we Chicks will be celebrating 20 years sharing our passion for knitting and serving  our community. I am in awe of these ladies  and their dedication to helping others. I'm so proud that we have been able to keep my dream going for all this time. Check back next week to see all the good food we'll be sharing. And keep those needles clicking!

Another hot and humid day

I was forced to get a new computer when my trusty Asus would no longer update and crapped out on me. Everyone I mentioned it to said I would love the new Surface. It's not that much larger or heavier than my I-pad but I'm still learning the ropes so bear with me. 

Oh, and if you hear screaming, it's probably me. LOL!

The six of us enjoyed a quiet afternoon in the cool air from the AC. 

Even Fozzie joined us for a little visit. He's been getting braver about hanging around when the Chicks are here. And his favorite person is Dorah because she knows where we keep the "cookies" and he knows she'll sneak a few to him on her way through the kitchen.

 Barbara B made sourdough peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins so she is the humans' favorite person. ;)

Barbara B finished the Watering the Trees hat, a freebie on Ravelry. The stitch definition highlights the cables beautifully.

I started the Frost Ridge Beanie using Plymouth Encore, a machine washable wool and acrylic blend.

By the end of the two hour meeting I had this much knitted. It has a 5" cuff for folding so I should be almost there soon.

Dorah designed a pair of fingerless mitts using colors from the Helix Hat she finished last week. She used a free pattern from Ravelry that is my go-to mitten pattern. The hand is complete and now she will knit a contrasting ribbing on the thumb.

Maureen is almost finished with her Close to You Shawl, a very easy pattern, also free on Ravelry.

Another freebie is the sweater that Carole just started.

The Oh Baby! Cardigan will be adorable and she has yarn left for a hat too.

Barbara B told me the name of this hat pattern and I thought I wrote it down but darned if I can find it! I'll let you know next week. Edited: the hat is called Back Seat Driver!

The Country Rows Shawl that Barbara K started today is a pattern I wrote many moons ago.

She bought the yarn on one of our yarn festival trips and it spoke to her for this pattern.

Well, I managed to write this whole thing without screaming, although I did not use the photo storage method my son suggested. It was just too complicated and the computer kept telling me I ran out of storage! I hate those "in the cloud" storage things! Just let me do it my way and everyone can go home happy. LOL! Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Too hot and humid for outdoor knitting

When I went out to water my potted flowers on the deck the air was so thick I knew we would be staying indoors.  And since almost everyone was here today and might not be at our anniversary dinner, I decided to give them their thank you gift. Everyone loved it!

                                     

To commemorate our 25 years of service I designed a little charm which can be used as a stitch marker. It is roughly the size of a dime and with the help of Robbie MacCue and his technology skills, I think it turned out pretty sweet.   

                                    Dorah finished her Helix Hat and started a pair of…

                                                  

                                                   Fingerless mitts to coordinate with it.

                                             

Tina has a little more progress on her Ruckle Hat. The wrinkles are achieved by reaching behind the work and catching the purl bumps in with the live stitches.

                                              

                       Barbara K started another sherbert hat with the pretty pastel variegated yarn.

                                              

I have to stop here to explain why today’s blog looks so wonky. Apparently, my laptop is too old to update anymore and it refused to allow me to use the internet. So I have to resort to posting on my I-pad and it’s not cooperating. I might have to enlist my son’s help. I know he’ll be overjoyed at the prospect…not.

 Barbara B worked on her Summer Net Shawl using a lovely variegated sport weight yarn that started out as a different project. Her original idea was voted out by the yarn but it seems to love this shawl.

                                               

                   Maureen continued to add to her Close to You Shawl with the lovely lace edging.

                                                

     She also finished the Welter Hat and the 1898 hat, both in vibrant blue.

                                                                                 

                      Margaret worked on her Fair Isle Hat and finished it before it was time to leave.

                      She had to increase the circumference of the hat because it was looking too small at first. But I always say, it will fit somebody!

Nancy’s Slip Stitch Cowl looks beautiful. Her color choices blend so nicely. She also worked on her Bright Side Shawl which she said is a fun pattern to knit.

Cinzia worked on her spiral socks for her son. They are stretchy and made without a heel because the stitch arrangement makes the sock conform to the foot without having to knit short rows and a heel flap.

                                                 

I’m working on a honeycomb stitch scarf inspired by the Sophie Scarf which was all the rage in the beginning of this year.

                                                 

                                                     Jan has a hat started called Lace Crown.

                                                 

And last but not least, my half eaten Sourdough Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie from the magic oven of Barbara B was delicious. I’m going to have to consult my thesaurus to find other words to describe how good her baking is.

                                                 

That’s it for today. I’m hoping to get the computer stuff figured out before the next time I post. Keep your fingers crossed for me. And keep those needles clicking!