The Helix Hat addiction

We are still knitting for the Falcon Boutique, a pop up store located inside Albany High School where students can get whatever clothing they need for free. The students are the employees of the store where they are also learning life skills. We are knitting all kinds of items but this week the Helix Hat seems to be a very popular pattern.

Once you make a couple of these hats, the pattern becomes second nature and the variations are endless. I am working with superwash merino DK weight yarn and size 6 needles. As I have said many times, this is a great pattern for using up small amounts of yarn so it won't go to waste.

Nancy's version uses a worsted weight yarn. 

It's fun to include a self striping or patterning yarn with some solids.

And sometimes the colors don't seem to coordinate but as Dorah has proven here, it's like magic!

Maureen started with full skeins so she'll get more than one hat of the same color combo.

As you can see, one down and more to go!

Carole is working on a very colorful basic beanie using a bulky weight yarn.

At the same time, she is also working on a cowl which also uses bulky weight yarn.

She completed the Mistake Stitch Cowl which she has been knitting these past few weeks. The James C. Brett Marble yarn is remarkably soft for a machine wash and dry acrylic. And the colors are vibrant.

Margaret's needles are busy knitting a basic 1X1 ribbed hat on which she will place a pompom to finish it off.

And Barbara B is on the home stretch of the Gluckskind blanket for a friend's baby arriving soon.

Cinzia started a hat using her DPs. 

Dorah has a second hat going called LOSY Hat which stands for Leftover Sock Yarn hat. She uses up lots of left overs for this one since you hold multiple strands together at once.

Cinzia finished a lovely scarf for herself called Fagus. The edges are adorned with pretty knitted leaves.

And before I go, here is today's treat from Barbara B...sourdough oatmeal raisin cookies. 

They were perfectly chewy and moist!

She left a couple of extra with me for my husband to enjoy too. 

Well, I better get back to my Helix Hat, it isn't going to knit itself. Although, sometimes when I look at my stash, I wish it could!😄 Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Back in the saddle again!

The husband is recovering nicely from total knee replacement almost two weeks ago so it was time to get the Chicks back here. I miss my weekly visits with them! 

Apparently, so does this guy! Or maybe it was just that he was looking for his third lunch of the day. But I'm a "mean mom" as my little ones used to say when they couldn't get their way, and I made him wait.

One of the projects I'm working on is Hoodola by Laura Nelkin. It's a fairly new pattern which was initially offered for free but now it's a purchase pattern. It has an interesting method of construction and comes with links to video tutorials, thank goodness! Because the beginning had me a little stumped. Now that I'm past that point, it's smooth sailing and a really good TV knitting pattern.

Carole is using James C Brett Marble yarn to knit the Mistake Stitch Cowl. The colors in this yarn are lovely and even though it's acrylic fiber, it feels nice to the touch.

The link above is for a pattern on Ravelry but Carole wrote down her own version and just noticed that she wrote "Repeat rows 1 and 1" which should read "Repeat rows 1 and 2".

Barbara B is knitting a baby gift for a friend who is due this month. This is the Gluckskind Baby Blanket. It begins with a pinhole cast on in the center of the square and grows outward with a variety of easy stitch patterns.

Nancy is working on an Ombre Hat with the prettiest color combinations.

She has completed one already and has more coming down the line.

Barbara K put together some pretty yarns for a Helix Hat.

All the yarns chosen were left over from previous projects. Not a strand gets wasted!

And let me not forget to show you this week's treat from the kitchen of Barbara B, sourdough chocolate/chocolate chip cookies with a little sprinkle of flaky salt on top! They were a hit!

I hope you're keeping warm wherever you are but I find this weather perfect for walking, single digit temps, no wind, and bright sunshine. I wear appropriate gear to keep me warm but I do love the brisk cold air! Plus, I earn my knitting time without the guilt.

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

 

It's a cold one today!

With 40MPH gusts of wind today, the Chicks were happy to be seated around the table for good conversation, good sourdough chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, and Masala Chai. I make the tea from scratch, a new skill I picked up after watching YouTube videos during the COVID lockdown.

Ron had to get everyone's attention so he could take the picture because we were so busy talking about  many subjects including college tuition costs, retirement and Social Security, and Janna's recent vacation to Iceland, Germany, Spain, Sicily, and France. She took a cooking class with world famous chef Ric Orlando, who began his start here in the Hudson Valley. 

Barbara B made sourdough chocolate-chocolate chip cookies for our treat today. 

They paired well with the chai.

It must have been cold out there because Dorah actually wore one of her shawls, the lovely On the Spice Market by Melanie Berg. She used yarns from Whole Knit n' Caboodle for a beautiful project.

For the donation inventory, Dorah added a hat and scarf she made using Noro Kureyon yarn which we all agree is not our favorite. It is splitty and tends to rip apart not to mention the splinters from debris that is left in the fiber. They dye gorgeous colors but the fiber leaves us sad.

I completed the Stretchy Swirl Beanie using Patons Classic Wool. It will need hand washing but will definitely keep its recipient warm.

Barbara B is almost finished with the Hoodola, a combination cowl and hat which can be turned up inside the hood portion to be used as a face covering. The designer, Laura Nelkin, lives in the Finger Lake region of New York, west of us, and has some great patterns available for sale on Ravelry.

Maureen finished her Helix Hat and has already cast on for another. Those colors look great together. The interesting feature about these hats is you can take colors that you wouldn't necessarily put together but somehow in a Helix Hat they look perfect!

Janna is working on a hat, 2x2 ribbing all the way up. There are countless number of patterns for this style hat but this one is my favorite and easy to memorize.

Carole has a hat started using a bulky weight yarn. What a great color!

Barbara K is also using a bulky weight for a 2x2 hat. The oatmeal color looks warm and cozy.

Dorah selected three colors to make her Helix Hat.

We must all be working through our left overs because I am also working on a Helix Hat. These yarns were a superwash merino left over from four hats I made for family members last year.

Cinzia and Nancy are playing catch-up on projects for themselves. Cinzia forgot she had started the Fagus Scarf so when she came across it recently, it went to the head of the line to be completed.

And Nancy really enjoyed knitting the Reverb Shawl so she's adding another to her collection.

Our photographer, aka my husband Ron, will be getting his new knee this week so the blog will be on hiatus for an unknown period of time. Keep us in your thoughts and send good juju his way.

 And as always, keep those needles clicking.