The first "deck day" of the season!

The weather app said it was 79 degrees but the gentle breezes made for a lovely afternoon on the deck. That is until the next door neighbors' lawn care service revved up their engines and the wind chimes behind me decided to dance the tarantella! I put the chimes on the floor but I couldn't do anything about the mowers and blowers. It's uncanny how they always know when I've planned to be on the deck. Thankfully, I found a soothing station to play on Pandora to calm the atmosphere.

Today's treat from Barbara B was sourdough chocolate chip raspberry biscotti. You know how biscotti needs to be dunked in a cup of hot coffee or tea to soften them enough to not require a visit to the dentist? Well, maybe it was because these were sourdough based, but they were soft enough to eat even though they were double baked, as a biscotti should be. Really yummy!                                      

I'm still working on the cowl with the Turkish stitch from YouTube. This yarn is lovely to knit too. It's Valley Yarn Valley Superwash from WEBS. I hope when I go to the May sale they have more for my stash. It makes a lovely garment and is machine washable.

Cinzia crocheted a car seat baby blanket for our Friday group. We were laughing because Barbara, Cinzia, Tina, and I are in both the Chicks and The Delaware Avenue Stitch Angels and we have trouble remembering which group is knitting for what causes! I really should write it down in my notes.

Carole worked on the Man Hat Here pattern using a heavy weight, maybe bulky, yarn. Yes, I double checked and it calls for bulky weight yarn.

This is the public side of the hat. Very nice!

But the inside is just as nice! Maybe it could be reversible.

Nancy chose the Quick Ombre Hat for her project.

That blue yarn stands out nicely against the purple base.

Dorah loves knitting her Bias Scarf! She highly recommends it. It's a good pattern for those gradient yarns or the very busy short bursts of color yarns to show off the slant of the fabric. I can't find the pattern on Ravelry but just cast on enough stitches for the width you require then follow:

Row 1: K3, Kfb, k to last 5 sts, K2tog, K3

Row 2: K all sts

Make it as long as your heart desires. And if you feel really ambitious, you can use two yarns and stripe it, alternating colors and carrying the yarn up the right side edge.

Maureen's Bankhead hat looks glorious in this vivid red yarn! It is even more stunning in person.

Jan was inspired by Carole's and Dorah's Bias Scarf so she started one too. Pretty colors!!!

Barbara B bought some nice yarns on our last visit to WEBS and started an 1898 Hat. 

It looks cool with the variegated yarn!

Tina finished the Owlie Baby Sleep Sack and has started a hat to match. It will have the cute owls too.

Fozzie waited for everyone to leave and then he came out to join me on the deck. However, he's giving me the cold shoulder because I won't feed him. It's not like he hasn't already had 2 meals today!

He'll just have to wait until 5 o'clock like everybody else in the family. LOL!

I hope you're having a nice day where you are and you're able to keep those needles clicking!

FO's and WIP's abound

Topics of conversation were all over the place today. Babies, dentistry, health insurance were just a few of the discussions bouncing around the room. Eventually, we talked about what to make with the yarns from our trip to WEBS last week. They were spread across the table for inspiration.

One of the patterns we took into consideration was the Phazelia's Mitered Baby Sweater which I made 

in 2017. It looks best if knitted with a self striping yarn to highlight the angles of the rows. But we won't be making baby clothes until September. 

For now we are still knitting for The Falcon Boutique at Albany High School. Carole finished a Bias Scarf to use up the last of the James C. Brett Marble Chunky yarn. The pattern is only two rows and very easy to memorize. Choose your yarn and appropriate sized needle, cast on enough stitches to achieve your desired width, then every right side row, K1, knit into the front and back of the next stitch, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, K1. Wrong side rows are knit only across the whole row. Nothing could be easier! Just remember you won't see the shape until you're a good 3 or 4 inches in. Make sure your needle is a little larger gauge than what the label recommends so the resulting fabric is drapey.

She also completed a Squarshy Slouchy Hat. When a friend commented on how large it was, she explained it is for people with lots of hair to tuck in. The younger crowd likes this style and someone has already requested one from Carole.

Dorah completed her Helix Hat from last week. She has chosen more yarn for another already from the new yarns recently purchased.

Carole had another FO, the Royal Icing Headband which was part of our recent KAL.

Maureen finished her Olive You Baby Sweater for a friend's baby and found the cutest buttons!

She used a Malabrigo yarn, one of her favorites for it's colors and the lovely fabric it creates.

Dorah liked Carole's bias scarf so she immediately cast on to make one using...

a beautiful gradient yarn from Noro.

Tina is still working off that huge ball of yarn which seems not to have diminished in size at all.

She's knitting the Owlie Sleep Sack for our other knitter's group. I think Tina is one of those knitters who works on one project until it's finished. Gee! I wonder what that feels like. 😁

Margaret is in love with the single row, jogless technique for a helix striped hat.

Jan has a Helix Hat started on her needles too. It's such a fun pattern to make and uses scraps of yarn not otherwise in large enough quantities for a whole project.

Maureen had just enough of the Malabrigo yarn left over from the baby sweater to knit the Bankhead Beanie. It starts out with a twisted rib stitch for the cuff which gives it a unique look.

She finished last week's hat and started a cowl to match using the basic design from the Swirl Hat pattern for the body of the cowl.

Nancy started a Helix too! That gradient yarn is going to be a stunner!

Carole was going to knit a cowl but decided to go with 

Stephanie Pearl McPhee's One Row Handspun Scarf.

The yarn, she felt, was too scratchy for a cowl which might be worn against the skin. A scarf can be worn over the coat so it wouldn't matter as much.

I had some Valley Yarns Valley Superwash Sport in a pale blue. Having watched a YouTube video tutorial originating in Turkey for the stitch pattern, I was inspired to write up the project to knit a cowl.

Well, I'm going to start dinner, a cottage cheese and egg concoction that bakes in a souffle dish. I tried it a couple of weeks ago and liked it so tonight I'm going to put different additions in it. Gotta use up a fresh tomato before it goes bad. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

A trip to WEBS

Today Barbara B, Carole, Tina, and I made the 90 minute ride to Northampton, MA for the 51st anniversary sale at WEBS. 

It was Tina's first visit to the DisneyWorld of fiber and to say she was overwhelmed would be an understatement. She actually didn't buy any yarn because she didn't see something which called out to her with a plan. I had the exact same experience on my first trip there. Can't say that anymore! Although, I do see a difference in the selection since the original owners sold the business. It might be just the time of year, but there was not much of a selection of colors for kids' wear in the Plymouth Encore section. The back room had some good colors but the quality was a bit lacking. If you wanted to spend $30 for a skein, there was a nice selection but... 

So we picked what we needed and then headed out to....

The selection here was not a problem. Well, maybe the problem was everything sounded delicious!

It wouldn't be a successful trip to WEBS without a stop for ice cream!

Next week we'll put our heads together and make a plan for all the yarn.

It was a great day with great friends!

Keep those needles clicking!
 

I hope this works!

My email decided not to allow me to download to my laptop the pictures I took today so I am trying to work things out on my IPad. Keep your fingers crossed that it works! We had a full house and had to add one more chair when…

Cinzia arrived. It’s a good thing this is a long table! Maureen was admiring the sweet little bonnet that she finished for the Friday knitting group.
 

Cinzia’s project for the Chicks’ donation is the Celtic Cable Neckwarmer, a freebie on Ravelry.https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/celtic-cable-neckwarmer

She brought a show and tell cowl that we are thinking about as a KAL. The Mixed Wave Cowl is something she made for herself a while ago so Margaret was checking it out.https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mixed-wave-cowl

Margaret is working on a Helix Hat. She just cast on stitches for the brim and has started the striped section.

Barbara B. finished the Grace Gardens Cap in a day! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grace-gardens-cap

And she started another hat called Bullseye Diamond Hat. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bullseye-diamonds-hat Because the yarn is dark blue she had to use her neck lamp to reduce eye strain.

I started a single stripe helix hat too, trying to use up left overs. I apologize for the mishmash of pictures jumping all over the place. Hopefully, you’ll get the idea of how our afternoon went.

Cinzia finished a couple of more Royal Icing Headbands using a pretty gradient yarn.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/royal-icing-headband

And Maureen’s hat is a little bigger than it was last week.

I snuck a candid shot of Barbara K’s scarf. She doesn’t like to show the same thing each week but I think it’s important to show that our projects don’t happen overnight!

Jan’s scarf is also labor intensive!

Tina started a newborn hat for the Friday knitting group.

The cuff is knitted and now it’s on to the cables.

Dorah completed another colorful LOSY hat.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/losy-hat

And now she’s finishing up her Helix hat.

She brought in her personal project to show us how it’s coming along. The Brickless uses a DK weight yarn from Miss Babs collection.https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brickless

Nancy is making progress on the 2x2 ribbed cap using two strands held together of contrasting yarns.

And last but certainly not least, we have the treat of the day, sourdough chocolate crinkle cookies. I used to make the regular non-sourdough version of these every Christmas but haven’t in a long time. Barbara’s version were much better, more chewy than crunchy.

I might have to consult with my IT professional, aka my son, to find out why the pictures didn’t work this week. Luckily, I have the IPad to fall back on.

Hope you have a great week and keep those needles clicking!