After the storm

We had a sudden downpour, thunder and everything, just before the Chicks arrived today. Then it all cleared up in time for us to sit outside and enjoy the clear air and breezes.

Carole's Close to You Shawl is growing. She loves the pattern but decided it isn't conducive to travel. Some patterns scream "knit me on vacation or a long car ride" but this isn't one of them. She agrees however, that it is an enjoyable project.

Barbara B. just started a new color on her gradient baby blanket. You can see the first few rows of a deeper blue at the top of the picture. The yarn is labeled DK weight and she's using a size 3 needle so it's making a beautiful fabric, soft and smooth with a nice drape.

Maureen was planning on making a cowl with a pattern that required knitting 3 stitches together through the back loop but the yarn was making that step too difficult so she opted to make a pattern more suitable to the yarn. 

Jan A. experienced some fiddly bits on her Easy Shawl but is back on track and sailing along.

Margaret loves using bulky weight yarns so she jumped right in when she saw this pattern.

Here is the very beginning of what promises to be a nice warm hat.

I have an abundance of this Malabrigo yarn donated by my daughter (I was mistaken, it was Arucania Chunky yarn) so I thought I would start with mittens and add a hat and maybe something for around the neck if there is enough. I modified a Claudia Krisniski pattern for mittens by using a method similar to closing the toe of a sock instead of knitting 2 stitches together until the top was closed. Next week I will have the thumbs finished too and show you the completed mittens.

If you will indulge me for a moment. It has taken 18 months for our kitty, Fozzie, to trust my husband enough to allow pets. And now that he understands how much he is loved, he looks for cuddles from Ron when the opportunity presents itself. Just look at those adoring eyes and sweet smile.

I wish the family who had to surrender him to the shelter due to unforeseen circumstances could know how grateful we are to have found him and that Fozzie is living like a king!

Enjoy the week and keep those needles clicking!

The oppresive heat and humidity are gone

The last week around here has been like a sauna! So glad we had a few thunderstorms to break the heat wave. And now we can meet on the deck again.

Maureen finished her Easy Scarf. How nicely those colors blend into each other. And it really is easy!

Janna completed her Morton Cowl and a hat that makes me think of wine grapes.

Jan added a colorful hat to our inventory. It's a quick knit made with 1x1 ribbing.

Carole also added a hat to the inventory. Using bulky weight yarn makes it a quick knit too.

Dorah completed two Helix hats and a denim blue cap made with a thick, warm wool.

I had tons of bulky variegated yarn so Liz took some to make a cowl. This is another project that will be finished in the blink of an eye.

Dorah is working on her Close to You shawl. She loved the colors of the yarn when it was in the skein but now she's not too sure. I'm sure someone will love it to go with a neutral coat.

Maureen started the Beach Pebbles Cowl using a bulky yarn with lots of color.

Jan is adding length to her Easy Scarf/Shawl. Soon she will change direction of the knitting and make short rows to knit perpendicular to these stitches.

Janna added to her Easy Guernsey Hat but was confused by the directions. Many time designers will write "knit rows 1-4, repeat four times" which can be confusing to some knitters. I always have to read ahead to find out if the designer wants a total of 16 rows or 20 rows. But we put our collective brains together and figured it out.

Barbara B. picked up this pattern and yarn at the garage sale a couple of years ago and decided 

to make it.

She said the yarn is kind of splitty but I'm sure it will make a nice blanket.

I finished a couple of cowls and decided to make a mindless 2x2 ribbed hat to give my brain a rest.

The first cowl is Hepsi's Neck Warmer using a tonal worsted weight wool. I modified the pattern a bit to make a garter stitch edge instead of a 2x2 ribbing.

And this cowl is the Basket Weave Cowl I designed after being inspired by the stitch. Both cowls were knitted with yarn donated to the Chicks by my daughter.

Well, my kitty is tugging at my pants leg hinting that he should be fed, YET AGAIN! It's hard to ignore his pleading and I'm NOT the one in the family who feels sorry for him and gives in. LOL! But it's close enough to his feeding time so I'll say so long and keep those needles clicking!