Is this spring?

Everyone arrived in shirtsleeves and lightweight sweaters today as the temperature reached 74 degrees. We were taking bets as to when the next temperature drop would happen and how much snow we'd get. It is "false spring" after all. 😉 But we will enjoy it for now.

Dorah finished her LOSY Hat and it is a beauty! If you have small bits of left overs from socks, you can combine two to make an endless array of variations of this hat.

 Carole used her neck lamp/magnifier to help make her knitting experience an easier, more pleasant one.

She's working on her Squarshy Slouch Hat that has a distinct line of stitches swirling through the sea of stockinette stitch.

Nancy is almost finished with her Grid Gambit Cowl.

The colors she chose are stunning together!

I modified the top of Claudia Krisniski's Easy Mittens to have a squared off top with a grafted seam closure. These will be added to the inventory along with Dorah's hat for the Falcon Boutique at Albany High School next fall.

I have enough yarn left over for a 2x2 ribbed hat to match. We joked that whoever gets this set could work at Albany International Airport directing incoming flights.😂

Barbara K started a scrappy hat into which she will incorporate odds and ends of stripes using a basic beanie style hat pattern.

Barbara B found a WIP that was hiding at the bottom of a pile and decided to finish it. Unfortunately, the pattern was discontinued on Ravelry and she can't find her printed copy so she will knit the rest of the sock plain with just a bit of ribbing on the instep. She was so close to being done that she didn't want to frog it. Besides, then she would have to unkink the used yarn and that's a hassle. 

Dorah is very near the end of her Sophie Scarf and she still has a good amount of this yarn left over so she might make another.

Barbara B's sourdough treat this week was a delicious cinnamon apple coffee cake. Everyone had a piece and brought home a doggie bag too!

I think I'll take a quick walk while it's still nice out since tomorrow looks like we might have some rain. Enjoy the false spring while you can and keep those needles clicking!

Two Treats This Week!

Barbara B made individual Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread loaves for all the Chicks as a Valentine gift. That is so sweet of her!!! I can't wait to have a slice warmed up and slathered in butter!

Our finger food for the afternoon was sourdough cinnamon sticks. Just sweet enough to hit the spot!

It was a full house today with lively conversation that kept everyone laughing. Unfortunately, we can't share the topic in polite company. 

Let's just say it all started over the discussion of the tv show "The Pitt".

 

Margaret completed the 3x1 ribbed hat that was in progress last week. She started it with a provisional cast on so it would have a nice thick brim.

Carole is using up the last of the James C. Brett marled yarn for her scarf. She loves the colors but the splitty yarn is not her favorite.

Dorah's LOSY hat is almost finished. She used two leftover sock yarns (that's where we get LOSY) that were from a shawl she knitted for her daughter.

Barbara B is working on a Minecraft Hat. This is the prototype to see if she likes it. Then she plans on making another to gift.

Tina's honeycomb scarf is still in progress. It is going to be a cozy wrap when it's finished.

Barbara K's striped scarf has just a little bit more to be knitted. 

The tiny ball of yarn is all that is left.

Margaret is nearing the decreasing portion on her Helix Hat.

Nancy is beginning the decrease portion of her Melt the Ice Toque using my notes to complete it. There have been many variations posted since its original introduction so if you make one from a free pattern, it would be nice if you could make a donation to a fund that helps those who have been affected by recent events in Minneapolis.

After the first batch I knitted were sold, I made another bunch of tiny hats to wear on a lapel when you can't wear a hat. They are being sold at Cece's Wool in Guilderland to help support those affected by ICE terrorists.

Right now I'm using up some scraps of left overs to make a hat that I'm making up as I go along.

Well, it looks like I'm being paged. 

Too bad he doesn't understand he won't be getting his dinner until 5PM!

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

I love video calls!

There was almost a full house this week. Carole was visiting her grands and Dorah was waiting for the plumber, so they were not here...but...

I made a quick video call to Dorah so we could see her WIP and FO and she could say hello to everyone. Her Helix Hat is almost finished.

                             

And her LOSY Hat is done. 

Barbara B finished the Legato Hat. It has an interesting method of construction which involves knitting the ribbing inside out with the edge curled and picking up stitches for the crown. Barbara tried explaining it to me but my head wasn't in the right place to get it.

She also completed a child size 1898 hat and...

she started another one using fingering weight yarn and a smaller needle to get a baby size hat.

I completed that hat I was making last week. I held two strands of sock yarn together, one solid and one variegated and every ten rounds I dropped one of them and added a new one. I had planned on making this in the same method as Equinox and Musselburgh which has two hats knitted end to end and tucked inside for double thickness. But after knitting six inches of stockinette, I was getting bored and decided to make a single thick beanie.

I used a size 5 needle so the fabric is dense and will be warm just the same.

Nancy liked the idea so much she searched through her stash for some sock weight yarns and started one of her own. Those colors are perfect together too!

I watched a Turkish YouTube tutorial for this zigzag stitch which was knitted flat in the demonstration. After a little brain work, I converted the pattern to be knitted in the round and now have an almost finished cowl. It's funny that when I started it I didn't like the results but I pushed on and reminded myself that sometimes it takes a good 3 inches before you can see the pattern emerge. 

I'm happy I did because now I love it!

Jan is working a tubular scarf that has ribbing on both ends. 

She had a skein of self striping yarn which she cut up and rearranged so the stripes would be in ascending and descending order throughout the scarf.

Tina finished the Hoodola from last week. This can be worn with the ribbed portion scrunched up around the neck or turned inside to become a face mask to ward off cold winds.

Her newest project is the Artemis baby hat which she started knitting flat and then decided to knit in the round on magic loop. Rather than frog the portion already knitted, I talked her into just continuing by joining in the round and sew up the inch of the cuff that was knitted flat, later.

Margaret "invented" a new stitch. She said that's what happens when you don't pay close enough attention to the pattern. She misread the instructions that said to slip a stitch purlwise with the yarn in back. After a few rounds of slipping with the yarn in front, she wondered why it looked different from the photo.

After rereading the instructions, she got her answer. I like her version too! But if you want to make the Wavelet Beanie her way, just leave the yarn in front when you slip the stitch.

Maureen's hat is coming along nicely.

She is also making the Olive You Baby cardigan for a friend's grandchild. It has an asymmetrical front adorned with a lovely cable pattern.

We talked short rows last week so Nancy wore her Papillon/Butterfly shawl that is comprised of many, many short rows. It requires a main color in a solid and a slow, long color changing yarn for the contrasting color. She did a beautiful job! 

Cinzia is just starting a sweet little bonnet using a peachy acrylic yarn. She wasn't sure of the fiber content so I put a match to it and it melted and smelled like burnt plastic so we are sure it's acrylic. She started the hat in the round and then realized the instructions have you knit it flat and sew the seam which she wouldn't have wanted to do. So knitting in the round was the way to go.

Our Barbara B treats today were sourdough oatmeal raisin cookies. I decided not to feel guilty about eating them because sourdough is supposed to be good for you. ;) They were delicious and I look forward to having another with a nice cup of hot tea later tonight.

As soon as Fozzie heard the door close after the last Chick left, he was front and center and begging for food (so what else is new?). It's close enough to his feeding schedule so before he gets into mischief, I'll say goodbye and....

Keep those needles clicking!

The weather is lovely today

It was so nice in fact, that we were talking about farm shares and visits to the farmers' markets for fresh veggies. The subject of how our own gardens would produce enough zucchini to supply a small village for a year led to Barbara B telling the story about never leaving your car unlocked at the office lot for fear someone would load unwanted zucchini into the back seat. She actually left some in a friend's car only to find out it wasn't actually the friend's car, it only looked similar! LOL!

Speaking of Barbara B, her baked treat this week was Honey Spiced Sourdough Bread with pecans. Yummy! That was another reason we were on the subject of zucchini and how it was the only way some of us were able to get vegetables into our children when they were little ones...until they discovered green stuff in their "cake". ;)

With all the talk about food, Fozzie thought he was getting some too. 

Sorry Fozz! Kitties can't have cake.

Dorah completed the LOSY Hat she has been working on these past few weeks. 

The colors are perfect together!

Barbara B finished a Look Out Winter! Hat with a nice self striping yarn to add interest.

She also completed a Cable All the Way Hat by Lisa Overby, with a lovely cable accent down one side.

I'm having a slump with my knitting so a simple 2x2 ribbed hat is all I can handle right now.

 Startitis will hit when the weather gets warmer.

Carole started a bias scarf but didn't like the narrow width so she frogged it and started over with a few more stitches for extra width.

The yarn is one of those that reproduces when no one is looking. But it's pretty so she doesn't mind.

Dorah is starting a Helix Hat with these three colors. We discussed her next project to use up some of the scraps of sock yarn she has so she might be making a Musselburgh Hat or Equinox Hat next.

Barbara B started a Mountain Snowcap Hat, a free pattern on Ravelry.

I think I'll go search through my stash to see if I get inspired to make something other than 2x2 ribbing. Or maybe I just need a nap. LOL! Anyway, have a great week and keep those needles clicking!