The blankets are finished

We had a few last minute additions to the blanket donations today. Carole brought her diagonal striped blanket which she steamed lightly. It helps to even out the stitches and soften the acrylic a bit to make it all more uniform.

Janna stayed just long enough to drop off her lovely blanket to be added to the collection.

And Cinzia crocheted her second blanket for the collection. For some reason, crocheting a blanket seems to go faster than knitting. Perhaps because a crocheted stitch is taller than a knitted stitch.

So here is our grand total of 11 beautiful blankets to be donated to the hospice for veterans.

We're all busy with projects for men, women, and children now.

I found a video tutorial for an adult size balaclava (we keep calling it BAKLAVA! LOL!) which had the instructions written in English on the screen which is a good thing since I don't speak Hindi like the woman giving the tutorial! I wrote the directions down so we can all share the pattern. It's knitted flat and then a small seam is sewn to connect the band around the neck.

Jan A. started a hat called...

Bankhead

Jan P. is finishing up the band of her 1898 hat.

Cinzia started a rolled brim hat.

And Dorah was going to make the Declan hat but found out she did the same thing I did today which was knit a 1X1 ribbing instead of a 2X2 ribbing. In my case I could fudge it but Dorah's hat needed the wider ribbing to flow right into the pattern of cables. So Plan B is she will make the Raven DK instead.

Carole's 1898 hat is showing the crown portion now. She's almost done.

And Maureen keeps plugging away on her scarf with that pretty self striping yarn.

 I'm testing out a pattern that is new to me to see if it's a good one for donations so maybe next week I'll have it ready to show. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking!

Great weather is finally here!

Carole, Maureen, Barbara K. and B. Liz, and Dorah joined me on the deck for a lovely afternoon of knit and chat. September has ushered in cooler nights so the days of no humidity are lovely.

Last week you saw my Raven DK hat was almost finished. Well, here she is all ready to be put into inventory. It was an easy to memorize pattern and I messed around with the cuff by making it double thickness. It started with a provisional cast on, knit 1X1 ribbing for 3 inches, then fold the fabric with the provisional cast on to the inside and knit the live stitch on the needle together with the corresponding stitch from the provisional cast on.

Since I had enough yarn left to make another project, I decided to make a matching cowl but with a regular cable cast on edge.

Carole finished those adorable baby socks and they match perfectly. That's one of the perks of knitting two at a time on magic loop and starting the self striping yarns at the same exact color change. Now she's making a matching hat.

We were all talking and knitting away when it suddenly occurred to Carole that she better stop and measure the hat before it gets too long. Whew! Just the right size!

Dorah casted on (or cast on, not sure which is grammatically correct) for a cozy hat. It will have a ribbed cuff and stockinette crown.

Liz finished the other hat and started another. 

Barbara B.'s sweater is still in time out but she's making a beautiful sock with 

a defined slip stitch design.

Maureen's baby sweater has the sleeve stitches waiting while she knits the body. 

Barbara K. finished the small circumference of the Squishie hat with her double pointed needles.

 Next week we celebrate our 16th anniversary with a luncheon on the deck. Hope the weather is as beautiful as it was today. Until then, keep those needles clicking!

We had a visitor!

We had a visitor this week! Beth, (on the right) a former Chick who moved to North Carolina, arrived in time to meet with us and catch up with news since she's been gone.

Maureen and Barbara K. swapped stories about all the grandchildren.

Beth made a cute pair of baby socks to donate to our inventory. The yarn is adorable and cheerful!

These are the shortie socks she's currently working on. Look at her great colorwork!

Maureen is making baby gifts. She finished this darling Sunnyside Sweater in the boy version. But just in case....

She's making a girl version too.

Barbara forgot her double pointed needles so she couldn't finish up her hat.

So she decided to start another Scrunchie hat right away.

Cinzia is making a beautiful lace scarf with this lovely variegated yarn.

I'm working on the Raven DK hat. It's the same hat Barbara B. made a couple of weeks ago. I modified the cast on by knitting a provisional cast on so I could fold the cuff up and make it double thickness by knitting the live stitch together with the provisional stitch.

 That's all there is this week. Looking forward to cooler days and less humidity. 

Keep those needles clicking!

Better late than never

Ooops! I am a day late posting this week. I think the oppressive heat is affecting my brain. 

Anyway, the Chicks were productive this week.

Janna’s Totally Biased cowl is a perfect pattern for this color changing yarn.

I’m working on the 1898 Hat with a heather green Cascade yarn. You can see one of the ear flaps already.

Dorah started a hat pattern which had cables but decided to make a plain hat instead. The border can be folded or just left long.

Barbara B. found this lovely yarn for a pittance at a garage sale last year and is making the adult Flax sweater for herself.

Carole found this free pattern on Ravelry which uses a DK weight yarn. It looks so luscious!

And Liz is making a baby hat which she found is not the same size as the pattern describes. Not to worry! It will fit someone!

Stay cool and keep those needles clicking!