I have to have AC!!!

I have visitors this week! My daughter and the grands are here so Moose can take his annual golf clinic lessons. Of course we'll be squeezing in some swim time and maybe a movie or two. Wouldn't you know that on Saturday our AC went on the fritz and we had to have the whole shebang replaced. I was holding my breath because I thought their visit would be awful if we had the 90 degree weather that is predicted and no AC! So when the salesman came to take measurements and give us an estimate he asked if I needed the installation done right away. I told him no there's no hurry as long as my grandsons could stay with him at his air conditioned home! Guess what! The installers were here this morning at 8:30! It's amazing what a little incentive will do for an appointment schedule! Then it turned out that today was a beautiful day with breezes and cool air so they went for a nice long walk so I could knit with my Chicks.

 Elaine finished a cute little baby hat with an acrylic/washable yarn. The curly cue on top is adorable!

 Liz is making a hat using the same yarn from her cowl of last week. She is using two strands together for a bulky knit. That's one way to use up yarn quickly.

 My baby cardigan is almost finished. Just after I took this photo I started the I-cord edging on the sleeves. Then I have to pick up stitches all around the body edges and I-cord knit those too. I'm going to hunt for some cute buttons next week.

 Maureen finished her baby hat and moved on to....

a top down baby sweater. Can't wait to see it finished.

Carole is headed for the home stretch with her cowl. It will be long enough to wear doubled around the neck for a nice, warm, cuddle.

Beth and Cinzia were consulting the iPad for some knitting info. What would we do without the internet?

Dorah attached the buttons to her little cardigan and added it to the inventory.

Cinzia made progress on her vest.

And Sofia worked her way down past the sleeve openings of her top down cardigan and is working on the stockinette body stitches. That dark orange is the collar and the body will be the yellow. This is going to be one cute jacket!

Beth is making her cowl using Plymouth Encore, a good all-purpose acrylic and wool blend yarn that is machine washable.

Well, my grandsons have worn me out and it's past my bedtime. See you next week!

Time to donate!

It's time to take inventory and photograph our donation. So many cute little baby clothes! 

There were 26 sweaters of all styles. Some had matching hats too! Those two blocks on either side are holding sweaters that haven't yet dried from their blocking.

 There were 3 lovely crocheted blankets and...

 30 hats, 3 pairs of booties, and 9 pairs of mittens. These items will go to Albany Medical Center to be distributed wherever they are needed.

 

 Barbara made us all laugh because she couldn't let us see her Mistake Stitch scarf again this week. She was quick with that pillow. Kathleen brought us a finished red hat and blue scarf, sitting at her side on the couch cushion. Now she's working on a Mistake Stitch scarf with the green and red variegated yarn. She started a linen stitch scarf with it but it didn't go well and the yarn was not cooperating. So then Kathleen decided on a Feather and Fan scarf but the busy-ness of the colors in the yarn did not allow the pretty stitch pattern to show up. Frogged again! Now she is going back to the "Tried and True" Mistake Stitch scarf and it looks great. 

Liz added rows to her hat and Elaine continued on her blanket for a future donation when we give baby items again. 

 The multi-talented Cinzia added some crochet rows to a sweet little baby top and now it just needs some buttons.

 Carole tried something new to her, knitting both sleeves of a sweater at the same time on one needle using the Magic Loop method. This is a great idea to insure that all your decreases occur at the same spot on both sleeves and they end up being the exact same length. If you have a flexible long circular needle you should give it a try. I'm sure you'll like the results. Plus both sleeves are finished in one fell swoop!

 Beth started a Mistake Stitch scarf too using a very colorful yarn that has lots of texture. This is going to be a cheerful garment!

 Maureen started a slouchy hat with some of the yarn from our California Yarn Angel and 

 I picked up stitches on a scarf she sent us so it can be finished and added to the inventory.

 Then Dorah picked out two lovely yarns from the same supply and she started a Reversible Stripes scarf. Horizontal stripes on the front and...

 vertical stripes on the back! A.MAZE.ING! We still can't figure out how that works!

It's always fun when knitting befuddles us!

More Yarn!

We Chicks have another Yarn Angel! Many thanks go out to Shelly for her generosity to our group. As you can see by the expressions on the faces it's like Christmas in May!

Barbara found a soft yarn to cuddle and patterns began swimming in her head.

I think she found another one she likes in that bag.

Kathleen had an armful but I think she's waiting until she finishes her current project before she stakes her claim.

Watch out Barbara! Liz is looking at that one you liked. LOL!

I found a couple I liked too. This will make a nice cowl.

Ok! Now it's time to get back to business ladies.

Barbara finished the Feather and Fan blanket.

She used a cotton yarn which makes it a good spring and summer weight blanket. It also shows up the stitch definition nicely.

Liz and Kathleen were hard at work on their hats and while Barbara was still plugging away on her Mistake Stitch Scarf.

Cinzia's baby sweater looks so cute! Can't wait to see it finished.

Kathleen's Mistake Stitch Scarf is finished too.

This evening Beth enjoyed checking out the new stash too. Carole looked through it earlier and oohed and ahhed her way through every bag.

Beth finished a baby hat and made a cute little knitted button for the top.

Then she showed us this pattern she bought years ago to make herself a sweater. She even bought the recommended yarn. 

After many starts and stops she finally came to the realization that she doesn't like the sweater, it will never fit her, and the yarn is as smooth as sandpaper!

She had to make an executive decision and it will be frogged to become this.http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/irish-hiking-scarf

After a rough start with the Irish Hiking Scarf, she frogged the scarf too. There's just something about that yarn! The pattern said to cast on 40 some odd stitches and "odd" they were. The scarf was about 20 inches wide! I can see this yarn is going to give her a run for her money.

 

Carole's baby sweater has made it to the underarm and the sleeve stitches are on hold so she can knit the body.

I made good progress on the Palindrome Scarf using Lion Brand Vanna's Choice that I found in my stash from a long time ago. I'm surprised at how quickly it's knitting up.

                                         

Two weeks ago I attended an open house at my friend Karin's studio. I couldn't resist this beautiful chambray colored merino and silk blend yarn to make myself a scarf. The color, The Rising of the Moon, is going to go great with my jeans. This pattern is called Cathedral and I think I'm going to love it.

This is something else I made just for me. It's the Foolproof infinity scarf. I used MadelinTosh for the mustard color. Its a blend of cashmere and merino. The turquoise is another of Karin's beautifully hand dyed yarns and it's a blend of silk and merino. 

You'll have to use your imagination to feel the softness of these yarns together.

First day of the season on the deck

Kathleen's daughter, Pat, visited us this week. We always love it when she joins us because she is so creative and has so many wonderful projects to show us. That's Pat in the pink shirt on the right.

 The first thing she showed us is a skirt she is knitting for herself that she saw at the Vogue Show in NYC. It's knitted with hemp fiber and uses short rows to shape it. Since the stitches are loose, she's going to make different colored slips to wear with it.

 Next up is a project she's making from this book. The author has kits available for a tidy sum that includes the stencils and fabric for the items you wish to make. 

 Pat figured out how to make her own stencils and deconstructed T-shirts to use the fabric for a shirt she's making for herself. This is the photo in the book.

 Here is the stencil Pat made which took 4 hours to cut out with an X-acto knife.

 And here is the back piece of the shirt. It's a double layer of fabric so the petals can be painted and then cut showing the applique.

 This represents hours of detailed work. And it's not finished yet.

 Liz brought in a Christmas tree hat that needed to be finished along with...

 this sweet layette set and...

 cute little hats....

 and another little sweater. Some little babies will be very well dressed!

 Kathleen said that this week all she made was a little hat to match her sweater from last week's donation. It's ok Kathleen, we don't have knitting quotas! LOL!

 Barbara's pretty pink scarf shows some of the color changes going on.

 One day I was browsing Ravelry to find inspiration and someone had designed a baby hat that looked exactly like the one Princess Charlotte wore home from her birth. It took only two days to knit. I think it's precious!

 I finished the Baby Surprise Jacket last week, adding a collar and cuffs to lengthen the sleeves.

 I used the last three buttons in my stash that would go with the colors.

Now it's time for me to find more inspiring patterns. Gotta run!