Cool breezes and good company

We had a balmy, breezy, 65 degree afternoon, just perfect for deck knitting. There was  lively conversation about current events, good books, and favorite documentaries airing on streaming networks.

And of course we couldn't pass up another delectable treat from the kitchen of Barbara B. This week's delight was sourdough s'mores cookies and believe me, I wanted s'more! 

Dorah treated herself to some goodies too! She bought these lovely yarns online and is planning on knitting the Gryer Shawl which requires 3 complimentary colors. These will be perfect!

She also completed the sparkly hat which she has been knitting these last few weeks.

Her current WIP is a baby hat which uses 96 stitches in sock weight yarn on teeny tiny needles.

Nancy finished her Reverb Shawl and it's gorgeous! She used a few different mini skeins combined to get this lovely result.

For this donation rotation she is knitting a hat to match the cabled scarf she completed a while back.

Margaret is finishing up two I-cords to attach to her Twig Bonnet for tying in place.

Maureen is almost finished with her Look Out! Winter Hat.

Jan is making one also but she is stumped because she can't figure out why she is 15 stitches short of the total number of rows she should have. I understand how easily that can happen since the pattern is written in a strange format. I had to go through my copy of it and write in the number of rows each section should have just so I could clarify it for my brain. Don't fret Jan, it will fit somebody!

She decided to put the hat away and picked up her Leftie scarf which is coming along beautifully!

Barbara B. just started the One Chevron Cowl a few days ago and has already made good progress. This cowl is a great stash buster because it uses all your left over sock yarns.

And Barbara K. lamented the fact that this Mistake Stitch scarf will take forever to finish because she chose fine yarn and tiny needles. But Barb, just think how beautiful it will be when it's complete!

I finished the body of the Leaf and Lace cardigan and put the sleeve stitches on magic loop to knit them two at a time. It looks like I'll have enough yarn to make a matching hat too.

I am playing lovely, quiet, classical music in the background and it's lulling me to sleep so I need to get up and walk around before I doze off. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

We have hats!

Liz finished the Lamb's Pride Mohair and Wool hat and scarf set I showed you last week. We all love this raspberry purple color. And the yarn has a lovely halo of softness to it.

This lovely set will be a welcome addition to someone's wardrobe when the winter winds blow.

Margaret finished her oatmeal hat with the navy Fair Isle stitching at the border.

And Carole added her striped hat to the inventory too.

I needed to knit something quick since my other projects are time consuming scarves. This 1898 hat took only a couple of days to finish. The band portion around the ears is double thickness. No wind will be able to blow through that fabric!

Margaret started the Quick Ombre Hat with this pretty purple and...

this soft pastel tonal. Both yarns are Cascade 220 worsted weight.

Carole was inspired by my Helix hat to start one of her own. The technique is very clever. You never see the change in yarn colors, no jog where it changes, and single stripes that seamlessly run into each other. The yarns get a little tangled when you knit but you can always stop every so often and straighten them out.

Last May when I went to Arizona my friend, Connie, and I picked out the variegated yarn for a souvenir and I promised to knit whatever she wanted with it. The pattern she chose required two complimentary yarns which I picked out from Periwinkle Sheep.

I spent yesterday afternoon hand sewing the grosgrain ribbon on the button band and attaching the buttons with a little help from Joules.

And now Connie's Rickroll Wrap is completed.

I hope she likes it! It can be buttoned in different ways to be worn as a cowl or cape or poncho.

I'll be making one for myself too but not for a while yet. I already have too many WIP's on needles!

Have a great week. I hear the temps are supposed to cool down around here. I'm looking forward to that! I have some warm woolies to bring out of hibernation!

Labeling Day!

Today was the day we all say, "Wow! I forgot I made that!" or "Who made that one? Oh! I did!"

We take a trip down Memory Lane as we sort through all the FO's and label them for delivery to the Romero Oncology Office.

Barbara put the finishing touches on her Present Cowl so it could go into the inventory for this round of delivery. She finished just in time to label and count it. She used a yarn from Spud and Chloe.

Elaine admired the hat Debbie made. You know, the one I showed you last week which was just at the beginning? It's a nice soft cotton blend yarn.

Cinzia started the cute baby sweater last week and is already at the bottom edge. She was consulting with us all about how many more stripes she should knit. My rule of thumb is, if you're thinking about how many more to knit, it's probably enough. 

I finished another pair of  Align Mitts using a vibrant sock yarn from a mystery yarn with no label.

So this afternoon everything was labeled and sorted. There were 32 hats.

18 scarves,

19 cowls,

and 4 pairs of fingerless mitts.

With 3 last minute additions our grand total was 82 items. I used to count pairs of mittens or socks as one item but I've decided you still have to knit TWO items so I count them individually now.

My evening Chicks were a little disappointed that they didn't get to participate in the labeling so next time I'll save that duty for them.

Carole showed us a hat she is making for herself called Rectangly. She feels the cold and this hat is double knitted so it's a good pattern for warmth. The inside and outside are mirror images of the pattern with two layers being knitted at the same time. It's going to take a while for me to wrap my brain around that one but someday I might try one.

Her Chicks project is a hat called Rambled. The pattern contains multiple sizes and it's free!

Margaret worked on a headband and was deep into it when she realized we were talking so much she forgot to increase to make a taper in the width. We all think it's fine the way it is. We'll find out next week if she agreed.

We must have been chatting on a bit because Dorah too "redesigned" a 3X2 ribbed hat before she realized it. So now it's a 2X2 ribbed hat! Hey! I always say, it's not a mistake, it's a design element!

A hat pattern called Czapka showed up on my Youtube feed which looked interesting. Unfortunately, the whole video and written pattern were in Polish! I must have watched the video a dozen times so I could count the stitches as the instructor cast on and knitted and purled her way to this lovely pattern. I'm using Berroco Ultra Alpaca which is an alpaca and Peruvian wool blend yarn. It's a bit scratchy for alpaca but it's on a head full of hair so I don't think it will matter much.

Last week when Joules was visiting I surreptitiously caught a picture of her joining us for the afternoon. I looked all through my camera and phone knowing I had taken it but couldn't for the life of me find it. The next morning I was texting my son and there it was. I had taken it to show him in a text and forgotten where it was. 

Well, that's all. I just wanted to show you how sweet the kitty is. She's a real "people person" and loves to hang out with the crowd. Enjoy your week and keep those needles clicking!

Happy Valentine's Day

I am in a much better mood this week! Last week I was mourning the debacle that was my silver Emiliana shawl ruined from bleeding dyes. This week I have a beautifully restored shawl which was rescued by the inimitable, incomparable, unrivaled Karin MT of Periwinkle Sheep! She over dyed the whole shawl with this beautiful pink to cover the stains that were left from the black dye not staying where it was supposed to be. I think I like this version even more than the original colors. Thank you Karin! You're a lifesaver!

 I finally finished the Miss Winkle scarf/shawlette I started last October. This was one of those projects I schlepped everywhere when I had to wait for appointments or long car rides. So it probably took longer than it should have to knit. But it's done now and will go into my personal inventory in case I need a gift someday. The color is Rhinebeck 2016 from Periwinkle Sheep.

 And just for good measure I quickly knitted up a 2X2 ribbed cap. I had this yarn laying around with a half torn label which I think was a superwash merino wool.

 Elaine brought us some finished hats too. Her little flower adornments are darling.

 And the Berroco yarn is so soft. It feels like a cloud blended with marshmallows!

Cinzia worked on her scarf while Debbie learned how to perform the Mattress Stitch to sew up her fingerless mitts.

The mitts look great as does...

Cinzia's scarf! It's a larger version of the Zick Zack scarf, free pattern on Ravelry.

Elaine casted on (cast on?) for a new hat using a soft minty green worsted weight yarn. She was thinking spring today. Hmmm...funny thing is I still see 2 feet of snow outside. 

Wishful thinking can't hurt anything!

Dorah tried on her never ending scarf and was delighted when we all proclaimed it long enough already! She has enough yarn left over to throw together a pair of fingerless mitts to match.

Carole finished her Mistake Stitch Cowl tonight.

And Margaret finished that hat we saw last week.

She immediately casted on for another hat.

I dove into the stash and found this pretty turquoise cotton/bamboo blend from Universal Yarns called Bamboo Pop to make the Workday Scarf. The yarn has a graceful drape and the pattern is stupid easy! It's a great TV or conversation knitting project which is straight knitting for 7 rows and 1 row of a few yarnovers. You can't get any easier than that!

I'm so happy the sun finally came out today so I could see my afternoon ladies. Winter last year was so mild with so little snow that I had forgotten what normal winters are like in the great Northeast. The last two Tuesdays were icy and snowy during the day but today was glorious and sunny. Just the way I like my winters. Cold but bright! Just right for knitting!