A furry visitor this week

My grandkitty is staying with me this week while her Daddies go on vacation. Her name is Joules and she is the sweetest ball of fur I know! She has made herself quite at home and loves her morning routine of heading out to the screened in deck to protect us from marauding autumn leaves! She is an indoor cat and this has been quite the vacation for her too.

We were able to take advantage of the 72 degree weather and had a wonderful afternoon on the deck while Joules watched from behind closed doors. Not everyone is comfortable with kitties wandering free.

Liz finished the angora scarf. It's lovely!

It will be a warm defense against the cold this winter.

Then she started a hat to match and it's coming along nicely.

Elaine grabbed her knitting bag and hurried over here only to find out it didn't have her knitting in it! So she borrowed my needles and started a 2X2 ribbed hat in Lion Brand Wool Ease yarn in a heather red color.

I had yarn left from the scarf I finished last week so I started a cowl. I'm knitting 2 rows of each color so I'm getting lots of practice knitting the "Jogless Stripe". When you knit in the round you are creating a spiral of rows so the second round doesn't line up with the first stitch. The video shows how to avoid this.

This past Saturday was the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Greenwich, New York. It was a lovely day to be out and around in the sunshine. I found two yarns which I couldn't resist. The teal is from my friend Karin and it's from her new product, Delirium, a blend of Yak fiber, merino and nylon, colorway "Set in Stone". The gray is from Ball and Skein called Ariel, colorway "Silvery Moon", and is a blend of Alpaca, silk, and cashmere. These two yarns are so soft they have to be held down so they don't fly away! I'm making Martina Behm's Leftie scarf for myself. I think I'm going to love this!

Beth knitted a hat for someone and decided he wouldn't like the slouchy style so...

she knitted another hat for him using the basic principles from the Baa-ble Hat pattern, for sale on Ravelry. She had to start it with a provisional cast on so she could knit the ribbing for 5 inches then fold it up and knit 2 stitches together, one from the needle and one from the provisional cast on edge. This method gives a double thick band of ribbing and a nice finished edge.

Her son and daughter-in-law are expecting their first baby in November so she also knitted a hat with the colors of Ohio State. Cute!

And let's not miss the cute little toy she made! This little elephant was even cuter in person! This grandbaby will have the most unique toys and clothes!

Not sure of the recipient yet, Beth started "What Alice Found" scarf a few weeks ago. She was knitting along merrily when suddenly she realized the stitches were twisted! Those knitters out there who knit in the round know how frustrating it is to check and recheck those stitches when joining to knit in the round only to find out that those 300 stitches got twisted when no one was looking! 

It's those knitting gremlins!

From top left going clockwise: Liz's finished angora scarf, Beth's finished cowl, and Carole's finished lace cowl. Beautiful job ladies!

Carole started this hat last week with Plymouth Encore and made some progress tonight.

She showed us a project she is knitting for her friend who loves color so what better choice of yarns that Noro Silk Garden?! These are two different colorways that will be striped to make...

Shizuku. Carole is pointing to a section where she had to cut the yarn and bring in a new color because the two skeins were too close in color to knit together at that point. She did a very nice job of fudging it!

Dorah's Mistake Stitch scarf is growing steadily.

 

And Beth started a real Baa-ble hat tonight. Check out the pattern. It's really clever and cute.

Maureen is still plugging away on her cowl. The colors are just energizing!

And look who came to supervise our knitting. She had her paw on Dorah's knee to make sure she didn't get away.

The Joules noticed the end tail of the yarn. Now that's there just for her to play!

Maureen was under close supervision too. Yes, Joules is a big cat! And oh so loveable! 

I'm going to have a hard time giving her back!

What a gorgeous day!

The air was as dry as can be and the temps held at 80 degrees so knitting on the deck today was ideal! I wish it could be like this all year. No, wait... I like winter and the freezing cold so I can wear all my warm knits. I just wish the nice weather would last a little longer. We have had a very hot and humid summer so days like today are a real gift.

Liz opened our afternoon session with a few FO's. Her first was a cowl with a "design element". I wouldn't let her say mistake because she repeated the design at both edges so they would match. Hence, design element. This is a very soft wool cowl and will be nice and warm around someone's neck.

 Another design element came about when Liz realized she wouldn't have enough yarn to make a 60 inch long scarf. Plan B: add a button and make it a cowl. And since it is lacey, there's no need to make buttonholes so one can wear it buttoned to any length that is comfortable.

A preemie hat to add to the inventory too.

 Elaine finished two hats and the third is about ready to start the crown shaping. That's the blue one on the right.

 My Noro Stripe Scarf is almost to the halfway mark. I'm loving the play of colors against the solid teal yarn.

 Poor Carole! She remembered to bring her baby sweater but forgot her pattern!
 This is going to be really cute.

So she wouldn't sit twiddling her thumbs, Carole pulled out the cardigan that she's making for herself with Periwinkle Sheep yarn. It's going to be a beauty!

Beth finished her cowl and had enough yarn left over to make another one so she cast those stitches onto her needles right away.

Maureen added the buttons to her finished baby sweater.

Look at those cute little duckies!

Beth finished a scarf for herself called Saltwater Reverie.

She used Periwinkle Sheep yarn, a merino and silk blend. The sheen and drape on this scarf is beautiful!

The pattern is a combination of yarnovers and knitting 2 stitches together...

with changing number of rows between the eyelets to make it look like different lace.

I searched through our stash and found a Madelinetosh Merino yarn to make a....

Nurmilintu scarf. I love this! I can't wait to make another one. It was very easy to knit, only the lace sections needed a little concentrating. And even then there was a resting row of only purl stitches.

I threw in a quickly knitted pair of booties just so I could say I finished something quickly. 

Sometimes I need a quickie to lift my knitting spirits!

Look who turned 5! And the Chicks were busy this week

I can't believe we celebrated my youngest grandson's 5th birthday already! We took him and his Mom and big brother to Sesame Place yesterday. The air was thick with excitement. Or was that the humidity? The temperatures were in the 90's! We couldn't wait to get into the water rides.

Leo decided he wanted to ride the roller coaster (or hole-er-coaster as he called it) before we hit the water park. We all tried to discourage him since it looked pretty scary. But he wouldn't be deterred! Look at the expresion on his face! Such anticipation and excitement!

When it was over he did a little dance and yelled, "That was sooooo lotta fun!"

When it was time for the parade he watched with such glee as his favorite characters danced down the street.

Elmo was his favorite of all favorites and he waved directly at Leo!

Super Grover took time out from his busy day for a quick photo op. It was a long hot day but we all had a very good time celebrating with Leo.

Now to show you what the Chicks have been up to. Liz finished a bunch of hats. This little pink and green number is just big enough for a preemie baby.

And the curly cues finish the top of this one nicely.

This one reminds me of a little snowball.

And this one is warm and cozy.

Liz completed a nice matched set too.

Dorah added some inches to the yoke of her baby sweater this week.

And Carole started a baby cardigan.

It's a free pattern on Ravelry.

Maureen finished one sleeve and is almost done with the second.

We'll be labeling these and our other items soon for delivery.

Next week we celebrate our 11th anniversary with a pot luck dinner.

Come back and check it out.