A snowy afternoon with my Chicks

 The snow stopped long enough for the Chicks to walk down the driveway on the path that my husband rushed out to clear for "The Girls". Once everyone was settled in, the snow started again. So now there is a clean coat everywhere, looking so pretty and pristine.

Our treat today was a sourdough chocolate chip banana bread, two of my favorites combined! And I have a doggie bag for later 😉

Barbara B finished her Alter Eco Welt Beanie which was a WIP last week. Her knitting skills really highlight the stitch definition of the pattern beautifully! 

I forgot to show you my FO last week of the scrappy hat that was in progress two weeks ago. I hate to see yarn ends go to waste so it's easy to incorporate them into a small project like a hat. There is no pattern as I made it up as I knitted along.

Right after last week's session I completed the Celtic Feather Cap. This pattern gave me plenty of opportunity to master cabling without a cable needle.

I had just a tiny bit of red yarn left and couldn't bring myself to toss it so I made a teeny weeny Melt the Ice Hat. Carole said it would fit a Lego figure so I gave it to her for her grandchildren to use during playtime.

I found some worsted weight red yarn in the stash and decided Fozzie needed a Resistance Hat too. I followed this pattern to knit it in one evening.

I'm not sure Fozzie agrees with me though. He was very tolerant and humored me just long enough to take a picture. I wonder if I can do this again with Ron and me wearing our hats too. I better wait until Fozzie recovers from this trauma before I try taking pics for our annual Christmas card. Can't you just hear him saying, "What I tolerate for food!"

Jan spent last week learning how to knit magic loop technique so she can knit a pair of socks. So far she's doing an excellent job! It definitely is a learning curve but it's doable.

After a few rows she needed a project that required less attention so she went back to her pretty shawl.

Barbara B is knitting the February Socks for herself. The original pattern is for shortie socks but she has extended the cuff to fit above the ankle.

I started a pair of mittens using Claudia Krisniski's pattern for Mittens for Children and Adults. It's very easy to follow and easily adapts to multiple sizes.

Nancy is making a Benjamin Matthews hat called Flight Formation Beanie. She said the pattern reminded her of fir trees so she picked out a nice evergreen colored yarn.

Margaret started a Mosaic Stitch Beanie using her favorite weight yarn, bulky!

 I think this is the pattern for it.

By the time we were ready to call it a day, she was on to the second color.

This is the hat she worked on last week but she said it required a bit more attention than she could give it while still being sociable. It's the Dupont Street hat.

Carole searched her stash and found some discontinued, one of a kind Periwinkle Sheep yarn to knit the Squarshy Hat.

She is also working on rainbow hats for her grandsons. They told her they didn't like ribbed cuffs or rolled cuffs because they are for "babies". So she is going to fold the edge and sew it to make a stockinette cuff.

The snow is still falling but I understand the temps are supposed to be in the mid 40s tomorrow so it won't last long. I'm not a summer type person so I will miss the cold temps and the opportunity to wear my hand knits. But it will be nice to see flowers and green grass soon. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

It’s time to see what the Chicks are doing

Carole, Dorah, Margaret, Janna, and Annika joined me for our monthly Zoom get-together. We’ve all been busy making those needles click.

Margaret showed us her 1898 Hat in the beginning stages. 

Carole had been very busy and had a few things to show us. The Helix Hat is a great stash buster for using up small leftovers.

This teal toque had a great texture to the stitching.

And her Close to You Shawl finished up beautifully.

This scarf will have great warmth for the wearer because of the texture of the fabric.

Janna had a few tries at casting on for her two-at-a-time mittens on magic loop. I still have to look up YouTube videos to help me through the steps.

Annika took the opportunity to wind a skein of yarn for her upcoming project.

               And look at these cheerful socks Dorah is working on! Great colors and self striping too!

Annika showed off her 1898 Hat that her sister, Janna made for her. I just might “borrow” the striped idea for one I have to make.

I made an 1898 Hat for my son’s birthday according to his custom design. The whole while I was making it, I was thinking the green stripe around the face might be too snug, as all the methods I tried were not working until I decided to duplicate stitch it with crochet. It turns out it was too snug. So I’m going to rip it out and try again with a larger hook.

But at least now I know I can do it.

Hope you all survive the crazy winter weather we’re experiencing in our area. And for those of you who read from warmer climates, stay well. And as always, keep those needles clicking,

 

Between the raindrops

Cinzia, Debbie, Maureen, and I managed to squeeze between the two hours of rain clouds blowing overhead. I guess Mother Nature knew we had important work to do.

Maureen's Easy Goes It Shawl/scarf looks beautiful in this lovely tonal blue fingering weight yarn. Ravelry has the free pattern available in DK weight as well.

Debbie is using my favorite color to make a pair of fingerless mitts. She's using my favorite technique too...two at a time on magic loop.

Cinzia put down her knitting needles and took up her crochet hook to make something but she hasn't decided what yet. :)

I'm making a baby alpaca scarf for my Christmas inventory and...

a pair of socks with no heel. The spiral stitching creates a bias fabric which fits the bumps and angles of the foot without having to knit a short row heel. The video link brings you to a tutorial which makes one at a time on double pointed needles but I like getting both socks done at once so I am working magic loop technique.

 The last couple of days felt like the last hurrah of summer but the breezes which are bringing the rain will definitely bring the cooler temps of autumn. This is the first year that I will not be attending any fiber festivals because of COVID19 so I'll be missing the beautiful colors in the trees on the drive to Washington County Fairgrounds or Rhinebeck. I will enjoy the ones in my own neighborhood though. Every time I see the fiery red burning bush at the corner I imagine how beautiful it would be as a yarn. I'll have to dive through  my stash for some of those colors for my next project. So enjoy your fall weather and keep those needles clicking!

We have a guest

Joules is on vacation with us for the next two and a half weeks. I'm going to have to do a lot more cleaning as she isn't aware that cats are not allowed on the table. 

 Debbie and Janna practiced the magic loop, two at a time, toe up socks with me while Liz worked on her DP's to make a pair of  mittens. It's taking stops and start overs but they are getting the hang of it.

 Liz's Dorm Slippers made it into the inventory today. A sturdy acrylic yarn makes a hard wearing slipper.

 Joules had to be reminded that cats can't knit. After I shooed her off the table, the insult was too much for her and she left us alone for the remainder of the evening.

 This gave us undivided time to devote to new techniques. Carole's socks are coming along nicely. They are the same size but because the yarn is striped differently, it makes them look uneven. But as a wise woman once said (cough,cough Beth, cough, cough) you can't see it from a galloping horse. And socks go inside shoes, right, so who cares?!

 Dorah's socks look like socks this week. She finished the increase rows and is working her way up to the heel. Soon she'll add waste yarn for the afterthought heel.

 And Maureen has mastered the technique. These are her second pair of toe up, two at a time, magic loop.

She finished the pair she started last week. After viewing Youtube videos, she was able to master the heel and kitchener stitch. Looks great!

Margaret was struggling with the two at a time so we decided to master one sock on magic loop until she wraps her brain around the steps. After many starts, she changed her needle to one with a less bendy-twisty cable and had much better luck. It's not easy to learn something new when you have to wrestle with the cable.

My socks are growing too. Another inch or two and I'll knit the waste yarn to hold the heel stitches until I'm ready to knit them.

I'm very proud of my Chicks for their willingness to try new things. And also for their persistence when it doesn't work out on the first, second, or twelfth try! As I remind them, it's okay to make mistakes. That's how you learn.

Let me thank my former Chick, Beth Mashmann, for gifting us with these funny labels to attach to our work. A friend of hers makes them so if you would like your own collection go to

badbettyknits.com

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Wrapping up and learning new things

Janna, Liz, and Barbara helped me label the items which will be donated to Community Maternity Services. 

 There were 24 stuffed animals of all breeds. There were fish, raccoons, hedgehogs, cats, owls, bears, and two bunnies. It was quite a menagerie!

 We collected 9 pairs of socks and booties and a pair of mittens on a string.

 And look at all those hats! 55 hats!!!

 We knitted 5 vests and 16 sweaters.

 And 6 blankets were knitted and added to the donation, along with 1 bib. That brought our total to 127 items! WAY TO GO CHICKS!

 A few last minute additions to the inventory were this sweet little bolero sweater from Liz with vintage buttons. They were on a card with a price of under $1 so you know they were old.

 Her baby hat made it into this donation too.

 And Janna had to knit furiously to finish her Dexter vest to have it included in this donation.

 My evening Chicks helped me count and photograph all the items so they were a big help too. Then we started a KAL where I taught them how to knit two at a time, toe up, magic loop socks. It is so satisfying to me to watch their faces light up when they learn something new. Dorah will deny it if asked, but she said it was actually fun to learn a new technique. They will have to practice the steps a few times for it to feel natural but they are well on their way to conquering another milestone in their knitting skills.

And I am so proud of them for accepting the challenge and trying their hand at something new. I tell my students not to be afraid to try something new. Your brain will love it!