It still feels like summer!

We started the day winding up some cakes of yarn. None of my tables are the right size to clamp the ball winder so I have to improvise. Today I attached it to the armrest of the deck chair. Sometimes I clamp it to the leg of the coffee table. Hey! Whatever works!

 Cinzia finished the sweater vest and was looking for opinions on a button.

 Dark or...

light?

 We all liked the one that looked like wood. And look at how beautifully this sweater blocked!

 Cinzia added a cowl to the inventory too. She was intending to make a long scarf but ran out of yarn way too soon. Plan B! Make it a cowl! That's the great thing about knitting. There's always something you can create if you just use a little imagination.

 Elaine is whipping up a Mistake Stitch scarf with a warm wool of navy blue.

 And Liz's angora scarf is coming along nicely. She will definitely have enough yarn to make a hat to match.

 Carole had to stop knitting on this little baby sweater until she can find more yarn. She might have to resort to pastel stripes somewhere since there is no more of this color and she needs enough to finish the sleeves.

 Maureen's cowl looks so nice and bright. It's a quick easy knit, great for having a conversation.

 I finished the Noro Stripe scarf and couldn't resist starting something new...

 Miss Winkle (using Periwinkle Sheep Sock Dream in Memories of Summer) is an asymmetrical triangle scarf. The yarn is a blend of superwash merino and 10% cashmere. It will be a softee! I've been eyeing this pattern for a couple of years now and finally decided to purchase it. I don't usually like to buy patterns because I don't want to suddenly find out I hate it and already laid out good money for it. But this one's a keeper!

I see many more in my future!

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.

Decisions have to be made

Sometimes even the easiest of projects can stump an experienced knitter. I gave up making the Gaptastic Cowl once a long time ago because I couldn't keep the seed stitch aligned without going into 1X1 ribbing. It was very frustrating. Well, Elaine is faced with the same problem with her Mistake Stitch Scarf. We get to talking and before you know it there is a stitch out of place. So yesterday Elaine and I talked it over and I convinced her to rip the stitching back to a place where the colors repeat in pattern and the mistake is gone and then bind off, sew a seam, and VOILA! You have a cowl instead! I love it when a plan works out!

 My Mistake Rib Cowl is at the end rows and later on you'll see it finished. This was a little trickier knitting in the round but I managed to catch my goofs before I knitted too far along.

 Dorah's friend Susan donated a couple of big bags of yarn in large enough quantities to actually make a sweater that's larger than newborn size. It's always fun to see what other knitters collect for their stash and wonder how hard it was for them to part with it. Thank you Susan for your generosity.

 Carole's Hitchhiker Scarf looks great and doesn't even need blocking. The russet colored yarn is so pretty too.

 And Dorah liked Elaine's idea of turning the scarf into a cowl so she's going to do the same thing with her scarf and then it will be ready to go into this round of inventory.

 Cinzia has been working on Tuesdays and we miss her but I caught up with her last Wednesday. She had two scarves to drop off. This pretty yarn was supposed to be a large Boomerang Scarf but Cinzia went off on a fling and turned it into a new design. That happens a lot when we talk and knit! It turned out great though.

 And her blue scarf was an experiment with combining a novelty yarn with a smooth worsted weight. Cinzia was going to work the boucle yarn zig zagging all the way through the length of the blue wool but soon found out it would run out long before the blue was long enough so on to Plan B...finish the scarf as plain blue, sew a loop at the end, and fish the decorative end through the loop. 

What a great result!

 And here is my cowl I showed you earlier ready to go into inventory. I have enough of that yarn left over that I could probably make another whole cowl but I need to take a break from the quiet color to knit something cheerier.

 Carole finished her Mistake Stitch Scarf too. It's a great generic pattern if you don't know who will be using it.

 Nestled among the skeins of yarn from Dorah's friend were two finished projects, this lovely lace scarf and...

 a soft alpaca cowl. It's doubled over here but it is big enough to bring up and over your head for protection against the cold. Very nice!

Well, back to the needles! I have a couple of projects that I've been avoiding either out of boredom or a lack of passion for the pattern but I am determined to finish them. Someday you'll see them here. I'm just not promising soon!

If my head weren't attached....

Sometimes I wonder where my brains are! Kathleen's daughter Pat came to visit us today and showed us all her beautiful WIPs and I completely forgot to take a photo! She is almost finished with a blue and variegated striped pullover that has one band of yellow at the bottom and cuffs. It will be finished off with a row of yellow and matching yellow buttons. Trust me when I tell you it's going to be stunning! Then she showed us a scarf with a reversible cable and assymetrical construction. The color was gorgeous! Again, you had to be there. LOL!

Well, at least I remembered to take a picture of the progress Elaine has made on her scarf. The pattern and yarn combo makes great stitch definition but it will have to be blocked as it tends to curl in on the edges. It's going to be a beautiful addition to our inventory.

 My lavender Minty Bricks is getting bigger. It's a great take-a-long project since you don't have to look at the pattern once you get the rhythm going.

 Last week I started a gender neutral cowl with a 100% Alpaca yarn in the Mistake Stitch pattern. This too is a good project for on the go days.

The evening group has the night off. Book Club week for Beth and too much Springsteen for some of us! Dorah will have to tell us all about the concert next week. I can't wait to hear all about it!

Back in the saddle again!

The afternoon ladies had conflicts today so I met with my evening Chicks only this week. We had news to catch up from over the holidays and then we got down to the business of knitting. Our first pet peeve of the evening was about pattern designers who give instructions, vaguely at best, and then say something like, "just continue to follow the pattern while increasing/decreasing (whatever applies)". We all agreed that is the lazy way to go and causes much confusion to those knitters who might not feel as confident in their skills as they should. I've seen many a competent knitter crumble before such flimsy instructions. 

Our first project up is one from Carole's needles which she brought to show us. It's a double knitted, fully reversible hat she is making for herself called Rectangly. It is knitted with contrasting colored yarns and the patterns are mirror images in opposing colors on each side. It seems a bit of magic and there is a ton of chart following, if you like that sort of thing. And it brings up the second pet peeve of the evening, you have to pull the stitches tightly with every knit so the tension is equal on both sides. Carole said after a while she has to rest her hands because they fatigue quickly from all that tugging. But it seems worth it to me as she is making a beautiful hat!

 My personal pet peeve, number 3, I guess, is I don't like to knit from a chart. I saw this pattern for free on Ravelry and thought it's a smallish hat, how hard could it be? I've done Fair Isle knitting before but I designed it myself and made the pattern up as I went along. I wasn't following a chart, at least not on paper.

This pattern is kicking my butt! I can knit only a row at a time and then I need to take a rest. I know, what a wimp! But I just don't like charts! I'm going to finish this hat, take a photo for posterity, say "Been there, done that!" and never knit it again! LOL!

Dorah didn't want me to take another photo of her never-ending scarf but look! It's nearing the end!

Maureen started a 2X2 ribbed hat that works up very quickly. Our donation inventory seems to be overwhelmingly stocked in pretty feminine knits so we have to force ourselves to make good, basic, manly stuff. This pattern easily fits the bill.

Do you remember Carole's cowl that had the one stitch out of place on the right side? Well, she ran a lifeline a row behind the mistake and frogged the whole thing down to the last good row, picked up the stitches, and finished knitting away until it was perfect again. Good job Carole!

This scarf was knitted using Cascade Tangier. The pattern is ZickZack Scarf and is free on Ravelry. The original pattern called for fingering weight yarn and small needles but when I saw this Silk and Cotton blend, worsted weight yarn in the sale bin at the store it screamed at me to use it for the ZickZack. The colors make waves of dark and light and interplay with each other so it looks like the scarf is moving. I called it Peas and Carrots for obvious reasons. That shading is not a photography trick, that is how it really looks in person. The lights lined up perfectly in both skeins as did the darks.

Every now and then I get really lucky with how my plans work!

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.