Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember my project that had me stumped at counting to 3? Well, I finally finished it! My Barber Pole Cowl is ready for inventory. It was a very entertaining knit, once I figured out the 3's thing. The cowl is knitted as a tube, in the round, and then the last row is bound off and sewn to the cast on row, matching up the stripes and giving it a seamless look. Because the stripes line up perfectly, all you can see is a crease of sorts. It almost looks completely seamless. I really enjoyed making this cowl and suggest if you try it that you also pick highly contrasting colors to make it easy on yourself.

 Another VERY quick knit is the Reversible Boot Cuffs. I made these with leftover stash of Malabrigo Worsted using size 8 needles and the Magic Loop method of knitting both at the same time. I managed to whip these up yesterday afternoon and I'm not at all a fast knitter. It's a great stashbuster project and gives you two uses for one garment.

 I started a pair of bed socks on November 21 for my Dad for Christmas. Using the Yankee Knitter Designs pattern for their Classic Socks (a great pattern which gives details to knit socks from baby to adult in three different weights yarn) I mashed up with Very Pink Knits video tutorial for knitting two at a time, toe up, on magic loop. I swear knitting socks this way goes much faster than one at a time, which doesn't really make sense. You would think knitting one sock after the other would take the same amount of time as knitting them simultaneously, but it seems otherwise! I'm using Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool, a superwash worsted weight yarn. As of this writing, I have about four more inches of cuff to knit and they can be wrapped.

 Boredom and inspiration struck me at the same time last week so I squeezed in another cowl. The original pattern, Leaving Cowl, called for sport weight yarn but I had a skein of bulky calling my name and wishing it were wrapped around someone's neck soooo....Voila! A few adjustments to needle size and stitch count and there it is. It knitted up quickly because of the larger gauge needle and yarn too.

 Now, if you've ever waited in line to ride Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld, Orlando, you might have noticed some crazy socks hanging inside out in the base camp as decorations. My son was there in October and photographed them to show me and asked if I could knit him a pair. I said I would try but that they were obviously Fair Isle socks that were hanging inside out. He didn't care. He liked them with the strings hanging and intends to wear them that way. After knitting these I'm thinking it might be a good idea since it could be dangerous to catch a toe in one of those threads! Well, I know that with all that Cascade 220 yarn they will definitely keep his feet warm when he goes hiking.

 I really shouldn't surf the net when I should be knitting but that's when I get the best inspiration! I had these 3 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino sitting on a shelf acting like they were their own BFF's and didn't have the heart to separate them. So the knitting fairies must have heard me fawning over them and sent a pattern my way that is just perfect for the combo. The original pattern is for a heavier yarn but with some fiddling around, I made it accommodate the yarn I have. I can't wait to see it finished. 

 The Chicks are all at home preparing their Thanksgiving dinners while I watch my contractor tear my kitchen apart. Timing! So my family is going out to dinner tomorrow. I don't mind! No 5AM cooking and 2PM dish washing for me this year! I am very thankful for that!

It is snowing here and the weather report has predicted 6 to 9 inches before it finishes, so let me wish you all a safe and blessed Thanksgiving. Catch you next week when the Chicks return to knitting.

A Quiet Day on the Deck

It was a quiet afternoon with just Barbara and me. She is working on a short sleeve cardigan in a pretty sparkly yarn in a copper color that looks beautiful with her hair.

And tonight it was just Maureen and me. Maureen is making another pair of Kimono slippers and I finished my Jaywalker socks for the female veterans.

These felt like the socks that would never end! I started on July 5 and finished on September 13. Ok, so I worked on lots of projects in between these socks too, but still they felt like they took forever! These are truly fraternal twins.

I got news from a cousin in Switzerland that he's a new grandpa so I whipped up a pair of socks for the new baby. The free pattern is Infant Socks by Judy Ellis.

I used size 1 double pointed needles and they are so tiny that I started them yesterday afternoon and finished them this morning. They will go out in the mail tomorrow to welcome new little Mattia to the family.

Babies and knitting, my two favorite hobbies

My grandsons came up for a visit this weekend and I can't believe how much Leo has changed already. He's not quite two weeks old yet and he is already looking chubbier to me. Moose just loves his baby brother and takes every opportunity to cuddle.

I lost a couple of hours to a time consuming chore yesterday, unwinding tape yarn that doesn't want to stay rolled. It started out like this.....

Started looking like this.....

And finished up looking like this. But as soon as I pulled it off the ball winder it began to "scrumble" into a mess again. Yes, I made up that word, crumble, scrap, whatever. It's a mess!

Liz joined Amanda and me this afternoon and showed us her finished cowl which just needs some buttons. The yarn is very soft and will feel nice against the neck.

Amanda is working on a hoodie for Baby Leo which will match the pants she already knitted for him in solid brown.

Moose needed a bath after dinner so why not make it fun too. It was a warm evening and perfect for a little splashing about.

The evening session started with a few gifts for Leo and Moose.

Moose can't wait to hunt for bugs for his bug house.

Karin's daughter, Annemarie, practiced her knits and purls.

And Beth showed us her "Weekend" shawl.

The lace looks so pretty.

Maureen finished a pair of "Kimono" slippers. They look like the letter "T" before they are sewn together and they knitted up quickly.

Beth made this sailboat sweater to go with the sailboat afghan she showed last week. We all laughed about a white baby sweater when she said she didn't have to worry about white, she's not washing it! LOL!

Leo came by for a little visit with everyone tonight. Seems he and Beth were deep in conversation here.

Karen had a turn to cuddle...

as did Annemarie.

Karin showed us a finished sock.

And all too soon Leo was finished with his visit and wanted to eat and go to sleep.

The boys go home tomorrow. What will I do with my time? Who will I cuddle? I'm going to miss my babies. I guess I'll just have to go visit them.

We're baaaacckkk!

It's been a long time since I've seen my Chicks! If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I've been in Pennsylvania helping my daughter and son-in-law with my grandson, Moose, while we all awaited the birth of baby brother Leo. Well, it's been almost four weeks since I knitted with my friends so it felt good to be back in the fold with them again. And the weather was perfect for an afternoon on the deck, in spite of the earthquake, which we all definitely felt! At first I thought I had vertigo. But when the floor wouldn't stop rolling after what seemed like a whole minute and the wind chimes started banging (there wasn't even a stiff breeze) we decided to turn on the news and sure enough! There had been an earthquake. I'm sure by now everyone has heard about it and my friends in California are calling us all pansies as they roll their eyes. But hey! It was the news of the day. And it made us all sit up and take notice!

Liz started a pair of socks using a really pretty Berroco sock yarn. If I'm not mistaken, she said it's her first pair. They are turning out beautifully.

Kathleen brought in a bunch of finished hats and a pair of mittens. This is like a couple she has made before.

But this one, which Barbara is modeling for us, is a new pattern Kathleen decided to try. Isn't it pretty?!

Kathleen decided to try her hand at lace too and she started this stole with a pretty mohair we had in the inventory. The colors compliment the wavy lace pattern so nicely.

Our evening session started with two finished scarves for the homeless women vets. Maureen is so happy to finally be finished with her reversible stripes scarf. Between you and me, I think she's done with that pattern! LOL! Beth finished her ruffled scarf too.

And she brought along a show and tell, a baby afghan that she made for a gift. It turns out that by chance she chose the sailboats pattern and it just so happens the nursery will have a nautical theme. It's really cute.

While I miss my grandchildren, it does feel good to be back home and into my usual routine. I wasn't getting much knitting done in Pennsylvania anyway. I was having too much fun with Moose!

Some Knitting and More Moose

I am getting some knitting done in between helping with Moose and Amanda. I've got half of two pairs of Jaywalkers done and started the second on both. The one on the left, blues and greens, is for donation. The one on the right, purples and pinks, is for me, that's why it's a little shorter. I don't like my socks to go clear up to my calf.

For my birthday my daughter gave me this pattern because she knows I love knitting shawls.

When I went to the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival in June I found this yarn. And so the first two motifs are started and I'm showing some progress. It's a pretty large shawl so it may take me some time to finish it. And let's face it, how much knitting can get done around an active four year old?

Speaking of Moose, he wore his cowboy hat all day everywhere the other day, even when he watched a little TV. He sensed I was capturing the moment for posterity.

And being the shy kid that he is (HA!HA!), he immediately went into performance mode.

He gave me the full on Paul McCartney version of "Oh Darlin'".

I wish you could have been there. He's a hoot!

In Progress

Liz made good progress on her scarf and the subtle colors look very pretty. It should be finished soon.

Maureen started a Baby Sophisticate jacket. She is using a washable bulky weight yarn so it is going to be nice and warm. She is also still working on her reversible stripes scarf but didn't want to bore you with another picture of it. LOL!

I made some progress on the sock I showed you two posts ago. It would have been farther along if...

I wasn't also knitting another pair of socks and a sweater at the same time. What can I say? I get bored easily!

Donation Day

Last week I showed you the following items which were going to be donated.

Today was the day Kathleen, Liz, Deeva, Beth and I took everything to USCRI .

There were 51 items and sets donated to the new residents of our country, some of whom leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Afterwards we went to The Riverboat Bar and Grill for a celebratory lunch. We had a beautiful afternoon with comforting breezes on the Hudson River, in spite of the 89 degrees in the sun.

Soon after we were seated we had visitors. They appreciated the crumbs that were tossed their way.

But couldn't quite make out what kind of food blew overboard when a big gust of wind took one of the dollar bills from our tip to the waitstaff.

Tonight Beth showed us the sweater she completed for her daughter's birthday. It took our breaths away! What a beauty!

She said it took her three months to complete and that was while she was knitting other things too. Look at the perfection in those stitches! The braided ribbing runs right up into the pattern on the body. Just gorgeous!

Maureen is still plugging away on her reversible stripes scarf.

I'm making slow progress on the first of a pair of Jaywalker socks for the returning homeless female veterans of our current project.

By next week it should be past the heel. But for now I'm going to look for a cool place to veg out. It's really hot here.