We're baaaack!

I was away last week for a quick end of summer vacation. My husband and I took the grands and our daughter to South Yarmouth on Cape Cod. We had really nice weather when we wanted to be outside. It rained a couple of times either at night or before everyone was ready to start the day so it was perfect timing.

 And we found a couple of great beaches for sea shell hunting and just enjoying being together.

 Today is my husband's 70 birthday so last Friday we got together with my son and his partner and Amanda and the boys to have a joint celebration for our 40th anniversary (which was in July but we couldn't get everyone together then) and Ron's birthday. Our cake had a golf green and a ball of yarn with knitting needles. I'd say it was appropriate for the occasion!

 And now for the knitting portion of our show.... I finished a couple of hats during the week. This one was using up the green yarn long before I had enough length so Plan B was to add another color.

 And this hat is the reason I didn't have enough yarn for the previous hat. I made this one first which left too much yarn to throw away but not quite enough for another whole hat. But it all worked out in the end.

 Barbara finished her Present Cowl with the Berroco Vintage yarn. I wish you could feel the softness of this yarn.

 Cinzia finished this cute little baby hat to match the sweater she has blocking.

 Elaine bound off the last few stitches on her baby blanket and added it to the inventory. Debbie worked on her hat and Barbara on hers.

 Since Cinzia finished the hat she took some time to search through my books for a baby sweater using that pretty pink yarn beside her.

 Sofia finished weaving ends on her baby sweater and just needs some buttons.

 I started a hat on Sunday with leftover russet yarn and had to search the stash for a complimentary color. I improvised a pattern from ideas I remembered from other patterns.

 We had a full house tonight too.

 Beth finished her smocked hat and it looks beautiful. She said it was not at all difficult to do the smocking stitch. She just had to be aware of her tension so the stitches would be uniform.

Carole finished her Barley hat. 

And is now working on her Girlfriend Cowl which uses a stitch technique to make the fabric look woven.

Beth started a Last Minute Cowl and will be adding a warm berry yarn when she runs out of grey.

Dorah and Margaret compared their hats. Dorah's Zoe hat is on the right. And Margaret had enough yarn to make another Easy Ombre Slouch Hat.

Her first one turned out great!

Maureen's Nottingham hat is coming along nicely too.

Next week we celebrate our 12 year anniversary so be sure to check back for pictures of our dinner. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking!

We had help from our four legged friend

The afternoon Chicks were off to a running start today.

 Barbara brought her finished Faux Cable Cowl in that beautiful russet color.

 She said the pattern is a cinch to knit and the yarn she used made it so soft and drapey.

 Elena finished the colorful crocheted blanket and felt like it needed a bit of an edging.

 Luckily, I found a bright purple yarn that was the perfect accent.

 Cinzia put the finishing stitches on a pretty crocheted scarf.

Sofia finished her Cabin Fever jacket. It needs to have the ends woven in and then a bit of blocking will give it a professional look.

Barbara cast on stitches for a Present Cowl with more of that russet yarn.

And Liz cast on stitches for another cowl just like....

this one which she finished and blocked in time to add to this week's inventory.

I started a Spiral hat because...

I finished the Swirl hat from last week.

Carole's two hats from last week are ready to go into inventory.

And Beth made a pompom for the hat she completed during the week.

Now it's ready to add to inventory. The pompom was the perfect addition.

Dorah couldn't make it this week so Joules took her place and kept the seat warm for her.

But I guess knitting was just too much for her!

I think I'll join her and turn in for the night. Have a good week and keep those needles clicking!

Finishing before you run out of yarn

Liz finished her cowl which started out as a shawl but as you can see by the little ball of yarn in her hand, she never would have had enough yarn to make a shawl. That's the great thing about knitting...you can always go to Plan B! Now she needs to block it and we'll have another cowl to add to the inventory.

 She also finished a scarf which was a real stash buster project.

 Liz used two different yarns to achieve this lovely texture. One yarn is a standard worsted weight wool and the other is a novelty ladder ribbon yarn. Alone the ribbon yarn is pretty open and loose but paired with this wool it's a nice accent to an otherwise bland yarn.

Beth finished a Martina Behm scarf called Trillian. She bought the yarn in the little yarn shop in North Carolina where she spends her winters. 

 The pattern states to save 7% of your yarn to finish the last four rows and bind off but she decided to save 8% and it's a good thing she did! This is what she had left!

 Her current project is a baby hat in a color changing yarn. I think it might be Plymouth Encore but I was in a different conversation when she mentioned the name.

 And Carole is making a hat with a similar color changing yarn.

 Margaret decided to knit another patterned hat.

 It's going to start with this pretty heather rose and to it she will add a creamy white.

 Dorah has reached the portion of her Zoe hat where the single stitch cables start. Instead of fumbling around with a cable needle she will be trying her hand at Right twist and Left twist stitches.

 Maureen's Nottingham hat is just beginning to show the cable pattern.

 Margaret finished her Fair Isle hat and it looks great!

 My never-ending scarf is ended! I love how it looks when it's finished but it seems to take forever! Actually, I think I started this only two weeks ago. It just seems like a lifetime ago!

While I was working on the scarf I decided to start a hat to break the monotony. It's the Swirl Hat on Ravelry.

                                      

On a side note, some months ago I bought myself a Turkish Spindle to try my hand at spinning. I had some fiber of unknown source in my stash that I envisioned making thrummed mittens but spinning seemed like a more entertaining endeavor. Well, after soaking, drying, and un-kinking here is my very first skein of hand spun yarn. It's not perfect but all the spinners I talk to say they wish they could still spin a thick and thin strand like their very first skein.

I might just keep it as a reminder of how much fun it was to learn spinning.

Until next week, keep those needles clicking!

This is the scarf that never ends

Elena surprised us with her blue hair this week! It looked great! Now I want to go out and get a color streak in my hair. Somehow white just doesn't cut it, you know?

That huge Easter Egg sitting in her lap is a ball of acrylic which she is crocheting into large granny squares which will become a blanket. The colors are so cheerful!

 Debbie had to give her hands a rest this week but she joined in the conversation. Liz worked on what started out to be a triangular shawl but when she discovered there wouldn't be enough yarn to make it a decent size she switched to Plan B and it will now be a cowl with a bandana front. All she had to do was knit the shawl until it was wide enough to fit around her neck and then join in the round and continue the increases on the center spine only. It's looking good! Elaine is trying really hard to consume that huge egg of a yarn ball and she still has enough for another blanket.

 Barbara made a lot of progress on her Faux Cable Cowl and has decided that pattern would make a great looking hat as well. So I think that will be her next project.

 Cinzia has mastered the magic loop method and is working on a hat to match the sweater jacket she finished last week. Those colors look so nice together.

Do you remember this song?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz6OGVCdov8

If you substitute scarf for the word song you get my sentiments about this scarf.

 I keep knitting and knitting and knitting and feel like I'm no farther than when I started!

 Liz added a collegiate looking cap to the inventory.

 Barbara added a powder pink child's hat and...

 Elena added a bright, cheery, child-sized crocheted scarf.

 Tonight Carole wove the ends in on her Girlfriend Cowl, a free Ravelry pattern. This was the perfect pattern for her variegated yarn. It makes a heavily textured pattern which looks lovely with yarn that tend to pool the colors.

 Maureen started her Nottingham Hat for a child.

 And Margaret completed the Fair Isle portion of her hat and is at the decreasing crown now.

 Dorah is back from a great trip to the Pacific Northwest with her daughters and is well on her way to a pretty pink Zoe hat.

My grandson is visiting this week so that means I've been keeping very busy feeding and entertaining him. Last night we sat on the deck until almost 10PM doing art work, he colored Disney The Descendants characters and I worked on stenciling greeting cards. So as soon as I post this entry it's bedtime for me. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!