Rounding up the baby clothes

This week's projects are showing lots of progress.

Dorah's baby sweater has a body and she started one of the sleeves tonight.

 Margaret designed a baby bib pattern. The loop for around the neck is on the left.

 Maureen started a shawl/wrap for a friend's daughter who is going through chemo. We are each going to knit a bunch of rows to contribute our prayers and support for her recovery.

 Last week I looked up a new technique, well new to me anyway. The Purl Soho pattern for the Reversible Rivulets scarf recommends the tubular cast on which I had never done before. So off to good ole" Youtube to find a video tutorial. Sure enough Roxanne Richardson had a great one to follow. I'm pretty pleased with myself and the results. ;)

 And in a week's time I've knitted almost all of the first 220 yard ball of yarn.

Since I have two balls of this lovely pink yarn, I'm going to knit until there is enough to bind off and that will have to be long enough. Now I have to hunt for a video tutorial to learn the tubular bind off.

That will be next week's lesson. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking!

Happy New Year!

Sunday morning, New Year's Eve morning, I read an article written by a knitter/yarn store owner who said she ends the old year by frogging (rip it, rip it) old knitting projects for which she has lost interest or those with which she has become bored, or she just doesn't like so she can start the new year off with a fresh outlook on her knitting horizon. It made me think back to this Yarmouth Fair Isle Watch Cap which I started over 2 years ago and have struggled ever since to enjoy my journey through the pattern. It's a lovely pattern but I don't like knitting from charts and you can't avoid it with Fair Isle knitting. Now I don't know if I ever told you that one of my favorite mottos is,
"If it's not fun, don't do it." After reading about this knitter's tradition, I felt I could give myself permission to rip out the hat, even though I was only about 8 rows away from finishing the Fair Isle portion. It wasn't worth it to me to take the joy out of the project and infuse it with so much negativity. I ripped it back to the ribbed section so I wouldn't have to reknit the cuff and....

now it's this cozy warm cap! I zipped through the top portion in a day and felt so much happier about it. This hat now has lots of loving stitches and positive emotions knitted into it. Moral of the story is don't knit what isn't fun! This isn't school like when you were a kid and HAD to do your homework. Knit what makes you happy. And rip out the stuff that doesn't!

 I'm on a bender with this Throwback Pixie Hood. This marks the 10th one I've knitted so far and today I started the 11th. You'll see it later on.

 Debbie made a sweet little Teddy, just the right size for little hands. He'll make some little munchkin very happy.

 Cinzia's daughter, Elena, finished her lovely crocheted scarf to add to our inventory. The yarn is a lovely soft fiber, sure to keep someone fashionably warm.

 We should celebrate that Maureen finished her baby blanket. It took her quite a while but then her only free time to knit is the 2 hours every Tuesday evening when we meet. It finished beautifully and doesn't even need blocking.

 Margaret added a sweet little striped baby hat...

 and so did Carole. It was just the right size to use up the end of a ball of yarn.

 Cinzia worked on the sleeves of a sweater, both at the same time on one needle. She's like me, if she doesn't do them together, it might sit around with a body and one sleeve for a very long time. ;)

 Dorah made a lot of progress since we last met and you can really see the chevron pattern now on her cute little pullover.

  Carole worked on her Sunnyside cardigan. She has a few more inches to go on the body and then the sleeves can be picked up and knitted.

 She was inspired by the Pixie hoods I knitted and started one during a long car trip.

 Margaret started another little hat with this lively chartreuse cotton yarn. I can't wait to see it finished. I love the color!

 And finally, here is number 11 of my series of Throwback Pixie Hood. When I think back to all the trouble I got myself into by misinterpreting the instructions, I shake my head and scold myself for thinking too much. Now that I have the hang of it, I could practically knit these in my sleep!

Wishing you all a new year filled with good health, happiness, and prosperity.

And keep those needles clicking!

Relaxing before the holidays

Barbara arrived in her most festive Christmas finery and got straight to work on her top down cardigan. She has about 20 something more rows to knit on the body and then she can knit the sleeves in the round so there will be no finish sewing except for the buttons.

Cinzia brought us a finished baby hat and the scarf I showed you last week. It's nice and wide to protect against the winter chill.

My husband joined us for a bit and Debbie had to give her injured hand a rest but she joined us without her knitting.

Last week I told you about the baby hood I had trouble getting started. Well, as you can see, I am on a roll! I just can't stop myself. It's such a quick knit that if I do nothing else, I can knit one in a day. But since I have to eat and sleep, it takes me two days. Don't hate me! ;) These are all machine washable and dryable too!

I found one of my daughter's baby dolls to try the hat for size and it's adorable! I wish I had a real little one to model it for me.

Last night I cast on for my sixth one with another machine washable yarn I found in the stash.

Carole showed us her lovely headband she is making for her daughter. She is using Cascade 220 and is getting beautiful stitch definition.

Maureen's ball of yarn is getting smaller and the blanket is getting bigger.

And Carole made it to the bottom of the raglan lines. The stitches for the sleeves are on the holders so she can proceed with the body of the sweater.

Beth's Barley Hat is further along this week.

And she showed us the scarf she is knitting for a niece using the colors of the Green Bay Packers, of whom she is a fan.

I don't have any Christmas knitting to catch up on so I can relax and glide into the holidays without the stress of worrying if I'll make the deadline. But if any of you out there are knitting gifts I hope you get to finish in time. Wishing you all a warm and wonderful holiday season!

Duck, Chick, Mouse

Freddie the Field Mouse came to visit today. Debbie made him for our current donation project to  Community Maternity Services. He is a chubby little critter which will make some munchkin very happy.

Barbara didn't want to have her blue top down sweater photographed again since it doesn't show much progress from week to week but she did show us her lovely cowl she made to go with her blue winter coat. Lovely! She said she wants to block it to firm up the wonky bound off edge.

Here we see Cinzia finishing up her scarf contribution. It's nice and long and warm! This week she'll weave in the loose ends and then into the inventory it goes.

We had a full house tonight. Everyone was busy with baby clothes and hats.

Beth finished her blue Flax sweater just before she ran out of yarn. That little ball there is all that is left.

She was showing us a sock she made using a new method of knitting the heel. It's too hard to describe but it was fascinating how the shaped heel and instep were knitted simultaneously.

Her donation project is a Barley hat. Such a cheerful yellow!

Margaret finished the hat I showed you last week and....

added another sweet little patterned hat too.

Dorah's sweater is showing more of the variegated chevron pattern now. At first she was unsure if she liked it but we all convinced her that with a little blocking it will look great. I guess I volunteered for the job. ;)

Carole's Sunnyside is really showing off those beautiful cables now. They run down each button band and along the raglan lines of the shoulders.

Maureen checked that ball of yarn that doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. We keep telling her the blanket is large enough but she wants to knit until there is no more yellow yarn. I feel you Maureen!

I knitted this cute little pixie hood in two days but let me tell you, it could have been a lot sooner if I could just follow directions! I started and frogged this thing five times. I knew it was something I was misinterpreting because I checked Ravelry for notes from other knitters and no one had the same problem I was experiencing. After numerous emails to the designer and a consultation with my knitting guru, Cinzia, the light bulb FINALLY went on in my head and I was able to finish it. I enjoyed it so much (once I figured out how to make it) that I cast on stitches to make another one right away. Check it out on Ravelry where you can see photos of it being worn. It's adorable.

Even though our Snowbird Liz is enjoying the warm climate of Florida, she had time to knit and send a few items to add to our collection. From top to bottom, a baby sac, a sweet toddler sweater, and two little infant vests. Wait til you see those buttons!

This chick is adorable!

And so is the duck!

I need to get back to my hood now. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Evening knitting

The afternoon knitters had the day off but my evening group joined me for some lively knitting and conversation.

The Baby Sophisticate sweater is drying after a thorough blocking. I'll have to think about buttons but I'm not sure what I'd like to see on it. It would be cute to have those little wooden toggle buttons like the ones on the old car coats from the 60's. Now I'm showing my age!

 I used the left over yarn to make a little hat to go with it and by evening's end...

 it was finished. Sixty-four stitches, 1X1 ribbing for an inch or so, then stockinette the rest of the way.

 Dorah had to slip a little personal knitting in tonight so she could finish before Christmas. It's a gift for someone, Denver Broncos colors.

 Maureen's blanket is almost a square now. We tried to talk her into making it car seat size because she is really tired of this pattern. But she has so much of the yarn she wanted to use it up. Knit faster Maureen! Tax season is almost upon us and then you'll be busy and won't be able to knit.

 Carole's Sunnyside sweater is showing it's cables, although it's hard to see in this shot. Take my word for it, it's darling. Carole does such a nice job!

 Margaret's hat is in the first stages of ribbing but soon it will show the ladder pattern in a contrasting color.

 She finished the sweater I showed you last week, you know, the five hour sweater that took her a few weeks.

Well, as hard as it may be to believe, we do have a life other than knitting! ;)