Finally! A deck day!

Even though it was 80 degrees, I put up the drapes to keep out the bright sunlight and hopefully tamp down some of the heat so we could sit outside. It's been weeks since we enjoyed the deck what with rain and heat and humidity. I had two fans blowing on us so it was bearable. 

But there are signs showing up in the neighborhood that we are nearing the change of seasons! My favorite tree across the way in the neighbors' yard is the first one to show a red leaf. Can cold weather be far behind? I can't wait!!!😁

We have some FOs to add to the inventory.

Maureen finished her Celtic Feathers Hat from NichKnits designer Shelby Nichols. Really nice cables and stitch definiton Maureen!

And Carole finished the Loop Hat. It is a soft sage green but the outside lighting affects the color in a photo. If you want to see the true color, check last week's blog post.

Cinzia wasn't expected today as she had knee repair done on Friday. But she was so bored staying home and she was told she needs to walk so today was her first venture out into the world. She brought her Jariq which is knitted with a silvery sparkle yarn.

Jan finished her ZickZack Scarf. She used two strands of yarn held together and it is so soft and squishy! It's sure to keep someone warm and happy!

Dorah finished her Helix Hat and it turned out beautifully! She questioned whether the colors would compliment each other and I'd say they're perfect!

She's already started another Helix Hat with these three colors 

which in my humble opinion, will look fabulous!

Remember when I said I was going to knit a long infinity scarf? Umm...yeah, no! I'm already feeling like I poked a sharp stick in the eye😂 I don't know why I get bored so easily with a long term project! Anyway, this will be a closer to the neck style cowl and the short edges will be grafted with a kitchener stitch. I do love the yarn and stripe pattern though! Pattern is adapted from the ZickZack Scarf.

Barbara K started the Dart and Dash Beanie from Benjamin Matthews.

You can see the beginning of the dart and dash pattern showing up already.

Tina started the Wavy Ribbed Scarf from a YouTube video from Susen Mehralieva. I watched the video and wrote up a pattern and Tina is test knitting it for me. 

She already found a typo! Thanks for catching it Tina!

Carole is knitting a baby hat. It is for the first grandson of a friend of hers 

so she chose a cheery, colorful yarn for it.

Margaret is knitting the Leaded Light Cowl, just like Nancy's last week. Margaret has chosen a contrasting yarn that changes color so the lights in the window will change color as the knitting progresses.

I didn't catch the name of Jan's pattern but the yarn is gorgeous! It's going to be a narrow scarf.

Maureen made a sawtooth edged little scarf accessory but she can't remember the pattern. The yarn is very soft and has a halo so I'm thinking it might have some baby alpaca in it.

Currently on her needles is Maureen's next project, the start of a Helix Hat. 

Nancy started another one of Benjamin Matthews' patterns. Such a pretty color too!

This was recently released as a free pattern for a limited time and we were lucky enough to get in on the initial offering. The Laguna Drift Beanie is next on my list of projects too.

Fozzie watched the Chicks leave at 3 o'clock and that's his signal that he should start begging for food. Well, actually, just about anything is a signal to him for food!😉 I've learned to ignore most of them, much to his dismay. I mean, look at that cat! He doesn't look like he's starving! I know it's a bad camera angle but he's not suffering.

And on that note I will wish you a great week ahead and remind you to keep those needles clicking!

It's not raining today...

But the humidity and heat on the deck was just too much for a normal human being to tolerate so we stayed inside where it was cool. Fozzie made the rounds to check everyone's bag for contraband. Or maybe it was cookies. Yeah, most likely cookies.

And there were cookies just not the kind kitties can eat. Barbara B's treat today was sourdough strawberry cookies. I'm saving mine for an after dinner treat but I'm sure they were delicious by the sounds of satisfaction from Carole as she sampled one.

We have some FOs this week. Nancy completed her Leaded Lights Cowl which uses slipped stitches to achieve this lovely pattern.

Barbara B finished her Hot Springs Willow Hat with the wide faux cables. Like our favorite Benjamin Matthews hat patterns, Shelby Nichols designs interesting hats patterns that are well written and easy to follow.

She also took the yarn that Margaret gave her last week and finished another hat called Barley Hat from Tin Can Knits. 

Jan finished her cabled hat and had a skein and a half of this Irish yarn left which also went to Barbara B. So I suspect we'll see another of her hats next week. 

I completed the scarf from Susen Mehralieva's YouTube video. I used Plymouth Yarns Royal Bamboo yarn, one of the loveliest bamboo yarns. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued. The Chicks wanted to know how to knit this so I wrote a pattern for those who like to read what they're knitting as opposed to following the process on video. We talked about doing a KAL to test knit my write-up so keep an eye to the future for possibly more of these scarves.

I started another one this weekend for myself using Crystal Palace Mini Mochi yarn, my all time favorite for gradient colors. Sadly, it too has been discontinued.😢

Jan started the Loop Hat using a great denim blue colored yarn.

And as it turns out, Carole has the same pattern on her needles. She's a little further along and will probably be finished soon.

For my Falcon Boutique at Albany High School project, I started another ZickZack Scarf with an orphan skein of sock yarn. This is going to be a cowl with a provisional cast on (yellow yarn) so I can graft the live edges together into a big infinity scarf. I made one already with this yarn but it is smaller, more of a headband for keeping ears warm.

Margaret, who is always trying to convince us she's not an experienced or skilled knitter, has just designed another hat to use up small scraps of yarn! We laughed when she said, "It was easy, just do this and this" because that's what I always say and I get looks of doubt every single time. LOL!

Barbara B has just started an 1898 Hat. If you've never knitted one, it's fun because it has an out of the ordinary process. You knit the ear flaps and cuff first, fold it in half, pick up stitches from the edge, and knit the crown. Because 5" of the cuff is knitted by the time you start the crown, it makes it feel like the hat is flying off your needles and you're finished in no time!

Benjamin Matthews offered a brand new pattern for free for a limited time so we all grabbed a copy and Nancy is the first to start the Laguna Drift Beanie. The ribbing has a neat pronounced appearance because the knits stitches are knitted through the back loop giving it a twist.

That about wraps it up for this week. 

Hope you have a great week ahead and keep those needles clicking!

If it's Tuesday, it must be raining

Fozzie was the first one in attendance for knitting today. For some unknown reason, he loves to sit on the velvet chairs so I keep them covered until the Chicks arrive. As soon as I lift the covers off, he's on one of those chairs. I have leather covered chairs too but does he choose those? Of course not!😒

So a quick brush before these lovely ladies arrived made the chair clean of any stray fur. Cinzia arrived a little late so she didn't get in the group picture but her FOs did!

She saw this hat someone else made and duplicated it without a pattern. I had a grandmother who could do that. Such a talent!

And this is her Cassidy Rose Scarf completed in a cheery yellow yarn.

Barbara B brought some yummy brownies today but they weren't sourdough.

I am knitting on the downside of this rippled scarf which means I'm on the decreasing portion to work my way to the opposite point. It shouldn't take me much longer to finish. This is the pattern I found on a YouTube video.

Maureen's Celtic Feathers Beanie is now showing its beautiful cables.

Nancy's Leaded Light Cowl has grown in length since last time we saw it. It requires the mosaic technique of knitting which is easier than Fair Isle knitting since it uses only one color yarn per round.

Jan's ZickZack Scarf hit a snag when she found she was missing one stitch in the sequence. She had to frog back a couple of rows but she's back on track now.

Jan also brought her cabled hat. She popped in some blue lifelines for insurance if she makes a mistake and has to frog back.

Cinzia is knitting a Celtic cable hat. She's brave trying to work such a complicated design while everyone is talking! This would require me to sit alone in a locked room!

She got the pattern from this library book. 

Umm, thanks I'll knit like a drunken sailor on shore leave, thank you.😉

Carole is quite far through her Loop Hat and those cables are looking nice!

The pattern is not on Ravelry though. 

Barbara B has some faux cables working here. It's the Hot Springs Willow Hat from NichKnit Designs on Ravelry. This designer offers matching fingerless mitts and a cowl patterns too.

Margaret is going to add more color to a hat she's making up as she knits. She's good at that!!!

It's still raining and Fozzie is sitting in the window making sure the dogs next door don't get wet.

My husband just came in off the deck and said it's actually feeling colder outside. Thank goodness! I can't wait for winter! In the meantime I'll be enjoying the AC. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!