Last week it was the rain. This week it's Canadian wildfire smoke and heat. We're inside again.

Fozzie thought he could sneak up on a chair before the Chicks arrived but as soon as people started coming through the door, he hightailed it outta here! 

I guess it was the enthusiastic conversation that sent him on his way. We were quite an animated group this afternoon! Dorah just returned from a Dewey Beach vacation with her kids and in spite of some cloudy days, she had a wonderful and relaxing time. Carole brought us up to date on her youngest grandson, who is adorable with all his rolls of baby love on his arms and legs. And there was the usual comparison of notes about our current projects. 

It's just like show and tell when we were little kids! I love it!!!

Barbara B brought sourdough brownies from her magic kitchen. I am embarrassed to admit I haven't had one...yet😉 I was so busy knitting I forgot to try one. But as soon as I'm done posting, I'm going to pour myself a large glass of ice cold milk and have a moment with the chocolate.

Nancy finished her hat with the Noro yarn Dorah gave her. We all loved the final result. She said in spite of a few splinters, she enjoyed the project.

Tina finished her lacy diagonal cables scarf. 

It blocked beautifully so you can see the movement of those cables.

This will be her next project from the same pattern book. Using the same yarn as the scarf...

she made an easy Italian Tubular cast on which starts with a figure 8 cast-on on a magic loop needle.

I went stashdiving and found these two yarns which I thought would make a nice subtle color changing cowl. The pattern is 100 Colors Cowl, a paid pattern on Ravelry. I thought that not everyone loves loud colors the way I do, so a quiet color combination would be nice for someone who prefers this.

Dorah admitted to not knitting even one stitch while on vacation 

so she has a little bit left to finish her Workday Scarf.

Barbara K started a Benjamin Matthews hat called Dart and Dash Beanie. He's our all time favorite pattern designer because his patterns have easy to follow directions but interesting designs to keep you entertained while you knit.

Jan has started a hat using her souvenir yarn from Ireland. She was disappointed with the uneveness of the stitches but that's the beauty of hand knit items using a rustic yarn.

Carole's Sophie Scarf has grown in length since we last saw it. This is a great pattern for social or tv knitting as long as you keep count of the rows.

Maureen's Through the Forest Hat is gorgeous with those perfectly knitted cables. The yarn has great stitch definition which enhances their depth and contours.

Barbara B is almost finished with her String of Lights Socks. Just a bit more on the toe and then on to the kitchener stitch to close it off.

Margaret's 1898 Hat is almost ready to close the ear and cuff portion. Then she will fold it in half so the I-cord edge becomes the edge of the cuff and will pick up stitches to knit the crown.

Nancy just reached the color work section on her Leaded Light Cowl. The pattern includes instructions for a matching hat and it's all free on Ravelry. This might have to go into my queue for a project soon.

Ok, now I'm going to have that brownie! Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Rain, rain, rain

It was POURING DOWN RAIN all afternoon until the ladies were about to leave. It has settled down to a light drizzle now. But all that rain did not deter these ladies from their knitting. 

We had sourdough peach coffee cake today and as you can see...

the peaches were plentiful. Barbara B said the peaches were ripe and ready for the baking.

Poor Margaret was fighting with her knitting this week. First she couldn't find her size 8 knitting needle and then when she found it, there was a mistake in her 1898 Hat so she had to rip it back and start over. We commiserated over the fact that in spite of having knitted this pattern multiple times so that we could knit it in our sleep, apparently we can't because we still make mistakes. I'm reminded of the time I put my knitting down for the night and the next morning could not figure out why I had two ear flaps directly next to each other instead of on either side of the head. 😞

Tina put her knitting aside for a moment to cleanse her palate with a crocheted scarf. The yarn is a gradient using a pretty shell stitch. 

Jan was inspired by Barbara B and Dorah knitting the Workday Scarf so...

she started one also. Love those colors!!!

I had yarn left over from a project I made for myself and decided to knit the Corrugated Cowl for the Falcon Boutique. One more repeat of the white vertical bars and then a couple of rows of ribbing and the bind off and it will be ready for the inventory.

Barbara B started the second sock of her pair of String of Lights Socks.

I praised her for her fortitude to knit her socks separately. I, unfortunately, suffer from SSS...second sock syndrome which is when the first sock is knitted you lose desire to knit the second. Thank goodness for magic loop two at a time knitting!!!

Over the week I finished the cowl I was knitting using a White Birch yarn called Thawed. I had planned to use the full skein to make a long cowl which could be wrapped twice around the head.

However, after finishing the first full skein, it didn't look like there would be enough length to wrap twice so I grafted the ends together to make it double duty, cowl or headband. And I'm so proud of myself for gauging when to stop the yarn in order for the bands of color to be the exact same width. You'll never find where it's grafted together! 😉 The pattern is ZickZack Scarf but I modified it by starting it on a provisional cast on edge so I could kitchener the ends together.

"Someone" was very restless today. He wandered between our knitting bags and even took a nibble at a strand of yarn that was hanging out of Margaret's project bag. He never does that so he must have been anxious about the storm. And he kept begging for food. Even the ladies commented about it. 

Now that the rain has stopped, he has finally settled down and is sitting in the garden window, watching the wildlife in the neighborhood. This will give me enough time to say have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Too Hot!

As you can see, we are inside today because when the "feels like" temp is 89 and 65% humidity, there is no way we want to sit on the deck and handle wool! We caught up on grandchildren news and who is going where on vacation. Somehow we got on the subject of donating blood and how the snacks they give out now are crappy healthy stuff. Dorah said bring on the Oreos and Lorna Doones like the old days! We compared notes on the size of our veins and how I was asked not to come back because it was too stressful on the staff to find a vein in my arm. LOL! Think about how I feel!!!😟

We had a ton of FOs to add to the inventory. Carole started looking through her bag of completed items and found things she meant to bring ages ago but couldn't remember where they were! I think we all have gremlins that like to stir things up when we sleep.😉 So here goes! Grab something good to eat cuz we're gonna be here a while!

First up are Carole's FOs. She made up this pattern for a two color cowl so we don't have a pattern or name for it. I'm going to study it to see if I can write one up. If I am successful, I'll post a link...someday.

She brought in her Squarshy Slouch Hat which is great for someone with a lot of hair.

She couldn't remember the name of this pattern...

and she made up this cowl as she went along.

This is the One Row Handspun Scarf from Stephanie Pearl McPhee.

And we both thought this might be a Benjamin Matthews pattern, but don't hold us to it.

This cowl is a Carina Spencer design called Zuzu's Petals. It was very popular when the pattern was first published in 2012. I think we all made at least two of them.

Next up are Jan's FOs. A pretty autumn colors scarf and...

a cheerful mixed veggies colors scarf made using the pattern Simple Little Scarf.

I didn't get the name of this cowl or...

this hat.

Or this one. Now I'm thinking maybe Margaret made this and...

this. Hmmm...I thought I wrote it down. I guess not. 😐 

Jan had some yarn that needed winding so we broke out the swift and winder so she can start a new project.

She is currently working on the Skinny Scarf and was quick to tell us she is knitting it from a chart! I'm so proud of her! I personally avoid charts like the plague because, for me, it takes all the fun out of knitting. But that's just my personal opinion. Don't let me ruin it for you.

Barbara B finished her Workday Scarf. It looks beautiful. Photos don't do it justice.

 Now she's working on A String of Lights Socks. She hasn't decided to whom they will be given though.

Dorah's Workday Scarf is at the halfway mark so she'll be decreasing to the opposite end now.

She's using this Knit Picks yarn and the colors are lovely.

My son and his partner just returned from a cruise through the fjords of Norway and brought back a birthday gift for me. He said he went into a cute little yarn store in one of the many villages and the lady asked if he needed help. He told her "My mom is sort of a yarn snob so she likes only natural fibers." The lady laughed and said she TOTALLY understood and sent him to the yarn store down the block where he could find exactly what he wants. SHOCKING! She actually sent him to a competitor!!! But she was right! These are beautiful yarns and I can't wait for them to tell me what they want to be. Anybody have a good idea?

I'm still working on the Zick Zack Scarf turned infinity scarf. With a size 2 needle and sock weight yarn, this baby isn't going to be done soon!😉

Maureen is relieved to be done with her Reversible Stripes Scarf! It looks great!

Now she has started Through the Forest Hat. This is the same one Barbara B made a few weeks ago.

Cinzia arrived just minutes after "The Photographer" left to bring his car in for an oil change.

She is on the decreasing side of her Cassidy Rose Scarf with the reversible cable edge.

Dorah was sifting through her stash and found a bunch of Cloudborn skeins to share with the Chicks. Most of them had 220 yards so it's enough to make an adult hat. The only one with 130 yards will be saved for a child's hat. Thank you ladies for taking this all!

Margaret is 1/3 of the way through a Bewind Hat with its traveling lines slanting up the crown.

Carole started another One Row Handspun Scarf making a new colorway by...

holding two different colors together. It's a good way to use up yarn quickly and makes all new colorways.

Nancy is nearing the end of her Workday Scarf.

And she picked up some more yarn from Dorah to possibly make a hat. This is a Noro yarn, known for its pretty colors. However, we all have opinions about the texture and softness of this brand. 😉

Barbara K's scarf is looking lovely and warm with its gently changing gradient of color.

Whew! That was a LOT today! I hope you were able to stick with me. And I do hope I gave credit to the right knitters on the lovely FOs we collected today. Now I'm going to sit in front of the AC vent and chill. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking! 

I almost forgot to show you today's treat from Barbara B!!! She'll make sure I know it too.😉 We had a delicious zucchini bread. And I have a slice for later. YUM!

Now I can say, keep those needles clicking!