Back inside this week

I knew it was too good to be true that spring is here! Last week it was 80 degrees and we sat outside. This week it's cold enough to wear the cowl I just finished (pics to follow).

Barbara B made sourdough animal crackers for today's treat.

She has specialized cookie cutters to make perfect little animals! And they're great with a glass of ice cold milk! Ask me how I know. 😉

     

We talked about houseplants today. I have a golden pothos that my daughter received as a gift on her 6th birthday (about 39 years ago) which has spawned so many clippings that it's still going strong, well, cuttings from the original plant are still growing. Dorah has one of the offspring plants. This is a Chinese Evergreen, I think, that was about 6 years old when it started looking sad. So I hacked off a few of the stems of the healthiest looking shoots and just shoved them in some fresh potting soil and now it looks like a brand new plant! 

The colors of my new Grid Gambit are similar to the plant. I used Terri Bartosik's Whole Knit n' Caboodle Woo-Sport for the pretty pink variegated and Malabrigo Arroyo for the deep green contrasting yarn. This is my third one, two for me and one for my good friend in Pennsylvania. There might be more in my future. You never know!

I finished the Twisted Headband/Earwarmer that was started last week. It ate up yarn like crazy and I finished with only inches of yarn left. It was a tense game of yarn chicken!

And Barbara K finished her vibrantly striped scarf and because it's still cold here, she was able to wear it before next winter.

She started a hat with some bulky yarn and has enough yarn at home to make a matching scarf.

Jan called me over the weekend for a "private consultation" on a pattern that was confusing her. The Frid (Serenity) Scarf directions were a bit confusing in the way it worded the increasing stitches. But...

she is smart and left lifelines every so often so if she has to frog it, she will know what row she's knitting.

Dorah's 2x2 hat is growing longer. I recently read an article by a professional knitter who says she often gets requests from friends for her hand knitted items as though she can whip one off the needles overnight. Non-knitters don't have any idea the amount of time it takes to knit a garment.

Maureen spent the last week visiting her grands so she really didn't have the time or energy to add much to her 1898 Hat. But it's getting there.

Nancy's Dupont Street Hat is a little longer but she's been knitting something special at the same time.

This is her Tintype Cowl. The pattern says it can be worn as a cowl or shawl. Nancy is our Queen of Short Rows and there are plenty to satisfy her in this pattern!

Tina's hat is nearing the decrease portion. Even though she is using a Navajo Plying technique, it doesn't seem that the ball of yarn is getting any smaller!

Barbara B made great progress on her Zomboni Scarf/Shawl. It has a nice decorative purled edge that give it a little ruffled look.

I'm working on a Braided Headband which is from a YouTube video I came across. The yarn is a soft baby alpaca, perfect for keeping ears warm.

Margaret started the Roxana Reversible Beanie in a pretty persimmon color yarn.

And guess who jumped on the chair as soon as the Chicks left for the day! He times his appearance perfectly, just as they open the door to leave.

Now he's sitting beside me, staring holes into my brain, hoping I'll feed him. It's a good thing he can't speak English. Although, he might as well. I can read his body language as if he was speaking! LOL! Well, gotta start cooking dinner. See you next week and keep those needles clicking!

Our first outdoor knitting day!

We had a breezy 82 degree afternoon for a very pleasant knitting session. The sun kept moving until we no longer had a large enough patch of shade for those of us who didn't want full sun but a little sun on my GLOW-IN-THE-DARK pale legs can't hurt. 😉

 Barbara K finished two hats that have been in progress the last few weeks. This helix hat and...

this striped hat used up some of the leftovers from her stash. Both hats are a great example of what to do with small amounts of yarn.

Barbara B finished a helix hat too. The colors of this remind me of a fuzzy bumble bee.

This is her Beacon Hat: Worsted which was last week's WIP.

Dorah made good progress on her baby alpaca hat she started last week. 

The fiber is soooo soft and hypoallergenic too!

Barbara K worked a few more inches of her striped scarf with the lovely color changing yarn.

Jan was having issues with a red scarf she was trying to knit. But we think the yarn didn't want to be that scarf. So she pulled out her Simple Sideways Triangle Scarf to restore her tranquility. She and I were trying to make sense of the red scarf pattern which was a poorly written pattern but finally decided it wasn't worth the aggravation. I know not all pattern designers are professional but it would be nice to have a friend knit the item from the written instructions before releasing the pattern to be sure it makes sense!

Nancy continued on with her Dupont Street Hat with the slipped stitch motif.

Tina is determined to knit down her stash and found a sparkly fingering weight yarn which was too fine a gauge for the hat she wanted to knit.

So she searched on YouTube and found out how to do a Navajo Ply which turns a single strand into three and makes it a heavier gauge, in this case more of a DK weight yarn.

Barbara B found a pretty variegated purple yarn in her stash to create the Zomboni Scarf. That's zOmboni, not like the vehicle that cleans the ice hockey rink.😉

I had some natural colored superwash wool left after finishing the All Wound Up Beanie... 

so I used a knit into the stitch below technique to make a thermal ear warmer. Just a few more inches and I can sew up the short ends.

Her treat today was a box of homemade sourdough oatmeal raisin cookies. Yummy!!!

As soon as the ladies left, I came inside to see this! His stare was kind of creepy. 

Like the twins from that Nicholson movie.😟

Well, the stare worked! He got his afternoon snack and now he's napping somewhere, only to reappear when he hears a wrapper crinkling or at the next mealtime, whichever comes first. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Almost a full house!

Cinzia is still on sabbatical and boy do we miss her! Can't wait to hear all about her escapades. But we have the full complement of the Chicks that are still stateside. And yes, Maureen is back from her southern break with a lovely tan and energy to get back to knitting. There was much discussion about book recommendations and grandchildren today.

Barbara B's treat today was a hit! She made sourdough pretzel bites which we dipped into either mustard or port wine cheddar cheese. I can't decide which I liked better.

But everyone enjoyed them!

You can tell by the almost empty dish! I guess no one wanted to be the "old maid" 😄

Dorah finished the 2x2 ribbed hat that was started last week. She has more of this yarn left over which we think is baby alpaca because of the soft feel and halo features of the yarn. And that's her Sophie Scarf which she finished last week. It's one of those easy, tv knitting projects that can be knitted to any length or width.

 

Barbara B finished her 1898 Hat.

Maureen started a blue 1898 and finished her purple hat which was 

started before she became a snowbird.

On my needles is the All Wound Up Beanie from Benjamin Matthews. I wasn't sure I liked this one when I first started it but the more I knitted the more I liked it. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient and wait for the design to develop.

Dorah jumped right into another 2x2 ribbed hat with more of that baby alpaca yarn.

Barbara K started another scrap happy hat with left overs so they won't go to waste.

Jan's Simple Sideways Triangle Scarf is a bit longer this week. She's been experimenting with knitting different edge stitches to find a finish she likes. She decided on slipping the last two stitches purlwise with the yarn held in front and then knitting those two stitches on the next row. It makes a narrow I-cord for a smooth border.

Barbara B is working the cuff of her Beacon Hat: Worsted. This pattern is a good choice for a gender neutral hat. I always feel drawn to feminine designs and find it difficult to feel inspired to knit men's items. This will make it easier to feel inspired.

Carole makes good use of her magnifying light while she knits her cowl of her own design.

Tina didn't want me to take a picture of her hat because she hadn't made much progress. But I feel it's important to emphasize that what we do doesn't magically happen overnight! My Chicks devote a good portion of their time to helping others through their knitting skills.

Nancy started the Dupont Street Hat that is comprised of a slipped stitch/mosaic design element which presents a brick pattern.

Margaret finished the portion of her 1898 Hat that covers the ears. 

She'll be picking up stitches to finish the crown next.

As soon as the ladies went home I ran to grab the covers for the velvet chair seats but "someone" was too quick for me. What is the fascination with sitting on these chairs? I think he likes to hide under the tablecloth. He's less of a cat that likes heights and more of a mole who likes to hide under ground.

I get it though. There are days when all I want to do is hide under the covers too. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!