Great minds think alike

Dorah and I must have been on the same wavelength today since we both chose tie-dyed shirts and are using our matching project bags that I made. Great minds...

Dorah added the new color to her color blocked hat and a short time later...

She added color number three. This was the project she wanted to make to learn how to knit

 jogless stripes. Looking good!

Janna was telling the Chicks about the technique she had to learn for her Yara Shawl.

Some of the striped areas are knitted flat on a circular needle so she could slide the work to the opposite end and knit the same row with another color from the reversed direction to make a "broken" effect in the stitch pattern. It sounds more complicated than it is and creates a lovely pattern.

This is the free sock pattern Barbara B. is using for a pair of baby socks to go with the hat and cardigan she is making for her daughter's friend.

It's such a sweet set and she's doing a fine job making it.

Barbara K.'s Ex's and O's Hat is coming along nicely. We are all so proud of Barbara for her very first try at following a knitting chart to create the x and o pattern.

Another patterned knit is Janna's Arona Cowl, knitted in mosaic technique. This pattern is written out as opposed to following a graph chart.

Cinzia started this t-shirt last week on circular needles but switched over to her long straight needles so she could knit more comfortably. She holds the needle under one arm to stabilize it and then she can knit faster. This was the way my grandmother taught me to knit when I was in grade school. Over time I decided to learn continental style to take the strain off my neck and shoulders. I guess I wasn't a relaxed knitter since Cinzia doesn't seem to have any problem with this method.

Carole's Easy Scarf is slowly nearing the end. The change in the colors midstream make a lovely definition to the directional change in the knitting.

Maureen is using an app on her i-Pad called Knit Companion. It gives the knitter the ability to highlight the row of knitting without having to use sticky notes on a paper pattern.

Her Step Zeppelin Cowl is coming along nicely.

Everyone made progress this week except me! This is the result of two hours of knitting. One-hundred-fifteen stitches and five rows in, my stitch count was wrong and it was a pattern I couldn't fudge. We all agreed the yarn didn't want to be the cowl I had chosen to knit.

But all was not lost. I finished this cowl, "Just Keep Swimming", last night and steam blocked it just before the Chicks arrived today.

Carole attended a sewing retreat last weekend to make this gorgeous project bag. The fabric has the names of some of the places she's visited over the years but because of the layout she couldn't fit "Paris" on the outside. So it became a pocket inside! My Chicks are such multi-talented people!

Well, I'm going on a hunt for a different pattern and maybe even a different yarn to start a new project. Wish me luck and keep those needles clicking!