It feels like summer

We can't even call it Indian Summer yet because we haven't had the first frost but it is HOT today! I'm so grateful to have AC so I can breathe in comfort. Imagine what it would be like knitting winter clothes with wool if there wasn't central air!

Carole's twin grandsons started preschool. One of them is very unhappy that he has to go everyday but luckily he has a loving brother who is there to console him. One of Jan's grandsons said he's starting preschool too and when asked what is preschool, his answer was "Professional School". 

I love kids and their quick thinking!

Dorah finished and blocked the Prime Numbers Shawl which makes a nice medium size triangle. 

 

The sections are knitted in rows of prime numbers which are separated by a garter ridge of contrasting color surrounding an eyelet row. It's good TV knitting and works up quickly.

Carole finished her Hot Springs Willow Hat which has those great cables running up the hat. She said it's not hard unless you're trying to watch the US Open while knitting. 😉

Barbara B. added a basic striped beanie that used a self striping yarn so there are no ends to weave in when you're done.

Last week she invited me to watch her dye yarn for the first time using Wilton Icing Dyes. That yummy yellow at the top is the result of submerging the hank of yarn in a pot of dye. She had the variegated yarn in her stash so she decided to use the yellow to make the heels and cuffs to compliment the patterned yarn.

This is the end result of the other yarns she dyed using a different technique. This yarn was dyed using a low immersion, I think that's what it's called, where the prepared wet yarn is placed in a shallow pan and the dyes are applied in certain spots to get a more variegated effect. It looked like she was having so much fun that I bought some icing dye and will give it a try myself.

But for now I'm working on my own version of the Musselburgh Hat. I am using a slightly different increase method than the original pattern and decided to have fun with three different sock yarns to make it a Helix Hat. The first hat is knitted from the top down and all the way through to the decreasing portion of the second hat, finished off, and then one hat is pushed up inside the other to form a double thick hat. It can have a slouchy look without a brim or fold up the cuff to make a fitted hat. It's totally reversible and you can have fun using solid yarn on one side and variegated on the other. 

I'm almost at the halfway mark.

I picked out three totally random yarns and they are playing so nicely together!

Dorah is making a cozy triangular shawl using a gradient yarn of a steely blue/gray color.

This is Carole's Musselburgh variation at the very start of the top of the crown which is the increasing section. She is going to knit about two inches of increasing stitches to give herself enough fabric to get past the fiddly part of the magic loop.

This is the yarn with long color changes. Soon she will add two other yarns and

 incorporate the Helix technique.

Jan's Sleeping with the Zucchini Shawl is slowly growing. It's going to be so pretty! The final band of knitting will be a pretty lace edging.

That's all for now. I hope you are staying cool this week. And as always, keep those needles clicking!