Look who's visiting!

If you look closely to the left side of the table you will see, sitting between Dorah and Maureen, Beth! She traveled up from North Carolina to visit and squeezed in some time to stop and knit with us. Beth was one of my Chicks when we still had two groups, one in the afternoon for the retirees and one in the evening for those who envied the rest of us in our retirement. LOL! No, really, there were knitters who were still among the working outside the home world and so it was appropriate to split the time between them. I must admit though, it's nice that we can all meet at the same time now.

We had a lot of news to catch up so it was nice to have a relaxing afternoon visit.

Beth did not come empty handed. She was showing Dorah her current sock project, Mermaid Tail Socks, which had a pretty textured stitch.

The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry.

And she made a pair of socks to donate to our inventory called Basic B Socks. The self striping yarn adds some pizazz to a basic shortie sock. I couldn't find a link for you but there are many patterns available on Ravelry. Thanks for the donation!

She is also working on a Flax Sweater for one of her grandsons.This is a freebie on Ravelry and comes in a range of sizes from infant to adult.

Nancy finished her River Rush Slouch Hat and...

has already started a second one. 

She said it's a pretty easy pattern to follow since she can knit while we talk.

I have reached the portion of the Climber Crest Cap where I start decreasing to close the crown of the hat. This pattern is a very simple 4 round repeat, again, good social knitting work. I must warn you though. I found a typographical error in the written version which I addressed in an email to the designer. But she has not issued any updates to correct the problem. The error is Rnd 1 in the main section. In the repeat section between the *, the repeat ends with a K1 but it should read P1. The chart however is correct.

Dorah's basic beanie is coming along nicely. She combined two solid yarns to create a great tweed look.

Margaret started the 1898 Hat but the yarn is not cooperating and might require tossing. She said she found it in a donation stash so she doesn't know how old it is. But every now and then some of the plies are broken which needs to be cut away and reattached and it must have a high percentage of cotton fiber because it has no elasticity AT ALL. I reminded her that if it isn't fun, don't do it! She might be frogging this and throwing the yarn in the trash. 

Maureen's Sunnyside Sweater has grown and is showing off those beautiful colors! 

What a pretty gradient!!!

Jan made progress on her Reverb Shawl. I love the color palette she has chosen. The contrast between the colors will show off the pattern nicely.

And Fozzie had to put in an appearance. He was checking out Dorah's knitting bag because he could probably detect the scent of her kitty, Lorna Doone. He usually hangs around Dorah because she knows where I keep the "cookies" he likes. She is Fozzie's best friend on Tuesday afternoons. But then he's very fickle. If you have food for him, you'll be his best friend until you run out. LOL!

The past few days felt like fall with rain and wind but today the sun is out and the temps are supposed to get a bit warmer again. I'm not too concerned as long as I can get out for a walk. Speaking of, I'm going to go for a quick round before it's time to prepare dinner. 

So until next week, keep those needles clicking!

Small but mighty group!

Everyone looks so serious as we discussed the aftermath of storms in the south and another Hurricane Milton bearing down soon. A local nursery business, Seven Zocks, is pairing up with a nearby restaurant, Romo's Pizza, to collect items to fill a rented truck 

and drive it down to the survivors of Hurricane Helene. 

We each will be shopping for necessities to donate along with our prayers for those affected.

Nancy completed a lovely scarf with matching beanie called A Cabling We Will Go.

                                          

She also completed this the Grace Gardens Cap which is a purchased pattern on Ravelry.

Dorah finished a hat using a brightly colored variegated yarn that makes the cap look like a Helix Hat.

Her current project is a Helix Hat which before she went home...

she completed the knitting and wove in all the ends.

She immediately cast on for another cap using two complimentary skeins of yarn to bust through her stash more quickly. She learned a trick for making sure the stitches don't get twisted when knitting that first round of a circular project. Just knit the first row flat and join on the second round, using the tail end of the yarn to sew up the little space that's created when switching from flat knitting to in-the-round.

My needles are working with the Willow Oak Toque, another purchased pattern on Ravelry. I was fortunate to have found this pattern on opening day when it was offered for free for a limited time. The pattern offers three different options for knitting the cuff, extra long and folded, single brim, or provisional cast on with stitches knitted together with the live stitches to mimic the Italian tubular cast on. I chose the tubular which was fiddly but it makes a nice warm fabric for over the ears.

Barbara K completed one Upward Bound Beanie and has started a second one. 

The fuschia yarn is a stunning color! The stitch definition on Barbara's knitting is perfect for highlighting the design of the hat.

Jan started the Reverb Shawl after admiring the one Nancy made for herself. This is a good social knitting and TV knitting project which allows the knitter to participate in conversation without making mistakes.

This is Nancy's River Rush Slouch, another freebie on Ravelry. The denim color makes this a good gender neutral hat.

Maureen is making slow but steady progress on her Sunnyside Cardigan, a gift for a friend. The free pattern offers two options for the details on the buttonbands and along the raglan shoulder line.

Well, I need to put dinner in the oven soon and the prep takes time so

 I'll wish you a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Deck Knitting Kind of Day

With 70 degrees and light breezes I couldn't pass up the opportunity to sit outside. Thankfully, I have drapes I made for when the sun is too overpowering for those who sit on the south side of the deck. But we weren't complaining! 

This is what was left of the delicious cinnamon sourdough coffee cake from the magic kitchen of Barbara B.

Carole made a sweet mini Soldiers Hat for a family member and is keeping her fingers crossed that it's a boy. But since the color is almost turquoise, I think it can be appropriate for a girl too.

She also completed the self-striping yarn hat from last week. I can picture the cherubic face of a newborn peeking out from under the brim.

Her current project is a simple cowl using the bulky weight yarn Dorah donated to her last week. She is keeping it simple for TV and conversational knitting so it started with a ribbed border, stockinette body, and she will finish it off with another ribbed border.

Janna's 1898 Hat is nearing completion. She adjusted the size to fit a child.

Margaret started the decreasing portion of her Easy Ombre Slouch Hat and learned a different way to make a double decrease.

Maureen started another Sunnyside with the lace option for her friend's grandbaby.

Barbara B is almost half finished with her Stair Climber Hat in a soft cocoa brown.

And Barbara K just started the Upward Bound Beanie in a nice neutral gray. You can almost see the start of the traveling cables near the needle.

This hat is the Willow Oak Toque which starts with a provisional cast on to make a folded brim. After I knit 4 inches of 2X2 ribbing, I will fold the cast on round inward and knit each stitch together with a live stitch on the needle, creating the look of the Italian tubular cast on without all the fiddly parts.

There's a hungry kitty bumping my elbow so I guess it's time to remind you to have a great week and keep those needles clicking!