The sun is bright but the temps are cold

Carole, Margaret, Dorah, and I stayed inside where it was warm and cozy.

Barbara B. couldn't join us today but she sent a picture of her finished 1898 hat which she fancied up with a Latvian Braid embellishment. We were all duly impressed!

                                          

Carole dropped off two finished hats for the inventory. This one is called Beloved.

And this one is called Squarshy. The yarn is from donated stash which grows when no one is looking. It's a Berroco yarn called Jasper and when Beth Mashmann was still in our group we thought she had used up every inch of it. Lo and behold! Didn't I find some more hidden in the bottom of the bin. LOL!

Margaret finished the set she's been knitting. The hat is Orchid Mantis and she used the design feature to make a pair of matching fingerless mitts.

Carole has yet another skein of Jasper to make this Rafa's Hat.

Margaret was showing us her Ann Budd pattern book which gives directions for multiple patterns in various weights of yarn and in various sizes so you can adapt a pattern to the yarn you  

have in your stash.

This is a great book to add to your home library.

As you can see, it easily displays all the information you need for the size and yarn you'll be using.

She chose a tam style hat which she said she hasn't ever made before. When it's time to block the hat, you need to put a flat dish inside the hat to keep it flat as it dries.

I had some mint green Plymouth Encore left from a previous project so I decided to make a child's size hat using the tubular cast on method.

I followed a YouTube video which casts on stitches without having to use waste yarn. I am pretty pleased with the neat edge it creates.

Part way through the afternoon Carole got tired of knitting the Jasper hat and pulled out these lovely skeins of Jamieson's Shetland yarn to make a Helix Hat. 

Carole and I are two of a kind. We have to have more than one project on needles for when we get bored with one, we can move to another. Personally, I think it's more like 10 for me!

But hey! It keeps my needles clicking!

The rain didn't touch us...

Although we could feel a breeze and a bit of a drizzle when the wind blew in the right direction. It was a welcome relief from the heat today. We spent the first half hour catching up with Dorah who just returned from a hiking tour of the Canadian Rockies around Banff. It sounded like a magical vacation with beautiful scenery everywhere she looked.

Barbara K. added quite a few inches to her Mistake Rib Hat and she gave me a completed Beloved Hat which you'll see a bit later.

Dorah added length to her Close to You Shawl. This will be quite large since she had a sizable skein of yarn from which she is knitting.

She brought her Bella Shawl to show us her progress. The little bit of lace at every sawtooth edge is a nice touch!

Barbara B. is well into the darker blue of her baby blanket. It makes a nice transition from one color to the next.

Carole was bored with her project and felt inspired to make two at a time mittens from the TinCanKnits pattern for easy mittens.

I thought my Easy Shawl would have been finished by now but I forgot how slow-going it is. Each row gets longer than the last and I still have over a dozen stitches to pick up in short rows to complete it.

Jan A. worked a cable pattern without a cable needle to make this hat.

It's called the Sweetie Pie Hat and it's free on Ravelry.

Maureen's cowl looks so warm and cozy. The yarn makes for a quick knit, if you have the time, "If you have the time" being the operative words. ;)

Jan A. turned in the Easy Scarf for inventory. Her choice of yarn was perfect for this pattern.

And here is Barbara K.'s Beloved Hat I mentioned earlier. The crown decreases lined up beautifully to make a four point top.

The seed stitch was a challenge to some of us when it came to the decreasing portion but Barbara knitted it beautifully.

 I am determined to finish my Easy Scarf so I'll end here and wish you a great week and remind you to Keep those needles clicking!

Some FOs and WIPs

Jan A. brought a bunch of FOs this week. She started Show and Tell with this scrappy scarf. Love it!!!

She used Caron Simply Soft for this Basket Weave Cowl. It's a soft acrylic that shows great stitch definition.

Another cowl with pretty sage green yarn.

And two hats and a scarf. Love that touch of rose on the edging!

I was inspired by Dorah's Helix knitting last week so I dove into the stash for leftovers and come out with two hats!

Jan continues to work on her Exordium shawl. 

Barbara K. finished the ribbing on her Beloved Hat.

We had a good laugh as I approached Liz because she exclaimed, "Don't Ask!" when I saw her project. She ran out of yarn (how does that happen?:) ) and had only white cotton so she started a diagonal baby blanket.

Barbara B. finished one shortie sock and is making progress on the second. I think she said the yarn is from Knit Picks and is called Gumball.

I enjoyed making Easy scarf so I started a second. I forgot how long it seems to take until you get to the halfway point.

And this is Maureen's version of her Easy scarf. Beautiful blues and greens.

Well, my grands and the bridal couple just arrived to complete the plans for their wedding on Thursday. I'll be busy teaching the boys how to knit once things quiet down around here. Enjoy your week and keep those needles clicking!

 

It's a hot one today!

It was a day to put up the drapes to keep the sun off us while we knitted.

And we had a full house today too!

Bless Carole for being a good sport and model the hat she made for our inventory. It's the Mistake Stitch Hat which makes a warm, thermal fabric for keeping warm.

She made The Shift Cowl for herself. 

The hardest part is choosing compatible yarns and she was very successful with her choices. Beautiful!

Dorah and Carole contributed to the inventory with hats and cowls. Lovely work ladies!

Liz added a baby hat and a Mistake Stitch Scarf as well.

She's made good progress on her cowl and made the executive decision to continue to knit until she runs out of yarn. Then this can be pulled over the head for a hat too!

Barbara K. started the eyelash yarn portion of her golf club cover.

She'll be the talk of the golf course with her unique, cute covers!

Jan A. looked for a missing stitch and found it but then found an extra one as well. She decided to wait until she gets home to do a recount.

Carole found a pretty green yarn in her stash to make the Close to You shawl. A few of us have made this pattern and it's unanimously voted a favorite.

Janna started That Easy Guernsey Hat with a pretty purple yarn.

And Margaret chuckled because she seems no further along on her scarf. But she has a valid excuse...there's a wedding for her to plan and another upcoming one to attend so she has her hands full.

Dorah chose three pretty yarns to start a Helix Hat. She finished the green one which I showed earlier in this post.

Maureen had started the Easy Scarf with another yarn that wasn't to her liking so she went stash diving and found a perfect one for this pattern. Look at those vivid colors! 

Cinzia worked on her Basket Weave cowl using a variegated sock weight yarn which shows off the woven effect nicely.

And I'm making the same cowl with a bulky weight yarn and a more ombre colorway.

It's 90 degrees right now so I'm going to sit in front of the AC vent and try to remain cool. Until next week, keep those needles clicking.