The first "deck day" of the season!

The weather app said it was 79 degrees but the gentle breezes made for a lovely afternoon on the deck. That is until the next door neighbors' lawn care service revved up their engines and the wind chimes behind me decided to dance the tarantella! I put the chimes on the floor but I couldn't do anything about the mowers and blowers. It's uncanny how they always know when I've planned to be on the deck. Thankfully, I found a soothing station to play on Pandora to calm the atmosphere.

Today's treat from Barbara B was sourdough chocolate chip raspberry biscotti. You know how biscotti needs to be dunked in a cup of hot coffee or tea to soften them enough to not require a visit to the dentist? Well, maybe it was because these were sourdough based, but they were soft enough to eat even though they were double baked, as a biscotti should be. Really yummy!                                      

I'm still working on the cowl with the Turkish stitch from YouTube. This yarn is lovely to knit too. It's Valley Yarn Valley Superwash from WEBS. I hope when I go to the May sale they have more for my stash. It makes a lovely garment and is machine washable.

Cinzia crocheted a car seat baby blanket for our Friday group. We were laughing because Barbara, Cinzia, Tina, and I are in both the Chicks and The Delaware Avenue Stitch Angels and we have trouble remembering which group is knitting for what causes! I really should write it down in my notes.

Carole worked on the Man Hat Here pattern using a heavy weight, maybe bulky, yarn. Yes, I double checked and it calls for bulky weight yarn.

This is the public side of the hat. Very nice!

But the inside is just as nice! Maybe it could be reversible.

Nancy chose the Quick Ombre Hat for her project.

That blue yarn stands out nicely against the purple base.

Dorah loves knitting her Bias Scarf! She highly recommends it. It's a good pattern for those gradient yarns or the very busy short bursts of color yarns to show off the slant of the fabric. I can't find the pattern on Ravelry but just cast on enough stitches for the width you require then follow:

Row 1: K3, Kfb, k to last 5 sts, K2tog, K3

Row 2: K all sts

Make it as long as your heart desires. And if you feel really ambitious, you can use two yarns and stripe it, alternating colors and carrying the yarn up the right side edge.

Maureen's Bankhead hat looks glorious in this vivid red yarn! It is even more stunning in person.

Jan was inspired by Carole's and Dorah's Bias Scarf so she started one too. Pretty colors!!!

Barbara B bought some nice yarns on our last visit to WEBS and started an 1898 Hat. 

It looks cool with the variegated yarn!

Tina finished the Owlie Baby Sleep Sack and has started a hat to match. It will have the cute owls too.

Fozzie waited for everyone to leave and then he came out to join me on the deck. However, he's giving me the cold shoulder because I won't feed him. It's not like he hasn't already had 2 meals today!

He'll just have to wait until 5 o'clock like everybody else in the family. LOL!

I hope you're having a nice day where you are and you're able to keep those needles clicking!

FO's and WIP's abound

Topics of conversation were all over the place today. Babies, dentistry, health insurance were just a few of the discussions bouncing around the room. Eventually, we talked about what to make with the yarns from our trip to WEBS last week. They were spread across the table for inspiration.

One of the patterns we took into consideration was the Phazelia's Mitered Baby Sweater which I made 

in 2017. It looks best if knitted with a self striping yarn to highlight the angles of the rows. But we won't be making baby clothes until September. 

For now we are still knitting for The Falcon Boutique at Albany High School. Carole finished a Bias Scarf to use up the last of the James C. Brett Marble Chunky yarn. The pattern is only two rows and very easy to memorize. Choose your yarn and appropriate sized needle, cast on enough stitches to achieve your desired width, then every right side row, K1, knit into the front and back of the next stitch, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, K1. Wrong side rows are knit only across the whole row. Nothing could be easier! Just remember you won't see the shape until you're a good 3 or 4 inches in. Make sure your needle is a little larger gauge than what the label recommends so the resulting fabric is drapey.

She also completed a Squarshy Slouchy Hat. When a friend commented on how large it was, she explained it is for people with lots of hair to tuck in. The younger crowd likes this style and someone has already requested one from Carole.

Dorah completed her Helix Hat from last week. She has chosen more yarn for another already from the new yarns recently purchased.

Carole had another FO, the Royal Icing Headband which was part of our recent KAL.

Maureen finished her Olive You Baby Sweater for a friend's baby and found the cutest buttons!

She used a Malabrigo yarn, one of her favorites for it's colors and the lovely fabric it creates.

Dorah liked Carole's bias scarf so she immediately cast on to make one using...

a beautiful gradient yarn from Noro.

Tina is still working off that huge ball of yarn which seems not to have diminished in size at all.

She's knitting the Owlie Sleep Sack for our other knitter's group. I think Tina is one of those knitters who works on one project until it's finished. Gee! I wonder what that feels like. 😁

Margaret is in love with the single row, jogless technique for a helix striped hat.

Jan has a Helix Hat started on her needles too. It's such a fun pattern to make and uses scraps of yarn not otherwise in large enough quantities for a whole project.

Maureen had just enough of the Malabrigo yarn left over from the baby sweater to knit the Bankhead Beanie. It starts out with a twisted rib stitch for the cuff which gives it a unique look.

She finished last week's hat and started a cowl to match using the basic design from the Swirl Hat pattern for the body of the cowl.

Nancy started a Helix too! That gradient yarn is going to be a stunner!

Carole was going to knit a cowl but decided to go with 

Stephanie Pearl McPhee's One Row Handspun Scarf.

The yarn, she felt, was too scratchy for a cowl which might be worn against the skin. A scarf can be worn over the coat so it wouldn't matter as much.

I had some Valley Yarns Valley Superwash Sport in a pale blue. Having watched a YouTube video tutorial originating in Turkey for the stitch pattern, I was inspired to write up the project to knit a cowl.

Well, I'm going to start dinner, a cottage cheese and egg concoction that bakes in a souffle dish. I tried it a couple of weeks ago and liked it so tonight I'm going to put different additions in it. Gotta use up a fresh tomato before it goes bad. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

The weather is lovely today

It was so nice in fact, that we were talking about farm shares and visits to the farmers' markets for fresh veggies. The subject of how our own gardens would produce enough zucchini to supply a small village for a year led to Barbara B telling the story about never leaving your car unlocked at the office lot for fear someone would load unwanted zucchini into the back seat. She actually left some in a friend's car only to find out it wasn't actually the friend's car, it only looked similar! LOL!

Speaking of Barbara B, her baked treat this week was Honey Spiced Sourdough Bread with pecans. Yummy! That was another reason we were on the subject of zucchini and how it was the only way some of us were able to get vegetables into our children when they were little ones...until they discovered green stuff in their "cake". ;)

With all the talk about food, Fozzie thought he was getting some too. 

Sorry Fozz! Kitties can't have cake.

Dorah completed the LOSY Hat she has been working on these past few weeks. 

The colors are perfect together!

Barbara B finished a Look Out Winter! Hat with a nice self striping yarn to add interest.

She also completed a Cable All the Way Hat by Lisa Overby, with a lovely cable accent down one side.

I'm having a slump with my knitting so a simple 2x2 ribbed hat is all I can handle right now.

 Startitis will hit when the weather gets warmer.

Carole started a bias scarf but didn't like the narrow width so she frogged it and started over with a few more stitches for extra width.

The yarn is one of those that reproduces when no one is looking. But it's pretty so she doesn't mind.

Dorah is starting a Helix Hat with these three colors. We discussed her next project to use up some of the scraps of sock yarn she has so she might be making a Musselburgh Hat or Equinox Hat next.

Barbara B started a Mountain Snowcap Hat, a free pattern on Ravelry.

I think I'll go search through my stash to see if I get inspired to make something other than 2x2 ribbing. Or maybe I just need a nap. LOL! Anyway, have a great week and keep those needles clicking!