This week's culinary delight is...

Barbara B. made sourdough chocolate chip muffins for our snack this week. And yes! They were finger lickin' good! It's has reached the point where she is now taking requests. I think I heard someone throw out a suggestion for carrot cake for next week. LOL!

But we are here to knit after all so we had to wait until later in the session to get our fingers all chocolatey. 

Nancy mentioned to Janna that she had a pair of earrings that were designed after RBG's lace collar so she wore them today. They do look just like the Dissent Cowl!

Barbara B finished her Breathe and Hope Shawl in time to wear it today. She looks lovely with it.

Nancy collected some left over sock yarn to make a LOSY hat. The purple is beautifully highlighted by the Malabrigo earth colors.

Barbara's baby project is the sideways knitted Short Row Baby Hat.

She is using yarn which my daughter dyed using Kool Aid.

The fiber blend of wool and alpaca makes it nice and soft.

Annika was happy to start a scarf after all the Icelandic wool hats she had been knitting. The pattern is very similar to a feather and fan pattern.

Janna was coming down the home stretch on her Easy Scarf by Martina Behm. There were six more rows to be knitted before the bind off row.

She was worried that she would run out of yarn before finishing off the last stitch.

But the "Knitting Goddesses" had her back. She finished with almost 4 yards left over. If you ever find yourself with not enough yarn to finish the bind off row you can always use the yarnless bind off but it makes for a less elastic edge.

I am knitting the same Easy Scarf but with a lighter fingering weight yarn and smaller needle so it's taking me much longer to complete. Janna used a DK weight yarn and size 7 needle and I'm using a size 4 needle and twice as much yarn for a much longer scarf. At this rate I'm hoping to have it finished by next winter. ;)

If you are local to the Albany Capital District there is a brewery called Nine Pin Cider Works which holds a yarn swap on the third Thursday of the month. It is advertised as bring yarn you would like to give away and pick up new yarn to refresh your stash as long as you buy a cider. They even invite you to stay and work on your project if you want. This month only it is being held on the last Thursday so I'll be bringing my designated driver and some yarn. Maybe I'll see you there. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking.

 

You know that rule?

We knitters have an unwritten rule...we knit so we won't eat. Well, when Barbara B. aka the Queen of Sourdough, comes to our Tuesday get-togethers armed with her homemade goodies, we can't refuse! Look at those happy faces. 

This is why everyone is smiling! Barbara used some of the discard of the sourdough starter to make brownies. And boy! They were good! So we all had some nibbles and then got down to work.

Janna used Knit Picks Chroma fingering weight yarn to make this lacy scarf and brought it in to see if any of us remembered the name of the pattern. After some searching, she was able to find it to share with Annika so she could make one too.

Janna is smiling here because she has finally used up ALL of the pink, green, and blue yarns on the last Helix Hat in a long line of pink/green/blue hats.

She also completed her Dissent Cowl, a design to honor RBG.

Her newest project is the Easy Scarf from Martina Behm. Janna reminded me that this is the yarn she bought when we visited WEBS in 2018 and she's finally getting around to using it. Sometimes you have to wait for the yarn to speak to you so you know what it wants to become.

Barbara K. is loving this pleated scarf with the soft pastel yarn's lovely colors. The slow changing colors make a nice transition throughout the length of the fabric.

Carole's newest granddaughter, Ruby, has outgrown the first hat she knitted for her. So this will be the next size up for her.

Carole chose a Sirdar Baby Yarn in DK weight and a size 5 needle to make the self patterning cap with a rolled edge.

She finished it up before we were done for the day. The Simple Baby Hat is a freebie on Ravelry.

Earlier in the post you saw the Easy Scarf that Janna is starting and here is mine which I started over the weekend. My hubby and I had a lunch date on Saturday in Red Hook, NY and made our way home through Chatham where there just so happens to be a yarn shop called The Warm Ewe. I found this Lang Mille Fiori superwash merino in fingering weight and it called my name. By the way, lunch was fantastic at a Greek restaurant called Mazi. They just opened last year and I hope they are successful because I would love to go back and try many more of their menu options.

Annika finished the hat from last week and started what will be the last of the Icelandic Wool hats as she has reached the end of the stash.

Barbara B. is working on the Moose Balaclava, another free pattern on Ravelry. The original pattern calls for two weights of yarn held together to make the equivalent of a bulky weight but you are the master of your knitting so you can do whatever your little heart desires as long as it fits. ;)

Nancy's Dot Shawl by Casapinka is coming along beautifully. It uses fingering weight yarns and each dot looks like a bobble but is actually made by purling 2 stitches together so there's no annoying turning back and forth with each one.

You might remember Carole's Helix Hat from last week when she was worried she might run out of the green yarn before reaching the finish line. Well, I'm happy to report that because the rounds get smaller with each decreasing round, she was able to complete the hat with 10 inches of yarn to spare! 

Whew! That's cutting it close!

And you have seen Nancy's gossamer cowl in progress in the last few weeks. Today she wore it and it's gorgeous! The colors compliment her blouse perfectly!

We're going to spend a few more weeks knitting for ourselves and then it's back to knitting for a cause. The upcoming recipient will be the Alpha Pregnancy Center. We will be knitting for babies and their mommas so you'll be seeing wee little items in the coming months.

 Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

A good day for deck knitting

We were blessed with 75 degrees and a cooling breeze for our afternoon on the deck. Conversations included vacations with grandbabies and where to eat at the beach. Cape Cod and Bethany Beach in Delaware are two locations some of the ladies will be enjoying with family. 

Barbara B. completed the Bern Beanie the hat version of the mittens Bernie Sanders wore at the inauguration, using Lion Brand Heartland acrylic yarn. It is a very nice quality acrylic which has the look of alpaca with a slight halo and has lovely colors available.

I wrote up the pattern for the cowl from last week and as promised, here is the hat version. The pattern is currently being test knitted so some of the kinks can be worked out. Eventually, it will be available on Ravelry, no charge. The hat is the same cast on as the cowl but you just knit it to about 7 inches and then begin a stockinette stitch for the decreasing portion of the crown. I made this hat to be a slouchy style but it can be knitted shorter for a beanie style.

Dorah completed her Easy Scarf which is rich with autumn colors.

And is now making strides on her Changing Staircases shawl. She went stash diving to use up some of her sock yarns but doesn't recollect having bought this one. The colors are very American Southwest.

Margaret uses her Tuesday afternoons to catch up on her knitting because she is busy all week. Her basket weave hat is her own design.

Carole started test knitting my "In Threes Cowl" design I mentioned above and she's been a big help in clarifying some of the directions. I felt so relieved when she said she is enjoying making it!

Barbara B. just started a sweet little hat called Meta's Bonnet to go with...

A cute little cardigan that is knitted top down, no sewing seams!

Maureen's Close to You Shawl is getting longer too. It's a freebie on Ravelry.

Shhh! Don't tell anybody but I'm knitting a little shoulder shawl for myself called Carol's Clever Little Shawl. I liked the one I made for donation and have been looking for just a little something to cover my shoulders when I wear my summer sundresses. This fit the bill perfectly. I searched all over for a black yarn with a slight sheen and couldn't find anything in my local yarn shops. I try to support my local stores as much as possible but had no luck until I noticed a sale at WEBS in Northhampton, Massachusetts. This is a tencel and merino blend yarn with a smooth ply, totally what I was looking for!

And have you heard the saying that you knit black yarn only for people you like? Well, I must really like myself a LOT! This is a bit of a challenge but I have really good lighting and a white pillowcase on my lap to help reflect more light while I work on it. But I better get busy and finish it before summer is over! Have fun, until next week, keep those needles clicking!

 

The smoke is back and so is the humidity

The Canadian wildfire smoke is lingering in the air. That combined with the heat and humidity made it easy to stay inside to knit. Our conversation centered on grandchildren. Did you know we have three sets of fraternal twins among the grandchildren of the Chicks? Maureen has a boy and a girl, Carole and Jan each have boys. It was interesting to hear how the different ages handle conflict and comaraderie.

We also talked about each of us learning to knit and crochet. Barbara B. learned knitting and crochet at the age of 9 or 10 from a neighbor. Jan was 10 or 11 when her grandmother and mother taught her to knit. Carole was 9 or 10 when she learned to crochet and 11 when she learned knitting, taught by her mother. Maureen's neighbor taught her to crochet when she was about 7 but didn't learn to knit until as an adult when her mother-in-law taught her. Cinzia learned as a student in grade school in Italy when she was 6 or 7. And my grandmother taught me to crochet when I was about 7, a neighbor ( a sweet Norwegian lady) taught me how to knit slippers when I was about 12, and then my mother taught me more knitting skills by the time I reached high school. It's such a nice tradition to hand down to the next generations. I feel grateful to have learned by the side of family and friends.

On to our FO's! I finally finished Carol's Clever Little Shawl. It took me a few days short of 3 weeks but it felt like forever.

I used an oatmeal colored Plymouth Encore and steam blocked it to open up the lace stitches. I like it so much I might have to make one for myself in a summer weight fiber to wear with my sundresses.

Carole finished her Raven Beanie. She fiddled with the pattern so she could use a heavier weight yarn than what the pattern recommended.

And Jan finished her Swirl Hat in worsted weight yarn.

Barbara B. completed the Pussyhat in the round in 4 gauges. She liked this pattern because it didn't require some of the sewing techniques that others of the same design needed.

Maureen brought us her finished Bewind Hat. I think all these hat patterns are free on Ravelry.

Carole modeled the Hot Springs Willow Hat that Barbara B. made.

This is a paid pattern on Ravelry. Look at the beautiful design the stitches make!

Cinzia knitted the last few rows on her Saurey lace baby blanket which is a Berroco pattern and will steam block it to open those lace stitches. She was pretty sure the yarn is acrylic so we did a little experiment and set fire to a scrap of it and sure enough! It melted so it's plastic! If it was wool it would put itself out and smell like burning hair.

Jan did a lot of knitting on her Easy Scarf and is not far from the end.

Maureen is making a baby gift for a friend's granddaughter on the way. It's a kimono style sweater called Olive You Baby with a neat detail and asymmetrical front closing.

Barbara B. started the Seven of Hearts Beanie using a pretty cornflower blue yarn.

I was feeling creative after watching a YouTube video presented by a Turkish knitter. So I'm in the experimental stage of making a cowl. I suspect I might have some tinking or frogging to do as I work out the kinks. If it turns out the way I see it in my mind's eye, I'll post the pattern.

I'm expecting my personal IT technician (my son) any minute to help with some email questions so I'll leave off here. Hope it's cool where you are and keep those needles clicking!