Deck knitting

The cool breezes were a delight this afternoon as we chatted and knitted.

Jan A. brought us a few FO's the first being her Exordium Shawl made with sock weight yarns. She did a lovely job and her yarn colors coordinate so well.

She also completed three hats, a cowl, and a scarf. It's quite a nice collection which is sure to warm the hearts and bodies of their recipients.

Dorah decided she might actually wear her completed Bella Shawl since the vibrant colors will go with almost anything and look great with jeans.

Janna finished one Easy scarf and cast right on to start another. The colors look appropriate for the upcoming Halloween season too!

I'm still working on my Totally Biased inspired cowl using two silk blend yarns from the stash.

Barbara K. has knitted a good chunk of her Mistake Stitch Scarf which makes a thick, cushy fabric.

Maureen keeps plugging away on her cowl using a bulky weight yarn of many colors.

And Barbara B. is very near the end of her baby blanket of the softest cotton yarn.

Someone is getting courageous and venturing out to visit the Chicks.

He actually positioned himself under Barbara K.'s chair for most of the last hour of our meeting. 

Maybe he thinks someone will feed him!😃

I love this time of year when all the fiber festivals seem to announce the cooler weather is approaching.

This weekend September 24 and 25 is the annual Adirondack Fiber Festival which is held at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Greenwich, NY.  It's not as big as the NY Sheep and Wool held at Rhinebeck, NY each October but is just as nice IMHO. And if you turn left as you reach Route 29 to leave, you can stop for a delicious ice cream treat at the Ice Cream Man! I never miss a chance when I'm in the area. Maybe I'll see you there. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking!

 

The case of the missing stitch marker

Barbara B. was busily knitting along when she realized her stitch marker had gone missing. We were sitting around the dining room table so it couldn't have gone far. But there's a Persian style rug on the floor with a busy pattern so it was like trying to find a needle in the haystack. I knew as soon as she went home I'd find it. Sure enough! I was pushing the chairs under the table and there it was. It's the size of a tiny safety pin so it was well camouflaged.

Jan A. continues her work on the Exordium shawl and it's looking great! She thinks she found a missed yarnover because her eyelets didn't seem to line up evenly. But she'll be able to fix it when she has some quiet time.

Here is the blanket Barbara B. was working on when she lost the stitch marker. The subtle color changes look really nice.

Last week I said Barbara K. would probably have her Mistake Stitch hat finished and here it is! She has more yarn left over so she'll plan on making a matching scarf.

Janna reached the point where her Easy Scarf changes direction. She chose to use two very different yarns and I think it looks great! You can really see the direction of the knitting change at 

that sharp angle.

Dorah's Close to You shawl is getting longer too. This is a free pattern and is very easy to memorize.

This cowl is based on the Hepsi's Neckwarmer pattern. I had to change it up a bit to accomodate the weight yarn I am using but it's basically the same cowl. This is the last of the Arucania chunky wool which I used for a hat and mittens so I'll have a nice ensemble to donate.

Tomorrow night the Chicks and I will be celebrating our 17th anniversary with a big pot luck dinner. There will be pictures to post as soon as I get them organized. I'm looking forward to all the good food! In the meantime, 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.

 

Our Snowbird is back!

If you look at the second person in from the right you'll see Liz is back from her winter residence. She had a productive winter of knitting which I'll show you later in the post.

I'm on a roll with this basket weave pattern and will be finishing up this cowl in another day or so. This is yarn from my daughter who gave me her whole stash because she doesn't have time to knit and didn't want the beautiful yarns to go to waste. This is the last bit of this pretty pastel green.

Margaret is back from walking in the annual Freihofer's Run for Women which she walked with her 80 year old mother. She is back on track with the scarf she was knitting a while back.

                                           

Janna made some progress on her hat. You can see where she placed ring markers to bookmark the spots where she will be decreasing stitches to close the top of the hat.

Dorah's hat is almost to the same place where she'll be decreasing soon.

Carole started the Waffle Hat with a pretty blue yarn. This is the worsted weight yarn version but there is a pattern to make it with DK weight yarn too.

I think this is Liz's favorite pattern, The Mistake Stitch Scarf. It's a pattern which is easy to memorize and makes a thick, warm fabric.

Jan A. has come a long way on her Exordium Shawl. The neutral pallette is very calming.

As I promised earlier, this is what Liz completed over the winter while she soaked up the Florida sun. There's a cowl on the left, another Mistake Stitch Scarf at the bottom, a long triangular denim colored shawl, and some sweet baby items.

Last night I finished the second Heddle Shawl using more yarn from my daughter's gift of yarn. I am going to keep this one since I have a winter sweater which I think will go perfectly with it. I have plenty of yarn to make another when I feel inspired.

I had to make a trip to the Ocean State Job Lots store in Westgate Shopping Center in Albany and while there I saw they had those spongy, interlocking, floor mats which are perfect for blocking and pinning knits. So if you're in the market for blocking mats these were only $12.00 for a package. I forgot to see how many were in the package but I think it was at least 4 mats.

 A hummingbird visited the front bushes last week so it's time to get the feeders out of winter storage and put them out. I'm hoping my kitty will appreciate watching them from the kitchen window. I'm off to fill the feeders so until next week...keep those needles clicking!