Perfect weather for a deck day

It was a glorious mid 70's kind of day with no humidity, just perfect for an afternoon of knitting outside. You will see Jan, second in from the right, casting on for her project. She had to leave early so I didn't get a close up of her knitting.

Barbara B made Blueberry Boy Bait, aka blueberry coffee cake, for today's treat (shhh...don't tell anyone but I'm going to have another slice with a tall glass of ice cold milk😉). And if you look at the reflection of the sky in the glass table, you will see how nice a day it was.

I finished a Hitchhiker Scarf for myself these last few days. It was one of those projects that sat in my travel knitting bag so it probably took longer than it should have to knit. But it's done and waiting for me to decide if I should block it. It looks pretty good now but blocking would set the tension more evenly and I can pin the sawtooth edge for more precise points. Ok, so I guess I'll block it...sigh.

Last week at our anniversary dinner, Carole gifted the Chicks her handmade knitting project bags and said she would bring mine this week. Well, here it is with a nifty story to go with it. Carole is a big time quilter in addition to being a knitter. Along the way she became acquainted with a quilter on the west coast who gifted her this last of the line fabric covered in colorful balls of yarn. The fabric was handed off to quilters all across the country until it finally made its way to New York! So it's not just a project bag, it's a bit of traveling history! Thank you Carole! I know the project that I will tuck into this bag too.

This is the Zigzag Sophie Scarf (which is a variation of the Sophie Scarf) designed by Susen Mehralieva. That's the name I gave it but Susen calls it the Wavy Cable Rib Scarf. I watched the video and wrote up a pattern and have revised errors along the way but I think it still needs clarifying, according to...

Barbara B who was having trouble wrapping her head around the instructions. Until you understand the sequence of the progress of the stitches, it's probably best to knit alone without trying to participate in conversation. In other words, this is not a social knitting project until you understand the instructions.

But, with that said, Barbara was doing a great job in spite of her misgivings. It is probably best to use a heavier weight, solid color yarn when learning the pattern but some of us like a challenge.😉

Nancy just started a hat and I looked to my left to see...

Maureen starting a hat in the same color! I thought I was seeing double for a minute there. This is going to be the Celtic Feathers Hat for her granddaughter.

Carole added some rounds to her baby hat she's making for a friend who is expecting her first grandson in the family.

And Dorah is knitting the Workday Scarf for a family member. This is an easy to remember pattern that works well in a social setting. It also works well with any kind of yarn whether it's solid, tonal, or variegated, as seen here.

We've set up a date to bring the items to the Albany High School Falcon Boutique. So check back in a few weeks to see some pictures of our delivery. Until then, keep those needles clicking!

Knitting til the Cowls come home

Remember those buttons that took me 8 hours to felt? Well, here they are in place on the cowl. I'm happy that they turned out the way I pictured them. I would hate for all that time to be wasted, not to mention the amount of yarn it took to make them.

 And Margaret shared the pattern for the hat she deconstructed and wrote up so we could all make it. It took two days from start to finish for me to knit and I do love the stitch definition I got with this Debbie Bliss Rialto yarn. It's a superwashed merino and about as soft as a cloud.

 Barbara finished her Spiral Hat using Berroco Vintage, a great washable blend with some wool in it.

 Carole found an interesting slow color changing yarn in the stash and started the Totally Biased Cowl. It starts with a provisional cast on and is grafted together at the finish so you won't even see a seam. The pastels colors are really pretty too.

 She also started a project for herself using some Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors II sock yarn in the color Elderberry. It's the Hitchhiker scarf which for some reason I want to call Windbreaker. 

 Margaret and I started a cowl called The Cooler Side of Warm. She was making the Birthday Cowl but her yarn wasn't cooperating so she switched to this pattern and it's much happier.

I had a bit of a head start so I'm further along. I'm using more of the Debbie Bliss Rialto. I like the warm chocolate color.

                            

Barbara started the Present Cowl with a pretty teal yarn. And you can see part of her cowl which was inspired by Copenhagen Calling Cowl. She did a lovely job with her constrasting colors.

We're expecting anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow tomorrow so I'll have lots of time to knit. And heaven knows, I have plenty of projects to work on!

Baby, it's cold outside!

We Chicks have been working hard on warm items to donate to The Romero Oncology Office in Latham, NY. Up first, Barbara made a lovely gradient hat and scarf set. The denim colors will be perfect for casual wear with jeans! Her Mistake Stitch Scarf took up so much yarn she had to hold her breath right to the last bound off stitch! She was left with only a few inches of yarn. I love when it works out to the very end!

 She also finished a darling confetti colored cowl that is sure to lift someone's spirits. She couldn't find the ball band so we don't know what the fiber is but it sure is soft!

 Barbara's next hat is from the One Skein Wonders book.

 She started it today and is already a good way through the lace band. It's really a two in one pattern. You can knit the band only and make it an earwarmer or continue up the crown and make it a hat.

 Elaine finished her scrunchy hat and had enough yarn left to start...

 another hat. This too, is a very soft fiber.

 I started the Cushy Cowl two days ago and finished it up today.

 It used to be a free pattern on Ravelry but it was deleted by accident. So here it is if you'd like to make it.

104 yds Chunky yarn 

Size 10.5 circular needle, 16” long 

Cast on 68 sts (76). Place marker for beginning of round and join without twisting. 

Rnds 1-2: *K1,P1* repeat between * to end of round 

Rnds 3-4: *P1, K3* rpt between * to end of round 

Rnds 5-6: *K1,P1* rpt between * to end of round 

Rnds 7-8: *K2, P1, K1* rpt between * to end of round

Work pattern 5X (40 rounds)

Bind off loosely.

 Maureen picked up this yarn from my stash on Saturday and has already knitted so much. The pattern is really nice but do you think I could remember it? If you think back to last week, she was making the cheerful yellow scarf but when she thought about it, she knew she could never finish it before her busy season took over at work. So she looked up this hat and VOILA! She's almost done!

 Carole's hat has grown many inches since she started it last week. But she was getting bored going around, and around, and around so....

 She picked up her Hitchhiker scarf. It's going to be nice and long considering how much yarn is left in the skein.

 The Birthday Cowl I showed you last week is done and blocked. This is Paton's Classic Wool Tweed and I like how it turned out. It's gender neutral and the yarn blocks beautifully.

 I found this hat pattern during one of my surfing expeditions. It was a good mindless knitting project. The cuff is double thickness so it is nice and warm. The yarn is from Berroco called Comfort. It's a nylon/acrylic blend which is very soft next to the skin and machine washable too.

My weather app says it feels like 23 degrees outside tonight so I think I'll make a nice warm cup of tea and cuddle into a warm blanket. Have a great week!

Christmas is 5 days away!

Some of us are making the last ditch effort to finish Christmas gifts in time so we didn't all knit donation items today. Barbara found a yarn called "Team Spirit" and is making a scarf for a family member whose favorite team is the Pittsburgh Steelers (at least I think that's what she said. I'm not a big sports fan). We all thought it was a bumble bee! LOL! Anyway, the yarn comes in slow color changes so you don't have to tie and knot new colors. It just happens, like magic!

 Debbie pulled up her sleeves and readied herself to dive into her hat pattern.

 There was a bit of tinking and slipping stitches but she's back on track and working along.

 Cinzia finished a slouchy hat which was inspired by the Spiral Hat pattern. The yarn has some angora in it so it's really soft.

 Then she pulled out the mermaid tail she's crocheting for a friend's daughter, which has to be done before Christmas. 

 The whole body of the tail is crocheted in Crocodile Stitch. It uses a BOATLOAD of yarn! But it's going to be epic! I wish I could see the expression on the little girl's face when she sees this on Christmas morning.

 Yes, we were a busy bunch today.

Tonight's group was just as busy once we were finished looking at photos of Beth's new grandson. Oh what a cutie pie! And his cheeks!!! Kissably cute is an understatement!

Carole picked up on her Minty Bricks with a lovely variegated blue fingering weight yarn.

And Beth worked on a Hitchhiker with an older edition of Periwinkle Sheep Rhinebeck color.

Dorah finished the first mitten with another Periwinkle Sheep yarn.

I might have to buy this pattern after seeing....

how cozy Beth's shawlette is.

Last week I told you about the shawl I wanted to make for myself to wear to a Christmas Eve party. Well, I'm about 1/3 of the way through and not sure it will be done in time. It has to have time to block too so it might become next year's shawl. As the Chicks reminded me, it's not like I don't have others to wear! LOL!

Since my shawl requires rigid concentration, I put it aside to work on a Miss Winkle that I started in October. The mohair blend yarn has a nice halo and fuzziness that softens it.

Cinzia's daughters made each of us a Christmas star for our decorations using an origami technique. They are such talented girls. So on that note...

Let me wish you all a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

See you next year!