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!

We had a visitor today

Cinzia's daughter Elena spent some of her holiday break from college with us and brought her crochet along. That's Elena, third in from the left. 

She received a crochet pattern book for Christmas from her Dad and is trying out 

one of the patterns for a cowl. The book offers patterns written out and as graphs.

The stitches look great! 

Janna is making another That Easy Guernsey Hat using up what she hopes is the last of the pink superwash merino yarn. There were whole skeins donated to the group which someone must have planned to use for a larger garment so she has been able to make quite a few items with it.

I just started a hooded head covering which was listed as a helmet liner but it's really useful in any cold weather situation.

Dorah is more than halfway through her Close to You Shawl. She was working on something else but hit a snag along the way so it's in time out for now.

Carole lost her favorite winter hat so she made herself a new one.

It's called the Rhinelander Hat and she finished it in time to model it for us.

Margaret finished the Orchid Mantis Hat and used the chart for the Fair Isle portion to make matching fingerless mitts. One down...

One to go!

Cinzia started a Morton Cowl with a gradient fingering weight yarn paired with a bulky weight.

Here is Carole's finished Morton Cowl along with a hat she added to our inventory today.

And Dorah added a Helix Hat as well.

Our family celebrated Christmas this past weekend when everyone was available. I thought the table looked pretty with the red cloth and planned to leave it out for a bit. Unfortunately, SOMEONE had ideas of his own. He is usually really good about not getting on tables or counters but he loves a good tablecloth bed. 😸 It's a good thing I was planning on throwing it in the laundry anyway!

Time for me to get back to my projects. Have a good week and keep those needles clicking!

 

Our last meeting before Christmas and a field trip

The Chicks started the meeting by browsing through some pattern books that Cinzia brought for inspiration. They were all amigurumi animals and objects.

Cinzia chose for her first project a sweet little turtle.

When he is completed he will look something like this.

But Cinzia will embroider the facial features so there are no button hazards for little ones to swallow.

Margaret started a Fair Isle hat called Orchid Mantis, using two colors of DK weight yarn. You can find it on Ravelry as a paid pattern.

We were lucky and found it on the first day of issue when it was being offered for free.

Carole's Morton Cowl looks beautiful with the color changing yarn. 

Just a few inches more and she'll be finished.

Janna is using yarn which was recycled from a previously knitted garment so it's still a bit kinky. Once it takes a nice soak the fibers will relax and the tension will even out. 

The pattern is the Mistake Stitch Scarf.

I happened to come across a YouTube video which explained how to mimic an Italian tubular cast on without using a provisional cast on. It was very easy to execute and makes a stretchy, very nice edge, if I may say so myself.😄

I used it for the ribbed cuff of a Helix Hat to use up some small scraps of yarn. 

Cinzia finished her green hat for which she also used the above mentioned cast on technique.

And Janna's Fair Isle hat looks great! Such a nice color combo too.

Here is the sweater Margaret was able to finish when she found one lone skein of yarn in the same dye lot she needed to complete the sleeves and ribbing. It's the Flax sweater which is offered in multiple sizes on Ravelry.

Cinzia finished her Bella Scarf last week but had to bring it home for blocking.

 Now it's ready for the inventory.

Barbara B., Cinzia, Carole, and I went on a little excursion last Friday to the Hyde Collection  in Glens Falls, NY last Friday. The artwork that the Hydes collected is breathtaking in its variety and value.

We were especially interested in the temporary exhibit of antiques quilts.

Some were dated back to the 1860's! 

We were mesmerized by the intricacies of the stitch work, all done by hand!

The precision of the spacing of their stitches and patterns in days without computers and stencils and erasable pens was mind boggling! We kept marveling at the fact that the stitch length matched throughout the quilt even though it was probably quilted by many hands during a quilting bee.

And there were such different designs in the collection.

These quilts made by African-Americans which pre-dated the Civil War were lively and colorful in their fabric choices and layout compared to...

.

the somber beauty of this Amish quilt which is gorgeous in it's simplicity. It was a lovely exhibit which lasts through January 2, 2023. I would check with the museum to be sure of the dates.

 We Chicks send you best wishes of the holiday season and will return in the new year. 

Until then, keep those needles clicking!