Starting our KAL

If you look closely, right in the center, we had a visitor today. Elena Fasullo is Cinzia's daughter and she stopped by to say hello before she prepares to go off to law school. 

She has been stopping by to say hi since she was a little girl and even made it into a story that aired on WNYT when we Chicks celebrated our 10th anniversary. She spent the afternoon crocheting soap pouches with cotton yarn. The bar of soap is inserted into the pouch and then it serves as a washcloth. I can't believe she is off to law school soon! Best of luck Elena!

                                             

This is the KAL we are starting together. It's the Welter Hat which was inspired by...

 the hat that Carole brought to show us last week. She couldn't remember where she got the pattern or what the name was so I had to put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and do some investigating. At first I thought I would examine the hat and try to figure out how to knit the short rows and write up the pattern myself. But that soon turned out to be an exercise in futility. So for the third time, I searched Ravelry and narrowed down the parameters of the search further and lo and behold! The pattern showed up! I was so excited but it was short lived because it came from a book which was out of print.

I remembered that I could search sites for books out of print and HOORAY! I found a copy which arrived in the mail yesterday! I stayed up late last night figuring out the short rows on the ribbing portion so I could help everyone who wanted to participate in the KAL. 

I always say, I make all the mistakes first so you don't have to. 

It was a little fiddly and I decided to put locking stitch markers at every station where there was a wrap and turn. Nancy, Jan, and Margaret surrounded me so we could follow, step by step, each row.

Margaret worked on the twisted ribbing for the required 1 inch and then the "fun" began.

The instructions were a little muddy, written by someone who knows what she's talking about but maybe isn't the best at writing a clearly planned out pattern. There seemed to be a lot of looking back and forth across the page for clarity. 

Nancy's hat is almost the same color as Margaret's. 

Barbara B called me last night to get some help so she was a little further along but then we discovered that, because of that lack of clarity, she had knitted too many short rows and had to tink back. She's on the right track now.

Jan started it last night too but needed to go down in needle size so she started again this afternoon and was able to reach the short rows where she needed some hand holding to get going.

 That's what I'm here for!

Cinzia worked on the back portion of a sweet little dress she is knitting for our other group, The Delaware Avenue Stitch Angels.

Carole worked on the self patterning yarn baby sweater. She opted to work on something a little less stressful while looking on as we worked out the short rows situation.

We earned our break for some Sourdough Rhubarb Quick bread from the magic oven of Barbara B.

Barbara B thought the name of the designer of the Welter Hat sounded familiar so she searched her FOs on Ravelry and sure enough! She knitted the Ruckle Hat by Jennifer Dassau, the exact same designer!

Tina had a previous engagement today but she sent me a picture of her completed 1898 Hat

 and Totally Biased Cowl.  Both these patterns are free on Ravelry.

Well, I have to get back to my Welter Hat. I need to keep one step ahead of everyone else so if they have another question, I'll have an answer...I hope. 😉

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Too chilly for deck knitting

Boy! One week inside, one week outside, now we're back inside. Mother Nature can't make up her mind about the spring weather. I even had to pump the heat up from 64 degrees in the house because it was just a little too chilly to sit still for two hours. I will appreciate it though because I'm not a summer person, even though that's when I was born. I often say my perfect day would be bright sunshine, zero degrees in January, and bundled up in my finest hand knit woolens. It's my favorite season for walking.

Ok, now that you all know I'm crazy, let's get on with the knitting.

 Maureen knitted the Sunnyside sweater for a baby gift using a lovely, soft yarn from Wonderland Yarns called Mary Ann. It was labeled as machine washable but hand washing is recommended. It probably won't get soiled before the baby outgrows it anyway. The pattern includes two different versions, this one is a lacy insert and the other is a cable insert.

Her current WIP is the Close to You Shawl. If you remember last week, Maureen was knitting something else with this yarn. But it had other ideas and this seems to be a better pattern for it.

Barbara B finished the 1898  Hat using a self striping yarn that adds some pizazz to an otherwise quiet design. You can see here that the ear flap cuff is knitted in a different direction from the crown. The basic pattern is easy and lends itself to creative variations.

She already has a second one started in a nice neutral gray.

And Margaret started one too. Her decision to hold two different colored yarns together make for a nice new colorway. That's a good way to use up odds and ends of yarn too.

Tina started right in on a Totally Biased Cowl using yarn she purchased on last week's trip to the preview of WEBS tent sale in Northampton, Massachusetts. We all had better luck finding yarns we needed on this trip. Now I need a few more hours in the day to knit it all! 

Jan decided to stick with the black yarn on her Reverb Shawl. She wore her neck lamp today to make it easier on her eyes to see the stitches.

I have a couple of more inches to knit on my Braided Blue Headband which is a pattern I found on YouTube. This video is spoken in English so I didn't have to watch it a million times to figure out the pattern. As soon as I reach the required size, those short ends will be grafted together for a seamless join.

Our "Sourdough Queen" Barbara B brought sourdough lemon bars today. If I say they were delicious they must be because I'm not a big fan of lemon desserts. She won me over with these! She twisted my arm (yeah, right) to take a few for later. ;)

Well, I have a ton of knitting that needs to be finished so I'll wish you a great week ahead and

 keep those needles clicking!

Too cold for deck knitting

NOW the weather is too cold for deck knitting! It's a very windy 46 degrees out there so I opted to be cozy around the kitchen table. But if you look behind Barbara B and Maureen you can see my begonia thinks it is still summer. It's an explosion of bright red blossoms!

Barbara B's sourdough treat this week is a pleasantly spicy pumpkin bread, of which the texture and moisture are perfection!

Margaret is at the decreasing portion of her 1898 Hat. A little further on you'll see it completed.

Nancy had started the Foliage Hat last week but this acrylic/wool blend yarn had other plans. So it was frogged in favor of...

the Stretchy Swirl Beanie. She and I were lucky to get the pattern for free during an introductory offer but now it's a paid pattern.

Barbara B just started this scarf but had to write to the designer because she found an error in the pattern.

The designer got right on the case and updated the written pattern immediately. So if you search for the Stitch School Scarf now, it is correct.

I started my own version of an emotional support chicken which I designed using two knitted squares. If you'd like to knit one, follow these directions.

Used left over sock yarns, size 2 DP’s

CO 8 sts on 4 DP’s 

K 1 round 

Kfb of each st 

K1 round 

At each end of each needle kfb 

Alternate K a round with an increase round until desired size. Bind off. Knit two squares. Place wrong sides together and join 3 sides by sewing a seam or crochet together then add comb and beak and embroider eyes. Stuff then flatten tail end in opposite direction from the other 3 sides and seam shut.

crochet comb on top of head with SC, HDC, DC, HDC, SC, 3 times. 

beak is SC, DC, SC,then weave in ends

This one was made with 20 stitches on each one of the four needles for a total of 80 stitches around. She's just big enough to fit in the palm of a little one's hand.

Here is Margaret's 1898 Hat all ready to have the ends woven in and put into inventory.

Barbara K just started a striped hat with yarns that compliment each other beautifully. She plans on alternating two row bands of color to the top of the crown.

And Maureen's Totally Biased cowl has a new color added this week. I think her plan is to use up all the yarn so it will be long enough to wrap more than once around the neck. This is a good pattern for self striping yarns, gradients, or tonals.

You're all caught up for now. Be kind to yourself and others and have a great week. As always, keep those needles clicking!

The last fiber festival of the year and April Fool! Or should I say November Fool?

Dorah, Barbara B, and I attended the Fiber Festival of New England two days ago. This is our favorite since it is held indoors at the Mallory Complex of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA so we don't have to deal with bad weather or the huge crowds of the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. My favorite expression is from Yogi Berra who said, "It's so crowded that no one goes anymore." I know what he meant and I agree. The attendance at the New England festival is a decent size which allows you to get close to the fun without getting stepped on.

And while we were there we had to thank our fiber friends for their contribution to our obsession I mean, our hobby. I just love those cute alpaca faces!

Barbara B's homemade treat this week was this delicious Nutella Sourdough Star Bread. The bread is a brioche recipe with a hint of sweetness and a light, fluffy texture. You can find the technique for folding it on YouTube here.

The reason I said November Fool! was because last week I honestly thought we wouldn't be having deck knitting anymore this year. And yet, here we are with a 70 degree sunny day and lovely breezes.

It was so nice even Fozzie decided to come out and get a breath of fresh air. At least that's what I've decided. It could have been that he heard the word "food" and thought we had something for him.

I've reached the decreasing portion on the Look Out! Winter Hat so it won't be 

long now to the finish line.

I sent the Chicks the link to a free pattern I saw over the weekend and Nancy jumped right on it and started the Foliage hat. It was free for a limited time but now it's a paid pattern. She didn't have the appropriate yarn for it in her stash and HAD to buy some. She couldn't decide between two colors so she got both! That's what I would do! 😉

This is the yarn Barbara B bought at the festival on Sunday which was accompanied by the pattern for the Sunset Bridge Shawl.

 The pretty yarn colors are reminiscent of the desert of the American Southwest.

Dorah made progress on her Mistake Stitch Scarf and has more yarn to make another.

Maureen's Totally Biased Infinity Scarf will be knitted to twice this length so it can be wrapped twice around the neck.

 If I recall, the pattern explains how to knit this in any weight yarn and your desired width.

Jan started the Reverb Shawl with a pretty variegated yarn. It begins with a garter tab cast on to create a neat continuous garter edging along the neckline.

Dorah completed the tweed hat she has been knitting these past few weeks. The white yarn has a slightly tan variation to it that creates depth to the fabric colors.

I'm going to spend a little more time on the deck now before the sun goes down and it gets too chilly. Enjoy the week and keep those needles clicking!

It was a laugh riot today!

I don't know what was in the air today but the energy was electrifying with my Chicks today. Dorah's entrance set the mood and we laughed for two hours straight.

Nancy, Margaret, and Barbara K shared pictures of their grandchildren, two infants and a preteen in that order. We shared stories of when our own kids were little and the challenges and fun times we had with them and how satisfying it is to watch some of them raising littles of their own.

And of course I couldn't forget Barbara B's sourdough lemon loaf! 

Another successful delicious dessert she shared with us. 

Barbara also completed two more Look Out! Winter Hats. The yellow one is a bit smaller than...

the blue one. Or maybe it's just my imagination, but the blue hat was easier to stuff with the ball filler.

I completed one also but in the largest size, possibly for a mother from the group to whom we donate.

Dorah made progress on her Leftie Scarf which she is keeping for herself. She bought a kit which contains mini skeins of all the different colors of yarn she needs to complete the scarf. It's even prettier in person. Her donation project is further down the list.

Margaret got the hang of those dang yarnovers and is showing progress with her Twig Bonnet. She was concerned about the edge curling but a thorough blocking should help it to lay flat.

Nancy's Reverb Shawl has grown a lot since last week. I love, love, love the colors!

Barbara K has been having a busy summer traveling with family members and enjoying Lake George so she needed a project that would be easy enough to unwind. Enter "The Mistake Stitch Scarf", a perfect pattern for a relaxing project.

Here is Dorah's donation project I mentioned earlier. She is using two glitter sock weight yarns held together to knit a basic beanie. The little bit of sparkle adds some flare!

Janna finished four hats and has another in progress. She's cranking them out quickly!

Maureen has finally hit a new color in her skein of yarn for the Totally Biased Cowl.

Jan was fretting over the underarm of the Wee Bean cardigan she's knitting. She didn't like the holes that were forming from picking up stitches to knit the sleeve. We all reassured her that she can go back and duplicate stitch them closed and no one will be the wiser. ;)

Barbara B just started the worsted weight version of the  Hill 60 hat. It's a freebie on Ravelry and also has the same pattern in versions for other weights of yarn.

The Benevolent Overlord is beckoning me for a meal so until next week...

keep those needles clicking!