We all made hats!

 The frigid temps kept a few of the Chicks at home but they said they would knit and think of us. I don't blame them for not wanting to expose themselves to the cold. We reached a high of 16 degrees and it feels like 11 degrees! 

I'll start today with some FOs. I made a quick project for myself using a strand of merino wool and a strand of mohair to knit the Sophie Scarf. It was a test to see if I like the two yarns together and I do! So I'll make another for donation.

Margaret completed those convertible fingerless mitts which she thought would run out of yarn before they were finished but as you can see, she had more than enough and even has some scraps left over.

Tina added a chemo cap in a very soft gray.

I finished a Norwegian Gnome hat. It was based on a traditional pattern which I modified to make a folded brim. I used Plymouth Encore in worsted weight with a size 7 needle.

Barbara B made one also using a cloud soft sock weight that has a little sparkle to it.

She also finished a Ribbons of Hope chemo cap.

 

Now for the WIPs. I've started the Crosscut Beanie by Benjamin Matthews. As soon as I saw he was the designer, I grabbed the pattern. It doesn't look like much yet so stay tuned for next week when I hope to have it finished.

Nancy used a pretty pink bamboo yarn to make a chemo cap called...

Truffle. It has an easy pretend cable stitch that makes up the delicate lacy look. And it's a freebie on Ravelry.

Maureen's hat is called Odessa. It calls for bead work but she has opted to leave out the beads to make it more comfortable to wear. 

Tina started the Grace Gardens Cap designed by Shelby Nichols, another talented hat designer.

Tina chose this softly marled yarn in hopes the cables will show up nicely.

Barbara B is also at the very beginning of her Photographer Hat. It's a cute slouchy hat that is non gender specific. It takes less than 200 yards of worsted weight yarn and is a good mindless project for tv knitting.

She brought BROOKIES!!! These combo cookie/brownies were chocolaty delicious! 

{{{{Shhh...Don't tell anyone but I had two!!!}}}}

I almost forgot to show you the adorable vehicles blanket Maureen made for a baby gift. She said it needed a thorough blocking to highlight the design. Great job Maureen!

Now I need to get back to my knitting so stay warm and keep those needles clicking!

A tableful of knitters

We had almost a full house of 9 Chicks today. Somehow we started reminiscing about schooldays and mean nuns in Catholic school and the teachers who were on the verge of nervous breakdowns because the kids in the class who were undiagnosed with ADHD would drive them bonkers. I began to name the "trouble makers" in my fourth grade class who would push poor, old Mrs. Kelly to her breaking point and Dorah was impressed I knew their names from 1958! Just don't ask me what I ate for breakfast! 😉 

Speaking of eating, Barbara B made sourdough chocolate-chocolate chip brownies for today's treat.

I was so busy knitting, I forgot to eat one so when the house was quiet, I poured myself a glass of eggnog and savored a yummy brownie. Soooo Good!!!

 Last week Dorah mentioned that one of her cowls she made a few years ago was coming apart, would I be able to fix it for her. This is The Shift which was a very popular Andrea Mowry pattern from 2018. For some unknown reason it had come apart right where the back seam is sewn. Some of the stitches were unraveling and we needed to catch it before it was completely ruined. Luckily, Dorah left a long tail from the end of a row which, after I caught the stitches with a crochet hook, I was able to anchor and knot using that strand of yarn. Saved just in the nick of time!

Dorah is working her second sock using the Knitting Pure and Simple pattern for a basic, vanilla sock. It is a well written pattern and makes a nice sturdy sock.

                                         

Nancy wore her Floatini today. The designer is very creative with her short row designs and Nancy loves knitting patterns which include short rows. Beautiful!

She is currently working on the Moss Hill Beanie which starts with a long cuff that folds up to make a warm, double thick brim. 

This hat is another pattern from our favorite hat designer, Benjamin Matthews.

Tina is working on a scarf using the honeycomb stitch. I didn't get a photo of the ball of yarn from which she is working but I have a hunch she could knit scarves for a small village and still have yarn left over.😂

Barbara B is making a DK weight, single stripe helix hat using the technique for jogless stripes from Grace O'Neill on YouTube. She is using another technique for the provisional cast on which uses a barber cord so she can fold the fabric to the inside and knit the provisional stitches together with the live stitches on the needle to create a double thick cuff.

Jan is working on the Be Simple Variations Shawl. 

She saw puffins on vacation and brought back souvenir yarn dyed the colors of the birds. 

It's going to be so pretty!

Maureen is working the ear flaps and cuff of the 1898 Hat and is planning on making stripes for the crown portion of the hat.

Do you remember the fingerless mitts with caps that Margaret was knitting last week? She was afraid she would run out of yarn before she could finish the second mitt so I suggested she stop knitting the first one and knit the second mitt to the same point as the first so she would have an idea of how far she could knit with each color. You can see on the right mitt that she has picked up stitches to knit the removable top.

She is working on a hat which requires less attention paid to it. Some projects lend themselves more to social knitting than others.

Carole has the last of the James C. Brett Marble yarn and is making a Mistake Stitch Scarf.

She has a neck lamp with an integrated magnifying glass to make knitting easier on her eyes. We all have noticed that we require better lighting when we knit than we used to. 

I found some bright red yarn in the stash with no label and started the Fifi Cowl for a donation project. The pattern is very easily memorized and works up quickly. The white yarn on the edge is my provisional cast on because I was too lazy to use the barber cord. LOL!

Now that the sun is setting, my hands and feet are feeling cold so I'm going to make a cup of tea and start cooking dinner. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Back in the saddle again!

The Chicks are back from our holiday break and working diligently on our projects. We were all so serious until...

Barbara B brought out the sourdough chocolate chunk cookies!

They were delicious and put a big smile on our faces!

Barbara B was busy during our break and knitted up a storm of goodies. This is her Fifi Cowl which is knitted lengthwise, flat, with reversible cables and then the short ends are either seamed or finished with a 3 needle bind off to create a mobius effect so there is no wrong side to the fabric.

Even though it's red, this is the White Frost Hat she knitted with beautiful stitch definition. She made four more hats which I was very careful to get the names of the patterns. Unfortunately, I was distracted and forgot to take pictures of them. 😖

This lovely yarn is currently on her needles to create the...

Y.A.S. Hat which starts at the top of the crown with a pinhole cast on similar to the start of the Mussleburgh Hat but this is a single layer hat with double brim.

I am combining a light worsted weight superwash merino with a kid silk mohair to knit the Sophie Scarf. This was the fourth or fifth try with this yarn but all the previous patterns just didn't work out well. The yarn was either too fuzzy or too busy to show off cables so I decided to stick to something simple. BTW, if you look at YouTube video tutorials on how to proceed with the steps to knitting the Sophie scarf, you don't really need to buy the pattern. Or just knit Jan's scarf which is later in the post.

Dorah is planning to use this beautiful yarn for an easy project called TV Knitting Scarf. The pattern is perfect for showcasing such a pretty yarn.

But first she has to finish a pair of socks for her daughter's friend. She calls sock knitting a palate cleanser and can probably knit them in her sleep.

Nancy started her Grid Gambit cowl and was initially using the variegated yarn as the dominant color but wasn't pleased with the result. So she frogged it and reversed the order of dominance and is much happier with the way it looks. It's funny how different a knitted fabric can appear depending on which color sits up front and center!

Margaret is almost finished with the first of her Tuiki tuiki fingerless mitts but she is having second thoughts about how to proceed. Since she has a limited amount of yarn and the pattern calls for a large portion of the convertible section to be knitted with the lesser amount of yarn, she is worried she will run out, so she is going to start the second mitt and complete it to the same size and determine then how to proceed based on the remaining amount of yarn.

Tina started a cowl with a pretty variegated yarn.

 

The Journey Through Time Cowl is a freebie on Ravelry.

Barbara K had a lovely self striping yarn that came in a kit she picked up for a song at a garage sale. The pattern in the kit was for a cowl which she knew she would never wear so she decided on a scarf and it's coming along beautifully!

Jan was working with this yarn before the break and didn't like the way it was knitting up so she changed the pattern to The Simple Thing which is frighteningly similar to the Sophie scarf and it's free! 

She is much happier with these results!

In addition to her Grid Gambit, Nancy is starting a Benjamin Matthews design called Moss Hill Beanie.

His designs always have a nice texture and pattern to them. Nancy's yarn choice will make a nice stitch definition and a beautiful hat.

I was admiring Jan's scarf and asked her if she made it and she did! It's a linen stitch scarf which started with something like 600 stitches! It was knitted sideways which is why it required so many stitches cast on. It is beautiful as is Jan! And it looks woven!

That's all for now. Fozzie wanted me to be sure to wish you all a Happy New Year and happy knitting through 2026! Be well and keep those needles clicking!