Too hot to sit outside!

Cinzia and Barbara started the afternoon off with show and tell. Cinzia has the skill to look at a finished knit and she can figure out how to make it without a pattern. So she was examining Barbara's cowl and working out the pattern in her head. She'll probably make one, one of these days.

 Barb finished a warm ribbed hat that stretches to fit any size head... a good item when you don't know someone's exact size!

 She also finished her "Present Cowl" that I showed you last week and...

 the cowl that Cinzia was admiring.

 Up next is another Present with a beautiful deep teal yarn from Berroco Vintage.

 Dorah's knitting sported a cute set of sheep stitch markers. I would show you more but she dropped some stitches and had to start all over again. I hate when that happens to me!

 Beth finished an infinity scarf which will go into her personal inventory. 

 Then she showed us her latest personal knit using Periwinkle Sheep yarn. This is going to be a beauty when it's blocked.

 You can buy this pattern on Ravelry.

 Maureen's baby sweater is showing progress as she put the sleeve stitches on holders already.

 I finished the "O Sailor" Cardigan and had yarn left. I hate to waste yarn so I had to do something with it and  I started a top down hat to match. It needs a ribbed edge and it will be good to go. Oh! And I need buttons for the sweater. I see a shopping trip in my future.

I finished the Tubularity scarf/cowl. It took me a year and a month because I kept putting it in time out. I'm still not sure I like it. But then I don't have to wear it.

It can be a cowl or...

 a hood or....

 a shawl or scarf. I still have to sew buttons on it so the point can be buttoned in place. It was an excellent pattern for using up small amounts of sock yarn but if I ever make it again I won't make it as long as the pattern suggests.

I'm going to have to enclose photos to show how to wear it or no one will know what to do with it! LOL!

Trying to stay warm

Show and Tell this week starts with our FO's, Finished Objects. This cowl started out as a scarf using the No Purl Ribbed Scarf pattern which is free on Ravelry. I used Cascade 220 yarn and intended to make a cozy brown scarf but as you can see it didn't quite make it to scarf length. Knowing it needed some accent of color, I hunted in my stash and came across this bright turquoise, also Cascade 220, and loved the two colors together. VOILA! A cowl was born! Another stroke of luck hit when I found matching buttons in the button can. You just never know when inspiration will strike.

 Barbara's stashbuster headband/earwarmer turned out to be lovely and stylish. She too had perfect buttons just waiting for the right project to accent. I think she used a bulky Malabrigo yarn for this item.

 Carole also busted the stash with her Turban'd headband/earwarmer. There was just enough yarn left to eek out a cozy band.

 Elaine added another set of slipper socks to keep someone's toesies nice and warm. There are many free patterns out there for this old time favorite for Grandma's slippers. Here's one and here's one and here's another one. Take your pick!

 Mochi Plus yarn is the star of this cowl. Crystal Palace makes the yarn and it has the most beautiful color combos and long, slow color changes. I used the Basic Brioche Cowl pattern, free on Ravelry.

 Elaine worked on another pair of slipper socks this week. They seem to just fly right off her needles!

 And Barbara's cozy shawl is just about finished. The colors look lovely with her sweater. Sorry Barb! You have to donate it! LOL!

 Maureen started a Honeycomb Cowl with some lovely lace yarn she received as a gift. Too bad I can't remember the name of it. It's right on the tip of my tongue...Nope! Can't think of it!

 Carole's cowl is lacy and pretty. She'll probably have it done by next week.

 And lastly I started a Color Theory Cowl with 2 skeins of Classic Elite's Liberty Wool. I can't wait to see the color changes on this one.

The temps almost didn't make it above zero today. Thank goodness I didn't have to spend much time outside. Although I did have to pump my own gas today. BooHoo! Poor me! LOL!

I hope it's warm where you are!

One more nice day on the deck

This week's Show and Tell begins with Barbara's ensemble which she knitted with Cascade 220. The original pattern was for the spiraled fingerless mitts. Barb enjoyed making them so much that she decided to adapt the pattern to make a matching hat. And now she is working on a scarf too.

 Liz started using this lovely Liberty Wool to make a cowl with a Feather and Fan stitch but the yarn had other ideas and refused to cooperate. I know you know what I mean! Sometimes the yarn decides what it wants to become and this one certainly had objections to Feather and Fan! So Liz decided to make a simple 1x1 ribbed scarf and it showcases this yarn perfectly. Apparently, the yarn agrees!

 Elaine finished her Gaptastic Cowl, a simple seed stitch infinity scarf. It can be worn as a single wrap or wrapped twice around the neck for a closer, cozier fit.

 I finished the Nymphalidea for which I used Wisdom Yarns Poems Sock Yarn for the pink/purple lace segments. I'm actually surprised at myself for being able to memorize the pattern. It took a good five repeats or so but considering there are 28 repeats, it saved a lot of time to memorize it.

 I just realized I didn't show you my Lucky Horseshoe Cowl which I finished weeks ago. It's a free pattern on Ravelry for which I used a 100% cashmere yarn. Soooo soft!!!

 Totally Biased is totally finished! This is the perfect cowl for a quick knit when you need a gift in a pinch.

 Elaine started a hat which will have a beautiful cabled pattern. We decided the yarn is Plymouth Encore because it had no label so we had to make an educated guess.

 Cinzia is finishing up a crocheted scarf using a Malabrigo pastel yarn. That company dyes the prettiest colors!

 Carole's Totally Biased Cowl in Berroco Jasper was almost finished tonight. I think she just has to graft the live stitches together so it will be an endless ring of color.

 Dorah's Sanibel Cowl was completed tonight and added to the inventory. The neutral color will be a lovely addition to someone's wardrobe.

We were surprised by a visit from Beth's daughter, Gretchen. I knit with her once a month at our local Panera Knit Night and I haven't seen her in months so it was nice to be able to catch up on our knitting together. She worked on her Miss Winkle shawlette, a pattern for purchase on Ravelry. It has the cutest loopy edge.

 And Beth showed us her finished sailboat baby blanket she made for a friend who is expecting.

 The sailboat motifs are garter stitch against a stockinette background. Very cute!

 Tonight she started the companion to this lovely cabled mitten. The long cuff will be nice to keep the wind away.

 We've got four large bags of items so far and we'll be wrapping up this quarter's knitting project soon. Only a few more weeks before delivery to the homeless women veterans. I hope we beat the cold weather!

My Moose is 7? How can that be? And knitting, of course!

 Last Saturday I helped Moose, my favorite big boy grandson, celebrate his 7th birthday. I can't believe he's 7 already! He is growing up so fast.

He was awarded "Celebrity of the Month" in his class at school. He is in first grade but also second grade, so his teacher, Mrs. Malinowski, commended him on his superb juggling skills between subjects. We are all so proud of him!

 Uncle Drew paid a rare visit to Pennsylvania too so he had some serious catching up time with his nephew.

 And some serious playtime with his other nephew, Leo, as Poppop joined in the game.

Dinnertime and celebration time with my favorite little boys. What could be better than that?!

 On Tuesday the Chicks and I got back to business with our knitting. Kathleen's daughter did have the perfect buttons for her cardigan from last week's post. 

 Now Kathleen is working on a sweater vest, a pattern from her archives.

 The back is almost finished. She is using a heathered yarn from Plymouth Encore.

 Kathleen's Chinook scarf from last week is finished too. She blocked it when she finished knitting and it made a world of difference. If you don't believe in blocking you should read this from Stephanie Pearl McPhee.

 

 My Olivia Cowl is ready to go into inventory. I used Cascade 220 yarn because it shows the stitch definition so nicely.

 I'm still working on a linen stitch infinity scarf. I think this is a Malabrigo yarn. It is a very soft single ply yarn and the colors are a great picker-upper.

 I am also working on a stealth project about which I can't say much other than I knitted both mittens at the same time on two sets of needles. Having only one set of size 6 DP's, I had to use 2 size 6 circs to knit the other mitten. By knitting them simultaneously I can assure they are both the exact same length and gauge. This is also a good way to avoid sockitis, or mittenitis in this case. That's when you knit one sock, or mitten, and then you suddenly realize you have to do it all over again and you don't really want to. I tried the Magic Loop method but I hate fiddling with the long cables.

 And here they are, exactly the same! Some day I'll tell you about the time I made three baby 

socks, no two the same size.

 This is the second time I made Foolproof using the last of the baby alpaca yarns I used in the first one I made months ago.

 The directions say it starts without casting on and finishes without binding off! I wasn't sure how that was done but if you want to know you'll have to try one yourself. It was a really fun pattern to knit and one that was good for TV knitting but still interesting enough to hold my attention.

 Carole added another hat to the inventory this week. Look at those beautiful cables!

 Now she is working on a baby sweater...

 in a pretty soft pink.

 Beth wore her newest creation. 

 I had a heck of a time getting a good photo of it though. It's really pretty!

 Now she is working on Brickless to add to our donations.

We should be wrapping up these projects soon and then we're all going to make baby clothes!