We had visitors today

I love when there are school vacations because then we get to see Cinzia's daughters. Sophia (on right) and Elena (on left) came to visit today and dove right into their projects. Sophia is knitting a baby hat with a jewel toned red and Elena is crocheting a scarf using a boucle-like yarn in denim blue. These are two very talented young ladies and we really enjoy their company.

Their mother, Cinzia, is making progress on the little cardigan she's knitting. The fronts are attached to the sleeves and she is now knitting down the back. I wonder what kind of buttons she'll use.

Elaine finished a cute little pom-pom hat. I like the rolled edge finish on it.

Now she is working on this cute little striped hat. This is a good way to use up those scraps of yarn that aren't long enough for a whole garment. Waste not, want not!

Kathleen brought in a set for our inventory. Here again is a stripe made from that bit of leftover yarn.

Now she's working on another Baby Sophisticate cardigan. I noticed that Ravelry now has a child sized version for sale but the baby size is still free.

Beth brought in her finished afghan that is a wedding gift for someone. This is the blanket I told you about before. She knitted it double wide with a simple band of stockinette down the middle and then she CUT IT APART!!! The stockinette section is called a steek and it's sole purpose is to give you a space to cut the knitted fabric apart so you can pick up and knit a button band.

This blanket is designed to be one large or two smaller blankets when you unbutton the middle. This is a beautiful wedding gift!

After all that knitting Beth needed something mindless to work on so she chose this sweet little girl cardigan. It's a top-down, seamless sweater and Beth is just past the sleeve openings so now it's straight stockinette to the end. 

Carole's Peanut Warmer with the asymmetrical front is so cute! A few more inches for the body and then she'll knit the sleeves. This is also a top-down, seamless garment.

Last week I started a simple baby hat, also top-down and seamless. I haven't decided if I'm going to knit a garter edge or 2X2 ribbed edge.

You'll have to come back next week to see.

They say it's my birthday!

Have I ever told you how much I love my Chicks? My husband recently had major complications following what was supposed to be an overnight surgical procedure and he had to spend 9 extra days hospitalized after an 3AM visit to the ER. He is recovering at home now and while at times he's very frustrated, he is showing signs of improvement. While he was hospitalized, I quietly celebrated my birthday with dinner for one, making my new favorite dish, a pesto pizza on a portabello mushroom. To make up for it my Chicks gave me this darling T-shirt which reads

"I Don't Do Mornings!"

Do they know me well or what?!!! LOL!

I love the fuzzy slippers and sleep mask on her head! Thank you ladies for thinking of me!

 I did a lot of knitting while sitting vigil by my DH's bedside. I worked on a different version of the Saartje booties. The original pattern calls for lots of ends and seams to be worked but some genius reinvented the pattern to make it completely seamless and knitted in the round. It didn't take me long to make the first one and I'm half way through the second already. It's a stealth gift for a friend so shhhh, don't say anything.

 I also finished a bonnet and booties to go with a baby blanket I finished a few weeks ago. These booties were knitted Magic Loop method using a size 2 needle.

 Kathleen finished the leaf blanket using Plymouth Encore wool and acrylic blend yarn.

 It's a perfect baby size blanket.

 Cinzia is making the same pattern and also using Plymouth Encore but different colors.

 And here is her finished baby cardigan. The pattern calls for snaps instead of buttonholes so I think Cinzia is going to sew dummy buttons on the front.

 Oops! I almost forgot to show you Kathleen's other finished hoodie. Another beautifully grafted Kitchener stitch at the top of the hood portion.

 Carole's Sunnyside cardigan is almost finished too. She was smack dab in the center of the back of the sweater, all smooth stockinette stitch and she encountered a huge knot in the yarn where the color abruptly changed from pink to green with no transition. DARN! We hate when that happens! She had to tink back a row and start the new strand of yarn at the buttonband edge so she can skillfully disguise the knot. 

 Beth finished her Flax baby sweater, another Plymouth Encore project.

 There's a closeup of that interesting touch to the shoulder.

 Dorah finished up the body of her little pullover. Up next, picking up the sleeve stitches and finishing it off.

We are having a slam bang thunderstorm right now. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go knit something.

"Lotsa" Sweaters!

Barbara's magic sleeves are growing as we speak and might be finished by next week's session. As I mentioned last time, she is knitting two sleeves, in the round on one needle, at the same time. Don't ask! My head hurts just thinking about that one! But it's working!

Remember that cute little Baby Sophisticate sweater Kathleen finished last week?

She found the best buttons for it! They are so cute.

Now Kathleen is working on a baby blanket with a fine weight yarn.

A simple pattern with pretty results.

Liz put the finishing touches on the cardigan she was knitting last week.

Necessity being the mother of invention gave birth to the contrasting skirt of this sweater. It's amazing how my Chicks can be so creative when they run out of yarn. LOL!

This little cap reminds me of "Waldo" in different colors.

My latest finished projects are this Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan which is a free pattern to Ravelry members. It's blocking now and then I have to go on the hunt for some buttons.

This little number is from the book "Sock Yarn, One Skein Wonders" . Instead of buttons and buttonholes it has a tie front, which I will tend to after the blocking process is finished. I adjusted the length of the sleeves because they were so short in the original pattern, but I think if I make it again I will make the sleeves even longer.

It's supposed to be very hot and humid here today so I just might stay in the AC to work on my projects.

A Free Pattern If You Can Guess What This Is

Can you guess what this is?

You're getting warmer....

I've been thinking that inside MY purse is not really a safe place to be for a glass window of an

I-Phone. I had a ball of sock yarn left over from a project that was a little bigger than a golf ball. And the wheels started turning.

Using size 1 double pointed needles, cast on 48 stitches. Join in the round, being sure not to twist the stitches. Place a marker for the beginning of the round and K2P2 for as long as you want your case to be. Instead of binding off your stitches at the end, place half the stitches on one DP and the other half on another DP and graft the stitches together using the Kitchener stitch.

In this instance, I want to be able to remove the phone as soon as I can locate it in my purse (that in itself is quite a feat!) so I folded the edge down to make a cuff for a sturdy grip.

Since the K2P2 ribbing is very elastic you can probably use this pattern for any size cell phone by just adjusting the length you knit the tube.

I know some people who can't bear to throw away small amounts of yarn, so this is a good way to use it to the last inch. Enjoy!