Inside knitting today (cough,cough)

There are wildfires 4+ hours north of us in Quebec so when you step outside you can smell smoke and the sky is very hazy and yellow. I hope our neighbors to the north will be alright. As a safety precaution, I thought it would be a good idea to stay indoors today. It wouldn't be nice to donate items that smelled like a bonfire. Not to mention what the smokey air would do to us!

Carole finished her Close to You Shawl in what seems like record time. Her yarn is more of a rich emerald green but the camera turned it into a teal blue. Either way it's gorgeous.

Barbara B. completed the Ex's and O's Hat. How I wish you could see the rich red color in person. 

It is stunningly red!

I worked on the Lexis Hat over the weekend because it's too fiddly for social knitting. After I tried this pattern multiple times with a deeper teal yarn and decided the yarn didn't want to be a hat, I decided to try it in the light teal yarn and NOW the yarn is happy! And so am I! To neaten up the stitchwork I knitted all my knit stitches through the back loop. I wasn't happy with the loopy-droopy look of the stitches when knitted the traditional way.

Barbara B. is making a lovely shrug for herself called the Wrap Me Up Sweater Scarf and here you can see all her stitch markers to help her shape the sleeve. The yarn is a soft Suri alpaca and merino blend that is as soft as a cloud.

Barbara K. wanted to know how much longer she should knit her striped Mistake Stitch Scarf. A good rule of them is to make it as long as outstretched arms from fingertip to fingertip, unless you want it to wrap multiple times around the neck. Then you can knit as long as you desire.

Margaret made up this hat pattern as she went along and actually finished it as she was leaving so I didn't get the end product picture. But it's ready for the inventory.

Janna worked the last border stitches of the Arona Cowl and won a close game of yarn chicken!

That's the game where you hope to finish the project before you run out of yarn (and naturally can't get any more of it because it's discontinued or the company closed or some such dilemma). As you can see on the upper right corner of the picture, there isn't much white yarn left, just enough to weave in the end. That was a real WHEW! moment!

Cinzia is finishing up the back of the lacy T-shirt shell called Panopeia in that buttery soft yellow yarn that we received as a gift from a generous soul who was sifting through her stash. This was the perfect pattern for it too!

And Maureen worked with an equally buttery yellow yarn for her Bewind Hat.

Janna brought her personal project she's making for herself to show us her progress.

 It's the Yara Shawl that requires four colors of yarn and follows the mosaic technique for the pattern.

It's going to be stunning!

Carole cast on stitches to start the Changing Staircases Shawl using a yarn she found in her stash that's been hiding for a few years.

   By the time she was ready to go home she had already knitting a few inches. 

I'm working on the Sophie Scarf using a pretty celadon green yarn just like the one Barbara B. is using, the Suri alpaca and merino blend. The pattern is pretty adaptable to any weight yarn as long as you use the corresponding needle size for the weight yarn you choose. It has a built in I-cord edging from start to finish.

                                           

Well, if you live in the Northeast, stay inside if you can. The air is pretty thick and there is a yellowish haze. Stay safe and keep those needles clicking.

A perfect day

This was an absolutely perfect day for outdoor knitting. Well, almost perfect. As soon as poor Dorah sat down under the majestic maple, a bird left his calling card on her sleeve!😞 I sure hope the stain comes out in the wash!

Carole finished her Easy Scarf and sent a pic of how it looked as it was blocking. 

It made a very graceful curve.

She wanted to be sure it was wearable so she tried tying it around her neck and it looks great!

Not to mention those vivid colors looking so beautiful!

Dorah finished her Changing Staircases Shawl. The blocking process helped to open up the lace stitches that blend seamlessly with the stockinette sections.

 

Margaret added a unique criss cross motif to the 1898 Hat which was added to our inventory today.

Barbara B. did a little crocheting today. She's making a Large Mobius Fidget Ball for the Friday group we also belong to. Sometimes there is a little overlap in projects so it's nice to see what other items are being made.

Jan A. is wrapping up the last few sections on her Close to You Shawl. That purple tonal yarn is stunning in person.

Maureen's Bewind Hat is far enough along to really show off the spiraling stitches up the hat. The pattern doesn't use a beginning of round marker when working the spirals so it can be a bit tricky but she is doing a great job.

Dorah picked out three lovely colors of fingering weight yarn from her stash to make a Helix Hat.

Because she is using a finer yarn, she had to adjust the needle size to a number 2 for the ribbing and a number 3 for the crown.

You can almost see the three different yarns coming together to make the helix. A few more rounds and it will stand out nicely.

Margaret's next project is a beanie hat. She casts on enough stitches to fit an average head and then takes off! When one of the Chicks asks if the size is good my response is always, "It will fit someone." We never really know who is going to get our finished items so we don't really have to stress out about fit. It will fit someone!

Carole's Valin Cowl is slow going. But she knits Brioche beautifully. I'm surprised she can do this as social knitting. 

There are some patterns that require silence and concentration and this would be one for me.

Janna also belongs to my Friday knitting group so she's overlapping projects too. Here she is making a baby blanket which will look like basket weave.

Speaking of basket weave, my Olivia Cowl is getting longer. Soon it will be time to graft the short ends to make an infinity scarf.

Carole is making a Close to You Shawl like Jan A's using a yarn that she picked up at a studio sale. It was marked as a "mistake" so she got it very inexpensively. Sometimes the dyer isn't happy with a final result because it doesn't look the way they imagined but it's a perfectly good yarn and makes a perfectly lovely scarf!

Jan P. is plugging away on her Mobius Cowl. It takes perseverance to make one of these since there are so many stitches on the needle and it seems to take forever to get around them all. But she'll get it done.

I put out three hummingbird feeders this year and have seen only one hummer so far. Maybe it's still a little early. But I need to refill them before the nectar ferments. Can't have inebriated birds flopping around my yard! LOL! So have a good week and check back next Tuesday to see our progress. As always, keep those needles clicking.

 

Someone had fun at WEBS

Barbara K. (far right) went to the annual blowout sale at WEBS in Northampton, Massachusetts and bought lots of great yarn for next to nothing! The black and pink Cascade Superwash that she's holding in her left hand will become an Ex's and O's hat for her granddaughter.

She found some great bargains on Plymouth Encore too. That's our all time favorite yarn for kids' clothes that require durability and machine laundering.

Barbara B. gave us a peek at the Wee Penny Dress she knitted for our other charitable knitters' group, Delaware Avenue Stitch Angels. The Friday group is making baby clothes so this is a perfect addition.

For the Chicks she is making an Ex's and O's Hat with a twisted rib cuff.

Back to Barbara K., who found some self striping yarn in her stash which she is magically turning into a Mistake Stitch Scarf.

It was great to see Jan P. again after a long absence. She picked a pretty mohair yarn to make a mobius ring cowl.

And Jan A. chose the Picots and More Cowl for her project.

It's coming along nicely and for added insurance, Jan has added a lifeline, the yellow stripe. Knitters who have learned the hard way always run a smooth yarn through the stitches of their work so if a mistake is made, the work can be frogged back to that point where it was last worked correctly instead of having to rip out the whole thing.

Dorah found a lovely variegated yarn in her stash to make the Changing Staircases Shawl.She highly recommends this design for it's easy to remember pattern and simplicity to work it. 

A great social knitting project!

This yarn has been very disagreeable with me! After starting the Lexis Hat three times and the Zoe Hat two times, I took the hint that it didn't want to be a hat at all and I am now happily zipping through the Olivia Cowl. This starts out with a provisional cast on and is knitted on the bias for your desired length and then the two short ends are grafted together.

Barbara K. added a basic beanie to the inventory and...

Dorah added a nicely striped beanie which gave her the opportunity to learn how to knit jogless stripes.

It's still a pleasant, sunny afternoon so I'm going to squeeze in a quick walk before I hunker down into my knitting again. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

 

The first "deck day" of the year

We were planning on sitting out front again but with 10 mph winds, pollen, and allergies, we opted to retreat to the comfort of the screened porch. Besides, we had the gentle gurgling of the fountain keeping it peaceful while we discussed interstate vs intrastate highways and their numbering and how did we ever find our way before there was GPS on our phones! 

Maureen completed her Step Zeppelin cowl. When she asked when is it time to consider it long enough my response was, "When you ask if it's long enough yet." Sometimes, as much as we like a project, it can get tedious and you just know it's big enough.

                                        

I was planning on making a Lexis Hat, a pattern I've made a few times before so I'm familiar with it. But as you can see, the needle has been removed and the next step will be frogging! I just wasn't enjoying it this time so I'm blaming the yarn for not wanting to be this hat. My decision was reinforced when I had finished a cable row and had three stitches too many left over at the end of the round. My next step will be to dive down the rabbit hole for a different pattern.

Barbara K is making a basic beanie in a vivid purple. 

Maybe I should stick with something like this for now.

Janna made more progress on her Arona Cowl. Her color choices highlight the mosaic pattern throughout the cowl.

Maureen's next project is a hat with a gradient colored yarn.

And Carole continues to slowly add length to her Brioche Cowl. It's a slow going pattern because you have to take you time to be sure you are using the correct color per round. She's doing a great job.

Jan A picked a free pattern on Ravelry to make a hat that starts with 2X2 ribbing for the folded brim.

The Cable and Rib Knit Hat is shown being worn by a man but it is generic enough for any gender.

Ok, so I'm going to go through my library of patterns now to see if something jumps out at me. Wish me luck and as always, keep those needles clicking!

A breezy day

The breeze made it a bit chilly today so the sun felt extra cozy on our backs. But we won't complain! It's so nice to be outside again.

I visited my sister last weekend and she inherited the family trait of not letting anyone leave empty handed. She made some cowls and generously donated them to the Chicks' inventory for our donation to the homeless women veterans.

They will be added to Barbara K's Ex's and O's hat, the second one she's made...so far. 

She is thinking it would make a nice addition to her granddaughter's wardrobe, in colors suitable for a young lady still in grade school.

Jan A. completed her Swirl Hat. In the beginning she was a bit confused because the tail end of yarn from the cast on row was her signal that she had finished a round but it wasn't where it was supposed to be. That's because the beginning of round keeps changing with each row so you get the swirl effect.

Carole's Brioche cowl threw her a curve ball too. She put the knitting down and when she returned to it, she couldn't picture which direction to knit. The two yarns left in the middle of a round are at different spots along the needle which can present the problem of which one to pick up and knit. She solved the problem by never leaving off in the middle of a round.

Barbara B. is making a treat for herself. It's the Wrap Me Up Sweater Scarf in a most beautiful coral color. It uses DK weight yarn, a little over 900 yards.

Barbara K's next project is a basic beanie. I think she needed a rest from reading charts.

Jan A. added many more stitches to her Close to You Shawl. It uses fingering weight yarn but I'm sure you could adapt to any yarn with appropriate needle size change.

Maureen's colorful socks are coming along nicely too. Making them on magic loop, two at a time seems to make them go faster, or is it just my imagination?

I have about three more rounds to make on this cowl and then I'll be binding off and adding it to the inventory. It's the Knit Round Turtleneck Dickey found on YouTube.

I'm back inside now and my kitty, Fozzie, is begging for me to follow him to the couch so I can cuddle him. So I will obey the "King's" request and remind you to keep those needles clicking!