TGIF

Theresa joined our Friday group today. She has finished the Seed Stitch Cardigan and it looks great. She's been enjoying wearing is and was especially pleased with how the finishing came out. Theresa is one of those people who enjoys her finishing! Me, not too much.

She also has got her Rowan sweater finished up to the loopy fringe. It is going to look amazing when it's done.
Elizabeth finished all the crochet on the back, and one front of the Spring 2007 Filatura sweater done in Brilla. This sweater looks more dynamic every time I see it. There have been a couple of things in the pattern that needed addressing. First of all, Elizabeth needed far more yarn than stated, 5 more of the rust, 3 more peach, and 1 more bright green). Second, the sleeves came out much longer than anticipated. If she were to complete all the crochet called for, the sleeve would almost cover her whole hand. Instead, she's going to do two rows of crochet and call it a day.

Theresa was glad to hear of these things before she embarks on this sweater, which is next on her agenda. She's going to call Knitting Central and see if she can order the yarn before she gets started.

Robin continued working on her baby blanket, all the while planning her next project. Either the silky 1 skein Regal Silk shawl from Knitting Central or a baby hat. Knitting with other people is very inspiring. You get to see yarns, patterns, and works in progress that really propel you into new directions.

We had a funny conversation on how husbands react to our knitting both with them and as a hobby in itself. Some husbands are jealous of time spent knitting in their company because their wife is not completely "present" with them. Others are happy that their wives and contentedly busy and quiet! This might be next weeks poll!

I was telling the group about this great alarm clock I learned of (and bought) for my 11 y.o. It's a flying alarm clock. When the alarm goes off it sounds like an air raid; a propeller pops off the clock and flies around the room. It forces the person sleeping to get out of bed to collect the propeller and a knob (that holds the propeller in place) and set it back into the clock. The clock doesn't go off until the propeller is clicked back in. On the surface this may seem very annoying. However, when weighed against trying to wake someone up who is, shall we say resistant, it's great. Here's the link for the clock if you're curious. It's working wonderfully in my house!

Happy August!

I met Claudia today, who's mother Marjolin, gave her yarn and a knitting class as part of her birthday present. She had knit as a child and was already under way with her project (a stole) when we met. The pattern called for a bulkier gauge than she was getting so after a practice swatch I adjusted the number of stitches accordingly. She learned how to do a drop stitch pattern, which in this case isn't really a dropped stitch, you double wrap the yarn on one row and knit it singly on the next. The stitch elongates which produces a nice design feature.

Happy Birthday, Claudia!

Mary arrived fresh from a vacation with the girls in Jamaica looking tan and rested. She did bring her knitting much to the chagrin of her friends who don't totally understand the obsession. The bottom of La Baguette bag is done (for both of us), now we'll move onto the body. After finishing the bottom, this went back into her knitting bag to resume it's place in knitting rotation. She also started a lace poncho and I give her credit for being able to keep her count while hanging out with friends.

Recently I was working on my starry night shawl and didn't follow my personal rule of only doing intricate patterns when there is no one up and around. My dear family, meaning well, and being social would come into the room and strike up conversations with me. I kep trying to do both, talk with them while maintaining my place. Well, this morning I looked at it, and I have to take out the row. Ugh. Normally, the project would go underground, however I'm really looking foward to seeing how it looks all blocked out instead of scrunched up on the needles.

Elizabeth brought in the sweater she's working on in Brilla from the spring Spring 2007 Filatura book. This sweater has crocheted portions in it as weel. Elizabeth picked up the crochet quickly and set off on the crocheted sections!

Michelle is also working on a pattern from the Spring 2007 Filatura book, she's knitting it in Karabella Vintage Cotton. She's finished the back and was working on the neck shaping. It was a little tricky to work the shaping into pattern stitch. She got it even and will probably have it done by the end of the day. Michelle said the pattern is really easy and a quick knit. I have some cotton classic in purple that I'm going to work up a gauge in to see if it will work for this pattern.

Rose wasn't with us today, however, that didn't mean she hasn't been crocheting away. Here are two pictures of finished projects from Doris Chan's Book, Amazing Crochet Lace: New Fashions Inspired by Old-Fashioned Lace. Rose makes crochet look easy and inspiring!