Knitting by Numbers

Diane's Soft & Drapey Shrug is coming out so beautifully. I think this combination of Quartz and Silk Pearl is one of my favorites so far.
Her second Be Sweet Scarf is in the Ribbon Ball. It is such a happy yarn, and a mindless knit.
OK, so Mary came in today and told us that she had to rip out her Be Sweet, Sweet Shawl with Slubs. Somehow she grabbed a #4 needle instead of #11 needle. Needless to say it was a very narrow shawl and she knew it wasn't going to "fit" anyone. Last week several of us thought she was knitting on the tight side, which is pretty unusual for Mary. Well, mohair boucle yarn does not play nicely when ripping out. She trashed some of it in the process. Next time I told her she can try putting the yarn in the freezer. This actually worked for me when I had to take out stitches in a mohair blend yarn.

Now she's restarted and since she's got less yardage then when she started (and now that she's on a bigger needle) we cut down on the number of stitches in the pattern.
Since Mary was away for a week, she had several projects to follow up on. She thought the garter was almost done until she measured it. The pattern is from Fiber Trends #108LC - Wedding Accessories.
Mary knit this Soap Sack from Alchemy in Debbie Bliss Eco Cotton. Back to the loose knitting thing, her gauge was too big. We suggested she just put a BIG bar of soap in it, that wasn't the answer she was looking for. She's going to knit the next pouch on smaller needles and we cut down the number of stitches to change the dimensions of the bag. Did I mention the soap sacks are for soap she's planning on making? Purple soap in a purple sack please :)

Linda made quite an entrance saying that if this didn't work out she was going to change to painting by numbers. Half of the sts in her Wallaby neck border were coming out wrong. She's ready for yarn, a pattern, and a bottle of wine. Mary suggested knitting a felted bag. Felting is very forgiving. Mary turns to her felted bag project when she's around people.

Angela is almost done with the right front of her Rowan Lupin sweater. She's moving onto the sleeves.

We had a lengthy discussion about the weather. Aly and Dianne were dressed especially summery to force the issue. Linda had just finished reading In the Heart of the Sea, The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. Apparently this is the story that inspired Herman Melville's classic, Moby Dick. I didn't know that. When Linda compared her lot (the month of rain) with the lot of the sailors aboard the Whaleship Essex, she gained a little perspective.