Inspiration

At Tuesday's Stitch and Chat... 

Jane was getting reacquainted with her Two Harbors Poncho. To figure out where she was, we counted stitches and read her knitting to see how many decrease rows she had completed.  She felt good to be back knitting.

Calann was swatching for Rowan Straight Top in Rowan Cotton Luster (Bulky: 55% Cotton, 35% Rayon, 10% Linen). The pattern calls for a #15 needle. Since she knits on the tight side she started with a #17 (top picture).  Her first swatch was too tight. She had to go up to #19 (bottom picture). The #19 were clumsy to knit with and still did not yield the correct gauge.  It's going into a time out until next week.  We may have to rework the numbers.

Cornelia is cruising along on the back of her Customfit sweater.

Allison finished her Burrow Shawl. She made it bigger and used 10.5 skeins versus 8 skeins.  We all love it. You can't imagine how soft and squishy it feels.  It's the kind of accessory you want to wear all the time.

Onto her next project, a super bulky poncho inspired by Cornelia's poncho in Rasta (Super Bulky: 100% Merino, 90 yards).

She was swatched and ready in no time.  Super Bulky yarn and big needles will do that. She was almost half done with one (of two) rectangle before class was done. The poncho is for her niece.  This could be done by next week.

Cornelia has been a stalwart monogamous project knitter for as long as I have known her. Today we finally corrupted her. She's going to cast on for another Rasta poncho for herself in a different colorway. She needs a break from the Customfit sweater.  Was it the beauty of the hand-painted yarn?  The #17 needles versus #6?  Either way, she was very happy to have a change of knit.

Jane T. brought in her daughter's sweater coat. Sadly, the arms on the sweater were way too big by about 4".  We decided to send it off to the finisher for a recommendation.  The thought of ripping out the button bands and sleeves to re-knit is demoralizing!

To lift her spirits, she decided to knit the Burrow shawl.  Allison's shawl inspired her.  Isn't wonderful how a new yarn and project has a way of lifting our spirits?

At Wednesday's Stitch and Chat...

Eileen was off count in the chevrons in her Exploration Station.  A little voice in her head said she was off and she listened.  It's a good thing to listen to that voice, not necessarily other voices.

She is loving her Trains, Planes, and Automobiles Scarf from Westport Yarns.  It's knit with Kidsilk Haze (Lace: 70% Mohair, 30% Silk, 229 yards) and Kid Paillettes (Lace: 42% Mohair, 40% Polyester, 18% Silk, 137 yards).

Mary was also swatching for Rowan Straight Top. Since she knits loosely, she started on a #11 and her swatch was surprisingly tight. She had to knit another swatch on a number #15! This may have been the first time in our history that she knits a project in the needle the pattern calls for.  Is Mercury in Retrograde?