To knit or not to knit, that was the question.

 Well, it's never been my question! Read on for Linda's inner struggle ~ and the struggle is real!

Cindy was back after a summer hiatus. She's knitting The Simple and Easy Hat for the Whole Family, for her grandson. Yarn: Anzula For Better or Worsted (Worsted: 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, 200 yards).

Nan knit up the most adorable Aran Cable Baby Bunting! 

Cornelia brought her sweater in to the finisher and began her Super Bulky Afghan (Westport Yarns shop pattern) in Mirasol Ushya (Super Bulky: 98% Merino, 2% Nylon, 114 yards). She is bravely knitting on circular needles, they are not her favorite.
 

Jane is knitting a 3-color striped scarf. 

She was ready to graft the ends of her Lucy Cowl knit with Lux Adorna Fun Size Bundles DK (DK: 100% Cashmere, 200 yards).  By the end of class it was done!

Eileen began the All Points South Poncho in a combination of yarns. Stunning! Perfectly autumn.

And on Wednesday...

Linda took a 3.5 year hiatus from knitting. 😱 Now that her daughter is expecting her second child, Linda was faced with a moral dilemma. She had a deep internal philosophical discussion with herself. To knit or not to knit. It's not like the second baby would know didn't get a blanket. In the end grandparent guilt won out. AND SHE'S BACK!

© Autumn Burns

Together we picked out the Easy Baby Car Seat Blanket in Hayfield Baby Blossom Chunky (Bulky: 100% Acrylic, 170 yards). Emphasis on the word EASY. The yarn is kind of cool, the way it's dyed, it creates little blossoms.

Thank goodness Linda's hands remembered how to cast on and knit.

Mary began a hat in Rasta (Super Bulky: 100% Merino, 90 yards). As you can imagine, it's coming along quickly. Mary knits in bed, and told us that she tried it on and promptly fell asleep. I guess she was warm and cozy in the hat. Her husband woke her up to point it out!😜😂

She's halfway through a baby blanket for a baby due in November. The pattern is a Westport Yarn Shop Pattern knit with KFI Luxury Collection Indulgence Hand Painted Worsted.

In addition to all that, she's finished the next part of her Crocheted Eshana Wrap. It's off to the finisher to be blocked before she starts the next section. This is quite an accomplishment! She used the exact yarns the pattern called for, this was a class this summer at Westport Yarns.

Lois was working on Washington Square, a gorgeous mosaic cowl knit with  Malabrigo Worsted (Aran: 100% Merino, 210 yards).

Today's blog pet pictures are brought to you by Thing #2 who happened to be sending me pix of her cats while I was writing.

First we have Simba, not too happily modeling a sombrero. Oh, it cat's could talk...

And then there's the baby, Jasper. He is just too cute for words!

Is it OCD to Rip Out Mistakes?

Mary is taking the Eshana Crocheted Wrap Class at Westport Yarns. She was losing stitches progressively as she crocheted. I had her start the wrap over and during class we would rip out the first effort. Then, to remedy the situation, I taught her to put a locking stitch marker in the turning chain of each row. That way she is always sure she has found the correct end stitch. She's also going to count to make sure she has the right number of filet boxes.

Eileen is finding that she's ripping out mistakes rather than leaving them in. She doesn't know what's come over her; she used to be such a carefree knitter! 

She finished a Simple & Easy Hat (drawstring version) in Baby Blossom Chunky (Bulky: 70% Acrylic, 30% Nylon, 170 yards).  Together we made a pompom with a Clover Pompom Maker.

by robinathomas

Eileen finally found a pattern for Torino yarn in her stash, the Deux Verres poncho. I name of this pattern literally translates to "2 glasses of wine". Reminds me of a book called Pints and Purls where projects were rated by the type of alcohol you could consume while knitting it. (Torino is a long ago discontinued yarn.)

 

She's working on the short row strip in the Building in Color Afghan. When she realized she didn't carry the yarns (as directed), she decided to leave it. Thank goodness there is a little of the old Eileen left. Yarn: Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash (Worsted: 100% Merino Superwash, 218 yards).

 Michelle found the pattern, Cobblestone, to use for some fingering weight yarn in her stash; Cephalopod Skinny Bugga (also a discontinued yarn).

Rose was ready to finish her Ponchini. She was a little concerned about whether it would fit since she ran short of yarn. We pinned it together and were relieved to see that it fit perfectly.  We traded tasks, I did the mattress stitch for her, she ripped out Mary's wrap. 

Nan is making a Minnie Mouse Intarsia blanket for her grandchild in Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash (Worsted: 100% Merino Superwash, 218 yards). I taught her how to make yarn butterflies to use versus bobbins (for the different colors).

Tucker does this every.single.time he eats. I think his muzzle gets itchy. Harry is over it.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

On Tuesday..

Jane added more random stripes in her Easy Folded Poncho, knit with Juniper Moon Farm Zooey (DK: 60% Cotton, 40% Linen / Flax, 284 yards).

She finished her Lux Adorna Knits scarf (DK: 100% Cashmere, 140 yards). The final, blocked measurement was 110" long!

Eileen wanted to review the pattern for the Lang #36 Coat, knit with a loopy yarn. 

She's cruising along on her Dentado Scarf in Artyarns Merino Cloud.

Nan finished one of the Encore 8 hour blanket, unfortunately she didn't time it.

She's making great progess on her Streetscape Wrap.

 

Allison began her Sparkling Ridges Wrap in Artyarns Beaded Silk & Sequins Light and Artyarns Merino Cloud in The Wildflower colorway.

Eleanor finished her first F797 Baby & Kids Stocking Cap knit with Adriafil Knitcol (DK: 100% Washable Wool, 137 yards). She invested in a tassel maker which fast became a communal tassel maker as so many of the group are making these caps.

To make sure the tassel was fastened securely to the inside of the hat, we used a flat button. We threaded the tail of the tassel to the inside of the hat and through the holes in the button, then tied a tight bow.

Voila!

 

Eleanor started her next cap.

Calann is copying Eleanor and did a mock circular swatch for same hat.

And on Wednesday...

Mary finished the first of three baby blankets she's knitting for fall babies. The pattern is free with purchase of Luxury Collection Indulgence Hand Painted Worsted (100% Washable Wool). She has been (historically) a very loose knitter and needs to swatch on needle sizes 2-3 smaller than a pattern called for.

We came to the conclusion that she is not as loose as she used to be. This comment of course led us down the garden path, it doesn't take much. "She's not as loose as used to be, no longer slutty." and "Slutty or not, really nice stitches." There should be a knitting meme for this, don't you think?

She's cast on for the second and discovered a random stretch of stockinette in the garter section. We ripped down just those stitches and corrected them without taking out all the rows. Click here to see a video tutorial.

Lois took a class with me on Mosaic Knitting last year and loved it!  She learned how to decipher a pattern and chart it easier to follow. Mindless knitting bores her to tears. She finds Mosaic knitting to be the perfect combinations of concentration and ease.  While she likes her colors of Malabrigo Worsted (Aran: 100% Merino, 210 yards), she wishes she had swapped her main color for the contrast color. Pattern: Washington Square.

 Tucker found the tiniest twig he could to nibble on. Harry has set his sights on it and is standing over Tucker waiting for an opportunity to nab it.

Patience paid off.

If you knit, you rip.

Truer words were never spoken.

Lois had some knitting tales of woe. We did what we could. I took back two rows of her Bedford Top to correct mis-stitches at the end of a row. Yarn: Stacy Charles Stella (Worsted: 74% Silk, 26% Metallic, 77 yards).

 Eileen was cruising on her first panel of the Building in Color afghan she's knitting in Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash (Worsted: 100% Merino, 218 yards).

She's enjoying knitting the Gaga Shroud in Miss Babs Yowza (Worsted: 100% Merino, 560 yards). I think of it more as a capelet.

Michelle finished Falls of Foyers in Madelintosh Pashmina (Sport: 75% Merino, 15% Silk, 10% Cashmere, 360 yards). She was running short of yarn so she made adjustments to finish with what she had.

Harry giving Joe the "stink eye" because he won't share his bacon. Very compelling stare!

Pulling it together

Eileen finished a Rock the Pompom hat. The yarn was from the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival.

The pompoms are from Amazon.

She finished the short rows on the back of Bibbe knit with Berroco Summer Silk (DK: 45% Silk, 43% Cotton, 12% Nylon, 240 yards).

Lois was seriously focused on her Bedford Top in Stacy Charles Stella (Worsted: 74% Silk, 26% Metallic, 77 yards).  

Michelle is loving the look of the Indian Cross Stitch in her Falls of Foyers wrap for Madelintosh Pashmina (Sport: 75% Merino, 15% Silk, 10% Cashmere goat, 360 yards).

She was ready to begin sewing her Building Blocks Afghan.

Normally not a fan of sewing, she did not find it to be that bad.

Diane stopped by with some finishing questions on two brioche cowls she's working on for gifts.  She didn't like how the seam looked. Considering the alternative of ripping out a three needle bind off and woven edges, we elected to leave it as is. The seam will be scrunched up in the back and not noticeable.

Mary was finishing the fronts of her Lang Grande (Bulky: 100% Cotton, 68 yards).