I hear thunder

It's a good thing we decided to move indoors for our meetings. All morning I could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. It sprinkled a bit on and off but not enough to make us regret having left our umbrellas in the car.

Bob returned this week. We hadn't seen him in a few weeks so it was nice to see his smile again. And look at that fabulous afghan he's knitting! We all admired the vibrant colors.

Karen bought a pair of flexible double pointed needles to knit socks in the round. You can see the flex cable between her fingers on the right. It's supposed to make it easier to knit small circumferences like socks for people who don't like traditional DP's. After a hiccup or two, she was able to master the technique and is well on her way to a new pair of socks.

Gail found a way to knit with her broken finger of her right hand. She is able to knit continental style with the yarn in her left hand so it made it possible for her to slowly make her way through a cotton washcloth.

Janna is nearing the end of the green yarn for her baby blanket and has decided to make it two tone by adding the pink for the second half. This Plymouth Encore yarn is an acrylic blend which makes it perfect for baby knitting since it can be machine washed and dried.

Last week you saw Rena frogging back her gray baby blanket because she had a row of purl stitches that wasn't where it was supposed to be. This week she worked on a green version of the same blanket because after all the ripping out of the gray one she couldn't remember which row she was knitting. So she's catching up on the green blanket to determine where she left off on the gray one.

Debra is making the cutest little baby toy called Knubbelchen. Ravelry has three different versions offered for free. This little guy will have his head stuffed lightly to give him some dimension but his body is left as is with the ends of the hands and feet knotted.

My crochet hooks got a good workout this week as I brought these critters to life. They are all made with leftovers of acrylic yarn of various weights. The bird, triceratops, T-Rex and his head, and the hedgehog were all made by watching YouTube videos.

Mike worked on his 1X1 ribbed beanie with a folded brim. He is just a few rows away from the portion of the hat which decreases to form the crown and close the top. He was planning on using double pointed needles as he did for the first hat he made but I suggested he might want to invest in some long circular needles so he can learn the magic loop method. It saves you from having to buy multiple sets of DP's if you get one set of interchangeable needles with various length cords which then can be used for all your projects, both straight knitted and in the round.

Gerry had to rip out a few rows of progress because she noticed the edges of her blanket were suddenly uneven. She watched a YouTube video and now she's well on her way to a nice straight edge on her blanket.

Athena figured out how to add a new color yarn to her crocheted granny square. She has decided to make the last round using black yarn to give it a nice border.

Maggie has her shawl on the longer needle this week and it's looking beautiful! The right equipment makes all the difference in the final result.

And Maggie reminded us that tomorrow is the annual attic sale (weather permitting) at UpStitch in Albany. If you need yarns, fabric, tools for crafting or sewing, tomorrow is the day to check it out. The sale is from 1PM to 4PM. But follow the link to check if the weather will determine a date change. Directions to get there are on the home page of their website.

The last thing I need is more yarn but I might have to take a peek to see what other goodies are being sold. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!