The tables were set up for 18 Stitch Angels but we had to add a few chairs because our final count was 20! Knitting needles and crochet hooks were flying all around the room, metaphorically. And that big blue balloon decoration at the back of the room was left over after the library had a birthday celebration for Taylor Swift the other day. It was very festive for the season.
Gail brought her Stephen West Mystery Knit-a-long to show me the progress she has made on it. I am in love with her color choices.
The shawl is knitted from the center first and then each side is knitted to its completion outward. The stitch design is beautiful! She is making this for her personal use.
For our group project, Gail is making the Decision Tree Toque, a paid pattern on Ravelry.
(https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/decision-tree-touque) The brightly colored yarn is so cheerful and will certainly keep its recipient cozy and warm.
Mike showed the sweater from an American Girl Doll which he tried to recreate.
He's completed a pretty accurate copy of it for his daughter. It was blocked and is still in the drying stage but it looks great!
His next project for donation is a free pattern on Ravelry. (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2023-soldier-hats)
Cinzia added some hats and mittens to our inventory and is currently working on...
A pair of socks for one of her sons. She prefers to knit them from the toe up which is also my preferred method. If I make them for myself, I can try the sock on as I'm knitting and not have to take a wild guess on the length.
Keiko is about half way through the first side of the Vinkel Vest (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vinkel) another freebie on Ravelry.
Yvonne finished her frog dish cloth which you saw in progress last week. Now that it's complete you have a better picture of the frog image worked into the knitting.
Debra and I had a good laugh about this beautiful sock she knitted because she made them in 2011 and is just now getting around to closing the toe and weaving in the ends. Did I mention she hates weaving ends as much as I hate charts? LOL! Her contribution to the group are these beautiful cabled mittens the pattern for which she found in the Kate Atherley book she borrowed from the library.
Rena is adding another block to the baby blanket she's making.
Each block is a different design.
Janna finished one Helix Hat and is on to the next one already. The colors are great!
She also finished one of the pair of Easy Slip Stitch Fingerless Mitts. (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/easy-slip-stitch-mitts) The highly contrasting yarn colors really set off the intricacies of the design.
Tomasa is using a provisional cast on to start the Jelka Hat. The brim will be folded in half and stitched by knitting one provisional stitch together with a live stitch on the needle, thus connecting to make a double thick brim.
(https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jelka)
Ceil hasn't decided what color yarn to use for the border yet on her shawl (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/all-i-want) but she has many choices as there are subtle bits of color running through the blue/gray yarn of the body of the shawl.
Pam finished a pair of mittens and is still working on her socks. I have heard that a pair of socks can contain as many as 30,000 stitches! That is mind boggling! It also tells you a lot about a person who is willing to knit that many stitches for you. There's a lot of love included with the project.
That's also a saying for those who knit with black yarn...you must really love that person if you're willing to knit with black yarn! Karen is making this black hat for her daughter.
Need I say more?
The Queen of the Knitting Loom, aka Terry, is making a shawl for herself for a change. She gives away most everything she makes. Kathy brought along a new friend today, Jared. He helped her with her beading. And Bob's colorful blanket gets longer each week.
Missy is making up a hat as she crochets along. The hobby lends itself to such creativity.
Jim is finishing up a row of crochet and his next step will be to turn the work sideways, pick up stitches on the long edge, and knit a side border.
Yoshi stopped by just long enough to drop off some adorable mittens. You might recognize those purple ones from last week. She accidentally knitted two left thumb mittens so during the week she knitted two right thumb mittens and now we have two full pairs of mittens!
Gail was helping Maria figure out how to measure gauge for a sweater she is planning to make for herself.
The sweater is called Love Note (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/love-note) and will be gorgeous with this yarn.
Pat just happened to come across a knitting kit for socks, complete with yarn and directions, on sale at Marshall's.
She decided to give them a try. It shouldn't take too long with that bulky weight yarn.
I made a bit more progress on the Vinkel Vest (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vinkel). It's actually starting to look like a vest...if you use your imagination. ;)
Somone is trying to tell me he needs food so....
We won't be meeting on Friday, December 22 but we will return on the 29th. I will wish you all a blessed holiday and happy new year. And as always, keep those needles clicking!