The group is growing again!

Keiko is from Japan and is just learning how to knit. Barbara and I helped her with an idea she had for making a mitten for two. She drew a sketch of a large mitten with two cuffs so a couple can hold hands while keeping warm. It's a very ambitious project but she was quick to learn how to knit and purl so I think she'll be able to see her design come to life.

Our second new Angel is Emily. Jim taught her how to crochet a chain just this morning and she is making great progress. Next he'll be teaching her how to make single and double crochets.

That's MaryBeth with the sunglasses on her head. She accompanied Missy, Bob, Emily, Jim, and Teri. She wasn't knitting or crocheting but maybe we can convince her to learn.

Last week I showed you Missy's crocheted pieces which she will assemble into a handbag for her granddaughter. This week she worked on making a strap handle for it.

Pam is working on this seed stitch slouchy hat with a bright purple yarn. She found the pattern in a collection of hat patterns from the book "Celebrity Knit Slouchy Beanies for the Family". That's also where she found the pattern for the colorful blue slouchy hat she modeled for us.

Pam also finished another pair of wee little socks that need the ends woven in before they are added to the inventory.

Last week I showed you a shawl that Barbara was knitting using the yarn she hand dyed herself. Well, after a few inches of knitting, she was not satisfied with having to carry the two yarns up the side. Even though she dyed the yarns in the same pot, they were slightly different so to be able to use them together in one project without having an obvious line of demarcation where she switched to the second skein, she was knitting two rows with one ball and two rows with the other. This created a tight and wonky edge (that's a technical term LOL!) so she frogged the shawl and decided to knit a sweater for a little girl.

This pattern called Gefion is available, free on Ravelry. The eyelets make an easy yet adorable detail to the yoke.

Mike finished the Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap for his daughter and delivered it. Beautiful! And the hat's not bad either. ;)

Now he's working on a pullover sweater. He's almost finished with the body of it and then will move on to knitting the sleeves. The original pattern called for a ribbed finish at the edge of the body, neckline, and cuffs but he made the executive decision to change it to a rolled edge. That's the great thing about knitting!

There are no knitting police so you can make any changes you desire!

Nancy is working on the Panorama Stole, another free pattern on Ravelry. She also decided to make a change to the pattern. The original called for eyelets to separate sections but she opted to use a gorgeous deep teal yarn and a seed stitch to divide the lovely green variegated yarn.

And this wonderful lady gifted me her fabulous Butterfly Shawl also known as Papillon! I am blown away by her generosity and absolutely love my new shawl!

Thank you so much Nancy!

Debra is making a pair of identical twin socks for her daughter using Kroy sock yarn. I asked why she had safety pins on the cuff and she said that was the point at which she changed needle size so the cuff can fit the calf of the leg. She knits them tightly to make a dense fabric that holds up against the winter cold.

Rena is finishing up another basic beanie hat and here you see where she is decreasing to close the top of the hat.

Teri (or Terry or Terri, I can't remember which) has started a shawl on her knitting loom. She said she was farther along but made a mistake and had to rip out and start over.

Join the club Teri! We've all been there!

Tomasa was right beside Teri working on a baby blanket. It looks like a good size to be used with a car seat.

Here are Gail's projects. They are both the Morton Cowl however, they are knitted differently. The original pattern (on the right) directs the knitter to make a long rectangle and then graft the short ends together. Since I don't like to sew my knitting, I wrote up the pattern to be knitted in the round to avoid having to sew or graft ends together. That's the one on the left.

Jim switched to a new color, adding the deeper charcoal gray. We found out today that in addition to knitting and crocheting, he's a pretty good bowler too. He taught MaryBeth and improved her score.

I guess it's time for me to feed Fozzie. It's hard to concentrate when he stares at me. And if I don't act quickly, he chews on the electrical cord to my computer.

So on that note, let me wish you a good week ahead and keep those needles clicking!