Sometimes we get bored!

Barbara completed her mitten and hat set with a cheerful yellow yarn. These will be added to the collection for The Bus Stop Club along with the animals we've been making.

And now she is moving on to a warm winter man's hat in a deep, rich, forest green.

Here is Kathleen's finished cowl I showed you in progress last week.

She whipped one up in brown too.

Kathleen made this peachy sweater too. It's the same pattern Liz is working on in the mint green. She is still laboring over picking up those darn stitches for the button band. In the meantime, Kathleen started another peach cardigan, this time with a bright white button band. You can see it on the cushion beside the solid cardigan.

This looks like it will fit a toddler or preschooler. The yarn is very soft too.

Liz was not happy with this pattern. I'm sure she will not be knitting the button bands separately ever again!

Carole is almost finished with the cabled headband. Plymouth Encore yarn was a good choice for this one.

I finished the cowl from last week. It was supposed to be a poncho but I couldn't tolerate all those rows of garter stitch so luckily, it works beautifully as a cowl.

Last night Maureen, Carole, Dorah, and I were complaining  discussing how we all feel a sense of ennui with our knitting lately. Maybe because we are all knitting scarves which seem to take forever or maybe it's spring fever. I don't know about them, but I feel a serious case of startitis coming on! I guess I'll just have to put this ripple scarf aside while I follow doctor's orders and take the cure.

Since I finished the cowl, I started Sectores last night.

I like a high contrast color story and chose these two yarns for my scarf.

I started the second color section this afternoon.

This should stave off boredom for the time being. What do you do when you get bored with your knitting project?

Knitting and Passions

It was our first day on the deck today! There was a light breeze coaxing a soft tune from the wind chimes and the sun warmed us just enough. It was perfect for knitting!

Liz finished the body of a mint green baby cardigan and now she has to pick up stitches to knit the button bands. We discussed how much we dislike picking up stitches and ways to get around it. Next time Liz will add stitches to either side of the front of the sweater and knit them in garter stitch to add the button bands on while knitting the body of the sweater.

She is almost finished with a child's pullover top-down sweater too. It's the only way she and I will knit sweaters. We both hate to sew pieces together!

Kathleen finished her reversible striped scarf. She knows she had a misplaced stitch somewhere in there but even she can't find it anymore. I reminded her it's ok to leave it. Only God is perfect!

She whipped up a quick toddler's hat too. Using a self striping yarn turned out to be a good idea for this horizontally ribbed pattern. It was made using stockinette and reversed stockinette to make bubble-like ridges up the hat. Very cute!

Kathleen's next project is this cowl....

using two strands of worsted weight yarn to substitute for bulky weight.

Liz added two more kitties to the animal farm we have growing around here.

And Beth finished her "Don't call me Dumbo" elephant. She used Sirdar acrylic/nylon blend yarn so he's nice and cuddly.

Carole is almost finished with her baby sweater. This photo doesn't do justice to the pretty deep teal color of the yarn.

I don't remember what we were talking about but it made Beth flip her glasses!

I've adjusted my feelings for this poncho I'm knitting. Rather than get involved with days and days of endless rounds of garter stitch, I've decided to make this a dickie instead and then I can get on to knit something else too.

Dorah's Gaptastic cowl grows slowly but steadily each week.

I'm so happy to have knitting friends who are as passionate about two sticks and string as I am.

Speaking of passion, I was thinking about how truly blessed I have been in my lifetime to always have had a passion. As a child, like most little girls, my passion was all about dolls and playing. My mother fed that passion by making clothes for my Madame Alexander Doll, Ginny, and later for my Barbie. I could spend hours dressing and changing outfits for them according to "where they were going". As I made it into my teen years I had a passion for singing and dancing. I joined a choir when I was 10 and sang with choirs pretty much until about 2003. Now I sing in the shower mostly. When I was old enough to start thinking about a career, I knew I wanted to help people. After fives years of orthodonture and seeing the dentist's office almost weekly for part of that time, I decided to study to become an assistant and spent some years working in oral surgery, where I could see some immediate results from the care I offered to my patients. 

Then came marriage and children. My husband and children were and still are a great passion for me. I love having a family and now have Phil, Moose, and Leo to include in my passionate circle. But as life moves on I had to include new passions along with the old. When my children grew older and didn't need me around as much I decided to work part time outside the home and I turned an old hobby into a job. I worked for a local jewelry store for almost eight years. I specialized in repairing and restringing necklaces. At first I thought it was just a job, but when I saw the grandmas bringing in their treasured strands of pearls to be refreshed so they could pass them on to their daughters and granddaughters, I realized I was doing something important for them. It wasn't just a job. I was helping to hand down memories of a loved one. I felt honored to have been a part of the process. 

And now my passion is...you guessed it! Knitting! I've always been crafty all my life with all sorts of handiwork...quilting, sewing, cross stitching, needlepoint, pottery throwing. You name it, I've probably tried it. But knitting has always stuck with me through thick and thin. And now I get to knit all the time and donate to those who might not have all that they need. I feel so blessed that God gave me the talents to create warm clothing from two sticks and some string and blessed to have had so many passions in my life. What is your passion?

Graduations, zoo visit, and a free pattern

I'm bustin' my buttons with pride this week. Our family celebrated two graduations this past week. My daughter is a certified Zumba instructor now and this is a week and a half after running and finishing a 5K race around the Philadelphia Art Museum. I don't know where she finds the time and energy when she's also raising my beautiful grandsons.

And we're so very proud of my son-in-law who graduated and is now an LPN. He is a very hard working man and a good example to his boys. Can you tell Moose is excited for his Daddy?!

Last Friday we took Moose and Leo to the Philadelphia Zoo, the oldest zoo in the U.S.

Our first stop was to see the monkeys. The kids were more interesting to watch than the lazy monkeys.

I can't believe Moose willingly posed for a photo. He hasn't been too cooperative in that department lately.

The boys were headed for fun.

Leo took some time to play the "conga drums" just like his Daddy while Moose...

pretended to be a worker ant bringing food into the ant colony.

He investigated a HUGE cockroach to count its legs.

After lunch Moose asked if I would help him drive the swan boat. Unfortunately, his legs weren't long enough to reach the pedals and he didn't get the hang of steering so it wasn't a very long trip. But we had fun anyway.

Leo loves trains.

And loved riding it too.

When it was time to feed the lorikeets he wasn't as enthusiastic.

But neither was Moose at that age. Now he knows how to hold the cup of nectar so the birds can have a snack.

Time for a quick pony ride.

I know there are polar bears somewhere in here.

Ahah! There he is.

Is Mom really going to let me play in this fountain?

YES! She let me get wet!

Another great day at the zoo with my favorite boys must come to an end. We had a very good time and I can't wait to go with them again soon.

Now for some Chicks news. Liz is back from Florida and catching up on all the things we knitted while she was away.

She arrived today with a collection of cowls and scarves and finished up two animals to add to the inventory.

Kathleen finished a hat that can be for either boy or girl.

And added a handsome man's vest for our future donation inventory.

Barbara is working on mittens that will match a hat she finished already.

Liz is working on a blanket too.

Kathleen is working on a reversible striped scarf.

Carole's hedgehog has his face and ears now. He will fit nicely into chubby little hands.

Maureen's scarf is longer.

And Carole's headband is growing too.

I needed a chair to take with me when I knit away from home so I picked up a plain old vanilla folding chair at Lowe's on Saturday. Well, I'm not one to leave vanilla plain so I just had to do a little yarn bombing! Someday I might even cover the legs. But this was enough for now.

One of my knitting newsletters had a free pattern for this ripple stitch so I decided to dig through the stash and make a scarf. I didn't have any labels so I don't know what yarn this is but I like the way it's coming along.

Here is the pattern:

Simple Chevron Ripple

Cast on a multiple of 9 stitches using a needle size appropriate for the weight yarn you are using.

Row 1:  (RS) *K2tog, K1, [K1fb] 2 times, K2, SSK; repeat from * to end

Row 2:  Purl

Repeat rows 1 and 2 for pattern to desired length.

I added four stitches to either end to make sure the fabric lays flat. This scarf will need a thorough blocking to prevent curling. I'll show you again when it's finished.