An abbreviated gathering of the Castoffs met at Julie’s house on a hot afternoon.  Summer is in full force and everyone scatters to enjoy the weather and events that it brings.  Marylane, Deb, Carol and Marsha joined Julie.  Ya know, it was quiet enough to actually hear and join in every conversation!  Sometimes we are kind of loud…

Julie made sugar free blueberry cheesecake that was yummy and ALSO blueberry muffins – double yum.  I took a photo of the food but I waited until after we ate, so sorry – it was a lot prettier when there was something in the baskets and platters.

Well, it was very good!

Carol came in glowing about her new grandson, Waylan, and showed us pictures from her phone.  I also saw some on FB and he is adorable!  Now Carol is working on a blanket for her NEXT grandbaby in Alaska, trying to decide whether or not she is going up there to be with the kids. What a decision – baby close in Missoula, baby-to-be in Alaska.

Ecstatic grandma!

Marylane brought her needlepoint this week, but also brought some of the yarn that she ordered for a new project – a gorgeous sweater.  She is hoping that by next week she will be able to begin the sweater.  It is a stunner!

Marylane's sweater pattern and some of the yarn

I’m sure that this one won’t end up in a heap at Flathead Industries…right, Marylane?  We’ll all help see that you enjoy the full knitting experience.

Julie is knitting dishcloths, but she doesn’t seem too thrilled about them anymore.  I’m thinking that any week now, she’ll break out and return to her table runner, or something else more exciting.  Right, Jules?

Dishrags, BAH!

Deb found a hole in her navy scarf, oh dear!  But she ripped out down to the hole and VOILA!  it disappeared.  She was going to a local production of HAIR right after the meeting.  Should be fun.

Sorry Deb - I always catch you with your mouth open.

I am very happy with my scarf/shawl that I’m knitting.  I like the pattern and it’s easier to knit than the afghan that I recently finished.  Cooler too!

It's growing!

Leslie is at the site of her daughter’s wedding doing last minute preparations.  We are thinking of you Leslie, and doing anti-rain dances to ensure that the wedding day is dry and sunny!  Leslie reminded me that the “bag” that I identified from last week that Francy designed is really a sweater for her son.  Sorry, Francy!  Thanks for the heads-up, Leslie!

Sweater, not bag. Wow, I'm doubly impressed!

Next week we meet at Joan’s new house.  She has a bathroom now (Yay!), but you will need to bring a folding chair unless you like sitting on the floor.  I will email you the address and a reminder, Castoffs.  We hope that our wanderers will be back – I will be wandering in Wyoming and will be sorry to miss the peek at Joan’s house.  Maybe I can get a private tour sometime?  Eh, Joan?  Until then, keep the needles blazing and enjoy our beautiful summer.

We all gathered at Michele’s house on a windy, rainy day.  Because it had been sunny and hot earlier in the day, Michele rigged up a sunshade over her deck from a huge tarp.  It turned out to be just the thing for rain, too.

Welcome to the casbah

I particularly liked the main support at the back.  A long window washer handle complete with squeegee.  Needs must!

Francy brought some antique woolen vests that were knitted by her former neighbors in Kalispell.  When the elderly sisters passed away, Francy and Harry bought the contents of their house and found these treasures, among many.  They look and feel pretty scratchy!  But a real slice of how to keep warm in the cold north.

Baby, it's cold outside!

Speaking of Francy, she is becoming quite an imaginative designer.  She brought along a tote to be felted that Leslie helped her knit.  Francy is mixing colors of yarns to achieve a blended look.

Please note the very professional drawing

Francy is also knitting another tote that is much more complex.  She drew a schematic of the design and so far it looks great.

Quite a complicated pattern, Francy!

We are very impressed and can hardly wait to see the finished result.  Maybe Francy will design a pattern for me…

Leslie brought along the bag she knitted for her daughter Sienna (whose wedding is this week!!) and Marylane was kind enough to model it for us.  I love this pattern with cables at top.  Leslie lined it in silk and put a magnetic closure at the top.  Very pretty!

Marylane on the catwalk

Joan and Marylane were sitting and enjoying the company and the CAKE that Michele made.  Michele is a wonderful baker and made us a zucchini cake with cream cheese icing that tasted great.  Thanks, Michele!

Mmmmm...zucchini cake.

Joan is working on her knitted (no purling allowed) squares and Marylane is needlepointing.  And they both are pretty darn funny.

Joan and Marylane - we love you!

I am reveling in NOT knitting that giant, hot afghan anymore, but I do like the way it turned out.  Quite pretty.  And I have enough yarn left over to do one for myself…but not until cold weather.

Yay! It's finished!

Now I’ve started on a scarf/shawl knitted from acrylic and bamboo – lightweight and lacy.  I like the design and the color.

Cool green bamboo

My…ahem…friends were teasing me about it’s size and shape, so I got caught in playing games about where I could wear it…

What would my mother say?

Anyway, it’s going to be quite a bit larger and will go around my neck or shoulders.  It’s a lighter departure from the heavy afghan, that’s for sure.

Mary bought some great fleece yarn to knit baby hats that will be warm this winter.  I didn’t know that you could buy fleece in skeins for knitting, but what a great idea!  These are great colors.

Soft fleece for soft little heads

Speaking of Mary, she and Deb looked like they were singing in this photo.  So funny, I had to include it.  Besides, Mary expects me to put goofy pictures of her online, right Mary?

"Row, row, row your boat...(row, row, row your boat)..."

Our little Julie finally made her way to a Castoffs meeting and, boy!, we were glad to see her.  It seems like a long time.  She is knitting a table runner but had run into problems.  Michele is helping her fix it.  I think it’s going to be very cool when she finishes it.  Lace patterns can be very tricky to undo and fix if you drop a stitch or two or three.

Lovely lace pattern

This week we’ll be sure to see Julie because the meeting is at her house!  We’ll miss Leslie, but she’ll be in the throes of wedding preparation and we wish Sienna and Ty all the joy that life can bring.

I heard the name of a knit shop in SLC and loved it, so I’ll pass it on to you – Blazing Needles!  Hope your needles are blazing this week, Castoffs.  See you later!

We all met at Marylane’s house and enjoyed sitting on her back deck overlooking her beautiful garden.  Her husband Dick picked three plates of fresh veggies from his garden and we ate, ate, ate with dip and wine.  Everybody got their veggie quota for the day.  Thank you, Dick!

Pretty flowers, great veggies!

Lisa dropped by with some excellent lemon tarts and fresh strawberries.  We always manage to eat well at knitting.

Carol gave us one last glance of her baby’s blanket.  Bye, bye, blankie!

Baby is gonna love this!

Deb is almost finished with her navy scarf for her daughter and is planning a hat for her daughter – “more colorful than this scarf”  says Deb.  Her daughter chose the color and I think Deb is getting tired of it.

Carol and Deb enjoying the great outdoors

Joan came by with a new project.  It seems that her needle broke on the feral pillow (I’m thinking he bit it in half, but that’s just my opinion) and until she finds a new one (“I don’t have any idea what size it is – I got it at a garage sale”  Oh, Joan…) so in the meantime she is knitting squares.  What is she going to do with them?  She doesn’t know!  Oh, Joan!  You are so much fun.

From Rover to squares

Marylane is coming right along on her needlepoint project and I really love it.  The chart is great – modern and colorful.  Fun for a change.  Marylane is planning a sweater.  She has a pattern that is colorful – do I sense a trend?  She hasn’t bought yarn yet, but has a friend who has done the same sweater and can be her advisor.

Colorful abstract design

Linda is in the midst of moving out of her house and into a condo.  She did bring a photo of her new boyfriend…

Ooh, what a hunk!

She found this old pattern when she was cleaning out stuff from her old – and I do mean OLD – knitting patterns.  I particularly like the ciggie in his hand.  So suave.

Marylane and Lisa epitomized the way all of us felt in this photo that I took.  Relaxed, mellow, just liking the day and enjoying good friends.

Aah, summer!

I commented on a garden ornament and Marylane told me that Joan had made it!  Wow.  Beautiful.  Hey, Joan, I like irises!

Joan is a woman of many talents

We had so much fun.  We missed our pals who couldn’t be here – Michele, Leslie, Mary, Francy and Julie.  Summertime is visitor time in the Flathead and they all either had visitors or were visitors somewhere else except for Julie who had to work.  Next week we’ll be at Michele’s house and hopefully everyone will be here.  It’ll be fun to see what everyone’s been up to.  In the meanwhile, keep those needles clicking!

We all gathered at Joan’s house (aka her other house) where Joan met us with margaritas – oh, yeah…later she forced us to eat brownies and bunny-chunky ice cream.  That Joan, she’s a torturer.  But we like it.  Speaking of Joan the torturer, no, that’s not a wild animal in her lap.  It’s her “pillow” or so she says…

Down, Rover!

I was so fascinated that I had to take a closeup.  Yup, still looked like a feral animal.

Hey, what are you doing to that pooch? Torturing it with sticks?

I for one can’t wait to see how Rover grows in the next few weeks.  I might have to bring Joan a leash.

Well, perhaps too many margaritas in the afternoon isn’t a good idea, Deb.  Uh, Deb?  Are you with us?  This is the blogger’s fault – operator error with the camera.

Somebody wake Deb up...or take those needles out of her hands.

Hmm, maybe it was the intrepid blogger who should have laid off the margaritas.  My timing was off.  I caught everyone today looking either asleep, bored or angry.  Or else they were all hurrying through their knitting to make time for ice cream and brownies.  I liked it.  I threw my afghan in a heap to run for the sweet stuff.

Goodbye afghan, hello chunky-monkey-bunny!

Carol was embroidering her initials on the baby blanket – GMAB- for Grandma B.  I can just see that sweet little baby wrapped in this pretty blanket.

One blankie down...

She was already into the next blanket, for the next grandbaby…

And one to go!

I think Carol gets the diligence prize.  Good job, Grandma Carol.

Francy was knitting a purse in two colors.  Ya know, so many Castoffs have knitted purses or totes, but I never have.  I’ll have to consider that just to keep up with the other gals…maybe.

Wow! Mama's got a brand new bag.

Marylane was still working on her needlepoint.  We went on a hike and were discussing how much we liked knitting or needlepointing while we watch movies.  Unless they are foreign films.  It’s hard to read the subtitles and knit at the same time, right Marylane?

No subtitles or closed captions, please

Mary was busy trying to remember how to knit cables.  She worked on it last week, but was not so sure this week.  So, she decided to try two colors at the same time.  Naw, just practicing with what she had at hand.  It’ll come back to you, Mary.

Such concentration, Mary!

After almost everybody left, Linda remembered that she needed help unraveling a tote that she had started in Denver.  She used a double strand, then decided that the gauge was wrong.  Well…she had a big tangled mess that Joan, Marylane and I were happy to help her untangle.  It took all of us, pulling, winding, yanking, cursing.  Uh, we eventually got most of it done, and in record time, too!  Now Linda can redo the tote in a single strand.

We looked remarkably happy. Or maybe just relieved that it was unwound.

That was fun.  We always have fun whether we’re knitting or unknitting.  Is unknitting a word?  It is now.  Next week we’ll meet at Marylane’s house.  Can’t wait to see Leslie’s purse.  She dropped by my house last weekend with a knitting emergency, but I think it was finally averted.  We also missed Michele and Julie at our meeting this week.  It’ll be fun to catch up at Marylane’s house.  So until then, keep your needles clicking!

The Castoffs met on a mild, partly cloudy first day of July.  For a while this morning, I wasn’t sure if we would be knitting indoors or outdoors.  Thankfully, we were able to lounge around in the shade of my big cottonwood tree, laughing and knitting.  And eating and drinking, too.

Ah, summertime at last!

We were joined by Marylane’s sister-in-law, Jean from Boston, who was knitting a throw.  It’s always fun to see a knitter from another place.  We are all sister-knitters under the skin, though.

Welcome, Jean!

Francy brought a little friend along, so we gave him a glass of wine and entertained him.  We couldn’t find needles small enough for him though, but that’s ok.  He got too drunk to knit anyway.

What did you say your name was, fella?

Francy’s daughter, Betsy is having a baby – if you read this blog, you should already know this – and she sent a photo of a felted mobile that she made for the baby’s room.  It is very cool.

Felted mobile for Francy's grandbaby

Carol finished the blanket!!!  Carol finished the blanket!!!  Carol finished the blanket!!!  Yay, Carol!

We're so proud of you, Carol!

Well, I’m not finished with my sis-in-law’s afghan, but I’m getting along.  I am about 3/4 of the way finished and hope to be completed by August.  I was looking at it in my living room and, you know?  It looks good with my furniture…hmm.   Marty could be in trouble.

Getting longer! Is the end in sight?

It was a momentous meeting for Mary.  She decided to tackle CABLES.  Yes, knitters, our little Mary is no longer the knitwit of the bunch if she can make cables.  Good job, Mary!  We’re proud of you.  Michele helped explain the ins and outs of cabling and by the end of the day, Mary had it conquered.

And then you hold these two stitches behind...

The pattern that Michele is holding shows a picture of the purse that Leslie is starting for her daughter Sienna.  This is the first project since she finished with the ‘thick and thin’ scarves – SEVEN of them.  Wow.  Can’t wait to see the purse – it has cables around the top.  Michele, when she isn’t instructing cable class, is knitting little bath puppets for her niece and great niece.  I want that pattern for my great-nieces!  Sounds cute.

That’s it for this week.  We enjoyed the weather, the company and the knitting.  Congratulations to Linda who just sold her house and bought a new condo.  We are so happy for you!  I know it’s been a long road and a hard decision.  We’re glad you’re staying put in Kalispell.

See you next week at Joan’s house.  Until then, keep those needles flying!

I got back from Colorado just in time to make it to Carol’s house for the Castoffs meeting.  Whew!  I’m glad that I got back before Thursday.  There were a LOT of us there plus Mary’s daughter, Larissa, and Carol’s daughter, Shannon.  Also, Joan is back in town.  YAY! Good to have you back.  The chatter was so loud that at one point Larissa leaned over to her mom and said, “There must be five conversations going on at once!”  Yep – the Castoffs are world class talkers as well as world class knitters.

Larissa and Mary, just listening to the chatter

Joan was there with her ‘just knit, no purl’ pillow made from wool scraps from the Pendleton factory.  We are all fascinated with the progress that she’s making.  Hmm.  Such big balls.

Are ya gonna knit with that ball, or play soccer?

Marylane brought her needlepoint – a beautiful pattern.  We are a very interesting group – multifaceted, multicrafeted.

Go Cats!

Leslie brought a little mouse with her.  She has knitted goats and bears, too.  This time, she was making masks for wedding games.  So many life changes coming to our group!  Babies and weddings and family reunions.  Busy summer.

EEK!

Lisa came to visit and brought tasty pesto

Julie came directly from work without her knitting.  Guess she just came for the food and the company.  Hiya, Jules!

She does look a little hungry, doesn't she?

Carol is almost finished with her blanket for her first grandchild.  Hope it is finished before the baby needs it!

Almost finished!

It was a fun meeting, but I was really tired from my trip.  Carol’s couch was so comfy that I found myself sliding into the cushions and getting very drowsy.  It was a good thing that we all had to go home when we did, or Carol might have had an overnight guest.  I’ll leave you now with a closeup of Joan’s amazing wool scrap pillow.  It feels very thick – can’t really explain it…

It's alive!

Until next time at my house, keep on knittin’!

While I was on vacation in Colorado, the Castoffs met at Francy’s house on Ashley Lake.  From the photos, it was a beautiful day and Francy served a delicious lunch on her deck overlooking the water.

At Francy's house on the lake.

Everyone looks so happy.  Makes me wish I had been there!  Everyone was working diligently on their projects.  Francy was covered in baby stuff, in expectation of her forthcoming grandbaby.

BABY STUFF!!

Not sure what was discussed, but there were plenty of weird faces – uh, that’s weird in a good way – from Marylane and Leslie.

Marylane caught in mid-guffaw

Director's cut of Psycho?

Mary sent me all of these photos.  Leslie sent me some too, but I couldn’t open them in my pictures file – don’t know why – so sorry, Leslie!  They were great photos, too!  Here are some of the gang.

The flowers, the wine, the coy looks - Oh, Julie!

Busy little bees.

Another baby gift - Grandma Carol

Francy and Linda in deep discussion

There they are, just as I imagined them

I was sorry to miss all the fun, but I was there in spirit, even though my body was two thousand miles away.  See you all next week, Castoffs!  Keep those needles flying.