We all met at Julie’s house on an overcast, partly sunny day.  It was warm enough for capris!  Yay, summertime!  Julie served us homemade hummus – yummus – with chips and crackers.  Francy brought a bag of taffy to round out our treats and we also had shortbread cookies and wine and tea.  The Castoffs never will starve at one of our meetings.

Yummy hummus

Joan is catching quite a bit of flak about learning to purl.  It seems like everyone is trying to get her to step outside her knitting box.  Stalwart Joan is forging ahead with her knit-only policy, however, and is starting her blue and gold scarf.

Purl-free zone.

Ya know what?  We love her even if she can’t purl.  Right, Castoffs?  Right!

Michele is working on Erica’s cotton sweater and between the gold of her sweater, Joan’s yellow yarn and a coral pillow on Julie’s couch, I found the sunny shades irresistible for a photo op.

Starting to look sunny!

Michele is coming right along with Erica’s sweater, even though she complained about cotton sweaters – especially the one she was wearing.  We all liked her sleeveless cotton vest although Michele didn’t seem to after it shrank some AND is stretchy.  Well, that’s the joy and irritation of knitting with a natural plant fiber, eh?  I think Erica will like the sweater – it’s a great pattern.

But we LIKED your cotton sweater, Michele!

We spent a lot of time huddled around Julie’s kitchen table looking at the ‘mystery’ project that has occupied our time lately.  It’s very exciting to think that it’s almost finished.

Hey! What's goin' on?

Here’s a little hint, or preview if you like, of the mystery project.

Little balls all in a row...

Carol is knitting her mother’s Mother’s Day gift – uh, Carol, I think you should have knit quicker – of fingerless mitts.   The yarn is soooo soft.  I know her mom is going to love her glovies.

Oooh, pretty little gloves.

Carol was wearing her liturgical dance outfit – this is the second time in a row she’s been asked to dance, uh, liturgically.  She didn’t give us much of a show, though although she did gyrate a little as she was going out the door.

I’m coming right along with my top-down Henley.  It’s almost long enough, and I just have to pick up the sleeves and neck bracket.  Easy-peasey.

Top-down, short-sleeved Henley.

Most of us brought something to knit except for Leslie who is searching for a project after she finished her shrug.  Hey!  I still don’t have a photo of her shrug.  Gotta do something about that, Leslie!

Pretty serious, you two.

Our Mary is going to have a hip replacement, but not until August!  We’re excited for her new hip (well, as excited as we can be for a surgery), but not as excited as she was to see Larissa and Jason come home from Italy!  So glad they’re back safely, Mary.

Next week we meet at Marsha’s house.  The forecast is for rain, but I’m sure we’ll bring the summer inside with us.  Looking forward to seeing everyone and we’re hoping Marylane can join us!  We’ve really missed you, Marylane!

Until we meet again, keep those needles blazing and stay dry!

.

We met on a cloudy, blustery day at Carol’s house.  I was really surprised to find a birthday party for me going on with cake and ice cream, party hats and my knitting friends singing merrily (and loudly, and slightly off-key) to me!  Yay!  It’s fun to be the big 6-0!  Especially when I’m joining several of my Castoffs.

Party hats! Linda and Leslie look like unicorns.

Party hat hotties! Joan, Francy and Michele. Arrgghh, matey Francy!

Leslie, Carol and Linda surround the birthday girl.

Mary drinking to my good health...and hers.

Michele showed us a party game that nobody really got.  Francy thought she got it.  But not so much.  Anyway, it was a fun diversion and a good way to tie up your guests…literally.

Then you put this hand through this loop and uhh...no, THIS loop...uhh.

You might think that no knitting went on, and you would be correct!  Well, not entirely true but we did do a lot of talking about knitting.

And then it was time for CAKE!

Carol made me a delicious German chocolate cake! With squiggly candles!

Glad there weren't 60 candles!

I was so excited that I forgot to make a wish!  But then I looked around and realized that the only thing I could wish for that I didn’t already have in this room were Marylane, Julie, Deb and Roxanne here with us.  We missed you all and hope to see you soon!

As to the knitting portion of the afternon, Michele is working on the cotton sweater for Erica, her daughter.  She moaned a little about how hard the yarn is to knit and I talked about fiber memory.  Back in another lifetime, I knew a lot about fabric, yarns, cloth, etc.  Plant fibers like cotton and linen don’t have good ‘spring back’ memory, so are less forgiving to work with.  Thus the moaning that we do whenever we knit with cotton, hemp and linen.  Animal fibers are much more stretchy and bounce-backy.  That’s a technical term.

Michele can't even bear to look at the no-memory stuff.

Carol was casting on a mystery project.  She is so darn cute, isn’t she?

Hey, careful with those dimple-makers.

Joan is back with us for the summer!  Yay!  She brought some yarn to knit (not purl) a scarf to use this fall when the Bobcats play.  Go Cats!

Just say no to purling, Joan.

To keep things fair and balanced and to keep peace in the Castoffs family:

GO, GRIZZ!

Here is a peek at the mystery project yarn which will be hinted at later.  Pretty, isn’t it?  Hmmm.  Wonder what it’s for?

I spy something and it starts with G, B, R, T

At the end of the party, Carol whisked herself off to change for a date with her man.  We all stuck around to get a glimpse of him and we all approve.  Bet he’s glad to know that!  Anyway, our Carol looked beautiful…and happy.

Ooh, Carol!

Next week we’ll meet at Julie’s house.  She just got back from her vacation and it will be good to see her.  Until then, may all your birthdays be as fun as mine was this year.  May you all enjoy good friends, good wine and CAKE!  Keep those needles blazing, Castoffs, until we meet again.

Love and thanks from the Birthday Girl!

We met at Linda’s house and talked about what we plan to knit next.  All of us are in the middle of a project or just in the thinking stages.  First, I’ll show you the finished projects that we all saw at Michele’s house.  I didn’t post a blog from that meeting because we were all so saddened by the death of Walker, Marylane’s son.

Julie was in a flurry of knitting and felting before she left for a visit to see her mom in Wisconsin.  Just look at the little bags and purses that she finished!

Cute little felted bags!

We had all assumed that a person couldn’t felt a knitted object in a front-load washing machine.  Well, our Julie gave it a try and voila! she did it.

Michele finished her shrug and it is beautiful – so soft and halo-ey and cable-ey.  I took a close-up of the cable pattern to give you an idea of its intricacy.

Amazing shrug.

Close-up of pattern on Michele's shrug.

Michele loves how warm and comforting the shrug feels.  It’s a great yarn.

At Linda’s the next week, we talked and ate and drank.  As usual.  Linda had wonderful food and drink for us and we took advantage of it.

Yum!

Guacamole, chips, edamame, and chocolate covered pretzels.  On the table is a project that I started – a Kindle cover knitted from Berroco metallic sock yarn on size 2 needles.  That’ll take me a while, won’t it?  The needles that I had (the only size 2) are antiques that belonged to my aunt Louise.  They are at least 60 years old – just my age!  It’s fun to carry on a family tradition with the same needles.

My other project is a top-down Henley.  I have used this pattern before with Brown Sheep wool/cotton yarn but I goofed and shrank the sweater.  Now I’ve decided to make it with acrylic yarn.  No shrinkie.

Start of a top-down Henley.

Michele is also knitting with size 2 needles on a much larger project than my little Kindle cover.  She is knitting a sweater for her daughter Erica.  I love the sheen to this yarn.  And the pattern.  As you can see, it’s at the very beginning stages.

Sweater for Erica.

Michele got to the ‘let’s measure the gauge’ stage and she had a lot of help.  Some wanted her to start over (Francie) and some thought it was okay as is (Michele).  Hmm.  I think Michele won this round.

Well, if I stretch it just a little...

Francie is knitting something blue.   Sorry, Francie, but I forgot what it is.  What I do remember is that you were making your first YO’s or yarn-overs.  We couldn’t believe that such a wonderful knitter was just now getting to yarn-overs, but there you are.

It's just a HOLE.

Leslie is working on a mystery project that will be revealed at a future date.  In the meantime, it looks suspiciously like a bib.  Having recently joined the ranks of the sixty-somethings, I’m beginning to see the need.

Have another big bite of guacamole, Leslie. You're ready for it!

We did a lot of sitting around and talking.  Mary is still thinking about what she wants to knit next.  I think cobwebs are forming on her needles.  Tick-tock, Mary.

I think I hear gears grinding...

Linda is knitting a very darling stuffed Elephant.  So far she has his head and trunk and is ready to sew on the ears.  Cute.

Harrrrummmph! (Picture elephant blowing his trunk, please!)

I love his little tusks.

Next time we’ll be at Carol’s house.  I know that Deb has finished her vest and has worn it to work, but she can’t come to the meeting.  I’ll get a photo later.  Until we meet at Carol’s, enjoy the sunshine and give your children a hug.  Keep those needles blazing, Castoffs!