The Castoffs met on a cold, cloudy afternoon.  We were all concerned about Michele’s daughter, Erica, who was having surgery that day to remove a tumor that grew fairly rapidly.  Leslie was at the hospital with Michele during the surgery and she phoned us with much appreciated updates.  By the end of the meeting we heard from Leslie that Erica had come through the surgery with flying colors.  Whew!  We were all so glad to hear the good news.

We're all thinking good thoughts for you, Erica! Be well soon.

It seemed almost trivial to go on with our fun, but we had Erica, Michele and Joel in our hearts and our conversations and we knew that they felt our love and support.

Francy got to my house early and we had a delightful conversation.  It was fun to have some one-on-one time, Francy!  She is working on her top-down pullover for herself.  I didn’t get a photo of it, but I did get a photo of her holding a really cute soap holder that Linda knitted and brought for us to see.

Francy holding Linda's soap holder.

I liked this so much I took another picture of it and asked Linda for the pattern.  It has great-niece gift written all over it!

Soap holder!

It’s made with linen stitch rows between increased stockinette rows.  All tied up with an i-cord.  Love it!

Linda is still knitting the baby hat with the self-patterning yarn that we all love.  It’s coming right along – each week, it looks a little different than the week before.

Can't wait to see what it looks like next week.

Marylane has finished another newsboy cap and is deciding which buttons to put on the strap.  It is so cute.  Love the way it looks on her.

Getcher news here!

She showed us the buttons and we couldn’t decide which ones we liked better.

Button, button, wonder which button?

Carol was with us wearing some stunning earrings.  As usual, she looked wonderful!  If I tried to wear these, they’d drag to my nipples.

Pretty woman, fabulous earrings.

Carol is knitting some beaded fingerless mitts with a teeny, tiny circular needle that I thought was pretty awesome.  Next time I knit socks or mittens, I’m gonna try these little round needles!  She loves them.  Says they take some getting used to, but once you do, they’re great.

Use this instead of 4 or 5 double pointed needles.

Her mitts are pretty – this is only the fourth or fifth time she had to rip them out and start over…

She's concentrating hard this time around.

Julie gave her nephew some fingerless mittens for Christmas and he calls them his ‘smokin’ mittens – he wears them when he goes outside to have a smoke.  Now, this isn’t the reason she gave him fingerless mittens, but as long as he appreciates her efforts…She’s knitting a pair for her brother (or is it brother-in-law?) so that he can join his son outside for some, ahem, fresh air.

They're sssmmmmokin'!

Deb’s husband, Glenn, is recovering nicely from his heart surgery in December.  He’s been released to do anything he wants to do.  Great news, Glenn!  Deb is almost finished with his sweater – just right for those evening walks that they go on to build up his strength.

Deb's at the double-pointed needle stage of the cuff.

I’m coming along slowly with my blue vest.  The pattern is hard and now I’ll have to begin decreases to make the neckline.  Arghh.  Will I ever be finished with it?  Stay tuned.

Gettin' there...I hope.

We had fun.  Enjoyed fresh raw veggies and dip, crunchy snacks and wine.  A good day with good news about Erica.

Ah, Castoffs in their natural habitat.

We found out from Leslie that Erica had flown up here from Utah with only the clothes on her back and a pair of sweatpants in her backpack.  She was in no condition to pack a big bag.  So, we decided that a shopping expedition was called for to buy her some clothes for after her hospital stay.  OH MY GOD!! I had forgotten what fun it was to go shopping with a group of girls…uh, women!  Leslie, Deb, Linda, Julie and I met on Saturday morning and had a blast – and I mean we were in the ZONE, y’all – shopping at the mall for Erica.

There we were – four women with daughters the same age as Erica and one woman who had no daughter and was absolutely clueless (me) about what young girls would like.  Thank god that phones with cameras were clutched in our hands.  There was a flurry of texts, photos, calls and questions back and forth with Michele and Erica at the hospital.  I just wish I had taken my camera to record this historical event.  Let’s just say that we were VERY successful in our quest.  We hit the sales just right and walked away with DEALS.  We also had more fun than I can put into words.  Knowing that we were doing it for our friend’s daughter made the quest even sweeter.  Here is what we ended up with:

Lots of goodies for Erica!

The wrapped package is a journal to record her adventure in internal medicine and some notecards to inform her friends of her journey.  After a well-deserved lunch at Bonelli’s Deli, we all returned to Leslie’s house where we wrapped the goodies in a bag that Leslie had on hand.

Peace and health be to you always, Erica.

We took a commemorative photo – as if we needed to be reminded of our extraordinary day.  This is more for our sista Castoffs – we wish you all could have been with us and you were – in our hearts.  Love was pouring throughout the mall that day and straight to Michele and Erica.  We hope the thought and the gift can express our love for you all.

Happy shoppers. Good friends.

All I can say is that it was a great day to be a Castoff.  Next week we meet at Julie’s house.  Until then, Castoffs, keep the light of love in your heart and keep those needles blazing!

I guess all that wishful thinking about snow paid off!  At the time of our meeting, it had been falling for a couple of days with another day of snow in the forecast.  I took a photo of the front of Deb’s house with our cars parked outside.  SNOW!

Snowy wonderland.

Last time we decided to celebrate JUNK FOOD this week and, boy, did we deliver.  I hadn’t seen so much junk food since my last slumber party when I was in junior high.  And, except for the Belgian White beer, it was the same junk food right down to the Boone’s Farm Strawberry Wine (don’t tell).  By the way, Boone’s Farm Wine is still the wino’s delight – only about $3 – and that’s 40 years later!

Cheetos and Fritos and Bugles, oh my!

Lying right there on the counter in the middle of all this saturated fat glory was Glenn’s guide to cardiac rehabilitation.  It’s okay, because when we came in, Glenn made his exit.  It’s a good thing he didn’t witness our gluttony because not only did he just have heart surgery, he’s a pastor!  Get it – gluttony, mortal sins?  Yeah…

Cardiac what?

While we were eating and drinking, leaning on the counter as if we didn’t have any other reason to be at, ahem, knitting, Mary texted Deb.  Mary is in warm, sunny Denver.  And we hate her.  Not really, but looking out on the 8 inches of snow and hearing about Mary drinking her latte on the deck in the sunshine made us turn just the teensiest bit ugly.  Well, in junior high fashion, we all grabbed a Bugle, stuck it on the no-no finger and gave her a one-Bugle salute.  Here’s to your sunny deck, Mary!

The Castoffs salute their absent friend.

Of course, we didn’t mean you, Leslie.  Although we were a little peeved that we had to eat Deb’s leftover Fritos instead of the fresh bag you promised to bring…We missed you and your Frito-Layslies.

Three of us came in with green knitted hats.  Deb has one, but couldn’t find it, so she wasn’t in the photo.  I guess I could have photo-shopped one in, but I’m not that talented, Deb.  Anyway, Marylane, Julie and Francy looked adorable in their hats – so much so that I noticed that they kept them on the entire time.  And Deb had turned up the heat for us!  They just love their hats.

Three green amigas.

Julie kept her hat on while she ate a Twinkie!  She later sent us all an email moaning about feeling sick to her stomach.  Gee, Jules, was it the Twinkie? or the Cheetos? or the Belgian chocolates? or the onion dip with Bugles? I know it wasn’t the company.

Mmmm. Love those Twinkies!

I loved the beer.  Francy brought Belgian White and brought orange slices to squeeze into our glasses.  Yummy.  And when I was finished with the beer, I had an orange slice to play with.

Guess I need to whiten my teeth.

Eventually, when we were stuffed with junk, someone asked if we were actually going to knit.  Oh, alright.  Jeez, what’d’ya think this is?  A knitting group?  We staggered into the living room and started talking about JUST knitting.  Mostly.  Francy showed us a top-down sweater that she started for herself – way to go, Francy – with yarn from Romania.  Very soft and pretty.

A different green for the sweater.

Francy is also making a skinny scarf for Betsy like the ones that Michele and Leslie made.

Skinny scarf. Love the colors of this yarn!

Julie is knitting a hat.  A very pretty hat.  A blue hat.  With what looks like seed stitch around the brim.  I like blue.

Matches her earrings.

Linda is still knitting the baby hat with that amazing self-patterning yarn that fascinates me.  I can’t wait to see each week what the hat looks like.  I wonder what the design would be like on a larger project?

Wow. This yarn is amazing.

Deb is almost finished with Glenn’s sweater.  Go, Girl!  I love this top-down pattern.  Several of us have used it or a similar top-down pattern for other sweaters.  Easy and fairly quick.  And no seams.

Ah, the picture of a perfect knitter.

Carol seemed to be an observer this afternoon, but she was really working at it, watching Deb and Marylane knit.  We all discussed what we would knit for the ‘Loud at the Library’ fundraiser.  Michele is bringing some samples of yarn that she’s using for a hat.  I think I’ll try to coordinate a pair of mittens to go with it. We enjoyed making things for the basket last year and it raised a lot of money.

There they are: Industrious Deb, Chilly Marylane and Happy Carol.

I brought my shawl/scarf that I’m still knitting from my Harris Tweed yarn.  I never realized how long it’s getting until I stretched it out for a photo.  Very nice.

Marsha's shawl-in-progress.

Our Michele is so organized I just had to take a photo of the calendar she made for our meetings.  As we go forward, it’s comforting to think of us all together in our various homes, having fun, knitting and laughing.  Thanks, Michele, for organizing us!

Can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings.

Next week, we meet at Marsha’s house.  Until then, keep those needles blazing, Castoffs, and stay away from the junk food.

STILL NO SNOW!  Just thought I’d get that out of the way.  There are two schools of thought on this no-snow thing.  Some of us are grateful for it and glad for the sunshine that seems to have found its way to the valley this winter.  Some of us are wishing for it because we want to go snowshoeing.  Right, Marylane?

Anyway, we met at Leslie’s house on a snow-free afternoon and were greeted by her cute dog, Lucy, and a big, beautiful carrot cake.  When I say big, I mean BIG.  Not to mention delicious.

Yummy carrot cake and wine!

Mary is beginning her first of two yellow hooded towels for her TWO grandchildren who will be born later in 2012.  She is delighted, of course, as are we all.  Mary will be spending next month in Arizona near Larissa, one of the mums-to-be.  She ‘ll be warmer than the rest of us who will be here in cold Montana.  Not that we’re jealous or anything.

Hooded duckie towel.

Marylane is going to Arizona – and southern Texas – in February as well.  Another one who’ll be warm…not that the rest of us are jealous or anything…We decided that for February, at least, we’d consider ourselves Castoffs NORTH and Castoffs SOUTH – or as Leslie liked – HOT Castoffs and COLD Castoffs.  The Hot Castoffs will get together with Joan and have a little meeting of their own.  Of course, they’ll be sitting on a deck drinking margaritas and we’ll be huddled in our igloos eating walrus blubber.  Not that we’re jealous or anything…

Leslie showed us her Christmas tree.  Now, remember that Leslie is the Queen and defender of orphan trees.  She is famous for her, ahem, eccentric decorating of Christmas trees.  This one had already been stripped of its ornaments and taken outside to the deck – a reprieve from the dump or the fire pit, but we went outside and admired the moss-covered branches.  Marylane decided to attempt a pole dance.

No, really. It's a Christmas tree. Really.

Speaking of Leslie, he is about halfway through her new hat project.  She modeled it, with her little head poking through the unfinished top, but we are able to get an idea of what it will look like.  Very cute.

Is that a needle sticking out of your head?

Julie was with us – after her dreaded procedure that will be nameless – and had finished a neckwarmer that needed more neck.  Hers was too short, or the neckwarmer was too tall, one or the other.  But I loved the cables.

Ooh, giant neck warmer for a giant neck...

Julie was working on a hat, too, and modeled it.  Her little head poked through and the flash on my camera gave the appearance of a, uh, bare patch.  No, she isn’t going bald.  Really.

Where's the Rogaine!

We were visited by one of our charter members, Kerrie the crocheter.  She has been in a flurry of baby hat-making.  She knows, or is related to, a lot of women who are having babies!  We’ve seen several of her hats and they are all adorable.  The one that she was working on today is made out of Simply Soft yarn – a nice washable yarn that’s fun to work with.

Our friend, Kerrie!

I wore my green shrug that I made last year.  It’s so warm and cozy that I can’t wear it a lot, but this winter has seemed cold to me.  It’s also hard to wear under a coat, but it’s great for sitting around at home…knitting.  It’s  knit from Paton’s wool yarn and is a big rectangle folded and sewn up – leaving armholes, of course.

Marsha's shrug.

I also brought my WIP, a lace scarf/shawl that I’m knitting with Harris tweed yarn bought in Edinburgh, Scotland in September.  I love the jewel tone and it’s easy to knit with.

This pattern looks hard but is really quick to master.

Linda is still working on the self-patterning (is this a word?) sock yarn for the baby hat.  It is so cute that I’m tempted to buy some for socks.

Linda, the perfect picture of the color-coordinated knitter.

Carol is knitting another pair of beaded fingerless mittens.  She had big news about her relationship  – she’s movin’ on up and into Mark’s house.  Looks like the Castoffs will have a new place to meet!  We couldn’t be happier for Carol.  Carol, we love you!

Ahh. A new chapter.

Michele is working on her daughter’s sweater.  She works on this project in between other projects.  I think it’s her ‘thinking’ project because each time I see her with it, I get the feeling that she’s thinking about another project that she’d rather be doing.  Or maybe that’s just me.  Anyway, she was wearing the great mohair sweater that we all love.  It looks so cozy and it is stunning.

OK, I won't take your picture, Michele.

Deb joined us.  Glenn is getting better every day and we are glad to hear it.  She is nearly finished with his sweater.  On him, it will look normal.  On her, it looks gigantic!

Hey, Deb! That's one big sweater!

Next time, we meet at Deb’s house.  Since Mary was scheduled to bring treats, AND since Mary will be in warm Arizona, we decided to make it a JUNK FOOD meeting.  Everyone, please bring the junkiest junk food that you love to eat late at night by yourself in the dark so nobody will see you stuffing yourself with empty calories!!  …but maybe that’s just me.  I already know that FRITOS, CHEETOS and TWINKIES are taken.  Sorry.  Bring something else equally baaaddd for you.  You know it’s out there.  Julie’s bringing a bottle of wine.  See you at Deb’s house for a gourmet junk session.

Until then, Castoffs, keep those needles blazing and have a warm week!

I still can’t believe it’s 2012!  We met at Michele’s house and commented that the days already seem a little longer.  That and our lack of snow this winter is giving us a premature hope for spring.  Michele kept her Christmas tree up and we enjoyed sharing her stories of ornament chains from her family’s past Christmases.

Michele baked us TWO pumpkin pies – one with coconut in the crust and on top – she says that it’s an old Pennsylvania Dutch recipe.  All I know is that it was delicious.  We all attacked the pies and, belatedly, I tried to get a photo of the table.  Too late!

We devoured the pies!

Mary had some exciting news!  Her daughter, Larissa, is expecting a baby in July!  Her daughter-in-law, Rebecca, is expecting in February, so Mary is in a flurry of knitting baby stuff.  Seems like she’s been hinting for a long time…looks like she doesn’t need to do THAT anymore.  Congratulations, Mary!  She finished the Newsboy cap for Larissa and sent me a darling photo of it on Larissa’s head.  Well, I think she still had something to finish, but she had it with her at the meeting and will take it to Larissa in February when they go to Arizona for a month of warmth.  We’re a little jealous of that.

The mother of Mary's second future grandchild.

The almost finished newsboy cap for Larissa.

Leslie was wearing a great circular scarf knit from fun, textured yarn.  She explained the pattern to us, but I didn’t catch it all.  A good result, though.

Leslie expounding on the patten for her scarf.

Leslie brought along her new project – a hat.  I took a photo of the pattern to eliminate any future confusion on my part – believe me, there’s always confusion on my part!

Leslie's new project - another great asymmetrical style.

Carol is back from her Christmas trip to California and told us that her gifts (cowl and mitts) to her sisters were a big hit.  She did a little shopping in Marin and brought back a fabulous tote and some tres expensive yarn.  We can’t wait to see what project she comes up with.

Tote and yarn!

Linda’s little baby hat is adorable!  She is knitting with some mult-colored sock yarn that makes great pattens as she knits.  It looks planned – the secret is little dashes of color on the yarn.  Makes me want to knit another pair of socks!  Maybe.

Loved the pattern that this yarn makes!

Francy is almost finished with the pretty red sweater for her granddaughter, Grace.  She is edging it with white and then, I think, it will be ready to mail.

Grace's sweater.

Michele is knitting the most beautiful hooded vest knit in big, chunky yarn with big, chunky cables.  I got a photo of the pattern and a closeup of the vest itself.  Great pattern!

Hope you can see this pattern!

Great big cables.

Thanks to Michele for helping me look for a cardigan pattern that I was SURE was in one of her Interweave Knits magazines.  Turns out that I had the name of the sweater pattern wrong AND it wasn’t in that magazine.  Duh.  Guess I’ll buy the pattern online.

I finished my socks – knit with worsted weight yarn and size 6 needles.  They’re almost too bulky for shoes, but will make great house slipper/socks.  With the leftover yarn, I knit a hat out of a pattern that I really love.

Sorry about the hairy legs, Marylane.

Didn't want to stop eating that pie!

Julie and Marylane were sitting together on the couch – sometimes our meetings are more like comedy shows – we have a lot of fun.  Julie is knitting a watch cap for her brother-in-law and Marylane kindly modeled it.  Budding hand model, Marylane?  Gonna give Leslie a run for her money?

Watch cap.

Marylane is trying to decide on a new project.  She wants to use some bulky yarn that her son, Walker, gave her several years ago.  Of course, we all had suggestions.  The Castoffs are full of…suggestions.  Hat, socks, mittens?  What’ll it be, ML?

Bulky yarn will take a special pattern.

Marylane was saying that she doesn’t take photogenic photos.  Au contraire, Marylane.  I think this one of you and Julie is very good.  Not sure whose giant hand that is, though…

Two cuties and one giant hand.

Next time we’ll meet at Leslie’s house.  January will be half over by then.  Half over!!! And no snow!!!  Hmmm.  Wonder what that means for the fire season?  Should we start worrying yet?  Nope.  Let’s just enjoy the weather and keep those needles blazing, Castoffs!

We all met at Linda’s house to wave bye-bye to 2011 and look forward with anticipation to 2012.  Francy brought her daughters, Betsy and Heidi, and her granddaughter Grace,  who were all visiting for Christmas from Minnesota.  We were all glad to see Betsy and Grace again and to meet Heidi.

Grace says, "Happy Christmas and Happy New Year, Castoffs!"

Marylane’s daughter, Kendra, and Michele’s daughter, Erica, were there as well, so I just had to get a mother/daughter/granddaughter shot with Linda’s fireplace as a background.  The first one was fairly hideous, but the second one was a keeper!

Mothers and daughters.

I think I’m the only Castoff who doesn’t have a daughter!  I’ll just have to be a surrogate mom to some of these daughters.  I knit vicariously through all the moms and grandmas around me.

The chatter level was pretty high at Linda’s house – we had a lot to catch up on, after all because we hadn’t seen each other in a couple of weeks.  I did admire several projects that were brought for show-and-tell.  While Deb’s husband, Glenn, was in the hospital recovering from heart surgery (we’re so glad you’re doing well, Glenn!), Deb knit a sleeve for Glenn’s top-down sweater.  Only one more sleeve to go, Deb!

Sleeve!

When I jumped up to get a photo of Deb’s sleeve, I yanked Linda’s hat project out of her lap and across the room.  Oops.  After we got everything picked up off the floor, Linda couldn’t find her fifth double-pointed needle.  She looked everywhere and finally found it down her shoe.  Hmm.  They are reclusive little needles that will hide in the most unlikely places.

Gotcha!

The project in question is an adorable little hat with horns!  Or jester ears!  Or points!  I don’t know what to call them but here’s a picture of the pattern.  Judge for yourself.

Linda's darling little whatchamacallit hat.

I am so proud of myself.  I’m knitting an actual sock on double-pointed needles.  Of course, I’m using worsted weight yarn and size 6 needles, but nevertheless, it’s a SOCK.  Well, I’m halfway through the second, so I see an end in sight for this pair.  Michele could hardly believe it.  Leslie thought they looked too big, but I held one up against my giant foot and it fit perfectly.

Marsha's socks. So there!

Heidi was knitting a beautiful blue cowl, and while I neglected to get a photo of the WIP itself, I got a photo of Leslie ‘helping’ her untangle her yarn.  Not sure how it happened, but Leslie reminded me of a cat I used to have…

OOOH! Lovely yarn to play in!

Me likey pretty yarn!

Francy brought some felted slippers and a very chic beret (that our usual hand model, Leslie, did double duty for) that she made for Christmas presents.  Beautiful work, Francy.

Ooh, la la.

Michele’s daughter Erica was wearing a beautiful scarf that Michele knit for her.  It’s fringed on three sides, which gives it a uniqueness that I really liked.

Pretty daughter, pretty scarf.

My apologies to Marylane.  I had a good photo of you teaching Kendra how to knit, but my new camera and I had a tussle trying to download my photos to my laptop and your photo was, uh, disappeared.  I’m still getting used to my Christmas Camera.

Many thanks to Linda for hosting, for the crackers, veggies and dip, and peanut butter-filled pretzels.  Yum.  And the wine, of course.  It was a fun evening.  We meet at Michele’s house next time to give Deb a break while her house is still a recovery room.

Have a Happy New Year!  Can you believe it’s 2012?  I can’t.  Stay warm, hope for snow, and keep those needles blazing, Castoffs!