We met at Deb’s house on a cloudy day. Although we didn’t have our Chair to work on anymore – boohoo – we all brought something to knit. We all had projects that we’d either been working on in between the Chair stuff, or projects that we just started. Deb was baking cookies when we arrived, to go with crackers and dip and lovely wine. Thanks, Deb!

Chocolate chip cookies, crackers and dip. Yum.

Before I show you the projects that we’re working on, let me show you what we looked like last week when we turned in the Chair to the library. The library director, Kim, took some snaps of us with the Chair. The only Castoff missing was Francy, whose road was icy and too mucky to drive into town.

The Castoffs! Minus Francy…

Growing to the Sun!

We had so much fun knitting our ‘Growing to the Sun’ chair. Our wish is that someone bids on it who will be delighted to see it in their home every day. Now, we release it to its new owner.

Meanwhile, back at Deb’s I pulled out my alligator that I’m FINALLY finishing for my brother. Mary pulled out two darling bunnies for her grandchildren, Moses and Aurora. For a while, it was a menagerie in Deb’s living room.

Don’t turn around, Alphonse! You’re being followed by bunnies.

Close up of one of the bunnies.

Alphonse the Alligator has eyes now.

Deb is knitting a beautiful cardigan. She likes a challenge and has always done an excellent job on the patterns that she has chosen.

Deb with her sweater back.

Close up of Deb’s sweater pattern. Great color!

Congratulations to Heidi and John, Francy’s son and daughter-in-law who are expecting their first baby! Yay! Not long ago Francy was moaning about not having any grandchildren; now she has one beautiful Grace and two more on the way! I know whose knitting needles will be blazing now.

The brightly colored bootie is a mockup that Francy knitted. I think she’s using more pastel colors for the real thing. Although, I kind of like the bright ones.

This hat is for a friend’s child who has outgrown the smaller hat of this pattern that Francy knit a while ago.

Linda went back to an old standard – the prayer shawl – that she put down before Christmas. Here it is again! We still like it.

Pretty prayer shawl.

Julie is knitting a PINK vest for herself. It didn’t seem so pink the last time we saw it, but it’s very pretty and pink. She was getting some help on interpreting the pattern but I know it’s going to turn out great.

PINK!!

Next week, many of us are going to the LOUD at the LIBRARY fundraiser to see how our Chair gets along with its new owner. This fundraiser is always a good time. I’ll be in Florida, so I’ll miss out on our meetings for the next two weeks. However, week after next, we meet at Julie’s house. Have fun, Castoffs, while I’m out of town. I’ll be thinking of you while I’m sipping a Mai-Tai on a beach. Keep those needles blazing, and have a wonderful March.

It’s crunch time for the Chair! We have to turn it into the library next Thursday! Yikes! I know I’m using too many exclamation points, but I can’t help it. All of us except Carol were at Michele’s house, eating her delicious banana bread, eating her delicious brie and crackers, drinking her leftover wine from her book group meeting the day before. It was a fun time and we got a lot of work done on the Chair.

Thanks, Michele, for the yummy treats.

A few of us actually brought something other than Chair parts that we had been working on. Deb has started a new sweater – I believe she’s started it about three times – but now that she understands the chart, she’s zipping along.

Pretty color and pattern!

Mary knit a bunny for Moses for Easter. She’s going to knit another one for Aurora. Now Bunny just needs a nose and some eyes.

Cute bunny!

I started on some felted slippers for my son, Eli. He chose the yarn so long ago that neither of us were certain that this really was the color he wants. The amount was right for the pattern, so I’m running with it.

Big blob of a slipper.

Now! To the Chair! We sat around knitting leaves to go on a new vine. It’s not easy knitting a little pattern while everyone in the room is chatting away. There were some awesome looks of concentration. Occasionally, the air turned blue.

Julie trying to concentrate on a teeny-tiny leaf.

Number 2 needles are a lot like toothpicks. Frustrating until you get used to them.

Marylane couldn’t believe we could talk and knit at the same time. Well, ML, we didn’t do it very well!

This is the beautiful yarn that Linda used to knit the i-cord for the vine, and that we all used to knit the leaves to go on the vine.

We all had little balls of this yarn for leaves. Beautiful yarn.

Francy was busy sewing on leaves, tucking in dangling threads, and generally, doing a great job getting the Chair dressed.

Francy is the sewer (long o) of the group. Michele was investigating the troublesome leg.

“Scissors! Scissors? I don’t need no stinking scissors.”

The Chair was slowly getting its shit together. Or is that US who’s slowly getting it together? Anyway, this is the chair at the end of the session.

Naked legs, but that’ll be fixed. Love the vines and leaves across the back rung.

Side view of the arms and lower rungs.

We realized at 5:30 that we needed an extra work session to finish the Chair, so we reconvened a couple days later on Saturday. We brought our leaves, yarn, ideas and snacks for a potluck lunch at Michele’s.  Wow. Did we get a lot done! And we had a lot of fun doing it. Of course, lots of food was involved.

Here is Michele’s beautiful quiche. We also had tuna sammies, fruit, cookies, muffins and Sumo tangerines.

We were still working on leaves – the never-ending vine of the “Growing to the Sun” Chair. Deb suggested “Going to the Sun” and Leslie added the ‘r’. We have had a learning dynamic during this process.

Yes, another leaf from Julie.

We’ll be knitting leaves in our sleep!

The result of our leaf-making. Aren’t they adorable?

Leslie was putting wire in the vine to make it stay on the leg. Michele is working on a new idea for the other front leg.

Wire on the vine!

Then the leaves started going on. This was the exciting part. Leslie arranged them from bottom to top of vine – dark to light. Stunning!

Growing to the sun.

Meanwhile, Michele was knitting a lacy red cover for the other front leg. We love the progression of red from bottom to top.

A pop of red!

We started the finish work on the leaves farther up the chairback, and continued on the bottom.

Sewing the leaves on the upper vine.

Julie’s head is obscured by the sun.

Before I left, Linda suggested that we edge the red poppy seat in black. We thought it was a great idea.

Wow! Outlining really makes the colors pop!

This is what the Chair looked like when I left. Several Castoffs stayed a couple of hours longer.

Almost there!

I got an email from Leslie the next day showing the final result. I must say that it’s the most stunning knitted design project involving an antique library chair that I’ve ever seen. Fingers crossed that it fetches a HIGH bid in the Loud in the Library fundraiser.

Here is Leslie’s email:

The view from the top.

Closeup of vines and leaves with touches of red.

Front legs with red lace stocking and vines with leaves.

Wow. Can you believe this is how it turned out? What a wonderful journey we’ve taken together.

I’m speechless with admiration for ALL of us. We learned a lot about ourselves and about knitting, also about cooperation and giving. Thank you, Castoffs, for making this a project to remember forever.

Next week, we’ll meet at the library at 4:00 to officially relinquish the Chair. Don’t forget to sign your name on the bottom. If you can’t join us at the library, the Chair will be at Marylane’s house until then. We’re going out for a celebratory supper afterwards – location TBA.