We met at Carol’s house on a partly sunny afternoon. It was a little cool, so Carol couldn’t take us comfortably onto her newly refurbished deck. I got a tour, however, and it looks great. Carol has new deck furniture, big pots of flowers and a great view of her back woods. I think she’s pretty proud of herself.

“That’s right, girls – new deck furniture!”

If we ever have summer, these plants are gonna take off.

I apologize ahead of time for not having very many photos. I had trouble with my little crochet edging, so with Francy there, I had to be re-instructed. I spent the whole time crocheting the sleeve edges of the baby sweater for my cousin’s baby.

Beginning a sleeve.

Finished, except for the little purple elephant buttons and the hat.

Francy is making a baby sweater – did I mention that both her daughter and daughter-in-law are pregnant? She’ll be in a flutter of Grandma-dom for the whole summer. Here is the beginning of one of her projects.

Great color for either boy or girl!

Linda decided on a project for her niece’s baby. It’s a cardigan with buttons on the side of the sweater’s front. Hard to explain – just look at the picture below. She’s using #3 needles and Madeline Tosh yarn. Such a soft feel. I like the coral color, too.

Can’t wait for this to become more recognizably a sweater.

Carol finished one fingerless mitten and is starting on another – she’s planning to make three pairs in all. I love the cuff on this mitten. Carol’s going to put buttons on the rows of the cuff.

She’s a mitten-knittin’ machine.

Julie and Deb dropped by but I don’t think they knitted. Julie is still working on a pillow and Deb on her beautiful sweater, but I think they just wanted to come for the excellent company and the snacks. Thanks, Carol, for hosting this week.  Next week we’ll be at Marsha’s house. Until then, Castoffs, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and keep those needles blazing!

We all carpooled down to Mary’s house in Wood’s Bay for lunch on a cloudy, rainy Saturday. By the time we had got there, the rain had stopped, but it was much too wet and cool to sit on the deck. Boohoo. It’s such a beautiful view from Mary’s deck.

Lots of clouds, but still beautiful.

Mary had made a delicious soup for us – Creamy Curried Chickpea – that was vegan and hearty. We all liked it so much that I promised to put the recipe on the blog. Here it is:

Oh! and wine. Lovely wine.

As if that wasn’t enough food, Mary served a rhubarb-strawberry crisp that I also got the recipe for :

RHUBARB/STRAWBERRY CRISP

(You can use this same recipe for apple or cherry crisp too)

Wash & chop the rhubarb (about 1 1/2 – 2″ pieces) and strawberries (I just cut the berries in half). Fix enough to fill a 9×12 cake pan. (Sometimes I have a deeper one, sometimes not, depending on how much fruit I have to use) Sprinkle 1 cup of sugar on fruit and mix it up. (Mom used to add 1 1/2 cups of sugar if she was just using rhubarb but I’ve made it with just a cup and it is good, just more tart.)

Mix together:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 large egg

This mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle it on top of the fruit.

Melt 1/3 to 1/2 cup of butter and drizzle it on top, sprinkle with cinnamon.

BAKE at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes.

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I’m not sure we’ll ever convince Joan of the benefits of purling.

 

I learned a new skill from Francy. She showed me how to crochet an edging onto the sweater I’ve knitted for my cousin. Francy and Joan were watching me and commented that I looked like I was in pain while I was struggling through the learning process. Hey, it’s hard to teach an old dog a new trick! The sweater is going to be adorable when I’m through.

The other front edge, the sleeve edges and the hat to go.

 

Linda has come a ways on her lacy scarf. This is such a great pattern. It can be adapted to any needle size or yarn. It’s very dainty in this size.

Really pretty color, too!

Marylane is knitting cabled mittens – we all want the pattern, Marylane! These look great for gifts… or for ourselves. Marylane was asking for donations for an Audubon Bird-a-thon here in the valley. We were glad to oblige. She’s a ferocious birdwatcher!

Oh, Marylane. You’re so cute.

 

Mary finished a pair of ‘Duffers’ felted slippers for her daughter, Larissa. She felted them the last time they were together in Denver, but Larissa didn’t have room in her luggage to take them back to Las Vegas – too much baby paraphernalia. Mary’s going to take them with her on her next trip – this week. She just can’t stay away from those babies. Speaking of, she emailed me a photo of the sweater that she finished recently for Moses.

Duffers for Larissa.

Sweater for Moses.

Mary’s next project is a summer dress for Aurora – sleeveless and embroidered with flowers. She showed us the yarn.

Cute pattern and yarn.

Leslie sent us a great photo of her dog-in-law, Mila, wearing Leslie’s granddaughter’s first birthday crown. It looks great on Mila, but I bet it’ll look better on Mira.

Queen Mila

 

Julie was knitting another white cabled pillow. Mostly we all sat around after lunch and talked and drank wine – doing what the Castoffs do best. Besides knitting, of course. Here are a couple of photos of Castoffs in action.

Francy and Joan catching up.

Julie and Mary backlit during dessert.

We were sorry that our other Castoffs couldn’t come – Carol, Leslie, Michele. Maybe next time. We meet at Carol’s house next week, so we know we’ll see her. Hopefully, the rains will stay away, but keep those needles blazing and make your own heat!

 

 

A small group of us met at Marylane’s house on a beautiful spring day. Finally! The sun is shining, the grass is green and it’s almost time to plant our gardens and flower pots. Aaah. I thought it’d never come. Marylane surprised me with a birthday cake – a delicious white cake with orange/pineapple meringue topping decorated with pansies. Thank you, Marylane – it was so much fun!

CAKE! and crackers, pita bread and dips. Yum.

Between the trick candles and the breeze, I wasn’t sure we’d get the candles lit OR blown out.

I have nearly finished the baby sweater for my cousin – just need Francy to show me how to crochet an edge. FRANCY! Please come home soon. I need you. I decided to knit a hat to go with the sweater, so I’ll work on it for a while.

Cute little baby sweater and hat.

Marylane and Carol are both working on mittens. Marylane’s are full mittens with a cable. She’s thinking ahead to Christmas presents. It’s hard to think about Christmas when we’ve just started to believe in spring, but she’s a good one for planning ahead.

Marylane and one of her mittens.

I always like to look at the pattern – this one is from a local knitter, Kara Basko.

Carol is knitting fingerless mittens. She was concerned with the look of slightly elongated stitches that fell between the double pointed needles as she knit, but once it’s all done, they’ll be much less noticeable. Pretty yarn, Carol!

The cuff of one fingerless mitten.

Deb joined us on the deck, but I’m not sure many of us got any knitting done. It was so pleasant to sit in the shade  gazing out into Marylane’s garden, and listen to the sound of  her fountain. I love spring. Fingers crossed that the cold weather doesn’t come back!

Deb showed us how far she’s got on her sweater. She has the back finished and has started on the sides. What a knitter!

I think this is the back of Deb’s sweater.

We missed Francy, Linda, Julie and Mary who are traveling out of town. We always think of Leslie and Michele, too, and wish they could join us.

CORRECTION!

We will not have a Thursday meeting as previously published. We’ll meet instead at Mary’s house on Saturday instead of at Carol’s house on Thursday. Sorry, but we all spaced it out at the meeting. Too much cake, I guess.

May has certainly come in with a bang – snow and cold one day and brilliant sunshine with warm weather the next. You just never know what to expect in Montana — or when to plant. The greenhouses are full of hesitant gardeners.

There were a few hesitant knitters at Julie’s house, too. We sat around yakking and chatting until finally I asked if anyone had brought any knitting. Well, yes! Some new projects and some old projects. Linda was starting a lace scarf similar to one that she knitted a couple of years ago. It’s a fern and scallop pattern – tried and true and very pretty. So far, she’s only at the casting on stage.

Great color for a lace scarf.

Julie is still working on the white pillow for her mom. She’s leaving in a few days for a visit and will take it with her. We’ll miss you while you’re gone, Jules. Have a wonderful time.

Pillow for Mom.

Julie also served us some yummy treats – veggies and dip, port wine cheese from her home state of Wisconsin, and cookies. Oh, and some wine.

We always eat well.

Marylane was with us, knitting a pair of fingerless mitts, but I didn’t get a shot of her. I’ll make up for it next week when we meet at her house.

Leslie sent me a photo of a fantastic dress that she made recently for her granddaughter, Mira. It’s an heirloom, Leslie. Beautiful. The detail on the skirt and bodice are amazing.

For a lucky little Mira.

Speaking of babies, I am nearly finished with the sweater/kimono that I’m knitting for my cousin’s baby. I still need to finish one sleeve and seam up the sides and underarms. Next week, I’m hoping that one of the Castoffs will show me how to crochet an edge around the neck.

Edging and buttons are going to be the lavender color.

Carol had just bought some yarn for a new project. She is also planning to make fingerless mittens for presents. Two skeins of yarn will make three pair of gloves. Very pretty yarn. Carol had just come from a dry-needling session on her calves and was taking small, mincing steps. Hopefully, the next sessions will be less painful and more beneficial!

Great smile, Carol!

That’s it for this week, Castoffs. We’ll be at Marylane’s next time. Spring is finally here! Get out there and enjoy it. Knitting outside is fun, too! Keep those needles blazing and have a great week.