Linda’s house – June 23, 2011

The Castoffs gathered at Linda’s house – those of us who arrived early got an eyeful of her sunbathing neighbor.  He was wearing what looked like a loincloth but was just his pushed-up shorts.  Eek.  We agreed that Linda needs some shrubbery or a privacy fence.

Linda had crackers and dip for us and yummy wine – Cupcake red and a Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling.  Michele was scheduled to bring a peach/rhubarb cobbler.

Wine, beautiful wine.

When Michele got there, she had her cobbler wrapped in a garbage bag.  Not a good omen, but it had tipped a little in the car and she was afraid of leakage, thus the garbage bag.  It was so good, however, that we gobbled it up in spite of its less than perfect appearance.  When I finished my plateful and had the presence of mind to think of a photo, this is all that was left.

All gone!

Everyone clambered for the recipe, so Michele sent it to me and I’m passing it along:

Michele suggests using a 9X13 inch pan.

Peach – Rhubarb Cobbler
1 big can + 1 (15 oz.) can of sliced peaches in syrup (drain and save liquid)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp.each  salt, cinnamon and nutmeg
Mix dry ingredients in saucepan, add peach syrup and 4 – 5 cups diced rhubarb.
Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes. Add peaches and 2 tsp. vanilla.
Pour this mixture in ungreased baking dish (9 X 13).
Mix together:  2 cups flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
Add: 1/3 cup melted butter, 1 1/3 cup plain yogurt and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Spoon the dough over the fruit and bake @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
                                 ———————————————
Carol was back from Alaska and had a wonderful time with her granddaughter, Mabel.  She showed us photos and, seriously, this is a CUTE baby.  Carol gave her man, Mark, his golf club covers and he loved them.  Carol is working on slippers for her father – one down, one to go.

Slippers for Carol's dad.

Marylane has started on a Linen Stitch scarf that is beautiful.  It is knit long-ways and the yarn is a Mochi blend.

Great colored yarn and interesting stitch.

I’ve noticed that some other Castoffs have used this kind of yarn in their projects.  It is so soft and pretty!

Leslie brought her scarf that she’s working on and so many people wanted the pattern that she sent it to all of us later that day.  It’s a very modern, abstract look and it’s going to be stunning.

The tip of the iceberg, uh, scarf.

I pulled my top-down Henley over my t-shirt and modeled it.  I still have to add the button placket and band and then it will be finished!  yay!

We're a touchy group, aren't we?

Michele is still working on her daughter’s sweater.  It has a beautiful pattern.  I believe that this is the back of the cardigan.

“What yarn is that, Michele?” I asked.

“Pima cotton and beechwood,”  she replied.

“Beach wood?  You mean driftwood?”  I was a little confused and it was only my first glass of wine.

“B-E-E-C-H, not B-E-A-C-H.”

Oh, I guess she won’t have to shake the sand out, then.  Well, regardless of what kind of wood, it’s still a little strange, isn’t it?  Anyway, love the feel of it.

That's BEECHwood, not Beachwood, Marsha. Get your head out of the sand.

Julie is knitting a shawl out of a basic dishcloth pattern – it’s very airy and holey – perfect for summertime.  I like the color of the yarn.

Holey, holey, holey.

We decided on our first ever Castoffs road trip to East Glacier where we’ll sit and knit on the lawn (if the weather cooperates) of the historic hotel, then go to Serrano’s Mexican restaurant (YUM!) and drink Margaritas with our meal.  At least, Linda and I will.  Don’t know about the rest of ya.  We haven’t designated a driver yet.

Next week we delay a day and meet at Mary’s house on the lake.  Mary is a retired woman now.  And she is very happy about it already!  So are we, Mary.  We’ll meet at Julie’s house and carpool down to the lake.  I’m excited to sit on her deck (weather permitting) and drink in the gorgeous scenery.  Thanks, Mary.

I’ll leave you with a couple of candid shots of us eating the cobbler and knitting our separate projects.  Joan and Linda were working on scarf and elephant, respectively.

Eating and knitting and knitting and eating.

Knitting and eating and eating and knitting.

Until next time, keep those needles blazing and have a wonderful summer week.

Linda’s house – November 4, 2010

The Castoffs met at Linda’s house on a sunny afternoon.  We’re having a beautiful fall so far, lots of colorful leaves and mild temperatures.  Ahh!  Linda made a wonderful pumpkin cake and sprinkled the cream cheese  frosting with nuts. We also had a Covey Run Gesundheit (not really, it’s Gewerztrameiner – just can’t ever remember how to spell it) and a Black Opal Shiraz.

Perfect autumn feast

Everyone loved the cake and clambered for the recipe, so Linda sent it to me.

Pumpkin Bars
Mix:
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. salad oil
1-15 oz can pumpkin
Sift:
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t.ginger
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. nutmeg
Combine and pour into floured 12″ x 18″ pan  Bake 350.  25-30 minutes
Frosting:
Beat: 3 oz. cream cheese
3/4 stick butter
Add:  1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 T. cream or milk
1 t. vanilla

Francy brought her friend, Roxanne, who was knitting her first project.  It’s a long scarf – pretty!  We were glad to see Roxanne and hope to see her finished project soon.

I think that's Roxanne behind the scarf

Everyone was finishing works-in-progress.  Leslie was deciding how to put together her rug blocks.

Leslie at leisure

Linda was still working on her shawl with tassels.  I love this color.  It will look great on her.

Beautiful rose color

Marylane was knitting the first sleeve of her sweater.  Having done the back and sides, she was wondering about matching the sleeves.  Should she try?  Or should she just take it as the yarn comes?  Not sure anything was settled, but it surely is going to be a beautiful sweater.

Sleeve #1

Francy is working on the henley topdown sweater for her son-in-law.

Henley by Francy

Francy is the crochet Queen of the Castoffs.  She showed Leslie how to do a triple crochet to join her rug blocks (although I think Leslie decided to stick with a double crochet) and she showed me how to do a single crochet around Lucky’s (my husband’s) earflap hat that I just knitted.

PippiMarshaStocking

If you think it looks goofy on me, just wait.  Lucky reluctantly modeled for me when I got home.

PippiSantaStocking

Mary sewed the horsey button onto her green hat for her friend’s baby, Slade.  Isn’t that a great name?  Slade.  Makes me think of lanky cowboys who roll their own ciggarillos.  The hat doesn’t make me think of that, though.  It’s adorable.

What a cherub!

We missed Julie, who had an upset tummy that she didn’t want to share.  Thank you, Jules for being so considerate, but we did miss you.  We missed Carol, whose kitty had to be put down today.  So sorry, Carol.  We were all thinking of you.  We don’t know where Deb was but we missed her too. and Michele was doing a teacher conference thing.  Anyway, we hope to see everyone next week at Leslie’s house.

I’ll leave you with a photo of the Castoffs in their natural habitat.  Beside the wine!

Cheesh, where's the wine?

Until we meet at Leslie’s house, have fun and keep those needles blazing!

Mary’s house – Saturday, September 19, 2010

The Castoffs made the long trek down to Wood’s Bay to Mary’s house on a rainy Saturday.  Although we couldn’t sit on the deck (too cold!), we enjoyed the beautiful view from Mary’s living room.  Mary served us some great tasting food – cold cuts with tortillas and pesto, fruit salad and a garden fresh salad with oil from Italy (thanks to Mary’s daughter Larissa who lives there).  We all topped it off with brownies and ice cream.  Thanks, Mary!  We felt well-feasted.

Looked great and tasted better!

Sometimes I think I describe the food more than the knitting at our meetings.  Speaking of excellent things, Mary served a few of us a great wine (with lime wedges) that we’ve had before.  Wine of the week?  New Age!

Refreshing wine

We are such a diverse group.   I feel very lucky to be a part of these women.  So much fun!  Several of us have taken the big leap to SOCKS.  Now, socks are not the easiest project if you’ve never tackled double-pointed needles.  Yes, I know that there are other methods for knitting socks – teeny circular needles (which look very cool and which I’d like to try) and longer circular needles (the ‘magic loop’ method).  Double-pointed needles, however, are the traditional way to sockdom.  Carol has graduated to sockdom and we were thrilled to see her first finished sock.  Carol was pretty thrilled, too.

SOCK! SOCK! SOCK!

Another Castoff who is really branching out is Deb – finally finished with her scarf.  Yay!  She started on a beautiful hat and we all love the yarn.

Can't wait to see the completed project!

Deb came for lunch, dashed out to go to a wedding, dashed back to join us for a little knitting and talk.  Thank goodness the wedding was close to Mary’s house.

Marylane brought her finished needlepoint picture and we were all very impressed.  Next summer when her sister Joan returns from Arizona, Joan’s husband Jeff is going to make a frame for the needlepoint.

Which way is up? Whichever way you want!

Marylane also brought her gorgeous sweater that she started, but she didn’t work on it here – too much distraction.  We get that, don’t we, Castoffs?  Instead she worked on a hat for a library fundraiser basket raffle.

Ambitious, beautiful sweater project

Speaking of ambitious sweater projects, Francy is knitting a top-down sweater for her son embellished with a three-color design that she made up as she went.  Wow.  You are the diva, Francy.

You are the MAN...uh, WOMAN, Francy!

Mary, once a self-described ‘knitwit’ (her words, not mine – well, most of the time) has really come on strong.  She showed us the ubiquitous polar bear scarf that is, really, nearly finished.  The poor bear finally has a nose and claws.  Can eyes be far away?  We suggested a tiny trail of red yarn streaming from his little mouth, but Mary wasn’t impressed.

If he could only see, you'd be in trouble, Mary

Mary also showed us the sweet little fleece baby hat that she finished.  So adorable!

Awwwww!

I glanced over and saw Michele RIPPING yarn off a hat in a most devil-may-care manner.  Don’t worry, she was just taking some off in order to make it longer.  Huh?  Yep.  It is so liberating to rip out, isn’t it Michele?

OUT, damned yarn, OUT

I brought my chevron scarf.  As of this posting, it is all knitted and I only have to graft the two ends together to complete it.  Then I might start a hat or finish a sweater that I goofed on in the spring and put away in disgust.  Now that it’s cooler, I will give that sweater another chance.

Ahh, it's good to finish a project and move on

Julie, Julie, Julie is working on her shawl, although she ruefully told us that now the heat is coming on more in her workspace.  Yesterday it was 75 degrees – hardly shawl weather.  Ah, but knowing the workplace (I used to work there), the temperature is notoriously unreliable.  Keep knitting, Jules.

The shawl that may never do its job

We had so much fun – missed Leslie and Joan, of course.  Next week we meet at Deb’s house to felt mittens that Michele has knitted.  Should be a lot of fun and I hope to see you all there!  Until then, keep those needles blazing.  I’ll leave you with the silent version of our meeting – photos of the busy bees.

Mary, Julie and Carol

Linda, Francy and Michele

Deb’s house – June 3, 2010

The Castoffs met at Deb’s house on a blustery, cloudy day that miraculously did not include rain.  We are tired of rain.  Anyway, Deb met us with munchies and a great light wine that was new to me.  It is called NEW AGE and is a tasty summer wine, especially with a slice of lime.  Thanks Deb!

Mary brought to our attention that this was National Doughnut Day (who knew?) and she shared a pattern with us.

Knit a doughnut day!

When we looked at the pattern and discovered that the doughnut in question was knitted with size 00 needles, we decided to skip the calories.  But thanks for thinking of us, Mary!  Mary was still busy knitting a dishcloth – she had even knitted some between meetings.  Good knitter.

Dishcloth queen

When I looked across the room, she and Michele were deep in thought looking at a pattern and I think the question was about the poor neglected polar bear scarf.  Poor bear – put away until cooler weather.

Do you think I should put him out of my misery?

Michele had sad news about her bathroom curtain.  When she placed it beside the existing curtain (that this color will be added to) she discovered that the needle size was wrong and that she had to start over again.  ARRGH!  Sometimes knitting is frustrating.  Anyway, she has come a long way since the great ripping so we all have high hopes for the curtain.

And now...it will match!

Francy is knitting mittens!  Mittens?  Yes, mittens!  I think this must be an interim project between baby things, don’t you think?  They are pretty and are made with a pattern that Julie gave her.

Mitten! A quick, small project

Linda was knitting a dishcloth too – the famous ball band pattern that we all love.  She had finished Carol’s scarf and it looks great on Carol.

Linda's finished dishcloth...and her future one.

We love it, she loves it! Great scarf, Linda!

Carol told us that her son, Duncan, got a great job offer in Alaska, so he, his wife and unborn son are moving up to the Great North.  We are sad for Carol because she won’t be there when the baby is born, but we are happy for Duncan.  Carol will just be planning trips to Alaska!  The little family will be home in the fall for Grandma Carol to see the baby.

Blanket for a Great Northern baby

I am making progress on the afghan that I’m knitting for my sis-in-law Marty.  Everyone likes the color much better now that they can see it in a pattern.  I like it better myself.

Florida afghan growing

Marylane is only a few bracelets away from completion for her reunion.  Here is one that she made from yarn leftover from Michele’s block afghan project.  We all liked the way it came out.  Sorry for the out-of-focus shot.  Just call it artsy.

Ginormous blurry bracelet. Not really - operator error.

Deb was working on her daughter’s scarf.  Mary said that earlier in the day, Deb came into Mary’s office and casually asked where knitting would be today…”Uh, YOUR house, Deb.”  Mary said that the look on Deb’s face was priceless.  Here is the serene hostess.

Didja have to leave work early, Deb, to get ready for us?

We all had fun playing with Izzy, Deb’s Yorkie, who examined and sniffed us and our projects.  We loved having her little nose in our business.

Izzy!

Next Saturday is Knit in Public Day!  Hard to believe that a year ago is when I started this blog.  Marylane sent me the information for our day of knitting in Kalispell, so I’ll pass it on to you.

Join us at World Wide Knit in Public Day!

WORLD WIDE KNIT IN PUBLIC DAY

June 12, 2010 in Kalispell

Join us as we knit with thousands of other knitters

around the world on the same day!

This event will take place between 8 am and 6 pm in several locations around Kalispell.

Come to any or all scheduled locations.

Times Locations

8-10      Colter Coffeehouse, 424 S. Main.

Buy a latte and pastry to start your knitting day.

10-12 Corner of Main & Center Streets at Kalispell

Center Mall. If rain – inside the Mall.

Shop or pick up local produce at the Farmer’s Market.

12-2      Bonelli’s Bistro, 38 First Ave. E.

Bonelli’s entree or your own sack lunch.

2-4 Conrad Mansion, 300 block Woodland Ave.

Described as the most authentic pre-1900 Mansion in the Pacific Northwest, open 10-4, Tuesday–Sunday. This historic home features antique furniture, original clothes, and personal items belonging to one of the founding families of Kalispell.

4-6 North Bay Grill, 139 1st Ave. W.

Finish the day with a cool drink.

Bring:  lawn chair

For additional information call:  Paulette 257-9514 or Marylane 257-5793

World Wide Knit in Public Day was created by Danielle Landes in 2005.

To find out more about WWKiP Day visit wwkipday.com.

We will meet next week at Julie’s house and talk about Knit in Public Day.  See you all at Julie’s!  In the meantime, keep on knittin’!

Marsha’s House – February 18, 2010

We all met at Marsha’s house and there were a lot of us.  Francy and Michele weren’t there, but Linda was here and the rest of us: Deb, Mary, Leslie, Carol, Marylane, Julie and me!  We all enjoyed the two dips that Eli made, roasted red pepper and spinach-artichoke.  Thanks Eli!  We also enjoyed two bottles of wine – Jacob’s Creek Shiraz and Chateau St. Michelle Riesling.  Plus tea for two!

We feasted well

It was almost Carol’s birthday, so we sang to her and she was thrilled, I’m sure.

Beautiful birthday girl! Happy day, Carol

We talked a lot about social issues this week, about the Radical Right and their abortion opposition and about the Right to Die issue that was recently voted into legislation in Montana.  We were all heartened to hear about that.   Our state is a weird mix of lefties and righties, unfortunately the righties are louder.  We Lefties are a hardy bunch, though and make our feelings known, especially at knitting.

On a lighter note, Mary brought her newly pedicured toes to show us.  Lefties and righties.  Just thought I’d throw that in.

Hey, I haven't seen bare feet in 6 months! Except my own, of course.

It was good to see Deb and Linda knitting so diligently – Deb on the scarf that is almost finished, and Linda on Yoga socks.

Deb and Linda with just a peek at Mary's hat

Linda asked my help on a loose row of her yoga socks, but I had to admit that I had never knitted socks on double pointed needles.  I’m knitting some now using the ‘magic loop’ method which isn’t so magical for me.  Michele exclaimed in rapturous tones about the ‘magic loop’ method, but I’m not loving it as much.  I’m getting the job done, but I find that the loop stretches the gap between the front and back of the sock.

Magic Loop sock

I shouldn’t moan so much until I finish it.  I am enjoying the cable pattern, however.

Mary's hat for Larissa taking shape

Mary is knitting her daughter, Larissa, a cool hat with self-striping yarn. Although Mary swears that she determined how the stripes would come out, the rest of us have our doubts.  Not to mention the yarn company…Pretty colors though!  Mary is one of the few of us who got a lot done at this meeting.  The rest of us, as you can see from the next few photos, were not so diligent or so serious.

The ONE true scarf

Leslie (yes, that IS Leslie behind the bridesmaid bhurka)  is actually showing us that this is the FIRST (of seven) ‘thick and thin’ scarf for her daughter’s seven bridal attendants.  There’ll be a whole lot of knittin’ goin’ on before that wedding.  Can’t wait to see number 2.

Your halo is unraveling, Marsha

No, I wasn’t looking to heaven for guidance, this is the neck of a top-down sweater that I’m knitting.  I needed something easy to work on instead of my ‘magic loop’ sock.  Julie caught me in a goofy pose.

Speaking of, Julie DOES look rather angelic.  Maybe she was just pooped from working too much.  She working on a hat – don’t remember anything else about the hat – just a hat.

What an angel! Hey, wake up!

Marylane is knitting bracelets for all of her female relatives that are coming to their next family reunion.  I think that sounds a little gender-exclusive, Marylane.  What are you going to knit the guys?

Beautiful bracelets with beads, some felted, some not

Sorry this photo was a little fuzzy, but at that point, so was I.  Marylane was sitting so close to the stove in my den that Leslie and I were afraid that the bracelets were going to spontaneously felt themselves right in her hand.  Hot, hot, hot.

I-Cord factory

Next week the meeting will be at Marylane’s house.  I will be on my way to Florida to soak up some sun (I hope) and I will really miss my Castoffs a lot!!!  They have promised to send raw data for the blog…now this could be very interesting.  I can’t wait to see what turns up in my email.  Have fun and keep on knitting!  See you in a couple of weeks, Castoffs!

Marsha’s deck – September 3, 2009

We met on Marsha’s deck on Thursday afternoon under cloudy skies with some wind but the weather cooperated and we had a lovely meeting.  I (Marsha) finally finished my short-sleeved Henley sweater and everyone insisted that I put it on.

Marsha's blue Henley sweater.

Marsha's blue Henley sweater.

Leslie came in and shrieked “That is the most un-homemade sweater I’ve ever seen!!”  I took that as a huge compliment.  Thank you, Leslie.  Speaking of, Leslie told us all about her daughter’s proposal.  We all are thrilled with her good news.

I had made a pound cake and Eli made salsa, so we had the food groups covered, what with the wine and lemonade and chips.  So all we had to do was to keep the yellow jackets away from everything.  Unfortunately, the little buggers were all over our food.  Julie was particularly blessed with insect life.  First, one dive-bombed into her wine:

Come on in, the Merlot is fine!

Come on in, the Merlot is fine!

Then another and another committed self-immersion, but Julie persisted in pulling them out until she had quite a collection on her plate.

I think they enjoyed the pound cake almost as much as Julie.

I think they enjoyed the pound cake almost as much as Julie.

Thankfully the wind came up and kept them away.  Although, after everyone had gone home, Eli poured a glass of Riesling and a yellow jacket slid into his glass.  Hmmm.  Glad he got the last glass.

It must be fall.  Carol and Francy are knitting fingerless gloves and mittens, respectively.

These gloves are great, and we all loved the yarn.

These gloves are great, and we all loved the yarn.

Winter must be around the corner.  A whole lot of mitting going on.

Winter must be around the corner. A whole lot of mitting going on.

Francy’s matching mittens and hat look beautiful.  I think they are Christmas gifts.  We all think that Carol should keep these gloves for herself.  They look great on her!

I want some of these!

I want some of these!

Linda and Michele are both working on socks.  Linda’s are striped and very colorful.

Great striped socks.

Great striped socks.

Michele introduced the WHINE OF THE WEEK with her socks.  She is trying a new pattern that is worked toe-up, but she keeps getting holes as she decreases stitches.  She is following the instructions, but still has HOLES.  Grrrrrr.  The rest of the socks are worked using a “magic loop” method.  I had an explanation of the method in a magazine (with photos). It uses long circular needles, but the work is pushed up onto the needle tips in between rounds.  I want to use this method myself, so I hope Michele is having some success in figuring it out!  I’ll have a photo next time, I hope.  It really is frustrating when you follow the instructions faithfully, but still have a problem, like with HOLES.  This is more than a WHINE, right Michele?  I had a whine of my own.  When I ripped out some of my top-down purple sweater, I put the yarn back on the needles twisted.  Sooo, I had a funny twisted row that I knew I’d have to rip out again.  Michele explained to me how to make sure my stitches were on correctly – it was something about the cowboy’s legs are thrown over the needle (the horse) with the right leg forward.  I got it, even though everyone else laughed at Michele’s illustration.  I’ll have to remember the right leg forward rule when I rip out any other rows (which I’m sure I will).

Leslie worked on her little scarf, Marylane worked on her yellow sweater and Julie was agonizing over a cable stitch headband that refused to go the way she wanted.   We all knitted, talked, ate and drank and brushed away pesky insects.  It was a wonderful afternoon.

Happy knitters, good friends!

Happy knitters, good friends!

Welcome to our knitting blog from Kalispell, Montana

Hello!  Welcome to our inaugural post of the Castoffs, a group of lively knitters, inquiring political minds and women who just want to have fun.  We invite you to sit in on our weekly meetings and hear what we have to say.  We also want to show off our wonderful projects.  And any that aren’t so wonderful receive a chanting of our group’s mantra, “Oh, well, it’s only a…”  Here you fill in the blank.  “It’s only a dishcloth!”  “It’s only an afghan!”  “It’s only a @!*$&!! twenty dollar a skein alpaca heirloom sweater!!”

But the point of our blog is to share our triumphs and frustrations, our joy in knitting and our love for our companions.  We will be posting whatever we discuss at our meeting, from sailing on the beautiful Flathead Lake to hiking in Glacier Park; from Michele’s excellent recipe for chocolate Grenache cake (yummmy!) to the kinds of wine we like to drink while we knit (gimme a red!) and occasionally we will bitch about Republicans, so consider yourselves warned.

So grab a skein of yarn, a couple of needles, sit back and join us.  We love to knit and we are quite knowledgable (if I do say so myself)  and plan to share a lot of great patterns and opinions.