We all went out to Joan’s temporary house (for the summer) and there were TEN of us there, which may be a record for Castoffs.  We started outside on the deck:

What a beautiful group!

and talked and ate and looked at our gorgeous ‘thick and thin’ scarves that we all think are wonderful and that were joined by Carol’s scarf which she knit in a faggotting pattern.

Thick and Thin scarves with Carol's blue fagotting scarf on top.

I was blown away by Francy’s Moebius scarf that she finished.  She assured me that once the pattern was mastered, the scarf didn’t take long.  I really like the way it turned out!

Francy's Moebius scarf.

Since we seemed to be in a scarf-making mode, here is Carol’s seed stitch scarf that she is making.  You may not be able to see it in the photo, but the yarn has little sparkles.  Very pretty!

Ooh, sparkly!

Francy and I were talking about the pattern for the Moebius scarf and how a vital instruction was missing, when, all of a sudden, with a whirl, everyone else picked up the food and wine and scarves and whisked away inside!  What happened?  What’s going on?  I was clueless until Joan said, “Bees!”  Oh, we were being swarmed and I didn’t even notice.  Duh.  Francy and I picked up our bags and headed in behind all the other, more insect-sensitive knitters.  One or two of the little fellers sneaked in with us and before he was smashed to smithereens on the window screen, I was able to immortalize him/her/probably him.

Take that, you varmint!!!

After the excitement was over and our glasses were refilled, I noticed that Carol was exceptionaly quiet today.  She was bent over four double-pointed needles, staring intently at her instructions for fingerless mittens.  Suddenly, she spoke.

“I have a question.  Where do I start?”  For some reason we all found this to be hilarious and Linda started illuminating her about beginning at the beginning.

Where do I start????

We all went back to our own projects: Marylane to her felted purse, Joan to some actual knit AND purl mittens, Leslie to her teeny, tiny scarf that she can only do three rows of each week because the pattern is IMPOSSIBLE, Marsha to her top-down sweater.  Again we heard from Carol:

“Oh for the love of God, it didn’t work!  I’ve got an EXTRA ONE!”

A loop on the needle, that is.  Well, Amen Sista, at one time or another, we’ve all had an extra one, haven’t we?  Just drop it, knit two together or ignore it.  Welcome to mitten-world!  This qualified as WHINE OF THE WEEK!!  Thank you, Carol.

Leslie particularly enjoyed the WHINE OF THE WEEK! Give that knitter another glass of wine.

Michele is continuing to work on the cotton/tenzel poncho for her little cousin and this has to be the softest yarn I’ve felt in a long time.  I can’t wait to see how it turns out.   Hopefully, I’ll get a photo of it next week or the next, whenever she finishes it.

We had so much fun at Joan’s that we hated to go home.  Here are a couple of candids to wrap up the meeting.

Ave, Julie!

Sisters. They really look more alike than at the beginning of the summer! Must be the knitting bond.

Next week, alas, school begins and we had to reschedule to a Saturday to get a visit to Mary’s house on the lake.  So we’ll meet down in Wood’s Bay for an end-of-summer get-together.  I can’t wait to start more projects; Moebius scarf, fingerless mittens, tiny mitten decorations.  So much knitting, so little time!  Until next week, don’t stick the pointy ends in your ear!

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