We all gathered at Michele’s house on a windy, rainy day.  Because it had been sunny and hot earlier in the day, Michele rigged up a sunshade over her deck from a huge tarp.  It turned out to be just the thing for rain, too.

Welcome to the casbah

I particularly liked the main support at the back.  A long window washer handle complete with squeegee.  Needs must!

Francy brought some antique woolen vests that were knitted by her former neighbors in Kalispell.  When the elderly sisters passed away, Francy and Harry bought the contents of their house and found these treasures, among many.  They look and feel pretty scratchy!  But a real slice of how to keep warm in the cold north.

Baby, it's cold outside!

Speaking of Francy, she is becoming quite an imaginative designer.  She brought along a tote to be felted that Leslie helped her knit.  Francy is mixing colors of yarns to achieve a blended look.

Please note the very professional drawing

Francy is also knitting another tote that is much more complex.  She drew a schematic of the design and so far it looks great.

Quite a complicated pattern, Francy!

We are very impressed and can hardly wait to see the finished result.  Maybe Francy will design a pattern for me…

Leslie brought along the bag she knitted for her daughter Sienna (whose wedding is this week!!) and Marylane was kind enough to model it for us.  I love this pattern with cables at top.  Leslie lined it in silk and put a magnetic closure at the top.  Very pretty!

Marylane on the catwalk

Joan and Marylane were sitting and enjoying the company and the CAKE that Michele made.  Michele is a wonderful baker and made us a zucchini cake with cream cheese icing that tasted great.  Thanks, Michele!

Mmmmm...zucchini cake.

Joan is working on her knitted (no purling allowed) squares and Marylane is needlepointing.  And they both are pretty darn funny.

Joan and Marylane - we love you!

I am reveling in NOT knitting that giant, hot afghan anymore, but I do like the way it turned out.  Quite pretty.  And I have enough yarn left over to do one for myself…but not until cold weather.

Yay! It's finished!

Now I’ve started on a scarf/shawl knitted from acrylic and bamboo – lightweight and lacy.  I like the design and the color.

Cool green bamboo

My…ahem…friends were teasing me about it’s size and shape, so I got caught in playing games about where I could wear it…

What would my mother say?

Anyway, it’s going to be quite a bit larger and will go around my neck or shoulders.  It’s a lighter departure from the heavy afghan, that’s for sure.

Mary bought some great fleece yarn to knit baby hats that will be warm this winter.  I didn’t know that you could buy fleece in skeins for knitting, but what a great idea!  These are great colors.

Soft fleece for soft little heads

Speaking of Mary, she and Deb looked like they were singing in this photo.  So funny, I had to include it.  Besides, Mary expects me to put goofy pictures of her online, right Mary?

"Row, row, row your boat...(row, row, row your boat)..."

Our little Julie finally made her way to a Castoffs meeting and, boy!, we were glad to see her.  It seems like a long time.  She is knitting a table runner but had run into problems.  Michele is helping her fix it.  I think it’s going to be very cool when she finishes it.  Lace patterns can be very tricky to undo and fix if you drop a stitch or two or three.

Lovely lace pattern

This week we’ll be sure to see Julie because the meeting is at her house!  We’ll miss Leslie, but she’ll be in the throes of wedding preparation and we wish Sienna and Ty all the joy that life can bring.

I heard the name of a knit shop in SLC and loved it, so I’ll pass it on to you – Blazing Needles!  Hope your needles are blazing this week, Castoffs.  See you later!

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