Eastside Stitchers Brave the Weather

Hello:

Fog and rain all day today.  There might be snow mixed with the rain as we are supposed to get close to freezing tonight, but probably not low enough for anything to stick.

It was sleeting tonight, though, and since a few of our Stitchers live in the slightly higher altitudes where it is already snowing, we were missing some of our best buddies.

But, even with the threat of snow and ice, we had enough people to once again fill 2 big tables.  If this keeps up, we will need 3 tables soon, and by soon, I mean next Wednesday.

Who did make it to Crossroads Mall tonight?  and what were they stitching?


We had a new member come to Stitch Night:  MoonGoddessCC.  As she was sitting to my left I got a chance to check out the lovely hat she was starting.  It is the Lemon Drop Hat by Wendy Bernard.  MoonGoddessCC was knitting it in a Lorna's Laces in the Downton Abby colorway.

Anerenbe had made great progress on a lovely gray 1x1 ribbed hat for her husband.  The pattern is called, Mezwolam and is by Tina Hees.  The yarn is Sunshine Yarns Merino Sport in the color Edward's Volvo.

As usual, this speedy knitter had finished the hat before we left... She was seriously thinking of keeping it for herself.  And who could blame her, the yarn is lovely, and the simple pattern shows it off perfectly.

Wajio has made some nice progress on her 2 at a time socks.  These are  Shur'tugal by Alice Yu.  Since Wajio is a composite knitter, she has had to learn how to purl differently so she can make the twisted stitches that this pattern calls for.  They are coming out beautifully.

Tara1682 brought the most amazing colored yarn.  It is from Propaganda Yarns and is the Forest Park Carousel colorway.

The pattern is the Peacock Shawlette by Kitman Figueroa.  The yarn is more teal than this photo shows, but I think you can still get a sense of how amazing the color is.

MsWiz had brought some Show and Tell (one of our favorite things).

She has finished the Sheepish sweater by Alana Dakos.  Along with a matching hat.

MsWiz also brought a shawl that was finished, but not blocked:

And the lace scarf she is currently working on.  Last time I saw this scarf, I think she has about 3 inches finished.  Huge progress!

Vanesapolo brought a 2-piece garter stitch baby jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman.  She is knitting this in Lion-Brand Cotton-Ease.

GwenS brought a finished It's Only Geometry cowl by Chrissy Prange.  The yarn is Classic Elite Fresco.

She was working on her second Daybreak Shawl by Stephen West in Malabrigo Finito (of course).

One of the fun things in our Eastside Stitchers Group chat on Ravelry has been our New Year's Goals Thread.    A few of us are really trying to knit from our stash.  Chockelet has vowed to actually block her finished projects.  So, tonight she brought in some of the most wonderful FO's all blocked and ends sewn in.

The first is her Guernsey Wrap by Jared Flood.

Her Bias 'Before and After Scarf' by Churchmouse yarn and Teas.

Her beautiful 2012 Advent Calendar Scarf.

She brought in her very first lace shawl, finally blocked.  The pattern is called #18 Lace Shawl by Meg Swansen.

her Yin & Yang scarf:

The Valerie Shawlette:

 And finally, her Clapotis!

She was working on a new shawl, the Wrap Me Up by Chris de Longpre.

Chockelet has made a great start on her 2013 Goals!

Our other chocolate named member, Choclatier07, has started a Calorimetry.  She is using Cascade 220 in Lagoon.

Amigirl was knitting some toe up 2 at a time socks.  She is using HazelKnits Artisan Sock in Euphorbia.  The pattern is Sprucey Lucy, by Wendy D. Johnson.  Unfortunately, they were too big when she finished the toe increases, so she was in the act of ripping back, and figuring out an alteration to the pattern tonight.  Still they will be lovely socks.

We had one more member tonight, but she is a bit shy about showing her work on the blog for all of you to see.  That's fine.  Eastside Stitchers welcomes new and experienced stitchers, and those of us who are in between!

Peace.
Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet half asleep and hoping we will get some real snow tonight.

Eastside Stitchers Mostly Discuss Their Cats

Hello!

Winter is on the way here in the Pacific Northwest.  The sun is rising much later, setting earlier every day, and it is getting C-O-L-D.

Perfect knitting weather!

The Eastside Stitchers met as usual at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue.  We drew names for our Christmas/Holiday Gift Exchange.  We discussed starting a spinning group.  Since Skeinherder and I bought all that fiber on Whidbey Island last weekend, we thought we should actually start spinning it up.  We are going to try to meet at my house on Monday nights.  This way, people with spinning wheels can bring them, and we can spin in relative privacy.  This is especially for those of us (me) who are new and a bit shy about our lack of skills.  The idea is to meet from 6 -8.  If you are in the area, and interested in joining us, but haven't been able to make any of the Wednesday meetings, please pm me on Ravelry.  We are always open to new members.

On to the knitting.

GwenS is on the home stretch with her Guernsey Wrap by Jared Flood. She has 30 more rows plus 7 to go.  I think that adds up to 37.  But that is how Gwen explained it to me.

GwenS was wearing (and showing off) her beautiful Daybreak Shawl in Malabrigo Finito.  It is so soft.

Anerenbe gave all of us a moment of deja vu.  Here is her knitting from last week:

It's the Cecily Beret by Melissa LaBarre.

This is what Anerenbe was working on tonight:

It's the Cecily Beret!  and no, she didn't have to rip back, this is her second one.  She finished her first one, and had quite a bit of the yarn left, so decided to knit up a second one.
She has been bringing her project in the cutest project bag.

Anerenbe was wearing a beautiful lace scarf,  the "I Want You-Shawl" by Loredana Gianferri.  The yarn is Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock Yarn in the Peony colorway.

Tara1682 is experiencing a bit of Deja Vu herself as she knits her second Linen-Stitch Scarf by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas.  The first one she knit was for a friend, and this one is a gift for a family member.  The yarn is this beautiful tonal purple by Evermore Studios. an indie dyer.

Vanesapolo was finishing the I-cord on the Brioche Vest by Meg Swanson.

As usual, she had some beautiful show and tell.  She was wearing a lovely entrelac sweater,

She brought her multi-directional shawl to share,

and the raffle prize she won at KnitFit!

Skeinherder brought something new, well new to us.  She had dug something out of her UFO bin.  It is called the Rill Scarf by Miriam Felton.  The yarn is by  Robincat Yarns, an indie dyer from Austin, Texas.

Ellyol brought her finished "bear" for show and tell.  This is her second knitting project, and her first attempt at blanket stitch.  It is pretty amazing looking.

Chockelet brought her finished Clapotis.Gorgeous with all that sparkle!

She had only about 13 g of the yarn left.

She has begun another new shawl with yarn made from mink fur.  The kind of happy mink who live on a farm and play with dogs.  The kind of mink who are brushed daily for their fur.

Hrvdmnky showed up at the end with a beautiful shawl by Stephen West, Barndom. 

That's all for tonight.  Have a safe trip, Wajai!  We missed you Alifer, and Redbird1.  Don't worry, Ellyol drew names for you for the exchange.  Hope to see most of you on Monday for spinning.

Oh, about the title... Honestly, we spent the last hour knitting and discussing our cats.  

Stay safe and well.
Yours,

f1bercat
shaping the planet with great stitching Buddies.

Eastside Stitchers Discuss Halloween and Dr. Who

Hello!

Tonight was the regular Wednesday night meet up of the Eastside Stitchers, and thank goodness.  It is always so ... refreshing... to spend time stitching with my buddies.  Truly, no one understands my fiber feelings, but other stitchers.

The evening started off wonderfully for me because Jan attended and wow, she brought me some new fiber to spin on my spindle.  She knows I am just beginning to learn how to spin. and wanted me to have some new fibers to play with.  She brought me a bag of Cheviot and another of Alpaca.

They both felt really neat, the alpaca was especially soft.  Jan also showed me how to comb the roving to get it ready to spin.  I can't wait to play with these, and compare them to what I am currently spinning (I have no idea what it is other than WOOL).

But enough about my wonderful fiber presents and on to the important part of the evening, Who was there, and What were they knitting?  I can say "Knitting" tonight because everyone who came tonight had a knitting project.

Jan was working on a scarf.  This is for a local charity for seniors.  Most of the scarves that have been donated so far are obviously for women, so she thought she would make something that could be for a man, too.

Skeinherder was working on her Windward Shawl in the luscious Malabrigo. 

For Show and Tell, she was wearing a very pretty scarf; I think it was the Directional Colors Scarf by Lion Brand Yarn.

GwenS was knitting her Guernsey Wrap by Jared Flood.  The yarn is Shepherd's Wool.  She bought it during her own solo Yarn Crawl in Portland.

Too bad my photo is so awful.  You can just barely see the beautiful textured patterns.

Vanesapolo was a vision in red.  She was wearing her red February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne, knit in Knit Picks Swish Worsted in the color Serrano.

Vanesapolo was knitting in red, too.  The Brioche Vest by Meg Swansen in Bartlett Yarns.

When it was time to go, Vanesapolo put on a coat, a RED coat.  I'm sensing a pattern here...


Redbird1 had on a lovely pink Saroyan by Liz Abinante.

She has finished her top secret test knit and it should be in the mail tomorrow.  Tonight she brought her Three Yarn Magic Scarf to knit.

Colleen brought a beautiful mohair scarf in a stunning red.  Sorry the photo is so bad but my camera just hates red.

Chockelet brought a variety of projects.  She has been knitting up a storm.
First was her two-tone scarf  she is knitting in Shepherd's Wool.

But Chockelet spent most of the  night working on her Clapotis.

Anerebe was making good progress on her Cecily Beret by Melissa LaBarre.

I'm sorry again that this photo is not the best.  Anerebe had some really cute stitch markers in her knitting.  You can just barely see one of them.

My worst photo, though, is of Ellyol's bear.  She is doing a fabulous job.  I am so impressed at how quickly she picked up knitting, and how quickly she is improving her skills.  Note the change of color.

Ellyol also started a knitted hat tonight.  I did not get a photo, but she successfully joined it in the round, and was well on the way to a neat ribbing when we had to pack up.  Practice makes perfect, and she is really cranking out the knitting practice.

That's all for tonight.  Allifer came right at the end again.  We missed Hrvdmnky who was at Rhinebeck!  Tara who was... missing,Jen who was probably at work, and our other good fiber friends.

O!  I forgot to mention the title of this blog.  We will not meet next Wednesday as it is Halloween, but on Thursday, instead.  And for some reason, this caused a big discussion of Dr. Who.  I don't actually remember the tie-in.  But I am always ready to discuss Dr. Who.  David Tennant is my favorite Doctor.

Stay safe and well.
Yours,

f1bercat
Shaping the planet with great stitching buddies