Eastside Stitchers Make ANOTHER New Friend

Hello:

I awoke this morning to fog.  It was beautiful, but we could barely see past the house next door.  It took a while to burn off.  When I left at noon to go tutor a student in Math at our local high school, I am volunteering in the mentor program, the fog had started to disappear.  It seemed to be clearing from the top down

with the lake still shrouded in fog, but the rest of the area in sunshine.  At the top of our hill, I turned back and saw Mt. Rainier emerging from the gloom.

The rest of the day was crisp, clear, and C-O-L-D.  There is flu going around, so we were missing some of our friends from the regular Eastside Stitchers meet up at Crossroads Mall.  Also, some people were just too tired after work, so couldn't come either.  We missed them.  Our little group is getting big enough that we still needed 2 tables, but it is not the same.

However, we had a new stitcher.  Wireknitter, who we met at the Cat Bordi Class at Serial Knitters, came by to check out the fun.

She started out knitting some Turkish Bed Socks in a  Koigu yarn.

When Wireknitter got tired of working on these beautiful slippers, she put them away and worked on her Carson Shawl by Romi Hill.

Ellyol was crocheting a pair of socks in Plymoth Stilleto.  The pattern is Berries by Kim Kotary.

 You can see the opening for the Afterthought Heel.  It is a very clever design.

GwenS was knitting her second Daybreak.  Ok, her first one is very lovely.  I can't blame her for wanting another.

Redbird1 was knitting madly on her Eternity Cardigan in Shellter Yarn.  She is trying to finish it up to wear to the Madrona Fiber Festival in February.

Wajio has begun another pair of socks.  These are toe up, mystery socks by KnitPurlHunter, called Crimple.  The KAL is being sponsored by our newest local yarn shop, Makers Merchantile, a retail division of Skacel.

Colleen brought her lovely lavender baby blanket to Show and Tell.

Vanesapolo was finishing her 2 Piece Baby Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman.

She seamed it together with i-cord, and finished the edges with i-cord edging.  It makes such a beautiful finish.

Tara1682 came a bit late, but there was still room.  She was beginning a pair of felted slippers in Cascade 220.

Vanesapolo finished her EZ 2 Piece Baby Jacket before it was time to go.

Here is the finished front:

And here is the back:

There is some lucky baby out there.

We will be getting together again on Friday morning at about 9:30 in the center of the mall for brunch, lunch, and lots of knitting.  If you are near the Crossroads area, please join us.  Remember to bring your stitching.

Peace.
yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with stitching buddies.

freezing fog is in tonight's forecast!

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.