Quiet Night

Last night was a quiet one. Not a lot of us there due to illness and the horrible weather. On the bright side though Gillian brought along a gorgeous Christening dress she knitted about 10 years ago. It is knitted using 2ply wool and was done as a way of challenging herself. The photo below allows you to see it in more detail.

We had one finish this week. I managed to finish the baby blanket I had been working on the last two weeks. The pattern came from a page a day calendar. Last night I worked on a preemie baby cardigan instead (a charity we might be knitting for as a group).

Also on the needles were a couple of scarves, a colourful hat, a child's tunic, a sweater, an evening wrap and more baby clothes. For once though I have some photo's of everyone's projects. All but the evening wrap as the sparkly yarn used didn't turn out to well in the photo (was very pretty though).

Louise mentioned that she had some friend going to India next month on behalf of a charity. I might be posting a request regarding this from Louise this week.

Growing and Expanding!

Here is Julia with her finished Santa as promised. He looks amazing and is so cuddly. He's a lot bigger than we were all expecting. Didn't seem quite that size watching Julia knitting away. He is fantastic though and was admired by all. Julia is now working on a baby cardigan from a pile of patterns Joyce was giving out a few months ago. In a weak it looked like she had made a fair amount of progress.

Last week was quite exciting. We had 5 new members come along. Two are bringing along two friends next week. Another is also bringing along a friend. We had someone enquiring about our group and has promised to come along next week where she will learn to knit. If all these people do come back that will bring our group up to a total of 28 members (not including little Adam). Amongst our new members we had another beginner knitter who is learning through knitting a scarf. We had one person bring along her latch work which was fun to watch. Another was crocheting a scarf and another was knitting using some lovely funky fur.

We are still on the winter theme. Lots of scarves, sweaters and baby clothes.

On Tuesday there Janette asked if we could start up a group in the city centre Borders store. Sort of like a sister group. Ginnie the sock lady had also suggested this a few months back. Having spoken to the store manager he is more than happy for us to use some space in the basement of his store. The quietest time would be a Sunday morning from 10.00am until 12.00pm. All we need to do is organise starting dates. If people don't want to come along to two groups they can choose which day is best for them each week.

Speaking of Sock lady. She left a link to where the sock book can be purchased under comments. I'm adding it here Incas anyone who wants it misses it. The book can be purchased from iknit London.

Last but not least, a couple of our members are unwell. Helen was unable to come along due to sickness on Tuesday there. Her daughter, Laura, has also been ill for a while now. Just wanted to let you know we are thinking of you.

A Message From Sock Lady

And wasn't it great to see everyone again! Thanks Karen for publishing the latest sock -- it is one of Lucy Neatby's and comes from her book "Cool Socks, Warm Feet". Whilst I don't much like the way she lays out her patterns, there is no denying that they are fantastic! This one is called the Mermaid sock and achieves its chequered effect by using a striping yarn (in this case Ringals by Regia) and a spiral pattern. It is also the first time I've tried the garter stitch 'short-row' heel. I like the effect a lot and may try it again. For the advanced knitters amongst you, you may want to check out the new knitting magazine 'The Knitter' which is a very up-market produce with some fab designs (no socks yet, alas).

I shall be AWOL for a couple of weeks whilst I am on my travels, but look forward to seeing you all again soon. Keep well and keep knitting.

The above message was added in the comments by Ginnie. I posted it here so that no one misses it. Unfortunately it doesn't look like this books is available anymore unless you are willing to buy it second hand. Here is a link to amazons listing anyway. I am sure though you could get it for less from ebay. You never know, with so many people knitting socks these days it might be re-released.

First Week Back

First week back and the only person to bring along anything to show off was our sock lady, Ginnie. How amazing are these socks? I should point out that this ones partner was being passed round the other side of the room. I've seen a similar pattern in scarves but not socks. They look so comfy and it's amazing how all the little squares match up.

Our first night was more of a catch up. Not a lot went on. Our littlest member, Adam, was along which kept Isobel occupied. I don't think Isobel got much knitting done but Magdalana was grateful as she was able to get some done.

Ginnie was on another pair of socks and finished the first of the pair that night. Anne is also still on the socks. Although she is going to try different sock patterns. She's getting bored with going round and round.

Lots of baby knitting going on. I was knitting yet another baby blanket. Margaret, Helen, Julia, Joyce and Gillian were all on baby clothes. Julia has finished her Santa and she has promised to try and bring him along next week for photo's. Magdalana was working on a top for her daughter, Donna was onto a second hat, Val was doing some cross stitch, Janette was working on her jacket and Monika was working on her scarf. Hope I haven't left anyone out.

I don't think there was anyone from the group missing that first night. It was good to see everyone back. Like Ginnie and Monika I was glad to be back and very much missed my Tuesday nights (and coffee) over the Christmas holiday.

Hopefully there will be more photo's next week as I will remember to bring my camera and not have to rely on my phone.

Last, the lovely Val and Janette got me a book called "sock and glove". It shows how to make soft toys out of gloves and socks. Will have to attempt one of them soon.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone. Can't wait to see you all on Tuesday and see what you have all been up to. I know Isobel has been learning crochet. So jealous, never been able to do it. Hope you all had a great holiday.
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