Lots of Finishes This Week.

Donna has been our busiest member this week. She finished The Snowman which most of us threatened to pinch when she wasn't looking. This one is for herself but she is thinking of making one for a friends little girl who is a huge fan. She also finished the above scarf and bag. The scarf feels silky and I think you can see the sparkles in the bag from the photo. She is now working on a pair of lacy fingerless gloves. The pattern calls for sock wool to be used but Donna is keeping her sock wool to make socks and so used a similar weight yarn.

Elaine finished a hat for Linda's shoe box charity. Th yarn is a lovely dark blue with sparkles through it. On the night she was working on a matching scarf in a lacy pattern. Like the red sparkly yarn from last week everyone admired this one.

Moira finished the doll she had been working on. As you can see she is extremely cute and was well admired. Moira is now practising her crochet and is working on a lilac matt.

Dawn Marie finished the hat and scarf set she had been working on for a friend. The yarn she used is Sidar crofter which knits up like fair isle. A firm favourite in the group right now. The scarf was knitted in stocking stitch and the had was done in crochet. Dawn Marie is now working on a crochet baby blanket using striping yarn.

Another finish from Margaret this week. She knitted this baby cardigan with little cat buttons for a friend in work who is pregnant. Margaret is now working on a hat and mitts set to match the cardigan.

I have also been working on baby items. I knitted the above baby hats and bootees for a baby shower we will be holding at the end of the summer. I spent the rest of the evening knitting a square for this years charity. The throw will be back next week.


Helen has also been busy. A friend asked her if she would mind knitting some premature baby items to be sent to Haiti. As she has been given a very small time frame in which to get it done she decided on hats on managed to finish quite a few. She spent the evening finishing the hat in the second photo (photographed next to a book to give an idea of size) and making a start on another.

It's been a while since I listed what everyone else was working on. This time I took notes so that I didn't leave anyone out. Joyce was working on a lovely baby cardigan using fair isle yarn. It's very sweet with short sleeves and a little flower. Roberta was working on a cardigan using striping yarn. For a nice change this one is for herself. Linda was working on a pair of bed socks (Ginnie would have been proud). Magdalena was working on a lovely shawl. She hopes to get it finished in time for Gartmore so that she can wear it whilst exploring the grounds. Alison was working on her cross stitch of a house which seems to be growing quickly. Julia was there too but the top she is knitting for herself didn't make an appearance. I took up most of her time with her member of the month interview (look out for this in a few days) and of course we had aunty visiting.

We also have a recommendation from Donna. If you have an ipod touch or an iphone you can download an app called knit buddy. It keeps track of your stash, needles and projects you are working on or are going to work on next. Handy when you are going shopping for needed supplies.

Lastly we have our first three squares for our charity knitted by myself and Margaret. These were done with 42 stitches on 4mm needles rather than the 32 on 6mm.

Socks Revolution!

Most of our finishes this week were socks. Ginnie was very pleased that her sock revolution is going well. The above socks were knitted by our very own sock lady, Ginnie. She used an alpaca yarn which was so lovely and soft. The colours are also amazing. That night she was working on a red pair of socks for a friend. The yarn was Regia Christmas and had gold sparkles through it. Everyone was oohing over it.

I tried my hand at a different pattern and yes these socks will actually fit the adult they are intended for. I do recommend though that if you come across a pattern like this that you do the size bigger than you normally would. I spent the evening working on a purple throw.

The socks above were knitted by Margaret which she finished on the night. This was her very first pair of socks (and the reason Ginnie was so pleased about her growing empire, lol). She is already planning her second pair although has started working on a blue aran cardigan.

The above beautiful baby set was knitted by Ada. She has been trying to use up a lot of yarn and so has been working on these sets. The photo really doesn't do the pattern justice. Ada was working on another set in a similar pattern during the evening.

The above hat and mits set were knitted and embellished by Elaine. She makes the hats and mits and sells them (Our Joyce bought one herself). The bonnets have been a big hit with the group especially with all the bows and beads Elaine adds.

As mentioned the sock revolution is growing. We can confirm that there will be a sock knitting class at our weekend away. Three people have already said they would like to do this.

Our official 2010 charity is Knit a Square. We will be knitting 8x8 inch squares and sending them away to be made into blankets. These blankets go to orphan children in South Africa most of whom have to deal with Aids/HIV. The squares can be knitted or crocheted and is a great way of using up scrap yarn. The suggested pattern calls for double knit yarn on 6mm needles with 32 stitches. It is then knitted in garter stitch. However, if you would like to do a pattern you can so long as it fits the dimensions. Also, if you would rather use 4mm needles (recommended size for double knit) then cast on 42 stitches.

This week will be member of the month. February's interview victim is the lovely Julia. There also might be an announcement about this years Spring challenge.

Our Charity

As you can see Margaret finished her white sampler blanket. The pattern was from the magazine The Knitter which is a favourite amongst the group. Margaret has now moved on to her first attempt at knitting socks.

Roberta said she had been busy over the week and indeed she had. First of all the finished baby cardigan. As mentioned earlier Roberta doesn't like the cardigan due to the colouring of the yarn. Most of us like that aspect of the cardigan. The second is of a lovely scarf Roberta knitted for herself. It was admired so much that she is now knitting another one for a friend. Last, Roberta also finished a lovely green cardigan for herself.

Alison finished her railway cross stitch last week but wanted to wait until it was pressed and framed before any photo's were taken. It was worth the wait as it looks stunning in the frame. This was a Christmas present for her dad. She is now working on a cross stitch of a house for herself.

Lastly this is a pair of socks I knitted for a friend. It's done in Sirdar crofter fair isle yarn. Which is a favourite among some members of the group just now. A number have used it and have liked the fair isle pattern the yarn makes. I am still working on a throw for my sister and knitting socks in between.

Ginnie was working on a pair of socks using a lovely alpaca yarn. Janette was working on a quilted pram cover. Donna was working on the last finishing touches of her snowman (hopefully we will have a photo next week). Dawn Marie was working on her scarf and hat set. Moira was starting up some crochet. Josephine was working on a white crochet blanket. Our Julia was back and was working on her pink cardigan. Joyce was working on a top. Helen was working on socks for her daughter, Laura.

We also got a final vote on what charity we will do this year. We are going to knit squares and send them away. The squares will become blankets for children in Africa (it gets very cold at night). I will print out the details for everyone for next week.

Finishes on the day

Here is Janette showing off the Cowl she finished. She knitted it using a lovely yarn given to her by an American visitor. The American visitor came along to the Sunday group whilst she was visiting Glasgow and brought along some goodies.

Janette also managed to finish a quilt during the group. This quilt is made up of simple squares and is for a children's charity.

This beautiful baby cardigan was knitted by Ada and shown off by Elaine. Ada is now working on a Topsy Turvy doll in an attempt to use up some stash.

Ginnie also finished what she had brought to work on that night. A lovely pair of socks. She started them as something to do whilst at the hairdressers.

The third finish of the night was this beret knitted by Magdalena and shown off by Monika. The beret is for Magdalena's daughter. Like Ginnie and Janette she brought it along to work on during the evening and managed to finish it before going home.

Monika brought along this little heart to work on and also finished it before heading home. She is thinking of making more for Valentines. This one though she is thinking of adding some lavender oil to and hanging in a room.


We had yet another new member this week. Barbara is a friend of Monika and Magdalena. She was working on some cross stitch.

If anyone would still like to choose a possible charity for us to work on please tick your favourite on the sheet I gave out and get it back to me as soon as you can. If you don't have a sheet let me know. At the moment we are at a tie between three different choices.

Ravelry

This is just a quick message to let everyone know you will also now find us on Ravelry. If you haven't heard of ravelry it's a big fancy message board for knitters. It allows you to contact other knitters and get inspiration from their projects. You can join online groups such as our new one. I have joined a British, Glasgow, Scottish and Sock group. There are also groups with knit alongs. Even better it allows you to track your projects, stash, books and needles. I highly recommend it.

Tight Squeeze

I thought that since we have been in our new home for a few weeks now that it was time for a group photo. As you can see it's a bit of a tight squeeze and that's without all of our members there. We can make space though and it doesn't stop us from wondering about and seeing what everyone else is up to. According to the lovely people at Starbucks the noise has increased considerably, lol.

Our talented Val has been at it again and finished another beautiful quilt. The photo hides some of the detail unfortunately but it was much admired by everyone in the group. Val is working on a quilt using Japanese quilting. She does this during the get togethers as it's portable and keeps larger projects like the one photographed above to work on at home.

Donna has a lot of friends who are expecting just now. The crochet blanket from last week is going to one of them. She also finished a cute hat this week which will be needed in this weather. Donna is now working on a snowman toy.

Elaine finished the scarf for her daughter. You can see Elaine posing with it. She added some sequence as her daughter likes sparkles. She also got an old beaded necklace and stitched the beads to the bottom of the scarf.

Dawn Marie sent me some photo's of items she finished over Christmas. The first one is of a throw she made for a friend. The friend got a hold of it before Dawn Marie could bring it in to let us see it. She also did a lovely crochet bag and a crochet bunny. She is now working on a scarf and hat set for another friend using fair isle yarn (a favourite amongst the group just now).

We also had Margaret working on her white sampler blanket. Magdelana was working on a delicate, crochet doily. Moira was working on a knitted doll. Ada was also working on a doll. Her doll is a topsy turvy one and she is using up some old stash. Joyce was working on a baby cardigan in a lovely shade of red. Roberta was also working on a baby cardigan in pinks and purple (she isn't happy with the colours but we think it will look lovely when done). Josephine, our newest member, was working on her crochet blanket which had grown considerable since last time.

I also handed out some info sheets to everyone. I am pleased to announce that our 2nd birthday weekend away has now been booked for the 15th and 16th May. Our sock lady, Ginnie, suggested we go have a look at Gartmore House which is lovely and we ended up booking the second weekend. I just need everyone's info sheets back as soon as possible so that we can get definite numbers and give the lovely people at Garmore the information they need. Should be fun and the grounds are beautiful if anyone wants to bring their camera.

The second info sheet I gave out was in regards to contributing to another charity this year. We collected lots for premature babies at the local maternity unit who emailed us with a thank you. I thought this year we could get everyone to pick from a list and then contribute to the favourite. No one should feel obliged to take part if they have huge to do lists but some members did ask what we were doing this year. If I could have those sheets back as soon as possible to so that we can make a final choice.

One last announcement. Our sister group who was once based in Borders, Buchanan St have found another home. They will now be meeting at the usual tim of 10.00am to 1.00pm on Sundays in Cafe Wander. You can find Cafe Wander on West George St right next door to Frankensteins.