I am so humbled...

Well, Happy Hanukkah to those of you who celebrate ...Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, and a Joyous Whatever-else-you-want-to-celebrate. All best wishes for everyone in the upcoming year.

The title of this post is truly knitting related. Our wonderful friends Gail & Mel came down to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with us and Gail & I did what we always do...show & tell of what we have been working on since the last time we got together.

• Gail - three lace shawls (one beaded) , three hats with a very complicated stitch(two of which were Hanukkah gifts for Peter and I). That is what I SAW...I am sure she knitted more.
  
• Me - two neckwarmers (I will be knitting these until I die), two children's hats.

I (again) bow to the Knitting Goddess Gail is...Honey, I love you!!

P.S. I DID make potato latkes from scratch!!! On Hanukkah that counts, big time.

Click-Clack...get your needles rollin'

Hugs to all,

...Sari

Laura! Laura! Laura!

Look who showed up at Starbucks last night!

It's Laura from "All About Ewe"...which was a beautiful yarn shop in Locust Valley that (very unfortunately) Laura just closed for lack of a committed business partner :-(

Anyway, we put Laura to work immediately showing Sheryl how to fix a mistake in a heel flap (that's Margaret in the background looking on). Sheryl is working on her very first pair of socks...so this is her very first heel flap.

Margaret is working on a gorgeous sweater that involves lots of slip-stitching with beautiful variegated yarn. Sorry, no picture...I'll take one next time (promise).




Then there was Pam...yakking away with her sister-in-law and crocheting at the same time (the queen of multi-tasking). Pam is working on a lovely baby afghan for her newest grandchild (!) Emily and I sat across from Pam...Emily working on a pretty blue scarf and I'm making my zillionth neck cozy!

So...that was it for Starbucks Knit Night on October 24th! Just the six of us and it was grand!

Finally...Susan's Coat !!!

There are times when I think I should just hit myself upside my head and call it a day! About a million years ago (okay I exaggerate a bit...but only a bit) Susan made this absolutely magnificent coat and we took pictures.

You will see Susan in her coat...




you will see Carolyn, Susan and Ruth...




and Ruth, Susan, and me (Susan is wearing a new shrug she made after the coat).






And...if you are wondering when these pictures were taken, we sneaked off to have a private knit night at the Starbucks in Great Neck because we hadn't had any time to catch up with each other.

SSSSHHhhhhhhh.......don't tell :-)

July already???

There is a lot to tell...my "Down-the-shore" time was just wonderful. I went down by train (actually 2 trains) on Tuesday night and Wednesday was the day for the three of us in the last posting. Stayed over at Diane's and had home made muffins on her front porch in the morning and then we had a wine & cheese afternoon on Pat's front porch...followed by a lovely dinner at the Avon Pavilion and back to Pat's for dessert.
Diane dropped me off at my StepDad's (Sy) at the end of the evening.

The next two days were spent cleaning and getting the house ready for Sy's birthday celebration which would be on Sunday (party in a local restaurant and then back to the house).

On Saturday, we had a mini-reunion of a whole bunch of us who graduated Long Branch High School in 1969!!! I hadn't seen most of these women since the day we graduated!!! It was a really fun afternoon...lots of catching up, tears, laughter, pictures, and FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!!!




Then, Sy's 85th birthday party on Sunday, June 24th...doesn't he look good???










All in all, it was a wonderful visit...once we were back to Long Island the June Starbucks Knit Night Out was on June 26th. I'll post more on the knitting next time. For now...gotta run!

Going "down-the-shore" :-)

Anyone who has grown up in New Jersey knows the phrase "down-the-shore". It means the beaches in NJ from Sandy Hook to Cape May...depending on where you land your blanket in the sun. For me, "down-the-shore" is the Long Branch - Asbury Park area which is where I spent my teenage and young adult years.

Tonight I will take the train to see my friends Diane & Pat (below L-R: Diane, Pat, me):



We worked together many (MANY!!!) years ago and still get together several times each year. The best part of that is the time just melts away and it's like we've seen each other yesterday. I'm psyched...got my knitting all packed and will leave on the train after dinner tonight.

Wednesday will be "girls day" on the beach (pray for nice weather) and then dinner. After that, I will go to my StepDad's and help him prepare for the weekend...we are having a party for his 85th birthday at a local restaurant and we need to straighten up before folks come back to the house after the party. Peter will drive down on Friday and then the party is Sunday...30 people!!! Oi Vay...

Will post more after the weekend...hugs to anyone who reads this :-)

Neck Cozies across the country

Neck Cozies make really good car knitting! I made eight of them while Peter and I were driving from New York to Idaho! I gave three away while we were in Idaho...and the five in the picture are gifts for people at home.



What is a Neck Cozy??? It goes over your head and sits around your neck as an alternative to a scarf. I was looking through a knitting book in the library and saw a neck cozy project that gave me the idea. Then I just used two different stitches...feather and fan for the scalloped "female" version and K2, P2 rib for the more tailored "male" version.

When I brought them to the Starbucks Knit Night Out, I promised to post the pattern on the blog, so here it is:

Materials: One skein of worsted weight yarn (about 200 yards)
Size 8 - 16" circular needle
One stitch marker

Gauge: 4 or 4.5 stitches to the inch

Cast on 84 stitches. Join and place marker (be careful not to twist the stitches).
If you are working the K2, P2 version, just do that until it measures 8 or 9 inches and then bind off in pattern. Weave in loose ends.

For the Feather and fan version work as follows:

Row 1: KNIT all stitches

Row 2: (K2 TOG) two times; ** (YO, K1) 4 times, (K2 TOG) 4 times; REPEAT from ** until the last 8 stitches; (YO, K1) 4 times, (K2 TOG) 2 times.

Row 3: PURL all stitches

Row 4: KNIT all stitches

Repeat rows 1-4 until it measures 8-9 inches. End with row 4 and then bind off. Weave in loose ends.

Isabel's in Ketchum, Idaho

I want to show you one of my favorite yarn shops...Isabel's Needlepoint in Ketchum, Idaho. Idaho??? Yes, that's where my Dad lives. You may be more familiar with Ketchum as the home of the Sun Valley Ski Area (Mt. Baldy)...and I do get out on the mountain in the winter, however Dad is a MUCH better skiier than I am so we ride the chair together but don't actually ski together. But, I digress...

Isabel's is a beautiful yarn shop, located on the upper level of a retail building in downtown Ketchum (below - Isabel's is the top right side).


When you walk in , this is what you see (double-click on the pictures to see larger images):

What a feast for the eyes...gorgeous colors and beautiful yarns. The people who own and work at Isabel's are friendly and helpful. You can sit down at a big round table and knit or chat...or get right down on the floor and browse books or notebooks full of patterns.

If you are ever in Idaho...look them up!