Caboolture's Tuesday Knit and Natter 19/10/10

Hi All,

It isn't quite time to start cooking the dinner, as I don't know what train hubby will be on tonight yet, so I have time to sit and muse about this afternoon's Knit and Natter at Caboolture. On the third Tuesday of each month, we meet at the RSL Retirement Village in Caboolture, making use of their great sun room, right next to the Bowling Green. Today being a warm sunny day, we had the doors open to let in a fabulous cool breeze.

A quick mental count up tells me that there were 14 of us in attendance today, plus a couple of quick 'pop in, say hello and then disappear' visits. It was also Patricia's birthday, so of course we had to help her celebrate by eating all her cake!! White mud cake, yum!!

"Show and Tell" as always was interesting. I love to see what other people are making. The colour combinations that others come up with, are something I would never think of myself, yet look fantastic in the finished product. Today we were fascinated by a couple of cardigans for a small child. At first glance you thought it was made up entirely in moss stitch, but on closer inspection, it wasn't quite. We decided in the end to call it 'extended moss stitch' and I really must find out who had dropped them off, as I would love to know if it has a real name. Whatever, they looked great.

Some of the blankets that had been donated were also a treat. The amount of work that goes into making a single bed size blanket is not insignificant. Then to spend the time and effort to make it a work of art at the same time just blows my mind. Single bed size is really the smallest size that is viable for someone living on the streets. Any smaller, and there are too many gaps that let in cold air when someone tries to wrap themselves up. The temperatures over the past few days have been unseasonally cool here in SEQ, so blankets are still much in demand.

Today I proudly presented an adult jumper made by 'Moi', that incorporated grafting for the first time. Instead of casting off the shoulder stitches, and then seaming the shoulder, I used grafting, or Kitchener Stitch. I have never used this method before, and while not perfect, I was very pleased with the effect. Thank you so much to June for all her encouragement in getting me to take the plunge. Before I joined this group, I thought of myself as an experienced knitter, but I can't believer how much I have learned since then. Between June and the internet, I had a bash. If you have never tried grafting, have a look at http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-tips . June herself was knitting in 3ply. Now, there is patience for you.

Anyway, hubby has just sent his daily text msg to tell me what train he is on, so at some time soon I will start to cook dinner.

Talk to you soon. Kate. (T.O.O.)