Chat Back for May 3

Answering questions from comments and email.

Dorothy asked . . .

Wasn't there a singing group in the 60's or 70's
called the Cowslips?

Sister Carrie answered: "Cowsills. The group, of whom I was a big fan, was the Cowsills. That was their family name."

Carrie has a Master's degree in music, so she knows things like this.

Thanks Carrie. I couldn't have answered this question without your help.


After many years of taking classes Dorothy is graduating from Washington State University Summa Cum Laude (very high grade point) today, her granddaughter's third birthday.

Hope over to Missouri Star and wish her a well deserved CONGRATULATIONS!

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Kate in Massachusetts asked . . .

Sometime could you do a blog post on how you knit your sleeves from the shoulder down? How many stitches do you pick up? How do you plan the sleeve decreases? Thanks!

This has been done by Barbara G. Walker, a knitting genius, in her book Knitting From the Top, a must have technical book for every knitter.

I couldn't possibly do it as well as Barbara does it.

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Susan asked . . .

My sister has a bird nesting in a tree in her backyard and she posted about it on her blog. I'm hoping that you might help us identify it.

It's a Red-Breasted Nuthatch! They figured it out before I saw the message and went to look. I'm mentioning it here so all the bird loving readers can go check out It's Mr. Nuthatch to You and see the beautiful Nuthatch pictures.

We love to see the little Red-breasted Nuthatches. They migrate south to SW Michigan and stay for the winter. Then they fly back north in the spring to raise their families.

Darcy lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Maybe that's one of our winter visitors nesting in her tree.

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Debi asked . . .

Do squirrel daddies help out at all?

The tired squirrel mom is an American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).

According to Wikipedia she has no help from the daddy, she probably has three to six young, they are born helpless, blind, and deaf, and suckle from 8 to 10 weeks.

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Megan asked . . .

That gansey sweater for CIC is beautiful! And, it looks like a lot of fun to knit. How did you add the underarm gussets? Are you using the instructions in the Knitted Ganseys book by Beth Brown-Reinsel?

Exactly.

The Guernsey Gals pattern calls for the sweater to be knit in four pieces: front, back, and two sleeves. Then sewn together.

I'm using the stitch design from the Guernsey Gals pattern and knitting the sweater in one piece like the ganseys in Beth's book. I added a small gusset under each arm, also from Beth's book.

Pattern: Guernsey Gals by Kathy Zimmerman in Best of Knitter's Arans and Celtics.

Knitting the smallest size, about 24 inches around. Modified pattern to knit sweater in one piece. Added underarm gussets.

Yarn: Cascade 220, 100% wool worsted weight

Color: 7808 Violet

Needles: Options #6