Current Projects and a Celebrity Visit

I finished my lapghan for the project "Blankets of Gratitude" for our local VA hospital. It is made of Red Heart 100% acrylic because it has to be durable enough to go through vigorous washing, but when it was done it felt a little like recycled soda bottles instead of a cozy lap robe. So I put it through a hot wash and dry and now it's nice and soft, worthy of a good cuddle. The guidelines requested bright cheery colors. I sure hope I didn't go overboard!

The holiday project the Chicks will be working on is chemo caps which will be donated to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. My first three caps are done. From top to bottom:

Kos yarn, a viscose/polyester blend

Louisa Harding yarn, Kimono Angora

Laines du Nord Dolly Maxi, a very soft merino

I squeezed in a little project for myself called the Noro Striped Scarf from www.brooklyntweed.blogspot.com
Since I don't like the debris which is common in Noro yarns I decided to use something from Wisdom Yarns called Poems, which I bought from Robena at http://www.trumpethill.com
It is knit in a 1x1 ribbing, changing colors of yarn every two rows, but carrying the unused color up the side creating a nice slipped stitch edge.

Then who should show up in my email but Sonny and Cher! Halloween will be fun for Moose this year since he's old enough to participate. If you look closely you'll see "Sonny's" moustache got a little smudged.

I hope everyone out there has a fun Halloween! And save some chocolate for me!

Eighty, count them, eighty knitted items!

The Chicks have been hard at work knitting and crocheting 80 sweaters, shawls, socks, hats, mitts, vests, and scarves to sell at Locust Knolls Craft Fair. All our proceeds will be donated to the Heifer International Organization to end world hunger.

We've been working on this project since mid July to build an inventory.
The assortment of hand knitted goods are beautiful.

And here at the foot of the Helderberg Mountains is the site of the artisans' craft fair.

This little barn is filled with all kinds of goodies which would make good holiday gifts.

Adrienne made this baby layette set.

On display for sale are hand made cards, pottery, flowered wreaths,

framed photos, baskets, dolls,

quilts, pots,

and jewelry.

If you find yourself in the Albany, NY area, drive out to the intersection of Rt 85A and Picard Road in New Scotland and treat yourself. The show and sale continues through Sunday, Oct. 26.

You might even get most of your holiday shopping done in one spot.

Good Morning!

This was my greeting at 6:45 AM when I opened the door to get the morning paper today.

What's that old saying?...Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors' warning.
I don't care. It's still beautiful!

Have a great day!

Feel the Fiber, Smell the Fiber, BE the Fiber...

It was a glorious day at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, New York. The air was crisp and cold, the sunshine was warm. Elaine, her friend Jill, and I arrived at 8:45AM before the all traffic jams.

We pushed on, head first, into the wonderful world of colors and textures.
Elaine and Jill were absolutely giddy with delight at the prospect of all the selections.
My first purchase was a cute little angular scarf pattern. I was trying to start out with some restraint. HA! That didn't last long!
We saw cuddly soft baby alpacas...
regal llamas....
the sweetest little sheep...
cutest little lambs....
and the most beautiful colors of all were from Mother Nature herself.
We stopped in to say hi to Karin as she worked the Sliver Moon booth. She's on the left advising a customer on some yarn selections.
The rovings were dyed with breathtaking colors. If I were a spinner I could easily be tempted.
Some of the ready made garments were spectacular too.
I was sidetracked watching the spinners working their delicate craft.
And saw a mother/daughter team trying out some modern looking wheels. Start them young!
The live entertainment by a Peruvian Pipe band was a perfect compliment to the excitement in the air.
We stopped for lunch of delicious pot pies and lamb sandwiches. But this wasn't it! LOL! Someone was dyeing wool with all natural ingredients.
The talent overflowed everywhere as can be seen here in these hand felted blossoms.
Handmade baskets were everywhere too. I had a hard time walking away from this booth.
We stopped for a moment to admire the babbling brook, which even at the end of the growing season still looked beautiful and inviting.
And I have no words appropriate to give justice to the beauty of this gossamer lace shawl.
By 12:30PM we had seen all there was to see, touched all the fiber our hands could handle, and admired some of the most beautiful handmade sweaters, shawls and scarves that fellow knitters wore to the celebration. It was time to go home, although the pull was strong to stay a little while longer. There is something special about the art of creating. It brings the best out in people. And the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck is the best!

Clapotis on Parade...A Visit With Kate Gilbert

Thursday, October 16th was a treat for all the knitters at Robena DeMatteo's Trumpet Hill Yarn Shop in Albany, New York( http://www.trumpethill.com) . Kate Gilbert of http://www.twistcollective.com/ was a guest speaker for the evening. She is in the area for this weekend's http://www.sheepandwool.com/ festival in Rhinebeck, New York.

She was introduced wearing this beautiful sweater called Wysteria. She is such a cute little knitter with loads of talent!

Kate brought along some really beautiful hand knitted items, the patterns for which are available on the website http://www.twistcollective.com/

Robena supplied us with plenty of good food.

But the biggest crowd gathered around the table with the knitted goodies.Since Kate designed the pattern for the Clapotis scarf (which is available for free at http://www.knitty.com/) everyone who made one was asked to wear it to the gathering. Here is Gretchen with her pretty multicolored scarf.
There were so many knitters that they had to line the walls of the store.

We saw beautiful socks....
and sweaters...and lots of Clapotis scarves.
Some of the ladies even squeezed in a little knitting.
The grand finale of the evening was getting to see everyone's own interpretation of Kate's pattern. The varieties were beautiful.

All in all it was a wonderful event. Thank you Robena and Cynthia for arranging to have Kate visit. And Cynthia, thanks for taking the group photo!