Baby! It's Cold Outside!

13 degrees above zero...30 minute walk...

BRRRR!!! That's it! That's all I'm going to say.

Working Furiously!

Barbara searched through the hat patterns looking for a baby hat and found the first one she ever knitted, an old favorite on size 3 needles.

Kathleen mastered the wrap and turn technique and got to work on the "Baby Sophisticate" sweater.
Andrew's self portrait on the wall behind us kept vigil to make sure we didn't slack off.

Karin finished three baby hats in an hour and a half! Wow! She's a fast knitter!

Maureen made lots of progress on her hat.

And I started a 2x2 ribbed man's hat.

All in all I'd say we are well on our way to filling the inventory for our next project, whatever that may be.

What are you knitting?

Happy Birthday Andrew and A Visit from President Obama

Last Wednesday was my son's 27th birthday and his Dad and I took him to dinner for one of his favorite cuisines, sushi! The look on his face is because I made sure the staff at the restaurant knew it was his birthday and they made him stand in the aisle and dance while they sang to him. Ooooo! If looks could kill! I'm definitely NOT going to let him treat me to dinner out on my next birthday. LOL!

But the humiliation was all worth it once the sushi and dessert were served. Too bad the resolution on my cell phone isn't better. Then you would be able to see his "Jurassic Park"

t-shirt, his all time favorite movie.
And some of you may have heard about President Obama's visit to the General Electric Plant in Schenectady, New York last Friday. He visited and spoke from the plant which is not too far from where I live and where my husband works. Actually, my husband's office is only a mile or so from Albany International Airport where Air Force One landed. And there it is now!

It was all in all an exciting week for the Capital District Area of Albany, New York!

One Brave Soul

Maureen was my only Chick on Tuesday. We had rain, snow, sleet, and freezing rain overnight and all day so none of the other Chicks were able to make it to my house. But Maureen lives right across the street from me so she didn't even have to get in the car.

She finished the heart baby blanket and is working on a hat.

We are expecting another significant snowstorm tonight. I don't think I'll be able to see around the corner of the block if we get any more snow. I hope the sun comes out soon!

Be sure you have some tissue handy

My dear sweet grandson was asked today if he had any siblings and he said,

"Yeah, a sister, but she's in heaven, and sometimes we cry for her back."

So the lady said, "But God is taking care of her, right?"

"Yeah, and God gave her something special!"

"What?"

"Angel wings!"

Dinners

My daughter celebrated her 30th birthday on Wednesday so we drove down to visit her and help her celebrate with a dinner with her friends at Maggiano's in King of Prussia, PA. She and her husband, THE Phil Collins (inside joke), had a good time, as did the rest of us. P.S. Amanda wore the Ishbel shawl I made for her birthday.

The chocolate cake was decadent and delicious!
Moose was so happy to see his friend Ben...
And Ben's little brother Carter.
Poppop had a chance to play with Moose too.

Danielle, Phil, Amanda, Rita and Tim stopped eating long enough to smile. There was plenty of good food to go around.

Randy, Holly, Landon, Moose and I enjoyed the Italian menu too.

No one spoke when the cake was passed around. Too busy stuffing our faces!

I returned from the weekend visit only to be greeted with a delicious homemade dinner and this beautiful and absolutely scrumptious dessert. My son, feeling very creative, made a Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake using a limited edition Kahlua that has peppermint flavoring. The chicken, salad with pears and goat cheese, and potatoes au gratin were very good too but the cheesecake was evilly delicious!

It's good to have kids who know how to cook!

Now I really need to go on a diet!!!

When Cute Things Happen to Good Yarn.....

Give a knitter a walnut sized ball of yarn leftover from a larger project and a few minutes of free time and this is what you get.

If you are a member of Ravelry here is where you can find the free pattern:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/korknisse

Winter Wonderland, Part Deux and Adding to the Inventory

Another great snowstorm of the northeast greeted me when I looked out the window today. It's a good thing it's pretty or I might walk around the house grumbling like Scrooge.

In the meantime, the Chicks have been busy knitting warm little woolies for babies. Cathy's contribution this week was made using a self patterning sock yarn.

Elaine finished a diagonal blankie. Such pretty colors.

Kathleen brought in another sweater and hat set. She found a pair of mittens that had hidden from site last week and so added them to the inventory too.

And lastly, I'm making a pair of socks to match the Phazelia mitered baby jacket (http://www.etsy.com/listing/51547151/mitered-baby-jacket-pattern-pdf?ref=pr_shop ) I knitted a few months ago. This self striping sock yarn is infused with aloe which makes it very soft to the skin.
Just a few more rows and the other sock will be finished.

What should I knit next?

Winter Wonderland

Friday night before I went to bed I decided to take a look at the snowstorm blowing around outside. My next door neighbors have uplighting around their backyard and it was just enough to catch the quiet beauty that was brewing while everyone slept.

The next morning was delightful! I love the winter and feel so lucky to live where we get a boatload of snow every winter. Although, from what I've been seeing lately, the snowbirds who travel south for the winter are getting their fill too.
This morning I piled on my warm woolies and wrapped myself as tightly as I could and went for a walk.

The weather report said it was 23 degrees but the wind howling around me made it feel much colder. Still I had a good half hour walk before I decided to call it quits.

I wouldn't trade these northeastern winters for all the tea in China! Now I'm going to have a large cup of hot chocolate. And I won't feel guilty about knitting for the rest of the day!

Back to work!

With the start of the new year we Chicks have some finished projects to show off. A few weeks ago Karin modeled the shawl I designed and now I have the details of it's construction.

The yarn is Karin's own Periwinkle Sheep Sock Yarn and the shawl took two skeins to complete.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62258295/new-periwinkle-sheep-watercolors-sock?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=periwinkle+sheep+watercolors+sock+yarn&ga_search_type=category&category=knitting&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade&filter%5B1%5D=knitting

The color is called Terracotta.

I designed the pattern and hope to write it up for sale after it is test knitted.

I had a bit of yarn left over from a previous project and it was just enough to make the hat portion but not the ties of a pattern called "Avery's Happy Cap" a pattern designed by a friend.

My daughter's old baby doll served as a proper model for the second version made using a baby alpaca yarn.

Kathleen brought lots of finished projects this week. A leaf lace sweater, a Pelerine, mittens and hats....

And this darling cardigan, which has a hood but it's hanging back where you can see it.

Elaine made a darling cabled baby hat for the inventory and it was good to see her again after a too long hiatus.

Sheila's Pelerine is showing good progress,

And Barbara's hands whipped through a pretty shawl that she's making using a colorful sock yarn.

Maureen is almost finished with her pink baby blanket.
And Beth finished another baby cardigan and is going on a hunt for the perfect buttons.

It felt good to get back to knitting with my Chicks and we look forward to a new year with lots of fun projects and get togethers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here's a wish for everyone to share a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011! And make sure you

keep those needles clicking!