Wrapping up a project and a visit with the Grands

Yesterday was labeling day. Kathleen helped me attach labels to all the items which will be delivered to the Saratoga County Rural Preservation Company. It's always fun to revisit our projects again before they go to a new home. Sometimes we sit back and marvel at our accomplishments and then sometimes we make a pact to never knit a certain pattern EVER AGAIN! LOL!

In this donation we have four pairs of slipper socks,

18 scarves and two sets of matching hat and scarf,

four neck-warmer cowls, a pair of socks, and a felted purse,

three shawls, two sweater vests,

two sets of matching hat and mittens, a pair of mittens, and 11 hats. Every stitch was knitted with love and gratitude for these women who have given so much of themselves to protect our freedoms.

Maureen was working on her Baby Sophisticate sweater when she discovered she left the last skein of yarn at home and couldn't finish the sleeve. But she's almost finished.

Carole worked on a two tone hat with pretty purple yarns.

This past weekend DH and I traveled to see the grandsons so we could attend Leo's Baby Dedication. After services, Moose sang "Here Comes the Sun" and entertained everyone. It's too bad he's so shy! ROFL!

The day was beautiful for more reasons than one. We all felt Eliana's presence as we promised to raise Leo with love and guidance.

My latest project was to hurry and knit this sweater and hat for Leo before he outgrew it. The sleeves are cuffed so hopefully it will fit through the winter.

Sleepy head!

Ooops!

Now I can't wait for Halloween! Wait until you see the costumes Mommy has made for the boys

Let's shake things up a bit!

The afternoon Chicks are usually featured first in the blog each week so this week I'm changing it up a bit.

Our evening session started with Beth showing us her finished "Flirtatious" shawl (the pattern can be purchased on Ravelry.com) that she knitted using "Wink" yarn from Karin's etsy shop. The color is a beautiful lilac or lavender, not sure what it's really called. Nice job, Beth.

Then we have a new member of the Chicks, Carole. She's a friend of mine from another group which meets at our local Panera to knit once a month. She is working on a pair of mittens. Welcome Carole! I'm so glad you could join us!

Maureen is showing progress on her Baby Sophisticate sweater.

And Karin is making a shawl called "198 Yards of Heaven" a free pattern on Ravelry.com.

Now for the afternoon ladies. Barbara made this colorful hat using Noro yarn. Her pattern came from this book.

She is currently making a pair of fingerless mitts to go with it. Liz is making another pair of socks after the success of her first pair.

Kathleen made a lovely stole for her granddaughter-in-law using a cozy, warm brown yarn.

The edging is crocheted on after the stole has been knitted.

It's a pretty simple pattern stitch which makes a lovely design.

Kathleen made another one to go into our inventory for the homeless female veterans.

I've been working on a bunch of projects all at once, trying to get Christmas gifts knitted in between donation projects. I can't really show you any yet because I don't want to spoil the surprise. But I will when the gifts are opened during the holidays.

Are you doing any holiday knitting?

It's that time of year again!

Amanda and her boys came up for a visit this weekend so we could make our annual trek to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York. Normally, we would not have dragged two babies on such an excursion, but there were no babysitters available this time, so we had to bribe Moose with hot dogs and carousel rides. He was a little whiny but we all survived.

It all started out with the usual pretty knits and yarns.

But this year there was some very cute artwork as well.

And look who we met!!!! It's Stephanie Pearl-McPhee of The Yarn Harlot fame! She signed our books for us while we told her how much we love her writing.

And then she asked to see what the boys were wearing.

Handmade by their mommy Amanda. And their hats had googly eyes too.

Moose was excited to see all the artisans at work. This lady was needle felting animal figurines.

And this lady was spinning yarn. Notice how Moose was concentrating.

He also enjoyed watching this man make woven pictures.

We stopped to look at the fish in the pond but Leo was looking at something else.

As busy as the festival was Moose found time to stop and smell the roses... or ageratum actually.

Moose enjoyed petting the sheep.

And checked out the angora bunnies.

I think the sign on the pen said this sheep was a Cormo. I love the bangs!

The alpaca were out for a walk but Moose didn't want to get too close. The last time he tried to pet a llama it tried to eat his hair!

We got caught in a sudden downpour of rain and ducked under the carousel for a bit of a ride to stay dry.

We got back home just in time for a quick visit with Uncle Drew before he had to run. I think he's giving Leo the rules about not spitting up on his clothes. LOL!

I am glad we had this visit even though it was a short one.

And I think the boys are glad to be going home tomorrow. I have been showering them with kisses until they can't stand it anymore!

Squeezing in one more day knitting outside and Oktoberfest!

We had a little visitor this week. Elaine's granddaughter delighted us with her invitations to color with her and then showed off her climbing skills with a chair my uncle made for my daughter when she was a baby.

It was good to see Elaine since she's been on "sabbatical" since the spring. We all go through a dry spell where we need to take a break from knitting. Barbara is back from vacation and ready to jump right into her projects again.

Liz worked on her baby blanket and....

brought us two more scarves for inventory.

I finally blocked and finished the button band on the sweater I started almost two years ago and put into hibernation. It fits my daughter perfectly so she'll be the lucky recipient.

I haven't found the perfect button yet but I had a critter brooch that worked for the time being.

DH and I took a ride to Hunter Mountain on Sunday to enjoy the beautiful weather and partake in their annual Oktoberfest festivities. The trees are just starting to change color in this part of New York.

There was quite a crowd when we arrived shortly after noon but we didn't have to wait long for our food.

We enjoyed Greek gyro sandwiches (yes, I said Greek gyros...I'm not a fan of bratwurst, LOL!) and a great Spaten beer accompanied by the cheerful music of the Oompah band.

Afterward we noticed a significant increase in the crowd. It's a good thing we didn't wait to get lunch.

We took the ski lift ride to the summit and the views on the way were spectacular!

At the summit the sun shone brightly.

We made our way over to the zip line station and watched two young fellas race their way into the forest below. It took my breath away when they shoved off and disappeared into the trees. Wow! They were really moving!!!

A kind stranger swapped cameras with me so we could take turns photographing each other.

Why did they have to spoil the scenery with a "frankenpine"? That's what we call those cellphone towers that are "disguised" to look like a tree. Come on! Who do you think your kidding? They always stand hundreds of feet above the natural trees.

I shudder to think people actually travel down these slopes on their feet in the winter! What an angle! YIKES!

It was a beautiful day on the slopes and Mother Nature cooperated with warm temperatures and sunshine.

I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts but I know this mountain will be just as beautiful when the soft white snows arrive.