Your greatness is not what you have, it's what you give.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Breast Cancer Awareness Month and all things knit

This past weekend was the local fund raiser in which Elaine and her family participate every year in memory of her daughter Beth and Elaine's late sister-in-law. Her family comes from far and wide to lend support and remember their loved ones. Team Beth looked great in her favorite color too.
 I was away for a few days visiting my husband's cousins in North Carolina. They are really native New Yorkers but they have acclimated nicely to southern life. We had dinners out and Todd, who is an excellent chef, treated us to some good home cooked meals too.
 When we visited Mount Airy we had to get a photo of Linda and me with Andy and Opie of Mayberry or else! LOL! Now I'm back home so enough relaxing and on to the knitting.
 Elaine is still working on her Mistake Stitch Scarf and Liz is making a scarf with a bulky weight yarn which is turning out nicely.
 Today she dropped off two FO's, this soft cowl called Wham Bam Thank You Lamb. It calls for a bulky weight yarn so it's a really quick knit.
 Next up is her finished Last Minute Cowl. Another quick knit with a very easy pattern. Just 95 stitches of k3p3 around and around. If you can count, you can make it.
 My 2X2 ribbed hat has a few more inches to knit before I can begin the decreases and it starts to look like a hat. Plymouth Encore yarn is good for warmth and machine washability. Is that even a word? My computer doesn't think so!
 I have so many projects on needles that I haven't made too much progress on this striped cowl. But it's coming along slowly.
 Carole finished a Mistake Stitch Hat with a bulky weight yarn. She has a lot of this yarn so...
 she started the Jonathan hat with more of the same yarn. I think she has still more of this yarn so we might see another hat or two yet.
 Dorah dipped into her collection and found a cowl that needed buttons.
 I love her choice of color. These buttons are perfect!
 Maureen's Lotus Hat is going to be a beauty! Such an intricate lace pattern. I've saved this pattern in my Ravelry library.
It's a freebie so grab it while you can.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

The Yarn Fairy paid a visit

Liz and Barbara were the first Chicks to arrive this afternoon and they dove right into the stash. Ideas 
were swimming through our heads as we checked out the yarns.
 When Elaine arrived a few minutes later she was impressed with the selection. We all let it sink in so we can plan what we're going to use and how.
 Then we got down to work on finishing our current projects.
Barbara worked on her Cushy Cowl and started her bind off row...
with just enough yarn to finish the last stitches. Now that's a good game of yarn chicken!
Then she picked up her Mistake Stitch Scarf. This is Plymouth Encore yarn in a beautiful shade of red, so rich and creamy.
Liz bound off her Present Cowl and worked on weaving in the ends.
Then she picked up her Last Minute Cowl which is nearly finished too.
Another of Liz's finished hats just needs the ends woven in.
I blocked Miss Winkle this morning so she sits on the family room floor drying now. Periwinkle Sheep Memories of Summer colorway.
When Beth, Maureen, and Carole arrived tonight they had the same reaction as the afternoon ladies. Where will they start? What will they take?
Show and Tell started with Beth's finished Baa-ble hat.
Carole graciously offered to model it for us. Beth enjoyed knitting it so much she started another right away.
Carole said she has a ton of this yarn, a very soft blend of fibers. I suspect we'll be seeing many items in the next few weeks which look similar.
And Maureen started a hat with this gorgeous purple yarn. I didn't catch the name. Sorry!
And lastly, my Friend of the Forest hood is done and ready for the inventory.
We have only a few more weeks before we distribute our items throughout downtown Albany. If you have items you've knitted and would like to add them to the yarn bombing, keep watching this blog for the details of when we'll be placing them around town.
And thank you Laura for the beautiful yarns you donated to our group!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

How is your knitting progressing?

My grandkitty, Joules, went home yesterday. We had a great week together but apparently it was hard work because...
 she was pooped! Not really. She's just a laid back, lazy kitty. I miss her already. Just between you and me, my grandsons are a little jealous. LOL!
 And now that Joules has returned home I don't have to be hyper-vigilant about my knitting and yarn.
Elaine, Barbara, and I enjoyed the outdoor knitting this afternoon. I was happy we got to squeeze in one more day on the deck. Who knows how many more days will be warm enough to be outside? Elaine worked on her Mistake Stitch Scarf and Barbara started a Cushy Cowl with a nice cream colored bulky weight wool.
 Barbara brought an addition to the inventory with her Present Cowl in a pretty soft blue and brown Encore yarn.
 Dorah showed us a lovely shawl she made for herself using Periwinkle Sheep Yarns. We all laughed about how she will wear it once to the Rhinebeck Fiber Festival and then it will go into a box in her closet so her kids can wonder why she had so many knitted items when she was never cold enough to wear them! LOL!
 Carole was going great guns on her hat when she discovered some stitches in stockinette that were supposed to be garter stitch. Luckily, she can unravel those few stitches and then crochet them back up to the needle in the right direction.
 Beth has progressed quite a bit on her hat called Baa-ble. This is so cute!
 Maureen just started her project and Dorah is further along on her scarf. We need to finish by the second week of November so we can distribute items in downtown Albany for this year's yarn bombing project.
 My Miss Winkle scarf is almost finished. I just rewound this ball of yarn and it's about the size of a golf ball now so the final rows are not too far off.
I finished a hood and a scarf (one for donation and one for me) but I couldn't block or photograph them as long as the kitty was wandering around. So this week I'll be working on blocking those and hopefully will have pictures for you next week. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking!