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

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Delivery Day

Remember these items from our last post? 
 They were delivered to HATAS (Homeless and Travelers' Aid Society) today. Tom Whalen was surprised by the number of items we donated and delighted with the quality and variety. Thank you again Chicks!
 Carole was having issues with a ball of yarn that decided to explode in the middle of her hat knitting.
 Margaret started a Barley hat and at the end of our two hours together she was already quite a few inches into it.
 Dorah is thoroughly enjoying her Zoe hat. She has proclaimed she loves it and is having fun making it too. That's a good recommendation if Dorah likes it! Her stitch definition is lovely and it's so pretty in pink.
We have decided our next donation should be baby clothes so we're looking forward to knitting wee things for the babes. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Happy 12th Anniversary to Us!

Who would have guessed that a kernel of an idea which popped into my head in the year 2005 would have blossomed into this group of wonderful ladies which lasted 12 years?!?! We had our annual dinner gathering for which everyone pitches in with a dish. This year the evening group decided to be silly and have breakfast for dinner (inside joke). Barbara brought the makings for Bloody Mary Cocktails. It's been years since I've had one and we all agreed they were good!
Carole and Margaret caught up on current news while...
Dorah munched on her celery stick. 
We shared yogurt and fruit parfaits, fruit kebabs, and fruit chunks. There was also French Toast, Spinach Quiche, crispy bacon, zucchini muffins, and a coffee ring. Not only are my Chicks good knitters, they are all excellent cooks too!
Debbie's kebabs had little jack-o-lantern picks for decorations.
                                      
Unfortunately, we are missing two Chicks. Maureen was getting ready for her son's wedding and Cinzia arrived later because she has teens and well, they have a busy schedule too!
After dinner we adjourned to the family room to label and organize our current inventory which will be going to HATAS, Homeless and Travelers' Aid Society. Cinzia made it in time to work but we let her take some time to have dinner first.
We had quite the collection this time around with a whopping 120 items that filled five very large shopping bags. There were hats, socks, mitts, scarves, cowls, sweaters, blankets, and earwarmers.
A great big THANK YOU to my Chicks for your hard work and dedication to my dream over the last 12 years. I am ever so grateful to have found you ladies and I hope you know that you are making a difference in someone's life because of your talents and willingness to share them. God bless you all!

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

We're baaaack!

I was away last week for a quick end of summer vacation. My husband and I took the grands and our daughter to South Yarmouth on Cape Cod. We had really nice weather when we wanted to be outside. It rained a couple of times either at night or before everyone was ready to start the day so it was perfect timing.
 And we found a couple of great beaches for sea shell hunting and just enjoying being together.
 Today is my husband's 70 birthday so last Friday we got together with my son and his partner and Amanda and the boys to have a joint celebration for our 40th anniversary (which was in July but we couldn't get everyone together then) and Ron's birthday. Our cake had a golf green and a ball of yarn with knitting needles. I'd say it was appropriate for the occasion!
 And now for the knitting portion of our show.... I finished a couple of hats during the week. This one was using up the green yarn long before I had enough length so Plan B was to add another color.
 And this hat is the reason I didn't have enough yarn for the previous hat. I made this one first which left too much yarn to throw away but not quite enough for another whole hat. But it all worked out in the end.
 Barbara finished her Present Cowl with the Berroco Vintage yarn. I wish you could feel the softness of this yarn.
 Cinzia finished this cute little baby hat to match the sweater she has blocking.
 Elaine bound off the last few stitches on her baby blanket and added it to the inventory. Debbie worked on her hat and Barbara on hers.
 Since Cinzia finished the hat she took some time to search through my books for a baby sweater using that pretty pink yarn beside her.
 Sofia finished weaving ends on her baby sweater and just needs some buttons.
 I started a hat on Sunday with leftover russet yarn and had to search the stash for a complimentary color. I improvised a pattern from ideas I remembered from other patterns.
 We had a full house tonight too.
 Beth finished her smocked hat and it looks beautiful. She said it was not at all difficult to do the smocking stitch. She just had to be aware of her tension so the stitches would be uniform.
Carole finished her Barley hat
And is now working on her Girlfriend Cowl which uses a stitch technique to make the fabric look woven.
Beth started a Last Minute Cowl and will be adding a warm berry yarn when she runs out of grey.
Dorah and Margaret compared their hats. Dorah's Zoe hat is on the right. And Margaret had enough yarn to make another Easy Ombre Slouch Hat.
Her first one turned out great!
Maureen's Nottingham hat is coming along nicely too.
Next week we celebrate our 12 year anniversary so be sure to check back for pictures of our dinner. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking!