A new Chick for the evening knitters

We already have some finished hats for our new recipients, The Unity House in Troy, NY. This pink hat is Janna's first attempt at the pattern, 1898 Hat and she improvised a little Fair Isle patterning which looks great! 

Barbara made a lovely cabled hat with a nice warm 100% wool yarn.

Cinzia made a short rows scarf with a bulky weight yarn that knitted up so quickly that....

she made another to give to friend.

Maureen made two darling little baby hats. 

And Carole added another to the inventory.

My Chevron Cowl is done and just needs a gentle blocking to even out the points.

This afternoon Barbara worked on a color changing scarf/shawl. These yarns make the knitting journey fun while you anticipate the next color.

Debbie's 1898 Hat is in the initial stages of the ear band. After it's knitted, stitches are picked up along the edge to make the crown of the hat.

Here is Janna's 1898 hat after the ear band is grafted into a ring and the stitches for the crown have been picked up. It won't be long before this is finished too.

Cinzia's hat is a top down version of a basic watch cap.

And we have a new evening Chick! Barbara Beauchamp (in the red shirt) joined tonight. She contacted me a year or so ago but we didn't have an opening at the time. In the meantime, she joined a monthly knit night I attend at our local Panera. Then we found out Beth was leaving and Barbara was available and the rest is history! Welcome to the flock Barbara. We hope to have many knitting nights together with you.

Carole is putting the finishing touches on her "Swimming with Salmon" cowl.

And Maureen is making another cute baby hat with ear flaps.

Margaret is working on the ear band of another 1898 hat. Do you get the idea we Chicks like this pattern? It's a fun hat to knit and works up very quickly.

This is Dorah's current hat project.

It starts with a twisted rib of K1tbl, P1 which looks more pronounced that a standard K1,P1.

And Barbara's basic hat is just beginning with a nice purple yarn.

Over the weekend my son said we should be preparing Joules for her return home. So she and I had a long cuddle and a good cry on Sunday.

I'm going to miss this little cuddle bug! She has become my buddy who follows me everywhere and she has really spoiled me for any other cat. No one can compare to Queen Joules!

Maybe I can work out a custody agreement. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carole, Janna, and I delivered our hand knits to the Capt. John J. McKenna IV Military Courtesy Room today. It's a cozy, homey room on the third floor of the Albany International Airport and is set up to provide a restful space for military personnel as they travel through the Capital District. 

 Nancy Russell, sitting, is a volunteer who graciously accepted our gifts in time for the Thanksgiving travel season. The room is equipped with snack foods, beverages, and other essentials, and numerous hand crocheted, quilted, and knitted afghans to keep the travelers warm. 

 The facility is set up like a giant living room with large screen tv and...

 comfy seating everywhere it can fit.

 A smaller alcove is set up with a gaming system and...

 gaming chairs for those who want to play a game or watch a movie.

 We are ever so grateful to the men and women who protect and serve us, here and abroad.

We pray this gift will show our appreciation for the sacrifices they make for all of us.

And to my Chicks, thank you so much for another successful project. I appreciate all you do to spread warmth, love, and comfort to those in need.

Wrapping up our donations

The afternoon Chicks attached labels to all our hand knits today. They will be delivered to The Capt. John J. McKenna IV Military Courtesy Room at the Albany International Airport in time for Thanksgiving.

The grand total of 70 items included scarves, hats, mittens, socks, shawls, cowls, and a vest.

Some last minute items included Elaine's hat and 

Janna's scarf. Thank you Chicks for another successful and beautiful donation collection.

This evening Dorah sported a smart outfit of matching socks and shirt while she knitted her next donation project...

a 2X2 ribbed baby hat. Our next recipient will be Unity House of Troy, NY. We'll be making items for

 people living in poverty, adults with mental illness, victims of domestic violence, children with developmental delays and their families, people living with HIV/AIDS, and others.

Dorah also slipped in a project for herself called Minty Bricks. This lovely gradient yarn is baby alpaca and about as soft as a cloud. Great work Dorah!

Carole started another Swimming with Salmon cowl with this lovely coral colored yarn.

Maureen's baby hat will have little earflaps that come over the cheeks. That's going to look adorable!

Margaret started an 1898 hat with some worsted weight Cascade 220 in a deep burgundy color. The lighter colored yarn is a provisional cast on which leaves live stitches to be grafted to the other end to make a continuous cuff for the hat.

I tried having a photo shoot with some of my most recent FO's but "someone" wanted to get in on the act.

Yes, Joules is still visiting and once I took her photograph she happily pranced away to take a nap.

I kept one of my daughter's baby dolls to use as a model when I made baby clothes. This hat is my own design but the hedgehogs are called Diddy Hedgehog and you can find the crochet pattern on Ravelry. I'm thinking I'll make a bunch to donate to Unity House for children who might need a friend who is warm and cuddly.

Once again, thank you Chicks for all your hard work. Now keep those needles clicking! LOL!

Warm Hats Everywhere

We start off this week's episode with Janna's finished bulky knit hat with a cheerful pompom. She knitted it flat but since the yarn was so thick, it couldn't be threaded through the eye of a needle to sew up the seam. So she crocheted the seam and it added a nice little feature to the side of the hat.

 Debbie finished her cabled cowl and blocked it which smoothed out the stitching beautifully.

 Carole is having a ball knitting Helix hats! This one she knitted up quickly.

 And Margaret decided to do her own thing with this hat since the directions were so unclear. I think I like this one better than the original pattern.

 Here is another of Carole's Helix hats. The nice thing about this style of knitting is that you can combine color combinations which might not go well together when you hold the skein of yarns together but they look great in the stripes!

 And Carole added another 1898 hat to the inventory. We all agree that this is our favorite hat.

 Janna is almost finished with her Homespun scarf. One skein of Lion Brand Homespun was enough for the whole scarf.

 And Barbara is pretty close to being done with her sparkly scarf. Next week it will go into inventory.

 Debbie had a dilemma with the thumb of her fingerless mitts. The directions said to knit the thumb to 13 stitches but it barely makes it around her thumb so she will frog it and make the gusset bigger to add a few more stitches.

 Margaret worked steadily on an earwarmer/headband and by evening's end...

 it was done!

 Maureen's hat might have to wait until the next round of donations but it's coming along nicely.

 Carole is wrapping up another Helix hat. I'd say she really enjoys this pattern.  Plus it uses up scraps of yarn nicely.

 I think I'll start the decreasing portion of this little hat soon. I might have to put a few tacking stitches on the zigzag section so it stays flat.

And look who is still visiting! She really enjoys a good fire. 

She was so comfortable I hated to turn off the fireplace but it was getting late and I need my beauty sleep. Tomorrow is another day and it's going to get a lot colder before it gets warmer so she'll have more opportunities to lounge. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!