Free pattern

There is a pretty shawl pattern on Ravelry which is free for a very short time. Follow the link to get your copy now. Be sure to enter the code upon checkout for your free copy.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/under-the-sky-of-leh-shawl

Happy New Year

The Chicks are still on holiday break but we want to send you wishes for a happy and healthy new year. See you in 2020!

Taking time off

The weather here in the Albany area has been snowy today so my Chicks are wise to stay home, safe and sound. However, this means we won’t be knitting together again until after the new year.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all the blessings of the holidays and I hope the coming year will bring good health and happiness to all. Oh! And time to knit or crochet too!😉

I’ll see you next year!

Kitties and Hedgehogs visit the Chicks

Two more kitties joined the happy menagerie of critters. I enjoy embroidering their little faces and watching their personalities bloom.

 The common cold hit too many of my Chicks this week, along with scheduling conflicts, so only three of the evening ladies were available to knit with me. 

 Margaret put the finishing touches on her Beans the cat. He needs a face and tail and then he will join the litter.

 Carole stuffed her hedgehog through his nose. She'll create his face at home where she has her special needles for embroidering through all the stuffing.

 Dorah started the decreases on her hat this week and thinks there might be enough yarn left for yet another small hat.

 The body of my hedgehog is finished and now I have to concentrate on his snout. I need to choose a color to go with the blue. Luckily, I have a bag filled with scraps of yarn that will yield a good selection.

 Margaret finished her hat of her own design. Beautiful job!

I think I've finished all my Christmas shopping so I can relax and knit until my heart's content.

Have a good week and happy knitting!

Winter has arrived!

I woke up to a winter wonderland this morning! It was beautiful after Mother Nature dropped over 22 inches of the fluffy white stuff since Sunday afternoon. It was perfect weather for knitting and Netflixing. And now that my husband and I are retired, there was no rush to get out and clear it away. My Sweetie cleared it all away before the Chicks arrived this afternoon though.

 They were able to join me and the newest batch of critters which included cats, owls, teddy bear, penguin, and panda.

 The evening Chicks brought a trio of hedgehogs. They are so cute and it's nice to crochet a small project now and then. It makes you to use different hand muscles so you can avoid repetitive stress damage.

 Barbara K. started another Beans kitty. They are certainly a colorful menagerie. She laughed about this being the first time in a long time she has used double pointed needles for so many projects. It's nice to change up the styles of knitting every now and then. I think it's also good for your brain to have to think about new things now and then. Gotta stretch those brain cells!

 Debbie picked out an adorable little Red Riding Hood character for her next project.

 Here she is casting on for the very bottom of the figure.

 Janna finished another bear body and immediately cast on for a little police officer bear.

 My little guy hardly looked like anything this afternoon but by the evening session....

 he was looking more like he had ears. In case you're wondering, he's going to be another squishy kitty. He needs a face and tail which should be done by next week.

 Margaret's Tuesday night yoga class is finished so she is back with us. Her hat is almost finished. 

 And Carole started another hedgehog using a self striping yarn which is forming perfect little clusters of color. 

I think I'll pick up the crochet hook for my next critter and add another hedgehog to the collection.

Have a great week and keep those needles...or hooks... clicking!

Happy Thanksgiving

Gratitude is the open door to abundance. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

It's a good thing I don't have to feed all these critters!

Rick and Ruby are the names given to these adorable kitties, named after Maureen's grandkitties. The faces show so much personality.

 Henry the Bunny was Carole's creation which she worked on last week. He can sit properly now that he has legs.

 This little puffball is just the right size for a little hand to hold. 

 The afternoon Chicks worked feverishly on their current critter projects.

 Barbara B.'s bumblebee received his first stripe.

 Janna's colorful teddy bears haven't received their stuffing yet but they will soon.

 Debbie's panda bear is taking shape, one body part at a time.

 Elaine's teddy bear has his head and soon his body will take shape too.

 Jan made a cute cabled sweater for her furry dog and is progressing to the hat portion of the pattern.

 The evening Chicks are camera shy so we'll go to the projects.

 Maureen continues to make progress on her cowl.

 And Dorah has come a long way on her Helix hat. I love those colors!

 Carole put down her knitting needles and picked up a crochet hook to make the beginning of a  hedgehog.

Every week we add another few critters to the inventory. At this rate we should have a nice collection by the end of January which is when we are hoping to make delivery. 

Have a good week and keep those needles clicking!

Meet our new friends

This week's menagerie brightened our day! 

 There was standing room only this afternoon as everyone worked feverishly on their critters.

 Their small size make them easy to knit in a group setting and quick to finish.

 Jan's Teddy Bear is going to be fuzzy and cuddly.

 Barbara B. started another Owl Puff with a pretty turquoise yarn (my favorite color).

 Janna's two bears have the sweetest smiles. We think the one on the left should be named Jerry Garcia. LOL!

 I'm curious to see Elaine's Teddy Bear completed. It looks like he's wearing black trousers and a red sweater.

 Barbara B.'s hedgehog was completed quickly after all the confusion last week trying to interpret the instructions. And Debbie's kitty down front has a chubby body and long whiskers.

Barbara B. started a bumblebee this week. I think he will be adorable. 

 Debbie put the finishing touches on her skiing Teddy Bear. We all thought she gave him ski poles but they were her wooden needles.

 Officer Robbie was fun to make but those star badges were awfully hard to cut out of felt. If you have a better idea about making them, I'm open to ideas.

 I designed this furry friend using a tubular cast on for the top of his head which gave him folded ears like a Scottish Fold kitten.

 I'm not sure who made these slippers but they'll go into the inventory for a future donation.

 Carole and Dorah were my only Chicks tonight. Carole brought us two finished hedgehogs. They both have sleepy eyes.

 Here she is putting the legs on Henry the Bunny.

 Now he can stand and not fall over. He just needs his facial features.

 And Dorah started the stripes on her Helix hat which will be navy, white, and gray stripes.

We're having way too much fun with these animals. But isn't that what knitting is all about?!