A Special Invitation

                                             

 For the last year and a half my husband has been leading the Albany, New York leg of the celebration of General Lafayette’s 200th anniversary visit to the United States in 1824 and 1825. On September 17, 2024 there will be a full day of celebrations which include tours, music, meals, and reenactments including a visit from the General himself. Registration by September 10 is required as some events have limited capacity. I have been privileged to witness preparations for this event and I am excited to join in the celebration. Online registration is available through the link below.

https://friendsoflafayette.wildapricot.org/event-5845250

HAPPY 19th ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!

I can't believe it's been 19 years! I couldn't do it without the help of these lovely ladies. We were missing three Chicks who couldn't make it today but my love and gratitude goes to each and every one of you!

We started the afternoon catching up with the news of the kids who returned to college for the semester and how quiet it is when they're gone.

We munched a little and gabbed a lot.

Appetizers were from Nancy's kitchen, a spinach and artichoke dip with pita chips.

Dorah brought our favorite, gazpacho from the Moosewood Cookbook. She doesn't even bother to ask what to bring every year because every year we agree it should be her gazpacho. LOL!

Cinzia made a fresh red and golden beet cold salad on the left, and Maureen brought a hot rice with olives and artichokes side dish. There's Nancy's spinach dip in the red dish.

Annika brought a tomato and cucumber salad with a balsamic dressing and Janna made a fresh fruit salad.

The Sourdough Queen, Barbara B made a delicious bread to go with the gazpacho.

The main entree was Turkish Sumac Chicken baked in the oven with onions and savory spices. I forgot to take a picture of the Bulgur Pilaf that accompanied the chicken.

There's another shot of the gazpacho.

I forgot to take photos of the desserts too! Darn! Barbara K couldn't be here but she delivered lemon bars yesterday. And I made a cottage pudding cake with fresh peaches topped with fruit salad and whipped cream. Everything was so good! 

These ladies are not only great knitters, they can cook up a storm!

And just in case you forgot we are knitters, here are the last two items I knitted this week.

They fit in the palm of my hand so little ones can carry them around.

And they knitted up so quickly. I made one in a day! They both used left over sock yarns and I wrote a quick description of how I made them if you want to make your own.

After all that food, I'm going to waddle to my knitting room and get those needles clicking! 

Have a great week!

Cool breezes and good company

We had a balmy, breezy, 65 degree afternoon, just perfect for deck knitting. There was  lively conversation about current events, good books, and favorite documentaries airing on streaming networks.

And of course we couldn't pass up another delectable treat from the kitchen of Barbara B. This week's delight was sourdough s'mores cookies and believe me, I wanted s'more! 

Dorah treated herself to some goodies too! She bought these lovely yarns online and is planning on knitting the Gryer Shawl which requires 3 complimentary colors. These will be perfect!

She also completed the sparkly hat which she has been knitting these last few weeks.

Her current WIP is a baby hat which uses 96 stitches in sock weight yarn on teeny tiny needles.

Nancy finished her Reverb Shawl and it's gorgeous! She used a few different mini skeins combined to get this lovely result.

For this donation rotation she is knitting a hat to match the cabled scarf she completed a while back.

Margaret is finishing up two I-cords to attach to her Twig Bonnet for tying in place.

Maureen is almost finished with her Look Out! Winter Hat.

Jan is making one also but she is stumped because she can't figure out why she is 15 stitches short of the total number of rows she should have. I understand how easily that can happen since the pattern is written in a strange format. I had to go through my copy of it and write in the number of rows each section should have just so I could clarify it for my brain. Don't fret Jan, it will fit somebody!

She decided to put the hat away and picked up her Leftie scarf which is coming along beautifully!

Barbara B. just started the One Chevron Cowl a few days ago and has already made good progress. This cowl is a great stash buster because it uses all your left over sock yarns.

And Barbara K. lamented the fact that this Mistake Stitch scarf will take forever to finish because she chose fine yarn and tiny needles. But Barb, just think how beautiful it will be when it's complete!

I finished the body of the Leaf and Lace cardigan and put the sleeve stitches on magic loop to knit them two at a time. It looks like I'll have enough yarn to make a matching hat too.

I am playing lovely, quiet, classical music in the background and it's lulling me to sleep so I need to get up and walk around before I doze off. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Deck knitting!

It was a beautiful, breezy afternoon of knitting outside today. It's been so hot and humid that I really haven't used the deck as much as in the past. No humidity and a light breeze made it a delightful time spent with my Chicks.

Barbara B. made a sourdough coffee cake to top it off with a touch of sweetness.

Jan started a blue Look Out! Winter Hat because she caught the startitis bug. I know how that feels! I currently have seven projects on needles. No one ever said I was a monogamous knitter!

She has also made progress on her Wee Bean cardigan. We're all very proud of her as this is her third sweater and she matched the stripes on the sleeves! Great job Jan!

I'm working on the Leaf and Lace Cardigan from a book of eight different patterns. If I have enough yarn left I will knit the matching hat.

Maureen was bored with knitting the Totally Biased Cowl and decided to cast on for her Look Out! Winter Hat. This is a potato chip pattern, can't make just one. ;)

Nancy's Reverb Shawl looks like it's getting close to the finish line. I said it before and I'll say it again, I love those colors!

Barbara B. finished the Hill 60 hat and immediately cast on for the...

Upward Bound Hat, designed by Benjamin Matthews. He designs nice patterns for hats that could be gender neutral. There was a post about it on Facebook that it would be free for a limited time so we both grabbed a digital copy of the pattern. 

Cinzia is knitting the bonnet from the same pattern book as my Lace and Leaves sweater. She already finished the sweater.

Dorah has reached the crown portion of her sparkly hat where she now begins decreasing however,

her yarns became a tangled knot so I helped to untangle while she supervised. LOL! 

In recognition of the recent 2024 Olympics, we celebrated our victory over the knots.

 Now she can finish her hat.

I need to get back to my knitting so I can whittle down the list of projects. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

It was a laugh riot today!

I don't know what was in the air today but the energy was electrifying with my Chicks today. Dorah's entrance set the mood and we laughed for two hours straight.

Nancy, Margaret, and Barbara K shared pictures of their grandchildren, two infants and a preteen in that order. We shared stories of when our own kids were little and the challenges and fun times we had with them and how satisfying it is to watch some of them raising littles of their own.

And of course I couldn't forget Barbara B's sourdough lemon loaf! 

Another successful delicious dessert she shared with us. 

Barbara also completed two more Look Out! Winter Hats. The yellow one is a bit smaller than...

the blue one. Or maybe it's just my imagination, but the blue hat was easier to stuff with the ball filler.

I completed one also but in the largest size, possibly for a mother from the group to whom we donate.

Dorah made progress on her Leftie Scarf which she is keeping for herself. She bought a kit which contains mini skeins of all the different colors of yarn she needs to complete the scarf. It's even prettier in person. Her donation project is further down the list.

Margaret got the hang of those dang yarnovers and is showing progress with her Twig Bonnet. She was concerned about the edge curling but a thorough blocking should help it to lay flat.

Nancy's Reverb Shawl has grown a lot since last week. I love, love, love the colors!

Barbara K has been having a busy summer traveling with family members and enjoying Lake George so she needed a project that would be easy enough to unwind. Enter "The Mistake Stitch Scarf", a perfect pattern for a relaxing project.

Here is Dorah's donation project I mentioned earlier. She is using two glitter sock weight yarns held together to knit a basic beanie. The little bit of sparkle adds some flare!

Janna finished four hats and has another in progress. She's cranking them out quickly!

Maureen has finally hit a new color in her skein of yarn for the Totally Biased Cowl.

Jan was fretting over the underarm of the Wee Bean cardigan she's knitting. She didn't like the holes that were forming from picking up stitches to knit the sleeve. We all reassured her that she can go back and duplicate stitch them closed and no one will be the wiser. ;)

Barbara B just started the worsted weight version of the  Hill 60 hat. It's a freebie on Ravelry and also has the same pattern in versions for other weights of yarn.

The Benevolent Overlord is beckoning me for a meal so until next week...

keep those needles clicking!