Labeling Day!

Margaret, Maureen, Carole, Nancy, and Barbara B helped to sort and label our donations to "Mom Starts Here" for next week's delivery. It's a very frigid 30 degrees, feels like 24, here today so these will arrive in time to keep babies and their mothers warm.

We collected 42 hats and 2 headbands in sizes from infant, toddler, to adult and knitted in machine washable fibers to make it easier on the moms.

We added 9 sweaters to the collection and...

3 blankets and...

two warm scarves for a couple of mothers.

Thank you Chicks for a lovely collection which is sure to be well loved.

Margaret finished an adorable pullover for one of her grandsons which will fit him in a year or so. She used a superwash merino which she purchased from Whole Knit n' Caboodle. It's so soft!!!

Carole was diving into a box of FOs and found a pair of baby socks she had made a while back which she's planning on gifting to her newest grandson.

I'm on the homestretch of a hoodie/cowl combo knit called Exospine. It's a gift for my grandson's friend. I think it will look fabulous with her red hair! While I enjoyed knitting this, I have to admit that with all those cable crossings, it's not a pattern for the faint of heart. It needs a careful blocking to even out the stitches and then it will be perfect.😉

Margaret started this hat today. She's using a bright blue and a white yarn so the high contrast will show off the design well. I can't wait to see her Murre completed!

Maureen hasn't worked on her Reversible Striped Scarf since we started the baby items but...

She picked it up again today. Look closely and you will see the horizontal stripes at the top and the vertical stripes at the bottom.

Barbara B is a good 6" into her hat that she started with a provisional cast on technique 

which is new to us.

The Take Wing hat has a beautiful design on the cuff. I can't wait to see Barbara's hat finished!

Carole didn't have her pattern for this hat with her so I didn't get a name but the fabric created with this stitch design is thick and cozy.

Nancy worked on her Grid Gambit cowl which is all Whole Knit n' Caboodle yarns too.

Unfortunately, she made a mistake and couldn't find her way back so it's back in the bag until she gets home and can frog and start over.

I started a pair of Spiral Tube Socks in a toddler size. Starting at the toe and working my way up to the cuff is an easy task and I don't even have to knit a heel with this pattern!

The treat today was Barbara B's white chocolate/macadamia nut sourdough cookies. I may have put a couple aside to have with a nice warm cup of tea later. 😉

As soon as the ladies departed, Fozzie had a late afternoon snack and then disappeared. I should have known he would jump onto the velvet chairs when no one was looking! If that's the worse thing he ever does, I can live with it. He's my good boy💗

The Chicks and I are going to spend the next few weeks trying to catch up on our personal knitting projects and then we'll start knitting for a new recipient at the end of January. I'll let you know who that will be at a later date. Stay tuned and keep those needles clicking!

Is my head attached?

About 5 inches of snow has accumulated so far which explains the small group today. Jan and Maureen live down the street and across from me, respectively, so they literally walked to my house. And since it was just the three of us, we sat in the seldom used family room with a cozy fire blazing nearby. Wisely, the other Chicks decided to hunker down for the duration of the blizzard and knit at home. As far as my head being attached, had it not been for my dear husband, aka the photographer, taking a picture of the three of us, I would have nothing to show you today because we talked so much I forgot to take pictures! Jan started a new project, as did I, so there wasn't much to show anyway. And Maureen is finishing up the cute little blue striped cardigan. Hopefully, by next week we'll have more to show.

 

This is the first snowstorm of the season so get a cup of hot tea or beverage of your choice, and 

keep those needles clicking!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 The Chicks and I are taking the week off to prepare for the holiday. We wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving and look forward to getting back to work in December. Keep those needles clicking!

Sharing plans for Thanksgiving

Everyone is making plans for Thanksgiving next week. Some of the ladies are cooking and some are guests and some are doing both! Some will stay home and some will celebrate while on vacation. Nancy said she is not known for her cooking prowess but her SIL loves her carrot cake so she's making it for him. I'm waiting to hear what my kids are doing before I put my plans on the calendar.

We had some FOs this week. That hat that Barbara K was knitting for the last few weeks is ready for the inventory, the 2x2 ribbed hat.

Barbara B finished the Flight Formation Beanie, a pattern from our favorite hat designer, Benjamin Matthews. His patterns are so well written and easy to knit.

I finished the I-cords on the Kitty Toy Hat which was a modification of a pattern for a toy hat. The headband on the right is something I just played with until I liked what I got. The pattern is written on my Ravelry page.

 I had leftover yarn that was too much to just toss but was just enough for a baby headband.

I knitted almost nonstop for five days to complete my Grid Gambit Cowl and loved every minute of it. This was so easy to knit and easy to memorize and for me to say that is high praise! I like it so much I set aside two lovely colors to start another one someday soon.

 This is Tina's Grid Gambit for which she is using the yarns she trusted me to buy for her at the last yarn festival I attended. We all swooned over the colors and how beautiful it looks!

Barbara B and Jan are knitting the same Simple Sideways Triangle Scarf. Barb's is knitted in DK weight yarn with a size 6 needle and Jan's is fingering weight with a size 4 needle so they will be slightly different in dimensions. Ravelry still lists the pattern in the files but it is unavailable unless you printed it out or saved it digitally.

Barbara is using Whole Knit n' Caboodle sport weight yarn for hers...

in a pretty autumn fiery variegated yarn.

and Jan's is a souvenir yarn she picked up in Canada I think she said. 

It reminds me of roasted autumn root vegetables! Pretty!!!

I had some left over Plymouth Encore yarn and decided to make a jogless single stripe hat using 

Grace O'Neill's technique.

Dorah is still working on her corner to corner baby blanket. Great colors!

Carole's 1-2-3 Baby beanie is for her newest grandson. The pattern has two versions available so she's making the first option.

Maureen's baby cardigan is getting the lower ribbing and then she'll pick up the stitches to knit the sleeves.

I don't know how Margaret does it but she's following a charted design and talking at the same time! I have projects that are strictly "alone knitting" and this would fall under that category!

Nancy is knitting a 1-2-3 Baby Beanie too.

I could have sworn Barbara K said she found this pattern on Ravelry but I'm not finding results. Anyway, she said she'll turn this into a scarf since she doesn't tend to wear cowls. 

Edited: Barbara B found the link to the pattern on Ravelry. Thanks Barb!!!

Her yarn choice is lovely!

She has good taste in colors as you can see by the pretty scarf she wore today. 

It's the Country Rows Shawlette which I designed in 2009.

Barbara B's treat today was a sourdough hand pie. We had our choice of filling, fig or blueberry. 

Mmm, mmm, good!

We haven't decided if we're meeting next week since it's so close to Thanksgiving. So if I don't get to say it then, here's wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving and keep those needles clicking!

Winter arrived early

Everyone arrived wearing their winter coats, even Maureen who lives right across the street! We went from summer temps and dove right into winter cold! Our conversations touched on a little bit of politics to release the stress but most of it was about grandchildren and, what else? FOOD! We reminisced about some of the local restaurants that were very popular but have closed since the pandemic. And last week a new Trader Joe's opened about one mile away so we shared our favorite food items and reviewed some new ones. Apparently, the conversation was so riveting, no one was aware of their photo being taken.

Some of us finally looked up long enough to smile for the camera.

Speaking of food, Barbara B's treat for the day was Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin cookies, chewy and fruity! YUM!

Dorah is on the decreasing side of her colorful corner to corner blanket. 

It is the perfect size for a carseat.

Nancy made progress on her Helix Hat. She thought it might be a bit large but it's perfect for an older sibling of the family. In case I haven't mentioned it lately, this cycle of knitting will be going to 

Moms Start Here

Margaret started the Branta Hat, a free pattern on Ravelry.

It has a deep ribbed cuff which is folded up for a double thick fabric to keep ears warm.

Maureen thinks she might run out of yarn to finish the raglan cardigan but a suggestion was made to knit the cuffs and bottom ribbing in a contrasting color to avoid being stuck without enough yarn to complete it.

She attached the buttons on her Simple Baby Pullover so it's ready for the inventory.

She also completed her X and O hat. I'd love to link the pattern but I can't find it!

Carole started the Wavelet Beanie which also has a very deep ribbed cuff. You can buy the pattern through Ravelry.

Barbara B has made lots of progress on her Simple Pleasures Hat. That red is a stunner!!! This is a free pattern on Ravelry.

I found a video by Crazy Hands Knitting showing how to knit the Knit Kitty Toy Hat and decided to adapt it to fit an infant. I modified it by knitting a garter ridge along the neckline to make it long enough to fit a baby.

I was going to let Fozzie model it but then thought better of the situation! 

No one wants a baby hat with cat fur all over it. 😉

I finished the Teddy Bear Hat I was working on last week. While the ears were very easy to knit, sewing them on was another whole story! Maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist, but I must have sewn each one at least three times before I was happy with how they looked.

The sun is starting to fade so I'm going to grab a sweater and make a cup of tea. Keep warm and keep those needles clicking!