Who knew October 7 would be a deck day?

The AC was turned back on after a couple of days of cooler nights and days. But yesterday was a high temp of 81 degrees and today was a pleasant 76! 

The prettiest tree in the neighborhood is trying to tell us fall is coming but the blue sky and warm days are telling a different story.

Dorah and Barbara bought yarn at the Adirondack Fiber Arts Festival a couple of weeks ago to knit the Grid Gambit Cowl. Dorah started hers with the solid colored yarn as the backdrop...

Barbara B is a little further along. She reversed the yarns and used the variegated yarn as the background color. Same cowl, slightly different look. Both are lovely!

Tina added some length to her Little Fisherman's Beanie since last week. Great colors for the fall.

Nancy's River Rush Slouch Hat is at the beginning stitches too. Her yarn color choice is so rich!

Barbara K just returned from a dream vacation with her siblings to Sicily and Italy, the home of her ancestors. She had a fabulous time and has great photos to show for it. Her hat is just beginning with a deep purply burgundy yarn in a bulky weight so it should be a quick knit.

Jan has arrived at a new color on her Beach Colors Baby Blanket. I love how cheerful it is!

Maureen was away this week celebrating her granddaughter's birthday so she didn't have much time to knit but there is some progress on her Simple Baby Pullover.

Take a good look at Dorah's Toybox Candy Cardigan because it is no more! She couldn't find her place so she frogged the whole sweater except for the sleeves! She didn't mind because it's a quick project so it won't take long to get back to this point.

I had to put the Beloved Bonnet aside last week because the beginning required too much attention. I finished the first half during the week and...

now I feel confident knitting the second half in public. That is until I reach the very end when it will require my full attention again.

That wraps up another week with my Chicks. Enjoy the nice weather while you can and keep those needles clicking.

P.S. I forgot to take photos of our weekly treat. Barbara B made delicious chocolate chip cookies!

A beautiful breezy day on the deck

It was a perfect afternoon of sunshine and breezes! We caught up on grandchildren and what books everyone is reading.

All accompanied by Barbara B's sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies. She always makes enough for us to take extras so I will be enjoying another cookie tonight with a tall glass of cold milk!

We had a few FO's this week. I finished the Phazelia Mitered Baby Jacket. It's the fourth time I've knitted this pattern, as I have mentioned before but I don't think the yarn wanted to be this sweater considering all the times my stitch count was off by 2 or 3. But I showed it a thing or two and plugged on to finish it. It will be a looooong time before I knit this one again. 😡

Jan did a beautiful job making the Fair Isle Johnny Hat. She was concerned that the section where the colorwork appears is a little snug so she wants to practice catching floats and loosening the stitches.

Carole knitted a baby hat for her soon to be born grandchild.

We all want to know if there's a pattern to make these adorable babies!!! LOL! 

The pattern is called 1-2-3 baby beanie and is a freebie on Ravelry.

Barbara finished her On the Spice Market Shawl in three weeks time! That's really remarkable when you consider there are other things to do like eat, sleep, clean up, etc.

Maureen made progress on her Simple Baby Pullover using a self striping, machine washable yarn.

Jan's Beach Colors Baby Blanket has a few new colors appearing with the ever-changing stitch patterns. This is a freebie on Ravelry too.

Carole worked on a five hour baby cardigan to go with the sweet little hat.

And she also added the ribbed bottom to her version of the Simple Baby Pullover just like the one Maureen is knitting.

Dorah is nearing the end of her Prime Numbers Shawl using the Texas Bluebonnet yarn.

Nancy added to her basic baby hat too.

Barbara B tackled the heavily cabled Diagon Hat. The instructions have you moving the beginning of round marker a number of times because of where the cables fall in the sequence. She admitted it wasn't the best choice for social knitting but she was smart to put in a lifeline.

I started a Beloved bonnet but got only as far as the section of increases because, unlike Barbara B, I can't talk and count at the same time so I opted to work on a simpler project, a hat for my grandson in his school colors. It's going to be a surprise so I won't be showing it.

Tina started the Little Fisherman's Beanie.

She chose a variegated yarn in yummy autumn colors. The pattern is free in one size only.

It is still so peaceful out here on the deck that even Fozzie decided to join me. He's having fun observing the blue jays and bunnies romp around the yard.

Enjoy the rest of the week and keep those needles clicking!

Delivery Day to The Falcon Boutique

If you have access to cbs6 Albany news (Local knitting group donates 144 items to Albany High School's Falcon Boutique) you will be able to see tonight's story about our delivery to The Falcon Boutique at Albany High School. Dorah (in pink, second in from left), Barbara B and Tina (last two on the right) joined me this morning to be warmly greeted by school staff. We were very impressed with the set up and variety of items being offered.

The store is managed by the students, assisted by special education students, to serve 1,958 who are economically disadvantaged which accounts for 71% of the student body total of 2,675. The boutique operates from 3:30-5pm Monday through Thursday and 3:30-4:30pm on Friday. It provides free clothing, snacks, and merchandise to the students and their families. 

There were prom gowns for as far as the eye could see...

and clothing for any occasion or need around the perimeter of the store. There is a link below to the school's web page describing our visit today.

Knit with care: a heartfelt donation for the Falcon Boutique | Albany High School

After a stop for lunch, Maureen, Nancy, Margaret, and Jan joined the three of us for our regularly scheduled meeting. Our next project is for the organization Moms Start Here. We will be knitting baby clothes and some pretty things for the new mothers to show our support for them too. We've all been there and know how nice it is to be seen and appreciated so we felt it was important to include the new moms in our knitting.

My needles are clicking away at the Phazelia Mitered Baby Jacket, a modularly knitted cardigan with I-cord edging. It seems to be taking forever but it will be worth it when completed.

Tina is using a yummy brown yarn to knit the Slips and Ladders Beanie 

by our favorite hat designer, Benjamin Matthews.

Barbara B finished the Chevron Rib Beanie which she is making as a gift for a family member.

Currently on her needles is the Crosscut Beanie, another Benjamin Matthews pattern. She said once you establish the pattern, you're safe to knit in a social gathering.

Jan is working on the Beach Colors Baby Blanket which uses a slow changing gradient yarn to make a colorful, ever changing patterned blanket.

Margaret found a mistake in the directions for her Mt. Airy Trail Hat so we wrote to the designer and she got right back to us, thanking us for catching the error. It is corrected now if you want to buy the pattern for your own use. By 3pm, the hat was finished but I didn't get a chance to take another picture.

Scarves take a long time to knit and Maureen is afraid you'll get bored seeing the same thing each week. But I think it's important to point out that little elves don't whip up an item overnight. I truly appreciate the time and effort my Chicks put into each and every project they make. Here is her Reversible Stripes Scarf with the magic stripes that are horizontal on one side and vertical on the other.

Nancy was inspired by Barbara B's Chevron Rib Beanie so she is making one also. Because it is an intricate pattern, Barbara asked Nancy if she is using a lifeline. It just so happens that her interchangeable needles have the little hole through which you can run spare yarn through the stitches as they are knitted which automatically puts them on the lifeline! So we all learned a new tip today!

Thank you again to my Chicks, Maureen, Nancy, Margaret, Jan, Barbara B, Barbara K, Tina, Cinzia, Carole, and Dorah for all your hard work and dedication to helping others. I always say, I couldn't do it without all of you!

 Don't forget to tune in to the cbs6 news tonight to catch our story. 

Until next time, keep those needles clicking!