A delightful day on the deck

Nancy, Maureen, Barbara B, and Margaret joined me for a delightfully breezy afternoon on the deck. Topics of conversation included pickleball pet peeves, who likes to do laundry (yes, some of these ladies actually enjoy it), who likes to cook and who doesn't, and pets. Fozzie came out to visit for a couple of seconds but disappeared again after he discovered no one was going to give him treats. 

Where's Dorah when you need her?!?!

It is quite obvious that Barbara B is one of those who likes to cook as evidenced by her wonderful contributions each week. 

This week we had sourdough oatmeal quick bread which was heavy and dense with flavor.

Maureen started a hat for her grandson who outgrew his previous teddy bear hat and wants another one.

Barbara and I attended the Whole Knit n' Caboodle studio sale last week and came away with some goodies. She fell in love with a kit that Terri assembled with all she needs to knit 

On the Spice Market Shawl.

The kit contains all the colors in the required amounts to knit the shawl so there is no waste.

I restrained myself to three skeins, two taupey beige colors to knit men's hats and this lovely light aqua on the right to go with the deep teal which was a gift and has been begging me for a friend. I'm thinking of knitting the "I Am Not Who You Think I Am" cowl 

but will have to find out if the yarn agrees with me.

Margaret worked on her Helix Hat. She said somewhere along the way she dropped one of the colors and cannot retrieve it so she's just going with the flow. Design element!

Nancy started this Dotty Cowl with...

two very pretty autumn colors.

She completed her Chevron Rib beanie and made it a little shorter as per Barbara B's suggestion.

Nancy also visited Terri's studio sale and came away with two lovely fall colored yarns. She's waiting for them to tell her what they want to be.

I'm still plugging away at the Phazelia Mitered Baby jacket. Just 10 more increased stitches to go before I can move on to the next step, sleeves.

Oh, I forgot to tell you Margaret attended the studio sale too and bought this lovely variegated yarn to make a little sweater for her grandson. Terri does such a great job dying her yarns. I always find something to love!

"Someone" is trying to convince me it's close enough to dinner time to refill his dish but sorry Fozzie, you'll have to wait until 5PM just like the rest of us.

It's only another 45 minutes from now. He won't waste away ;). 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

It's time to attach labels

Today was the day we sort and label all the items we knitted for the Falcon Boutique at Albany High School. We've gathered quite a collection since we started knitting this cycle in late December 2024.

The Chicks were busy knitting 92 hats, 16 cowls, 

11 scarves and shawls, 15 headband/ear warmers,

and 6 sets of hats with matching mittens or cowl or scarf. The grand total of the collection is 144. You might think that's a mistake but we count individual items in the sets, so 2 mittens and a scarf and cowl bring the total up. I used to count pairs of items as one but it's twice the work so I decided to give credit where credit is due! My Chicks work hard and I appreciate it!!!

After all that counting we were rewarded with Barbara's Sourdough Apple Cider Donut Quickbread that tasted exactly like Indian Ladder Farms  (a local apple orchard) apple cider donuts! They are my absolute favorite in donuts. None other can compare so it's saying a lot about Barb's quickbread. 😉

                            

The next recipient for our hand made goodies is Moms Start Here of Albany, NY, an organization that supports families on their parenting journey. My project is the Phazelia Mitered Baby Jacket. It has been many years since I knitted one of these adorable sweaters and I'm happy to bring it back into my repertoire.

Jan started the Horizon Hat with it's varied stripes. We got to talking about spacing of stripes which led us into a conversation about the Fibonacci Sequence and how it appears in nature.

Mother Nature is the greatest designer and I happened to have a succulent which shows the Fibonacci Sequence. It is also visible in the seed head of a sunflower. That symmetrical patterning is pleasing to the eye. Look it up! It's fascinating!

Anyway, to get back to knitting...Jan started the first stripe in her Horizon Hat. It will be pink and lavender.

Margaret started the Mt. Airy Trail Hat with a pretty red yarn with a soft feel. She also had a quick course in how to use Ravelry. Many people use it just for a pattern search but it can be so much more. I like to keep detailed notes on my projects so I can refer back to them if I want to repeat a project and need to know if I made modifications. 

Barbara B is knitting a hat for her daughter based on a photograph she was sent. The Chevron Rib Beanie is the closest she could find to the photograph.

And it's a free pattern too! Barbara said it is not a difficult pattern to knit and judging that she was knitting and talking this afternoon, I would have to believe her. By the way, that light blue line going through the stitching is a lifeline so if there's a mistake, Barbara can frog back to the last row that she knows is correct. Whoever thought of lifelines is a genius!

Nancy worked on her Bright Side Shawl, the pattern that uses a specifically dyed yarn so the little blips of color hit randomly across the fabric. This is also a freebie on Ravelry.

Tina's One Chevron Scrap Cowl had grown since we last saw it. It uses fingering weight yarn and starts with a provisional cast on which is later grafted to the final row making this an infinity ring.

Next Tuesday will be delivery day. I'll see if I can get some photos to show you the Boutique. Until then, have a great week and keep those needles clicking!