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!

It's a beautiful day for deck knitting

The heat and humidity have dissipated so we are back outside! Yay! 

We caught up on current events and book reviews. 

It was a perfect setting for Sourdough Snickerdoodle Muffins.

We added quite a few FOs to the inventory. Barbara B's granddaughter, the very talented 14 year old crocheter, made these hats for my Friday group, The Delaware Avenue Stitch Angels. I'm thinking of keeping a few to add to the Chicks' next project, Moms Start Here, in Troy, NY.

Carole completed her Oh Baby! Cardigan and made a sweet 2x2 ribbed hat to go with it.

Cinzia knitted a beautifully cabled cowl...

And Margaret brought a bag filled with goodies! She made two knotted earwarmer/headbands...

four Helix Hats...

A Welter Hat and a Fair Isle hat...

and finally, 1898 Hat, Look Out Winter Hat, and two more of her own design with a pair of matching fingerless gloves.

I completed the headband/earwarmer I designed. I like the way it turned out so much that I immediately cast on for another to donate to my other knitting group. If you would like to knit one, the pattern is written up on my Ravelry page.

For the Falcon Boutique, our current recipients, I started a Helix Hat with small amounts of left over yarns that didn't have enough quantities for anything else.

Jan worked on her Triangle with a Twist Shawl. 

This is a good basic shawl that looks more difficult than it really it to knit.

This hat pattern was available for free for a limited time so I grabbed it for the Chicks to share and...

Margaret was the first to start the Mt. Airy Trail Hat.

Carole just started the 1-2-3 Baby Beanie. It's a freebie on Ravelry so if you have any babies that need a hat, this would be a good one to knit.

Maureen has been busy with grandchildren so she might not have her Reversible Stripes Scarf finished in time for this round of donations. Not to worry, there are plenty of opportunities coming up in the future.

Tina is just starting the One Chevron Scrap Cowl.

As you can see in this picture, it can be made using left over scraps of yarn.

Barbara B is almost finished with her Top Down Raglan Child's Sweater. At least that's what I think this pattern is. She'll let me know if it isn't.

Dorah is working on a Helix Hat to match the fingerless gloves she was knitting these past few weeks. However, she started the hat before remembering that the blue and gray yarns were supposed to be...

used for the thumbs on the gloves! We tried to convince her to just bind off the thumbs now. 

We'll have to wait to see how she resolves this.

Nancy made progress on her Brick by Brick Cowl which uses the mosaic method of knitting. Those colors are glorious!

We are waiting to hear from the boutique to find out when we can deliver so next week we will probably label and sort everything. Until then, keep those needles clicking!

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Who knew!?!?

Who knew we would be knitting on the deck on October 22? The sun was driving the temp up to 78 degrees and it felt like it! I keep saying I'm going to put the summer clothes away but then we get a day like today and I'm searching for the lightweight short sleeve T's. No one was complaining though. Well, maybe I did, a little. I really love the cold winter weather but I do love the sunshine!

Barbara B's treat for the day was sourdough cinnamon snickerdoodles cupcakes. See what you missed Dorah! Not to rub it in but they were gooood! We had a discussion about cinnamon and how to tell if you are buying the real thing or a common substitute. After some googling, we found out that the most common product sold in grocery stores is cassia cinnamon which isn't really cinnamon at all. It comes from a completely different tree and in great enough amounts can cause some major health problems. The real deal is called Ceylon Cinnamon and should you buy it in bark form, would be fragile enough to break

 with little effort.

 

I finished a great stash buster project called the One Chevron Scrap Cowl. It starts with a provisional cast on so the short ends can be grafted together for an invisible seam.

I searched for six different sock weight leftovers and arranged them so the colors would blend...

from one color theme into another. Depending on which side faces front, it can look like a whole different cowl.

Barbara B finished the Avena Hat, a paid pattern on Ravelry. The bobbles along the cuff add a nice touch of texture to an otherwise plain design.

Maureen grew weary of knitting the baby sweater and decided to spice things up with a quick Helix Hat or what I refer to as another potato chip project...you can't make just one!

I also finished the Climber Crest Hat, a pattern with loads of texture. It's a very easy pattern that took no time to memorize.

In fact, I started another one right away. I was planning on making the Soldier's Cap but the thought of 9.5 inches of 2X2 ribbing made me want to give up. Since there were already 96 stitches on the needle, and the Climber Crest starts with 96 stitches and 2 inches of 2X2 ribbing, I made the executive decision to change patterns.

 

Barbara B started the Hat of Cat which starts with a provisional cast on. This pattern is a freebie on Ravelry.

Barbara K wanted to sit in the direct sunlight so she could see the stitches more easily while she knitted her Mistake Stitch Scarf. 

Carole enjoys working with bulky weight yarns and from the stash she picked out recently, she has already finished a stockinette cowl and...

is well on her way to finishing the garter stitch version of the same cowl. If you want a project to knit up quickly, bulky weight is the way to go.

Nancy started the textured section of the Twig Beanie. After searching the Ravelry site, I found out it is no longer available online in digital form but Ravelry hasn't removed it from the site. I'm glad I saved it in my library before it was discontinued! The pattern says to use a cable needle to make a two stitch right cable but here's a video that shows how to do it without all the fuss.

Jan started the Simply Riveting Scarf which has three points of increases making it sit nicely on the shoulders.

Here is the Sunnyside Sweater that Maureen took a short break from knitting to make the helix hat. She is working on the sleeves so it won't be long now until she's finished.

A couple of weeks ago my oldest grandson invited his grandfather and me to join him and his family as he and his fellow senior teammates were recognized before a big game. We were truly honored to be included in the festivities and my daughter and I had to bite our lip to keep from crying. Our "little baby" is graduating this year!!!😢 And yes, it's official! I am the shortest one in the family now (I was wearing heels so I look taller but I cheated LOL!).

Time flies by too quickly! Hug your loved ones and as always... keep those needles clicking!