Time to donate!

It's time to take inventory and photograph our donation. So many cute little baby clothes! 

There were 26 sweaters of all styles. Some had matching hats too! Those two blocks on either side are holding sweaters that haven't yet dried from their blocking.

 There were 3 lovely crocheted blankets and...

 30 hats, 3 pairs of booties, and 9 pairs of mittens. These items will go to Albany Medical Center to be distributed wherever they are needed.

 

 Barbara made us all laugh because she couldn't let us see her Mistake Stitch scarf again this week. She was quick with that pillow. Kathleen brought us a finished red hat and blue scarf, sitting at her side on the couch cushion. Now she's working on a Mistake Stitch scarf with the green and red variegated yarn. She started a linen stitch scarf with it but it didn't go well and the yarn was not cooperating. So then Kathleen decided on a Feather and Fan scarf but the busy-ness of the colors in the yarn did not allow the pretty stitch pattern to show up. Frogged again! Now she is going back to the "Tried and True" Mistake Stitch scarf and it looks great. 

Liz added rows to her hat and Elaine continued on her blanket for a future donation when we give baby items again. 

 The multi-talented Cinzia added some crochet rows to a sweet little baby top and now it just needs some buttons.

 Carole tried something new to her, knitting both sleeves of a sweater at the same time on one needle using the Magic Loop method. This is a great idea to insure that all your decreases occur at the same spot on both sleeves and they end up being the exact same length. If you have a flexible long circular needle you should give it a try. I'm sure you'll like the results. Plus both sleeves are finished in one fell swoop!

 Beth started a Mistake Stitch scarf too using a very colorful yarn that has lots of texture. This is going to be a cheerful garment!

 Maureen started a slouchy hat with some of the yarn from our California Yarn Angel and 

 I picked up stitches on a scarf she sent us so it can be finished and added to the inventory.

 Then Dorah picked out two lovely yarns from the same supply and she started a Reversible Stripes scarf. Horizontal stripes on the front and...

 vertical stripes on the back! A.MAZE.ING! We still can't figure out how that works!

It's always fun when knitting befuddles us!

Filling the coffers with yarn

Barbara's pretty cabled hat is finished. She used Periwinkle Sheep Yarn. Our friend, Karin, kettle dyes in small batches the most beautiful colors!

 She also made a baby afghan as a gift for a friend. She was 8 rows from binding off and ran out of yarn! She emailed all of us and other knitting friends and stores until she found a skein to finish it off. We've all had nightmares of that happening. Thank goodness she found some yarn to complete those last rows.

 This pattern is from the Plymouth Encore 8 Hour Blankets pattern book. Each blanket uses two strands of yarn and work up quickly. This blanket has a nice modular looking block pattern that's knitted across the whole row so there is no sewing together little squares of knitting.

 This afternoon Barb started knitting a scarf using this beautiful bamboo/cotton blend yarn but she wasn't getting the results she expected so it was frogged and set aside until inspiration strikes. I can't wait to see what she creates with it.

 Kathleen arrived with her usual tote bag filled with finished items. Barb and I laughed at those striped mittens because we had so much of that striped yarn that there must have been at least 3 hats, 2 sweaters, and now these mittens. I think that's the last of that yarn.

 Kathleen's magic bag also magically produced this lovely hat and matching mittens and...

 this beautifully bright Chinook scarf, which Barb so graciously offered to model for us. Kathleen used more Periwinkle Sheep Yarn for this.

And YAY! The never-ending scarf is finished! The pattern is only 4 rows long and easy to memorize but after awhile it gets tedious. So Kathleen was happy to be done with it.

 And lastly, Kathleen added a pair of slippers which she decorated with little handmade flowers.

 This week Kathleen will be making this sweater vest using...

 this heathered Cascade yarn. Pretty color!

 On to the evening knitters.
 Beth made a baby sweater using our favorite Sunnyside Cardigan. It's a baby gift
for a friend.

                                          She finished her cowl and moved on to...

a Mistake Stitch Scarf. We talked about how sometimes we need a mindless knitting pattern that we can just breeze through without thinking and this fits the bill.

Carole's Saroyan has grown in length since last week. It's going to be a beautiful addition to someone's wardrobe.

Look at all the progress Maureen made since last week! I can't wait to see her slouch hat finished.

Ravelry offered a free pattern called Color Theory and I had some Plymouth Gina yarn and 

Tah! Dah!

This is my DD's pattern for her Parallelogram cowl. Now I'm working on a hat to match.

And here's my Lil' Scarfette. I'm using the Magic Loop method of knitting in the round instead of using Double Pointed needles. This scarf will be a double thick, long rectangle with points on both ends using a sock weight yarn. The beginning was a bit tricky but once I had more stitches on the needles it started to breeze along.

The weather is getting cooler around here so soon we'll be knitting bigger projects again. Check back next week to see what we're adding to our inventory. Have a great week!

A new little chick

Yesterday Liz came to knitting armed with a boatload of FO's! She knitted three different sizes of this darling sweater from a free Ravelry pattern. The blog page offers different versions and sizes based on the same basic recipe. There are also links to other patterns, including a matching hat.

 Her finished hoodie looks so cute too. I love the picot bind off edging. It's a very easy technique that involves YO's and sewing the hem back. You have to make sure you have an even number of stitches then proceed to knit a row of K2tog, YO, (you decide how many stitches you want to knit between the eyelets) ending with K2tog. Then knit a few more rows of stockinette and bind off. Fold the fabric back along the YO row and sew the selvedge to the sweater. Alternately, you could pick up and knit a stitch from the row with a stitch on the needle, sort of like a 3 needle bind off. That's if your sweater is a top down construction. If you knit it from the hem up, make a provisional cast on, knit to the depth of the hem and do a row of K2tog, Yo, (again, you decide how many stitches in between eyelets) ending with K2tog, then fold back, wrong sides together, and knit the stitch on the needle together with a live stitch from your provisional cast on. Make sure you start by picking up the first stitch of the provisional cast on or your hem will be all wonky. Or you could just look it up on YouTube! That's how I brush up on all my knitting techniques.

 Two sweet preemie hats.

 Kathleen also added another pair of  mittens from her favorite knitting pattern.

 Now Kathleen is getting a jump on the next donation project by working on a scarf for the Homeless Female Veterans Home in Saratoga County.

 Carole is wrapping up the last sleeve of her Sunnyside Cardigan. The self-striping sock yarn makes a cheerful garment.

 Maureen finished her Cabin Fever Cardi and has started a hat to go with it.

 Cinzia finished her blanket and just has to block it. I thought I took a group photo of last night's gathering to show you her daughter, Sofia, who will be joining us for the summer. She is a high school student and quite a good knitter already and she just started serious knitting last year! I apologize for somehow losing that photo but.... 

 Here is a picture of the booties she already started last night. She's doing a great job for a new knitter! I'm so happy to see another generation taking on the skills of knitting!!!

Welcome to our flock Sofia!

 Speaking of booties, here are the ruby slippers I made for some friends who are expecting their first child soon.

 I loved this little pattern so much that...

 I just had to make more of these sweet little shoes! The first pair took about six hours to make. These periwinkle blue ones took five. Maybe if I make another pair I can cut it down to four!

 Finally, let me wish my DH a happy anniversary! 

37 years!

Cuteness everywhere!

Kathleen started off Show and Tell with her not-quite-finished hoodie. She spent the afternoon picking up stitches around the neckline to knit the hood portion. The yarn is a self-striping, washable blend of acrylic and nylon and has a bit of shine to it.

 Adding to the inventory was another little bonnet from Kathleen and lastly....

 another darling pullover. 

 Liz put the finishing touches on this sweet little sweater...

 and then moved on to another color of the same sweater.

 Cinzia picked out a baby blanket pattern and worked up a gauge swatch. Bless her heart! You all know how I feel about those!

 In spite of sundown, it was pretty steamy and hot on the deck by evening time so we all opted to stay in with the AC.

Carole finished blocking the cute little set she had been knitting.

 The lace is such a pretty touch and the flower buttons are so cute!

 Next up on Carole's list is a colorful version of Sunnyside. We talked about how great a resource Ravelry is to handcrafters. Carole knew how much yarn she had and what weight it was so she just googled the particulars and came up with a pattern appropriate for her requirements.

 Maureen and Dorah worked on their sweaters too. Maureen wasn't able to make much progress since last week but Dorah's sweater looks bigger.

 It's just about ready for the ribbing and bind off and then on to the sleeves.

I finished blocking my eyelet baby blanket and it improved the appearance tremendously.

There was enough yarn left over to make a baby hat too. It's knitted with size 2 needles so I'm finding I need to rest my hands more often. 

Those tiny needles make my fingers cramp if I knit too long. I guess I'll just have to do more "Hand Yoga"!