Finishing up the dolls

We are winding down our projects, trying to finish up the toys and dolls. Debbie finished her little girl doll with her cute Mary Jane shoes and Peter Pan collar. My little boy doll needs a few touches.

 By the end of the evening he had his turtleneck sweater and matching cap. The bear was knitted by one of Carole's friends who wanted to learn how to make one and she graciously donated him to us.

 Jan added two finished toys to the inventory and has to add a face to the fuzzy bear and has a way to go with her mermaid. That's going to be one adorable doll!

 Cinzia was back today after a long hiatus. She brought us four hats, one of which was crocheted, the rest knitted.

 Margaret added her kitty to the litter and then started...

a hat using bulky yarn. Our favorite quote from Margaret tonight was, "I could fall in love with bulky yarn!" She likes how quickly it knits up a project. This hat is a copy of the hat that Julia Roberts wears in the movie "Stepmom".

Cinzia got distracted watching a movie while knitting a hat so Plan B was to make it into a romper. Looks good to me!

Carole was knitting along nicely on her Olivia cowl when she discovered she suddenly had too many stitches. It happens to the best of us knitters. She'll be back on track in no time.

Dorah was planning on making a shawl with this beautiful cashmerino yarn from Debbie Bliss but the pattern was so poorly written that it was too difficult to decipher. So her Plan B was to make mittens instead. These are going to be beautiful. The color is so luscious and the fiber is cloud soft.

I haven't worked on my loom in over a week as other things have taken my attention. But I plan to get back to it soon. I have some ideas floating around in my head. I just wonder if they will work. If not, I can always knit something! Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

More stuffies for the Police

For those readers who might have missed it, we Chicks are making stuffed toys, also known as Amigurumi, to give to the Albany Police Department for officers to distribute to children who might be involved in a traumatic situation. Janna and Barbara K. are holding just a few of the over 40, so far, that we have knitted or crocheted.

 Some are animals and some are people, as is the case with Debbie's doll.

 Her Little Red Riding Hood turned out to be an adorable doll, complete with basket, surrounded by hedgehogs, teddy bear, owl, and cat.

 Another dolly with two more hedgehog friends joined the collection.

 As did two more cheerful teddies, another owl and an elephant.

 Maureen was busy making hats. This 1898 hat will be real cozy.

 And her spiral hat came with a matching cowl.

 Maureen was inspired by Dorah to make a Helix hat with pretty pinks and gray.

 And Dorah's hat went into inventory too.

 Santa (my hubby really) heard my wishes and brought me a new toy for Christmas! I am now the proud owner of an Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom. I had been watching Youtube video tutorials for quite a while now so my first lesson went quite smoothly.

 I cranked out a scarf in two days as opposed to knitting one in two weeks OR MORE! This was my first try and while the edges are a bit wonky (hey! it's only my first try), I am proud to say it is a wearable work of art. I have yet to decide how to finish off the fringe.

 My fourth try at weaving shows much improvement. This cowl needs a couple of buttons to adorn the edges but it's officially finished, again, except for the fringe.

I think I'm going to like weaving as much as I like knitting and it certainly will be a lot quicker. Now I have to dig through my stash to find yarn which will hold up under the stress of warping. Not all knitting yarns will withstand the stretch on the loom...ask me how I know! As I always say, mistakes are lessons learned. Some harder than others!

Free pattern

There is a pretty shawl pattern on Ravelry which is free for a very short time. Follow the link to get your copy now. Be sure to enter the code upon checkout for your free copy.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/under-the-sky-of-leh-shawl

Happy New Year

The Chicks are still on holiday break but we want to send you wishes for a happy and healthy new year. See you in 2020!

Taking time off

The weather here in the Albany area has been snowy today so my Chicks are wise to stay home, safe and sound. However, this means we won’t be knitting together again until after the new year.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all the blessings of the holidays and I hope the coming year will bring good health and happiness to all. Oh! And time to knit or crochet too!😉

I’ll see you next year!

Kitties and Hedgehogs visit the Chicks

Two more kitties joined the happy menagerie of critters. I enjoy embroidering their little faces and watching their personalities bloom.

 The common cold hit too many of my Chicks this week, along with scheduling conflicts, so only three of the evening ladies were available to knit with me. 

 Margaret put the finishing touches on her Beans the cat. He needs a face and tail and then he will join the litter.

 Carole stuffed her hedgehog through his nose. She'll create his face at home where she has her special needles for embroidering through all the stuffing.

 Dorah started the decreases on her hat this week and thinks there might be enough yarn left for yet another small hat.

 The body of my hedgehog is finished and now I have to concentrate on his snout. I need to choose a color to go with the blue. Luckily, I have a bag filled with scraps of yarn that will yield a good selection.

 Margaret finished her hat of her own design. Beautiful job!

I think I've finished all my Christmas shopping so I can relax and knit until my heart's content.

Have a good week and happy knitting!

Winter has arrived!

I woke up to a winter wonderland this morning! It was beautiful after Mother Nature dropped over 22 inches of the fluffy white stuff since Sunday afternoon. It was perfect weather for knitting and Netflixing. And now that my husband and I are retired, there was no rush to get out and clear it away. My Sweetie cleared it all away before the Chicks arrived this afternoon though.

 They were able to join me and the newest batch of critters which included cats, owls, teddy bear, penguin, and panda.

 The evening Chicks brought a trio of hedgehogs. They are so cute and it's nice to crochet a small project now and then. It makes you to use different hand muscles so you can avoid repetitive stress damage.

 Barbara K. started another Beans kitty. They are certainly a colorful menagerie. She laughed about this being the first time in a long time she has used double pointed needles for so many projects. It's nice to change up the styles of knitting every now and then. I think it's also good for your brain to have to think about new things now and then. Gotta stretch those brain cells!

 Debbie picked out an adorable little Red Riding Hood character for her next project.

 Here she is casting on for the very bottom of the figure.

 Janna finished another bear body and immediately cast on for a little police officer bear.

 My little guy hardly looked like anything this afternoon but by the evening session....

 he was looking more like he had ears. In case you're wondering, he's going to be another squishy kitty. He needs a face and tail which should be done by next week.

 Margaret's Tuesday night yoga class is finished so she is back with us. Her hat is almost finished. 

 And Carole started another hedgehog using a self striping yarn which is forming perfect little clusters of color. 

I think I'll pick up the crochet hook for my next critter and add another hedgehog to the collection.

Have a great week and keep those needles...or hooks... clicking!