Very busy hands

We start this week's post with some FO's. I made a hat to go with the woven scarf from last week's FO's. There is a good amount of yarn left so I might even be able to squeeze out a pair of mittens to make a nice 3 piece set.

 Cinzia made a cozy cowl using the Indian Cross Stitch pattern between fields of garter stitch.

 Carole's Olivia Cowl is finished too. This Debbie Bliss yarn gives beautiful stitch definition...perfect for this cowl.

 Maureen finished her 1898 Hat using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. The ear flaps are knitted flat then folded in half and the crown stitches are picked up along the edge and knitted to the top. I don't know why, but it seems to be the quickest knit I've ever made. Maybe because by the time you finish knitting the ear section, most of the hat is knitted.

 Margaret's third version of her hat with bulky yarn is ready to go into inventory. Further on you'll see she is making another.

 Barbara B. had to make a provisional cast on so the brim could be double thick. Here she is picking up the stitches from the cast on edge to be knitted together with the live stitches on the needle.

 Cinzia added many inches to her ZickZack scarf she started last week. Lovely color combo!

 And Janna really got the hang of those cable stitches! Her Palindrome Scarf has come a long way since last Tuesday.

 Jan's cowl has beautiful colors. I can't wait to see it finished.

 Here is the beginning of the hat I started today to go with the periwinkle blue scarf I wove last week. The loom is empty right now but I'll be warping it soon. I need to decide between four different yarn combinations so I'll know what to make.

 Dorah finished one mitten and is sussing out the directions for the second one. Sometimes the directions don't seem to make sense so they trip us up a bit. But she's got it now.

 Here is Margaret's third or fourth hat with that same bulky yarn. Each one has a different color pattern. I think she wants to give the 1898 hat a try next.

Last week I showed you Carole's Irma hat. This week it has been frogged in favor of a cable hat.

It seems as nice as the Irma hat pattern is, the Cashmerino yarn is too slippery for it so it kept growing and stretching. So Carole opted for this pattern instead.

Maureen has this lovely blue yarn with sparkles running through it so she is working on the Honey cowl. It's a nice easy pattern with slipped stitches to create the texture.

In case anyone is interested in learning how to weave the waffle stitch, I'll be teaching a class at Cece's Wool in Guilderland on Wednesday, March 4 at 1PM. The class is open to only 4 students with an intermediate level skill, so if you want to enroll, do so quickly.

So that's all for this week. Time for me to get back to my needles.

Free pattern alert!

    These pretty mittens pattern is being offered for free for a limited time. Hurry to get yours now.

                                   https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pinewood-mittens

Starting a new cycle

Last week we delivered our cute little stuffed toys to the Albany Police so this week we begin a new project. Our latest creations will be donated to the homeless women veterans at Guardian House in Saratoga County.

We already have some finished items for inventory. Barbara B. made the Easy Ombre slouch hat which looks like falling snowflakes on a red background.

She also made the world's softest socks from Loops and Threads yarn. I believe it's a bamboo blend yarn, the softness which I have never felt before.

                          

This little hat will go into a future donation which will include children too.

Cinzia finished the bulky weight yarn hat, another child size for future donations.

And her little romper with the cute little green buttons will be saved for a future date also.

Last week I showed you a scarf in progress which I was waffle weaving on my rigid heddle loom. This week it's done and waiting for the fringe to be twisted before it goes into the bath to bloom the fibers.

Then last night I felt inspired by a silk and merino blend yarn from Malabrigo that I found in my stash. I started warping the loom at 7PM and by 9:45PM I was past the halfway point. I finished it off right before the evening Chicks arrived and took it off the loom, catching a thread on the nylon strap which holds the front apron rod. Did you hear me scream when I discovered about 2 inches of yarn had been pulled out of the pattern?!?! After I said a few choice words, I took a tapestry needle and worked the thread back into place. This scarf is going to be made into a cowl after wet finishing.

The black box on Barbara B.'s left thumb is her row counter. She needs it for the hat she's making with this lovely yarn. 

This is the pattern she's using for it.

Barbara K. was hard at work on her project but we won't get to see it finished until after her winter sabbatical in Florida.

Cinzia started a ZickZack scarf with these pretty purple yarns from Berroco.

And Debbie is working on her hat with a lovely green worsted weight.

I had enough pink yarn left over from the scarf to make a hat to match. But boy! It seems to be taking forever compared to how quickly the scarf was woven!

Margaret almost finished her hat from last week. Those bulky weight yarn make quick work on fat needles.

Carole's hat shows beautiful stitch definition with the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn. And such a lovely lavender color too!

She's made this hat before. I know the ladies of Guardian House will love it.

And Maureen is almost finished with her 1898 hat with the double thick ear flaps for warmth. This is such an entertaining pattern to knit. Everyone to whom I've introduced the pattern loves it.

And I just have to show you the gorgeous blanket Carole wove over 30 years ago on her harness loom. What a beautiful creation!!! She said it's the last thing she wove before she put her loom away in storage. I wonder if I can inspire her to start again! It is breathtaking!

And she wove it double on a narrow loom. That is to say, she wove it in two layers that connect on one edge so when it comes off the loom, she unfolds it to reveal it is double the width of when it was on the loom! MAGIC! I want her to teach me how to do that! If only she could remember...

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

We made our delivery!

Yesterday was delivery day at the Albany Police Department. Even the canine wanted to be included. We were warmly greeted by Officer Brian Hawley (second from the left) and everyone who walked by the toys ooohed and ahhhed over them. It made each of us feel good that they were so warmly received. Thanks again for accepting our gift APD!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!

Well, no lions or tigers, but there were bears in that tall pile of toys. The two Barbaras and Debbie helped attach labels to all 57 of the toys.

 Barbara K. brought us the burgundy kitty and Jan made the adorable mermaid, puppy, and bunny.

 Is it a herd or hedgehogs? Litter? Bunch? Well, whatever you call them, we had a lot of hedgehogs. Each one had its own personality too.

 Then there were the fraternal triplets.

 The raccoon kept the owls company.

 And a panda made it all the way from China  Glenmont.

 There was an explosion of kittens of all shapes and sizes.

 And a penguin made friends with an elephant and bunny.

 Little Red Riding Hood made fast friends with the others.

 And look at all those happy faces! These toys surely will brighten some little munchkins faces. As I said in the past, these toys will be donated this week to the Albany Police Force for distribution to children who face traumatic situations.

 Margaret put the finishing touches on the hat I showed you last week.

And then she immediately cast on for another of different colors.

Carole brought this darling baby set to show us the gift she is making for a friend's new grandbaby. She used Sirdar Crofter yarn, and acrylic and nylon blend which is very soft and machine washable and dryable.

Dorah showed us her "The Shift" cowl she made for herself. It has beautiful purples and grays. There is just a short seam to sew up and she'll be wearing it soon.

For now she's decreasing for the top of her Debbie Bliss Cashmerino mitten.

Carole's Olivia cowl is at the portion where she has to graft the two live ends together to form a cowl.

I was at least 6 inches into a cowl with this lovely yarn when it decided to be stubborn and hide a mistake which threw off the whole pattern. So I frogged it and now it's going to be a chevron shaped cowl with grafted ends. The white yarn is the provisional cast on which holds the live stitches for grafting later.

I have this pretty pink waffle weave scarf on my loom right now. Hopefully, I will have it nearly finished by the weekend.

These last 5 items will start the ball rolling for our next recipient, The Guardian House for homeless women veterans. So I better stop talking and get to weaving and knitting so I can fill up the inventory. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!