Organizing our work

Carole brought four hats, a cowl, and a pair of mittens to add to...

the inventory that the Chicks have collected. These items will be added to those that the Delaware Avenue Stitch Angels have made and all will be delivered on October 14 to the South End Children's Cafe which serves children ages 5 to 14. This wonderful organization helps children by offering free, healthy meals, homework help, exercise, and academic mentoring and enrichment, and participation in the arts.

Now we'll move on to the upcoming cycle for the Grassroots Givers which will be delivered later in the year. I'm working with yarn called Papaya. It has been dyed to look like a papaya which has been halved to reveal the seeds and pulp inside, all the way to the rind. I'm making this up as I go along and I'm thinking it's about time for me to add some lacework to the middle. It could change any moment, but for now that's what I'm imagining. Who knows?

Maureen continues to knit on her Helix Hat. For someone who knows knitting, I am still intrigued that single stripes can be knitted and there are no blips at the point at which the colors change. And it's such a simple step to make such a dramatic difference. Well, maybe not dramatic but it looks neater and more professionally created. It's one of those tricks we knitters keep in our back pocket that makes people go, "Wow! How did you do that?"

Carole's hat looks like it might be the Mistake Stitch Hat which creates a nice, thick, thermal fabric

 for warmth.

Jan A. continues her hat as well with an interesting stitch pattern. It's just easy enough to knit while talking but intricate enough to stave off boredom.

Barbara B. is using the yarn dyed by my daughter using KoolAid. Who knew you could use it for such a purpose?!?! The Fancy Fingerless Gloves pattern had to be modified a bit because if Barbara had followed the instructions exactly to the word, the thumb gusset would have ended at that yellow line you can see on the left mitt, which would have made the depth way too shallow to fit an adult hand. But as I told Barbara, there are no knitting police so she can modify the pattern 

without fear of repercussions.😃

There's a short window of opportunity to go for a walk between raindrops so I'll say have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

 

Do I have yarn?

Barbara B. asked if I had yarn to share with her to save her a trip to the store. Have I got yarn?

😆😆😆

Does the bear poop in the woods?

I brought only two bags of worsted weight and DK weight so the ladies could sift through and pick what inspired them.

Some of the yarns were hand dyed by my daughter when she was inspired to use KoolAid to make some lovely tonal yarns. Margaret has one of her peachy colors in her hand. On the table where you see three balls of green are more of her handiwork. She did a beautiful job with colors but her job takes up too much of her time now so she no longer dyes yarn or knits. I am the lucky recipient of her yarns which I am happy to share with my Chicks.

Maureen is finishing up a baby gift, the Sunnyside Cardigan, a free pattern on Ravelry. She's making the cabled version here but there is also a lace edge version included in the same pattern.

For donation, Maureen is making a Helix hat with three colors that look so nice together.

She finished her cowl which you saw in previous posts.

Margaret learned the Latvian Braid to use in the hat she's knitting. It makes a fascinating horizontal braid right in the field of stockinette stitches.

Barbara K.'s hat is growing nicely. Or maybe it's a cowl...I can't remember. Sometimes we all get to talking at once so I miss snippets of conversation. I'll check with her next week.

Janna's Easy scarf shows where she turned her work and is knitting short rows to continue the stripes  perpendicular to the beginning of the work. The stripes are a different width which adds to the beauty of the work.

Barbara K. finished her Mistake Stitch Scarf which matches the hat she added to the inventory a few weeks ago.

And Margaret was delighted to turn over into our inventory the scarf and hat which she had been knitting for a long time. The color is actually a deep purple that looks almost black. It's a good neutral color to go with anything.

 I went for my daily walk this morning so as the clouds currently cover the sun, I'm happy to hunker down and continue knitting on my project. Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Deck knitting

The cool breezes were a delight this afternoon as we chatted and knitted.

Jan A. brought us a few FO's the first being her Exordium Shawl made with sock weight yarns. She did a lovely job and her yarn colors coordinate so well.

She also completed three hats, a cowl, and a scarf. It's quite a nice collection which is sure to warm the hearts and bodies of their recipients.

Dorah decided she might actually wear her completed Bella Shawl since the vibrant colors will go with almost anything and look great with jeans.

Janna finished one Easy scarf and cast right on to start another. The colors look appropriate for the upcoming Halloween season too!

I'm still working on my Totally Biased inspired cowl using two silk blend yarns from the stash.

Barbara K. has knitted a good chunk of her Mistake Stitch Scarf which makes a thick, cushy fabric.

Maureen keeps plugging away on her cowl using a bulky weight yarn of many colors.

And Barbara B. is very near the end of her baby blanket of the softest cotton yarn.

Someone is getting courageous and venturing out to visit the Chicks.

He actually positioned himself under Barbara K.'s chair for most of the last hour of our meeting. 

Maybe he thinks someone will feed him!😃

I love this time of year when all the fiber festivals seem to announce the cooler weather is approaching.

This weekend September 24 and 25 is the annual Adirondack Fiber Festival which is held at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Greenwich, NY.  It's not as big as the NY Sheep and Wool held at Rhinebeck, NY each October but is just as nice IMHO. And if you turn left as you reach Route 29 to leave, you can stop for a delicious ice cream treat at the Ice Cream Man! I never miss a chance when I'm in the area. Maybe I'll see you there. In the meantime, keep those needles clicking!

 

Catching up with the Chicks

It's been a week since our anniversary celebration and now it's back to work. Liz finished her pastel cowl using a wool/acrylic blend, self-striping yarn which turned out lovely. Great colors.

I finished the turtleneck neck warmer to complete the hat and mittens ensemble. The chunky wool makes it a warm combo.

Maureen's cowl is a little longer than when you last saw it. I think this is the same yarn as Liz's finished cowl in a different colorway.

I saw a YouTube video which was narrated in Turkish with Turkish subtitles but if I slowed it down I could figure out what the knitter was doing. So I wrote the directions for the flat knitted piece she was knitting and converted it to be knitted in the round so I could make a cowl. This is the last ball of yarn from a bag that was donated to the group from which I made the ensemble in the picture above. I hope I don't run out before the end. I ran a lifeline, just in case.😉

Dorah thinks you all will be sick of seeing her Close to You shawl since it takes so long to knit a shawl made with sock weight yarn on tiny needles. Not me! I love to watch the progress!

And Barbara B. worked on the last section of navy blue for her baby blanket.

This cotton yarn is so soft!

We had a mascot sitting at our feet today. Fozzie is getting braver and decided to check out what we were doing. He even let Liz, not a cat person, pet him!!! You don't know what a surprise that is! It took 14 months for my husband to be able to sit in the same room and give scratches to Fozzie! I guess he is getting used to seeing my friends every week.

And now he wants to eat again. Apparently, I've missed his 3 o'clock feeding.😄

Fozzie says hi and keep those needles clicking!

 

Happy 17 year anniversary to us!

The Chicks and I celebrated our 17th anniversary with our annual pot luck dinner. Even though we saw each other yesterday, there are still things to talk about a day later.

Sharing a good laugh...

And catching up on the goings on in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

And swapping stories about the kids going off to college.

Every year we request Dorah's Gazpacho soup for the first course. We give her all the credit for a delicious cold soup but she credits the Moosewood Cookbook.

At the top of the photo is a fresh tossed salad and homemade dressing from Jan A. and in the foreground is homemade peach salsa from the fresh peaches Barbara B. buys from the truck every summer.

Barbara K. made a refreshing fruit salad that served as a side dish and a dessert for some.

Janna made a baked chicken dish with fresh veggies and garlic! Mmmm, garlic!

My contribution was Lebanese Kibbeh burgers on a bed of red onion and parsley salad with a side of yogurt sauce.

Maureen's husband made chocolate chip cookies and gluten-free lemon cookies to go with Carole's blueberry lemon cake ( I think she had peaches in it too) with homemade whipped cream.

After dinner we sat around the dining table and talked about kids, sports, our kids in sports, and then how we joined the group. Starting at the far left, looking at the camera is Barbara B. She had just moved the the area from out of state a few years ago and was looking for things to do and groups to join to make new friends. Her husband read something about the knitting group I lead at the local library and suggested she check it out. It is there that I met her and asked if she would like to join the Chicks. The rest is history.

The person to her left is Margaret. I met her at another library knitting group and as we were walking to our cars she said she was just getting into knitting again after a long hiatus and wondered if I had heard of a group called "Chicks with Sticks". LOL! She found the right person to ask!

Janna to Margaret's left attended my Albany Public Library knitting group and from there I extended the invitation to her to join the Chicks. She grew up learning how to knit without a pattern and wanted a refresher to expand her techniques.

Next to her is Jan A. my neighbor. When she retired she asked if I could help her learn the finer points of knitting and she took off like a shot with her skills. I'm very proud of her progress. She's the newest Chick.

If you go to the right side of this picture you'll see me in the pink sweater and to my right is Cinzia. I met her when our mutual friend organized a knit night at our local Panera and next to Cinzia is Dorah whom I also met at the same Panera knit night. Keep going around the table and you see Carole, whom I met at the same Panera knit night group. That group had a lot of good knitters.

At the far end of the table near Carole is Barbara K. in the red dress. We met 38 years ago at our local Welcome Wagon meetings. I'm not sure Welcome Wagon exists anymore but it was an organization that would send a representative to your house when you were new to the town. She would bring small gifts from local businesses and help acquaint you with the community. And we've been friends since then. She is one of only two people who are original members of The Chicks. Maureen, sitting to her right in pink, is the other remaining original member. I met Maureen when she moved in across the street from us about 25+ years ago. Her mother-in-law taught her knitting and she was looking forward to getting back to the needles.

I am ever so blessed to have such a generous, loving, and kind group of women to share my passion for sticks and string. Thank you ladies for your dedication and generosity for all these years! 

God bless you!

And indulge me for a moment. As I was cleaning the kitchen after everyone left, I looked up to see I was being supervised. He made sure I didn't leave any crumbs.💗

Again, let me thank this wonderful group of Chicks! And keep those needles clicking!