Happy Thanksgiving!

Carole, Janna, and I delivered our hand knits to the Capt. John J. McKenna IV Military Courtesy Room today. It's a cozy, homey room on the third floor of the Albany International Airport and is set up to provide a restful space for military personnel as they travel through the Capital District. 

 Nancy Russell, sitting, is a volunteer who graciously accepted our gifts in time for the Thanksgiving travel season. The room is equipped with snack foods, beverages, and other essentials, and numerous hand crocheted, quilted, and knitted afghans to keep the travelers warm. 

 The facility is set up like a giant living room with large screen tv and...

 comfy seating everywhere it can fit.

 A smaller alcove is set up with a gaming system and...

 gaming chairs for those who want to play a game or watch a movie.

 We are ever so grateful to the men and women who protect and serve us, here and abroad.

We pray this gift will show our appreciation for the sacrifices they make for all of us.

And to my Chicks, thank you so much for another successful project. I appreciate all you do to spread warmth, love, and comfort to those in need.

Wrapping up our donations

The afternoon Chicks attached labels to all our hand knits today. They will be delivered to The Capt. John J. McKenna IV Military Courtesy Room at the Albany International Airport in time for Thanksgiving.

The grand total of 70 items included scarves, hats, mittens, socks, shawls, cowls, and a vest.

Some last minute items included Elaine's hat and 

Janna's scarf. Thank you Chicks for another successful and beautiful donation collection.

This evening Dorah sported a smart outfit of matching socks and shirt while she knitted her next donation project...

a 2X2 ribbed baby hat. Our next recipient will be Unity House of Troy, NY. We'll be making items for

 people living in poverty, adults with mental illness, victims of domestic violence, children with developmental delays and their families, people living with HIV/AIDS, and others.

Dorah also slipped in a project for herself called Minty Bricks. This lovely gradient yarn is baby alpaca and about as soft as a cloud. Great work Dorah!

Carole started another Swimming with Salmon cowl with this lovely coral colored yarn.

Maureen's baby hat will have little earflaps that come over the cheeks. That's going to look adorable!

Margaret started an 1898 hat with some worsted weight Cascade 220 in a deep burgundy color. The lighter colored yarn is a provisional cast on which leaves live stitches to be grafted to the other end to make a continuous cuff for the hat.

I tried having a photo shoot with some of my most recent FO's but "someone" wanted to get in on the act.

Yes, Joules is still visiting and once I took her photograph she happily pranced away to take a nap.

I kept one of my daughter's baby dolls to use as a model when I made baby clothes. This hat is my own design but the hedgehogs are called Diddy Hedgehog and you can find the crochet pattern on Ravelry. I'm thinking I'll make a bunch to donate to Unity House for children who might need a friend who is warm and cuddly.

Once again, thank you Chicks for all your hard work. Now keep those needles clicking! LOL!

Warm Hats Everywhere

We start off this week's episode with Janna's finished bulky knit hat with a cheerful pompom. She knitted it flat but since the yarn was so thick, it couldn't be threaded through the eye of a needle to sew up the seam. So she crocheted the seam and it added a nice little feature to the side of the hat.

 Debbie finished her cabled cowl and blocked it which smoothed out the stitching beautifully.

 Carole is having a ball knitting Helix hats! This one she knitted up quickly.

 And Margaret decided to do her own thing with this hat since the directions were so unclear. I think I like this one better than the original pattern.

 Here is another of Carole's Helix hats. The nice thing about this style of knitting is that you can combine color combinations which might not go well together when you hold the skein of yarns together but they look great in the stripes!

 And Carole added another 1898 hat to the inventory. We all agree that this is our favorite hat.

 Janna is almost finished with her Homespun scarf. One skein of Lion Brand Homespun was enough for the whole scarf.

 And Barbara is pretty close to being done with her sparkly scarf. Next week it will go into inventory.

 Debbie had a dilemma with the thumb of her fingerless mitts. The directions said to knit the thumb to 13 stitches but it barely makes it around her thumb so she will frog it and make the gusset bigger to add a few more stitches.

 Margaret worked steadily on an earwarmer/headband and by evening's end...

 it was done!

 Maureen's hat might have to wait until the next round of donations but it's coming along nicely.

 Carole is wrapping up another Helix hat. I'd say she really enjoys this pattern.  Plus it uses up scraps of yarn nicely.

 I think I'll start the decreasing portion of this little hat soon. I might have to put a few tacking stitches on the zigzag section so it stays flat.

And look who is still visiting! She really enjoys a good fire. 

She was so comfortable I hated to turn off the fireplace but it was getting late and I need my beauty sleep. Tomorrow is another day and it's going to get a lot colder before it gets warmer so she'll have more opportunities to lounge. 

Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

Harry the hedgehog

I forgot to show you the new little toy I knitted for my grandkitty Joules. He is a free crochet pattern (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diddy-hedgehog) on Ravelry and I made him in one afternoon with leftover scraps of Cascade 220.

I think Joules likes him even though I’ve seen her play with him only once. The reason I know this is when I wake up in the morning Harry is always in a different place. They must have a big party at night when everyone is sleeping.

First, FO's, next, a welcome

We start this week with some FO's or finished objects in knitting lingo. A Cascade 220 worsted weight hat in a nice green went into the inventory.

 I finished the Chevron Cowl with Periwinkle Sheep DK weight merino in the colorway Memories of Summer. This pattern is a 19 stitch repeat which is very easy to memorize.

 I also finished the Gentle Diversion scarf with Periwinkle Sheep gradient yarn. This however, will go into my personal inventory for a gift in the future.

 Barbara's baby alpaca gray 2 x 2 ribbed hat is softer than a cloud!

 And Debbie finished her very first pair of mittens! Great job Debbie!!!

 Cinzia's purple hat was added to inventory too. Nice color!

 We welcomed a new Chick to our flock today. That's Janna Pfluger-Boucher right in the center of the photo. We gave her a warm welcome and hope she enjoys meeting with us each week. 

 We've got a full house which I find exciting. I'll have to get extra chairs when Liz returns from her winter sabbatical.

 Janna (pronounced John-uh) started off with a warm garter stitch scarf using Lion Brand Homespun. This yarn looks best with a simple stitch to show off its lovely texture so 25 stitches and knit every row will produce a nice garter stitch scarf.

 Elaine has reached the decreasing portion of her 2 x 2 ribbed hat. She's in the home stretch now.

 Barbara's sparkle scarf has grown many inches since we last met.

 Cinzia's hat has lovely fall colors. She took the unconventional route by starting at the top of the hat and is working her way down to the cuff.

 Debbie's cabled cowl is lovely. The yarn is showing off the stitch definition beautifully.

 I'm only a few inches in on another Chevron Cowl with more Periwinkle Sheep yarn. This one is DK in the colorway Elderberry. I love how tonal yarns highlight the pattern without detracting from it but still add a little interest.

Don't forget to change your clocks this weekend. Some of us will be gaining an hour of sleep. I'll be gaining an hour of Youtube tutorial time when I wake up at 2AM!

Have a great week and I'll see you next time.