Delivery Day and a yarn bombing

Today was the day we prepared our donations items for delivery. My combined knitting groups, Chicks with Sticks and The Delaware Avenue Stitch Angels, met at the library to attach labels that said the items are free for whomever needs them.

Left to right: Barbara K., Dorah, Barbara B., Maria, and Jan. Seated in back is Gail.

Maria and Gail are from the library group and Barbara B. belongs to both groups. Barbara K., Dorah, and Jan are some of my Chicks.

The ladies worked efficiently together to get things organized. From the left: Ceil, a Stitch Angel, Barbara B. seated, is in both groups, Dorah is a Chick, Nancy, Maria, and the back of Gail are Angels.

Barbara K. on the far left in green kept a tally of everything for me. That's Jan A. in the red and black jacket.

Left to right: Nancy, Maria, Gail, and Ceil made sure the laundering instructions were 

included with the labels.

And there were many pieces of clothing to organize.

All in all, between the items being delivered to the South End Children's Cafe and the items that were hung at the library for the yarn bombing, we donated a total of 138 items, some of which were pairs so they really should count for double of some of the items.

We lucked out this year with a gorgeous day, unlike some of the past years that were rainy and raw.

This is the front parking lot of the Children's Cafe with cheerful paintings on the wall.

 

Tracy Killar, on the right, runs the cafe and gave us a tour of this wonderful facility. They address food security, food equality, food justice, and address academic success while also influencing physical and mental health of children ages 5 through 14. There is one professional chef and other staff members who love to cook who make wonderful meals. They serve about 40 dinners each night and even have some kids who have aged out come back to participate. 

That says a lot considering this is a "No Technology" setting for the children.

The living room just inside the entrance is a cozy gathering place for the children when they arrive.

The area where the children have their meals is set up like a regular restaurant, although the setup is moved for cleaning when they're not there.

They celebrate birthdays and holidays with colorful decorations.

The kitchen setup is suitable for the children to help too. 

They are provided healthy, balanced meals with fruit for dessert.

Every wall is covered with cheerful, positive messages.

Games and Legos are everywhere.

And there's even a homework center for academic enrichment.

Back row, left to right: Barbara B. Maggie, Barbara K., Tracy Killar of the South End Children's Cafe, Jan A., Dorah, Gail, Nancy

In front from the left: Ceil, Maria, and Miss Pearl of the Cafe

Once we returned to the library it was time to tie up the hats, scarves, cowls, mittens, etc. from the trees and railings in front of the building.

Our first customer took a warm hat and asked if we had a doggie coat for her pup. LOL!

The trees looked like they were decorated for Christmas.

Left to right: Stitch Angel Ceil, Chick Jan, Stitch Angel and Chick Barbara B., Stitch Angels Nancy and Maggie, Chicks Dorah and Barbara K. , and Stitch Angel Gail. And just some of the hats that were hung on the railing.

The ladies insisted we take one more picture so I could get in the shot too. I'm third in from the right.

After all that excitement, the ladies ( those who could join me) and I enjoyed some ice cream as a treat for all our work.

If you ever find yourself on Delaware Avenue in Albany stop by for a fabulous selection of desserts.

So there is another yarn bombing and donation for the books. A great big thank you to my Chicks and Angels. We've already begun the next cycle of knitting projects which will be hats and scarves for the Grassroots Givers. So have a good week and keep those needles clicking.

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!