Between the raindrops

Cinzia, Debbie, Maureen, and I managed to squeeze between the two hours of rain clouds blowing overhead. I guess Mother Nature knew we had important work to do.

Maureen's Easy Goes It Shawl/scarf looks beautiful in this lovely tonal blue fingering weight yarn. Ravelry has the free pattern available in DK weight as well.

Debbie is using my favorite color to make a pair of fingerless mitts. She's using my favorite technique too...two at a time on magic loop.

Cinzia put down her knitting needles and took up her crochet hook to make something but she hasn't decided what yet. :)

I'm making a baby alpaca scarf for my Christmas inventory and...

a pair of socks with no heel. The spiral stitching creates a bias fabric which fits the bumps and angles of the foot without having to knit a short row heel. The video link brings you to a tutorial which makes one at a time on double pointed needles but I like getting both socks done at once so I am working magic loop technique.

 The last couple of days felt like the last hurrah of summer but the breezes which are bringing the rain will definitely bring the cooler temps of autumn. This is the first year that I will not be attending any fiber festivals because of COVID19 so I'll be missing the beautiful colors in the trees on the drive to Washington County Fairgrounds or Rhinebeck. I will enjoy the ones in my own neighborhood though. Every time I see the fiery red burning bush at the corner I imagine how beautiful it would be as a yarn. I'll have to dive through  my stash for some of those colors for my next project. So enjoy your fall weather and keep those needles clicking!

Wrapping up and learning new things

Janna, Liz, and Barbara helped me label the items which will be donated to Community Maternity Services. 

 There were 24 stuffed animals of all breeds. There were fish, raccoons, hedgehogs, cats, owls, bears, and two bunnies. It was quite a menagerie!

 We collected 9 pairs of socks and booties and a pair of mittens on a string.

 And look at all those hats! 55 hats!!!

 We knitted 5 vests and 16 sweaters.

 And 6 blankets were knitted and added to the donation, along with 1 bib. That brought our total to 127 items! WAY TO GO CHICKS!

 A few last minute additions to the inventory were this sweet little bolero sweater from Liz with vintage buttons. They were on a card with a price of under $1 so you know they were old.

 Her baby hat made it into this donation too.

 And Janna had to knit furiously to finish her Dexter vest to have it included in this donation.

 My evening Chicks helped me count and photograph all the items so they were a big help too. Then we started a KAL where I taught them how to knit two at a time, toe up, magic loop socks. It is so satisfying to me to watch their faces light up when they learn something new. Dorah will deny it if asked, but she said it was actually fun to learn a new technique. They will have to practice the steps a few times for it to feel natural but they are well on their way to conquering another milestone in their knitting skills.

And I am so proud of them for accepting the challenge and trying their hand at something new. I tell my students not to be afraid to try something new. Your brain will love it!