HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am thankful for Mother Earth,

for my freedom,

for my family,
and friends,

for babies, especially my Moose!

and food to nourish,

And last but certainly not least! MY CHICKS!!!

I wish you a loving and wonderful Thanksgiving and pray the warmth of the season lasts all year through! Bless you all!

We have a Blue Ribbon Winner!

On October 4, 2008 our own Kathleen Corrigan won a first prize Blue Ribbon for her Currier and Ives Floral hooked rug which she made in the 1950's as a stay-at-home mother, raising five young children! Way to go Kathleen!!!

Her daughter, Pat, holding the microphone, entered the rug on her behalf, in the 7th Annual Newtown Hooked Rug Show in Connecticut. Not only did she win the "favorite entry" category, but her rug will be featured on the 2009 postcard for next year's show.

And here is the Blue Ribbon winner up close.... MAGNIFICENT!

Here is Kathleen with her very first attempt at knitting an entrelac afghan. We are all so very proud and honored to have you as one of our Chicks!

Again, let me say....WAY TO GO KATHLEEN!!!

Blankets, Hats, and a Scarf

The Chicks have been busy as bees. We are working on our lap robes for our local VA hospital and have seven finished so far. We are also well on our way to a good collection of chemo caps for our December project. Photos will be posted when the inventory is complete.

As far as my personal knitting is concerned, I finished my Noro Striped Scarf using Widsom Yarns, Poems which I purchased at http://www.trumpethill.com

The pattern is from http://www.brooklyntweed.blogspot.com

I substituted the Noro yarn with the Poems because it is a more consistent ply and doesn't have the "splinters" that is more common in Noro yarns. And since I'm allergic to wool (YIKES! What a terrible thing for a knitter!) I have to use a softer fiber and wear it over a turtleneck or coat collar. I'm very happy with the final product and looking forward to making a matching beret when the yarn arrives at my lys.

Remember the first time?

Do you remember the first time your child went "trick or treating"?

And they thought you were supposed to eat ALL the candy that night?

Ahhhhhh.....

Don't worry. My daughter is a very good mommy. She wouldn't let Moose eat all his candy at once. But it sure made a cute picture!

Current Projects and a Celebrity Visit

I finished my lapghan for the project "Blankets of Gratitude" for our local VA hospital. It is made of Red Heart 100% acrylic because it has to be durable enough to go through vigorous washing, but when it was done it felt a little like recycled soda bottles instead of a cozy lap robe. So I put it through a hot wash and dry and now it's nice and soft, worthy of a good cuddle. The guidelines requested bright cheery colors. I sure hope I didn't go overboard!

The holiday project the Chicks will be working on is chemo caps which will be donated to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. My first three caps are done. From top to bottom:

Kos yarn, a viscose/polyester blend

Louisa Harding yarn, Kimono Angora

Laines du Nord Dolly Maxi, a very soft merino

I squeezed in a little project for myself called the Noro Striped Scarf from www.brooklyntweed.blogspot.com
Since I don't like the debris which is common in Noro yarns I decided to use something from Wisdom Yarns called Poems, which I bought from Robena at http://www.trumpethill.com
It is knit in a 1x1 ribbing, changing colors of yarn every two rows, but carrying the unused color up the side creating a nice slipped stitch edge.

Then who should show up in my email but Sonny and Cher! Halloween will be fun for Moose this year since he's old enough to participate. If you look closely you'll see "Sonny's" moustache got a little smudged.

I hope everyone out there has a fun Halloween! And save some chocolate for me!

Eighty, count them, eighty knitted items!

The Chicks have been hard at work knitting and crocheting 80 sweaters, shawls, socks, hats, mitts, vests, and scarves to sell at Locust Knolls Craft Fair. All our proceeds will be donated to the Heifer International Organization to end world hunger.

We've been working on this project since mid July to build an inventory.
The assortment of hand knitted goods are beautiful.

And here at the foot of the Helderberg Mountains is the site of the artisans' craft fair.

This little barn is filled with all kinds of goodies which would make good holiday gifts.

Adrienne made this baby layette set.

On display for sale are hand made cards, pottery, flowered wreaths,

framed photos, baskets, dolls,

quilts, pots,

and jewelry.

If you find yourself in the Albany, NY area, drive out to the intersection of Rt 85A and Picard Road in New Scotland and treat yourself. The show and sale continues through Sunday, Oct. 26.

You might even get most of your holiday shopping done in one spot.

Good Morning!

This was my greeting at 6:45 AM when I opened the door to get the morning paper today.

What's that old saying?...Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors' warning.
I don't care. It's still beautiful!

Have a great day!