Two New Projects

Carol has finished another blanket. I really like the old fashioned look the color choices make. On the other hand, I think Carol may have Rumplestilskin locked in her basement and just spinning out blankets! instead of gold. Not sure yet where this item will be donated.

Paulette just finished this sweater for her daughter. It is knit and made with Berroco"s Borealis, color #5016 Grundvik, a self striping yarn. Lucky daughter.

Spotted!

I'm always taking pictures at the meetings. Frequently, they just naturally group themselves into focused articles. But sometimes, they do not. The following pictures are items that have been spotted over a series of meetings.

Peggy brought in an array of items she had made; some of which are destined for charity projects. She's showing off the tam she made. She says it really was quite easy to make.

We come prepared for it to be cold at Panera's especially if we are in the back area. Paulette was wearing a very attractive shawl that showed off a great lace edging. Phyllis was wearing wrist warmers that peeked out prettily from her sweater. What beautiful ways to keep warm.

Carol likes to make blankets for Linus Project. Just look at the sweet embellishment she put on this blanket to make it special. It's frequently the small details that move a project into a whole other category.

Karen made this hat as a sample. Since she created it in a large size, she needed Rebecca as a model because of all her hair.

Lots of examples to show that being in a group doesn't stop anyone from doing their own thing.

More Hats!

Can you believe there were more hats to see on the 15th?

I made the blue with gray stripe and the grey/pink/white. I used Paton's Classic Wool. The blue hat is Tunisian Simple Stitch (TSS). I started with a rectangle but began decreasing after the grey stripe, so I only had 5 stitches to gather at the top & then seam. The other hat is the classic pattern I give out when we make hats for Guatemala. Hdc and ch across, working the hdc's into the chs in the next row and keep doing that for each row; then gather the top. The ch spaces make it easy to weave the thread and it's not so bulky.

I don't know as much about the other hats. But I can spot a "scoodie" which I believe is a hood with a scarf (or is it the other way around?) I'm sure a kid will wear it with the sides hanging. I remember when I wore things for style. Now it better keep me warm and I'll wear it anyway I like!

Just look at the variations in this entry and the last one. Aren't we lucky to have a hobby that allows for so much creativity?

A Bartholomew Cubbins meetings

Do children still read Batholomew Cubbins? The kid who got in trouble because when told to remove his hat, another one kept appearing? When I got to Saturday's meeting I mentioned that I had received 2 pictures of hats for the blog but hadn't had time to post them. A little later someone shows me a hat; I take a picture. A little later, another hat. A little later, guess?? I thoroughly suspect now that they were playing with me. The final pictures of hats arrived today. Check these beauties out. Will I get in trouble with the king, too?

Any way..... the last pic is of Chris in a hat making a hat. What else?

Becky knitted 2 hats: one for herself and one for Jonathon.

Phyllis knitted 2 hats: the white is too large but couldn't be made smaller because of the lace section. The markers are where buttons will go. But the bucket hat fits nicely.

Paulette made the group of 3 for Guatemala but the hat with the ribbon is for herself. I suspect the picture doesn't do the colors justice.

Amanda made the knitted cat hat for her daughter in the chullo style that is so "in".

Shelli made her white hat "long ago".

Chris's tweed hat suits her to a T; she also made a baby hat to go to Guatemala.

Charity Projects

Well, vacation is over. What will you do now?

The 2 hats in the photo have been donated to our own designated "good will" project. For the last couple of years we have been making hats in January for the dental team's Carla to take with her to Guatemala. These are for children who need dental operations that they would not normally get. I think of them as smile hats: happily smile for the camera wearing your new hat and your new smile. We ask that the hats be colorful and a 12- 14" circumference. If you want to donate, send the hats this month to

Diane Halpern, 191 W. Hutchinson Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15218

Caps for Good www.goodgoes.org

This is a continuation of the original Caps for the Capitol Campaign that sends preemie size hats with medical kits to new or almost new mothers in impoverished circumstances. We've been donating for the last couple of years. It's a good idea to include a $10 check with the hat, otherwise the hat waits for funds to show up before being sent. We will probably send our hats as a group.

Special Olympics Scarves www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org

We participated in the scarves campaign for the 2009 winter Special Olympics. The idea has caught on and now they would like to have scarves for each participant in the winter Special Olympics 2011. We will also send our scarves as a group on this project. PA wants the scarves sent by Jan 29 to arrive by Feb 5.

SuperBowl Scarves www.indianapolissperbowl.com/super-scarves

This feels like a steal from the special olympics. But they want scarves for their volunteers to match their uniforms: so any knitters/crocheters who can't be there can participate. Not my cup of tea, but if you're a football fan, it may appeal to you.

Snowflake Sweaters

A winter issue of Crochet Today from last year had snowflake sweaters for kids sizes 2, 4, 6, 8. I decided I would make them for my grand nieces and nephews, all matching for Christmas. However, we are now talking sizes 9. 12 & 18 mos; as well as size 4 and size 10.

Again you get an idea and you are getting into designing. I paid careful attention to the measurements given out by the craft yarn council and started figuring out my stitch counts. Since I would have to leave a large head opening in the baby sweaters, I went with the drop shoulder design instead of the inset sleeve of the larger sizes. I also used Caron's Simply Soft in gray heather instead of Red Heart's Baby Soft. After lots of stitch planning, I got started. I did the snowflake embroidery with Lion Brand Microspun because I thought it looked more like embroidery floss than the Simply Soft.

The three baby sweaters had a split neck and snowflake buttons at the shoulders for ease of getting into. I added a little snowflake on the left sleeve.

The two size 4's followed the pattern but again I added a snowflake on the left sleeve and also one on the back right shoulder.

Finally on the size 10, I moved the snowflake on the sleeve up higher more like where a badge would be. I wanted to avoid being too cute with the snowflakes since it was for a boy.

Oh yes, rubber duckies were packed with the sweaters. Kids don't want clothes for Christmas!

(but not the 10 year old).