Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick, Chicken!

In case you can't tell by the title we have found something new we love knitting. Those Easter chicks which made an appearance the week before. Thanks to Caroline we now all have the pattern so I expect there will be more. These three chick were knitted by Isabel. She is planning on knitting some more to send to her family in the US. Her chicks are slightly better so instead of a chocolate egg they contain a chocolate chick.

These are some of Caroline's chicks and it was she that got us knitting with them. Here she has tried other yarns to see the effect. I think I like the eyelash yarn the best. Plus I am betting it's easier on the hands to knit with. Caroline was also knitting up more of them.

This one was knitted by myself. This will be an Easter present for my sister. I do plan to knit more just to use up the yarn.

I also finished these socks. The yarn was donated to me by Helen and it's beautifully socks. They were knitted for Alison who was delighted with them. I spent the rest of the evening knitting more socks.

This beautiful baby shawl was knitted by Helen for a friend. I love the pattern. Helen was just glad to finish it. I don't think she is planning on another anytime soon. She spent the evening also knitting socks.

We also had Isabel teaching Suzanna how to make a hat with those hoops. She picked it up straight away. She is planning on making it for her little brother who already has a jumper to match which was knitted by mum, Magdalena.

Our Amazing Ladies!

Some photo's of our charity knitting before I show you why our knitting group ladies are amazing. All of these were knitted by Linda, Elaine and some of their friends from work.

These pretty jumpers were knitted by Alison.

This one was knitted by June. Her little granddaughter loved it so much she is now knitting a larger one for her.

Theses were knitted by Isobel. She especially loved knitting the hat in these colours.

 Last, but not least, these were knitted by a friend of Alison, Caroline and Isabel. She brought them along for us on the night as it was the last day of collection

Roberta brought along all of the jumpers that the group had knitted so that we could photograph them.

Once they were all put out we counted them. In the space of just one month our group has knitted 126 jumpers which are going to babies in Africa with Aids. Roberta was very chuffed with the generosity of the group and of course of friends of the group who contributed. The lady from Roberta's church was at most expecting 20. Big thank you to everyone and please thank everyone from your work places who sent some in.

Despite all the charity knitting the group have still been working on other projects. Rhona finished knitting two jumpers. Her daughter, Freya, is the lucky recipient of one which you can see her happily wearing. Her older daughter is getting the second jumper. I love those colours. She is now working on something for her self for a change. A stripey top knitted in cotton.

Everyone has been loving these chicks. Caroline has designed the patter and knitted this one up. If you were to turn it upside down you would find a creme egg inside. This pattern is now being passed round so expect to see more of these. We said she should make up kits and sell them as Caroline's Chicks. She spent Tuesday sewing up some of the others she had knitted.

Helen has also been busy with her Japanese folded patchwork. She made this lovely wall hanging. The use of colours is very effective. She also brought along other fabrics for another Japanese folded patchwork project. This one is for her table and the colours she has picked out are beautiful.

Again a big thank you to everyone for handing in those charity jumpers. They truly were appreciated. As this is the year for short term charity projects we are still looking for more. So watch this space.

We have Gartmore at Home in a few weeks which we are all very much looking forward to. I finally sent out a materials list for the classes.

Valentine

Magdalena had quite a few finishes this week. She finished this beautiful doily which she had been working on, on and off for a few years now. All done in cotton. She will be teaching us how to do it at the Gartmore at Home day.

She also finished two jumpers. The blue one is for her son Adam and the green is for her youngest Jan. Both knitted up beautifully. She is now working on another jumper using a lovely variegated yarn.

Alison also had a finish. With the help of Izzi she has been learning to quilt. This is her first one and, not surprisingly, she is very proud of it. I love all the fabrics especially the little owls.

 
We had another donation for Roberta's charity. This was done by Lyn who was working on another. I love the rainbow colours.

I also had a finish. I finished these socks for a friend. It has a lace pattern at the front. I am now working on another pair of socks but this time for Alison.

As it was Valentines day it was a fairly quiet night. Only a small group of us but yet lots going on. There was some baby knitting, crochet blankets, cross stitch projects and we were all given a Christmas tree pattern. Oh, and Suzanna was learning to crochet.

There were still lots of people knitting for the charity. The last day for hand in is a week on Tuesday which is the 28th.

I won't be there this week so there will be no post update.

On A Charity Roll!

Everyone is on a roll with the charity jumpers. Seems to be addictive to knit. These two were done by Stephanie and Margaret. Stephanie is knitting yet another of these jumpers. Whilst Margaret has moved on to some baby clothes.

These were all knitted by Ally. She has been using up all her left over yarn and is still knitting more too.

Ally also brought these along. They were, however, knitted by her friend Karen. This is the first time she has knitted in years. To be honest I think these are my favourites. Particularly the stripey one.

Rhona came by just to drop these off. She also took the opportunity to use up some odds and ends.

Last, but not least, Lyn has also been using up her odds to knit a few. I love the colour combinations. She went on to knit other things which you will see in a moment.

There is only a couple of weeks left to hand in these jumpers. Roberta and her friend have been overwhelmed by how many have been handed in. Not including these ones she was able to hand in 19 so far.

This lovely cupcake cross stitch was done by Jill. She only started it in January and it didn't take her long at all to do. I love cupcake designs. She is now working on a teddy bear cross stitch.

This is what Lyn had moved on to knit. How cute is he? The majority of the hedgehog is knitted with yarn and then later she knits lace ribbon into it. Very effective and she has been knitting them in different colours. She's not knitting them for anything in particular but hands them in to charity.

I can announce that we have a full day for Gartmore at home and quite a mix of classes. We have Izzy teaching us how to sew cute bags. Anthea is going to teach us how to do a scrapbook page. Magdalena is going to teach us how to crochet those delicate lace doilies. We also have another offer from the lovely Val. She has offered to give a demonstration on Sashiko quilting. If you haven't seen it before it's truly beautiful. I can't wait for that.

Charity Jumpers and a Challenge

Most people have been working on jumpers for charity this week. This is for one of our mini charities that we are doing this year. These jumpers are being collected by a friend of Roberta's and being sent to Africa for babies with aids. The only request is that we don't knit in white since it is the colour of mourning. The first  two were knitted by Caroline. She used solid colours for the borders and variegated yarn for the main body. Looks quite good. The second set was by Margaret. The yellow hat is to go with a jumper she handed over the week before. The last one is by Stephanie. All three had another of these on the pins. We are only collecting these until the end of next month so members are free to suggest another charity.

Magdalena finished the jumper she had been working on the week before. As you can see it was for her daughter Suzanna. It's done in lovely variegated yarn with lots of lovely cables up the front. The colour can be folded over to add warmth. Suzanna loves it so much that she has worn it several times since finished already. Magdalena is now working on a jumper for one of her sons.

We have some planned events over the next few months which I can now announce. We are probably only going to have one challenge this year as so many other things are proving popular. The photo above gives a hint as to what the challenge is going to be. Basically people can make what they want. Anything at all. The only rule is that they can only use odds and ends. Anything left over form previous projects whether it's fabric or yarn. Scraps only. There will be more time to make something this time round as challenge night won't be until the 28th August. There will be the usual two categories of original and adapted but I've added a third category. Since we have three younger members there is now a junior entry.

Our first Gartmore at home has also been organised and we have already filled the day with classes. It will take place on the 17th March. No real theme although I have suggested that if people want they can make it a spring theme. Four classes have been organised. Once again Izzy has offered her services and this time she is teaching us to sew cute little bags. Anthea is going to teach us how to make a scrapbook page. Magdalena has offered two classes. She is going teach a class on how to crochet those delicate doilies plus on how to knit in the European style. Donna is also going to be there that day to offer up emergency crochet help. No specific class, just bring along your crochet woes and she will lend a hand.

The next date also involves our Donna. She announced a few weeks back that she is expecting. I can now announce that her baby shower will take place on the 12th June.

Swap Night!

Tuesday there we had our swap night. We hold one of these every 4months or so. It's a good way to get rid of craft things we aren't going to use that someone else might want. Plus it's a good way to pick up something we might like. What we don't use goes to a charity shop which Roberta works in. It was mainly paper and scrapbook supplies this time round. Oh, and there are usually a wee pile of fiction books brought along.

We haven't chosen a charity this year. For the last few years one of the group has always requested we make something for a charity with a short deadline. So we thought that this year would be dedicated to lots of these. Our first one was a request from Roberta. A friend is knitting these jumpers for her church and they are then being sent to children in Africa. The patter is simple and quick. The only request is that they not be knitted in white and that any jumpers should be handed in by the end of February. These jumpers were knitted by Roberta, Margaret and Stephanie.

Roberta had a first time finish. Izzy (also pictured) has been teaching Roberta and Alison how to quilt. This is Roberta's finished attempt and it looks beautiful. I love the colourful fabrics. Plus it is backed with fleece which is very effective. Roberta spend the rest of the night working on some crochet.

Margaret also had a finish. She has spent the last few weeks knitting this lovely Aran jumper. With the snow we just got she is going to need it. She is now working on a lighter top in black.

Helen finished a pair of socks that she knitted for herself. She used the same yarn I used for socks knitted before Christmas. She likes the effect but wasn't impressed with the yarn as it was inconsistent in thickness throughout. She is more than half way through knitting a baby blanket for a friend.

I finished these socks too. Unfortunately you can't see the pattern too clearly because of the colour of the yarn. I knitted these for a friends birthday and I started another pair in purple for a friend.

Elaine had a finish at the end of the night. She was knitting this beautiful baby shawl for a friend. It hasn't been blocked yet but this was the only chance we would see it so I took a photo while I could. I love the circular pattern.

We have a Gartmore at home currently being organised, a baby shower and Gartmore itself so there are more events to come.

For Our American Friends

Isabel has just come back from visiting her grandchildren in America. They live in California and the highlight of Isabel's year is going over to visit them. One of the things she looks forward to is working on craft projects with her granddaughter and she always comes back with tales of what they worked on. This time her granddaughter gave her a project and she brought it along to show us.

These hoops were given to Isabel's granddaughter by the Scouts. The kids use them to make hats which are then given to charity.

The yarn is wrapped around the pegs of the hoops. The yarn that has first been wound round the pegs is then pull up over the second winding and over the peg. Much like a knitting nancy only on a much larger scale.

These hats are the end product. Isabel has mixed two different yarns together to make them thicker and give them that lovely speckled look. Apparently these hops can also be used to make scares and shawls too.

Magdalena had another finished project this week. This is a jumper she started working on just before Christmas. It's knitted in a lovely tweed yarn. Love how it has turned out. She is now knitting a jumper for her daughter Suzanna using variegated yarn.

Margaret got this cross stitch kit for her Christmas. She enjoyed it so much she couldn't put it down and two weeks later she had it finished and framed. She is now back to working on an aran jumper for herself.

I am actually more than a little jealous of the person receiving this beautiful crochet hook case. This was stitched by the talented Izzy. I just love the fabric she used to make it. She is now working on a lovely chunky, icelandic style jumper for a friends daughter.

Next meeting we have our first swap night of the year. Something for us to look forward to. We have also begun planning the next Gartmore at home.

We also started our first charity of the year. Looks like this year might be one of mini charities rather than concentrating on just the one. For now Roberta is collecting baby jumpers for her friends church. They are going to orphans in Africa. There is a patter available along with a pattern for a matching hat. They have to be in by the end of February. The only request is that they are not done in white.