Labor Day Weekend...what did I do? What else, knit of course!

As the summer comes to a close, I have been diligently working on projects for the upcoming holidays, as well as for my Etsy shop.

But before I can do that, I had to finish a charity knitting quota I volunteered to finish.  I read an article about Willow's Place, an organization that helps feed the homeless in my local city of Kent, Washington and contacted one of the sponsors to ask how, as a knitter, could I help. I was asked to see if my Wednesday night knit group would be willing to knit 100 hats and scarves by October 1st.  My group has gladly accepted the challenge and are all knitting away.

Here are my finished contributions:

Earflap Hat from Lion Brand, 2x2 Ribbed Hat from Fiber Trends,
and Skull Hat for Service Members from Knitting on the Net
My designs: Single crochet scarf and 2x2 ribbed scarf

Reverie Beret from Knitty and Garter stitch scarf

Design adapted from The Question Bag pattern:

Row 15: P2, S1, K2, PSSO, P2, S1, K2, PSSO, P2, (K1,P1) 7 times,

P2, S1,K2, PSSO, P2,S1, K2, PSSO, P2, SM, K to end.

Row 16: P2, K1, YO, K1, P2, K1, YO, K1, P2, (K1, P1) 7 times,
P2, K1, YO, K1, P2, K1, YO,K1,P2, SM, K to end.
Row 17: P2, K3, P2, K3, P2, (P1, K1) 7 times,
P2, K3, P2, K3, P2, SM, K to end.
Row 18: Repeat Row 17.

Two-color Earflap Hat with pom pom made for my son

The blue hat with the red and white band above and the red and black hat are my first attempts at knitting two or more colors at once. Now that I've tried it I found that it isn't as hard as I first thought it would be.

Knitting and enjoying the sunny weather was how I spent my holiday weekend. Love to hear from all of you how you spent this glorious weekend, drop in and leave me a comment, tell me what's on your needles!

Thursday afternoon - last official day of vacation!

It's raining today, what's a knitter to do on a day like today?  Well go visit the shops that were closed on Tuesday of course!

And I was not disappointed by the two shops I was able to visit, they were lovely and well stocked.  I saw a few yarns that I don't see back home - like at Trumpet Hill, located on New Karner Road in Albany, just a few miles from the Albany International Airport, I found: Frog Tree Pima Cotton/Silk - 85% Pima Cotton and 15% Silk (155 yds/50 gms/1.75oz), suggested needle size: #5 - gauge: 5sts/inch. Can't wait to make some baby booties and hat from this yarn, I'm sure I can find some great patterns on Ravelry. It is so very soft and it wasn't very expensive either, $6.10 a skein - of course I couldn't resist so I bought four skeins in this really great goldenrod color. Celeste was very nice and helpful, answered all my questions and was very pleasant to talk to.  Can't wait for my next trip home to check them out again.

At BeauKnits Ltd. in Cohoes, I met Barbara Hildreth, a lovely lady.  When I told her I was originally from Troy, she was very informative on the changes and happenings in the area.  It was nice to just sit and chat with her about the LYS's, yarn, and patterns.  She had a lovely shop as well, located in downtown historical Cohoes and if you ever get a chance to come to New York, you have to stop in and say "hello" to Barbara. At Barbara's shop I came across Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needles which were totally in my price range - sizes 5-15 US, makes circular lengths from 17" to 58", they are airline safe and travels easily in it's compact carrying case.  Barbara was using a set, making a double roll brim hat from Fiber Trends - AC53e School Colors Hat and she swears by them.  So I had to get myself a set. I can't wait to give them a try.

Well my only regret, and I can't believe I did this, but I completely forgot to stop in to the Lion Brand Shop in the City yesterday.  Will just have to wait for my next visit I guess.

And I do highly recommend visiting both Trumpet Hill and BeauKnits Ltd., if you ever find yourself in the Capital District (upstate NY). They are fine shops and worth the visit.