numbers ~ posted by Melissa

 

My Quill ~ the center square is finally finished!  Stats: 36,856 stitches, 896yds (6.4 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in 'Pumpernickel'), 332.0 grams & 30" x 30".

 

I'm making the larger size even larger by using worsted weight yarn.  Churchmouse Yarns estimated I would need about 30% more yarn than the fingering weight yardage the pattern specifies.  I got 50% more just to be safe.  I'm glad I did.  I'm already sweating that I'll run out.

 

 

 

Five : the number of basins of water it took to soak the excess dye from this 'Long Johns' Brooklyn Tweed Shelter I'm using in my Quill.  I'm so glad I took my own advice and checked for bleeding.  I almost didn't.  I would have had a huge mess since this color sits right next to 'Fossil' in my color scheme, and Fossil is the color of bone.  Yikes.

 

 

The Rachel Shawl.  I have one repeat done so far but we're still getting new people added to our knitalong ~ I'm just going to mosey along through this one and enjoy it.  The pattern has been out for 11 days and although pattern sales have slowed way down, we're making a difference!  If you're curious, here are the numbers:

 

♥ patterns sold : 73

♥ money raised in 11 days : $292.00 (thank you!!)

♥ number of days left to raise money : 47

 

If you're new to the blog and want to know what we're up to, here are some links ~ take a peek!

 

♥ The Cause

♥ The Inspiration

♥ How you can make a difference

 

Thanks so much to everyone that has contributed so far (hopefully you're enjoying the pattern and the knitting as well as knowing that you've helped to do something wonderful!).  I'm still awed by all the touching comments and personal notes I've gotten on Ravelry.  I can't say it enough ~ knitters are an amazing group of people!

 

I hope the weekend finds you all spending time with loved ones and dreaming of autumn knitting :)

~ Melissa

Impromptu KAL for Rachel's Shawl ~ posted by Melissa

 

 

I was hesitant to do a knitalong since I decided to charge (and donate) the money from the Rachel's Shawl pattern, but enough people have voiced that they would still like to play that it shall be done!

 

We're starting now and it will go til...whenever it's done!  If you have yarn and pattern already, and are added as a guest blogger, you're good to go!  If you have never blogged along with us and would like to, pm me on Ravelry with your email address (don't do it here where it's public!) and I'll send you an invite so you have blogging privileges.

 

If you haven't purchased your pattern yet and would like to:

HERE'S THE LINK!

 

The link works even if you are not a Ravelry member, but you do have to use paypal to purchase the pattern.  Also, if you haven't been following along this last week, the information about where the money will be going is on the pattern page and can also be found in the last few blog posts.  It's a very worthy cause and will make an event happen next year that may not have enough funding otherwise, so we're doing a good thing!

 

I just got my yarn (I'm making an aran weight version with Rowan Felted Tweed in 'Pebble') and am casting on immediately!

 

Thanks again for such a supportive response ~ we've raised $200 $212 $276  $316(!) already!  You all rock!!

~Melissa

 

I've added some links for easy searching :

♥ Rachel's story & my inspiration

♥where to find Rachel's Shawl

 



isn't she grand!?! ~ posted by Melissa

Do you guys remember Penny, my very talented artistic friend?  If not, let me introduce you to her:

This is Penny, who come to find out has a heart of gold as big as the stack of hats she's holding.  And that's a mighty big stack ~ 33 caps, to be exact.  Penny and I have a friendship made in heaven ~ I had an enormous bag of leftover yarn from finished knits that was always meant to be turned into some sort of charity project, but could never find the time to make a dent in it.  Penny knits hats for charity and has lots of time but had run out of yarn.  So, about a month ago the bag of yarn changed hands, and those hands on the receiving end got busy and with needles still smoking, Penny delivered this giant mountain of love to her local homeless shelter yesterday.  And you can bet they were thrilled ~ and encouraged Penny to come back with more, which as you can tell from the grin on her face, does not break her heart!

Penny, you rock!  Thanks for putting the yarn to such good use and I know the people that benefit from your kindness during the upcoming chilly months will appreciate their warm noggins and all your hard work.  I'm so glad to know you!   ~ Melissa

If you've joined Ravelry, Penny is an honorary member of the knitwits ~ her rav name is knitwitless if you want to check out the project she created for these hats.

Chocolate Crinkles and Charity

Snohomish Shepherdess got my cookie baking in full swing this year ~ I'm remembering my favorite cookies growing up and I've been baking like a fiend.  Today was a double batch of Chocolate Crinkles from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.  I have an older version than the link above ~ all ingredients are the same but I only used 3 eggs and 1 1/2c sugar per batch and they are great!  And although I'm sure they are wonderful with turbindo sugar on top, we always had them with powdered sugar so I will never use anything else!

My husband and I have been hearing quite a bit on the news about Toys for Tots and how bare their shelves are this year due to the economy.  We've also, on many occasions this year, talked about how lucky we are that we've been virtually unscathed by the hard times that most people we know are facing.  We've made it a point to be more charitable in 2010 than we have in the past, with donations to Heifer International and Locks of Love.  And last night we decided to jump in the car and hit a local store and fill a shopping cart with donations for Toys for Tots.  My husband has donated a football every year for as long as I've known him, and I'm fairly certain even long before that.  But this year, the sky was the limit and boy, did we have a great time doing it!  If you need something to get you into the holiday spirit, I highly recommend donating to a charity that is close to your heart and means something to you.  It's money well spent and the feeling of knowing that you have contributed to making someone's struggles maybe just a little bit lighter for a moment is worth any amount of money you can spare, no matter how small.  I think we will make this a new family tradition and do it annually ~ it was one of the most fun things we've done together all year!

Retreat ~ Part III ~ The Women

What an amazing bunch of ladies ~ I felt honored to be included again this year in their outing to the Island.  We had such a great time ~ there were out-of-staters who sadly missed being included in the group photo, and a few other new faces that weren't with us last year.  We knitted and crocheted and stitched and one of us even brought a loom this year (my mantra is 'no new hobbies, no new hobbies, no new hobbies' ~ the loom was beautiful and the process looked addicting!).  We celebrated a birthday, as well as a first-lace finished project and the excitement that came with that last stitch coming off the needle!  The weather couldn't have been nicer for the middle of October ~ blue skies, warm island weather and we even got to witness an outdoor wedding this year.  We came close to tripling last year's donation to Heifer International ~ this year we raised $1320.50 and were able to purchase 2 'Knitter's Gift Baskets' (each basket represents an alpaca, a llama, a sheep and an angora rabbit), 2 'Honeybees', a 'Trio of Rabbits', a Sheep and a Goat. I think the 21 gals that were on the retreat did a GREAT job of not only boosting the Island's economy but also doing something kind and generous to help people in need all over the world.  I'm honored to be part of such a great group of women!

Cold Mountain & a little light headed

I donated my out of control mane to Locks of Love a few days ago ~ a 13" ponytail that I was told will make a beautiful wig ~ it was a good tribute to my dad and everyone that struggles with a cancer diagnosis.

So here's the new 'do and my lovely Cold Mountain that looks surprisingly cute with my old t-shirt ;) ~ Kelli, you always ask me 'how would you wear that?' when I finish something.....what do you think!?