What took so Long?

I was going to post about a trip in late October to northern Michigan but seems a little late for that.  It was a great trip with great Michigan color, bike riding, pretty sunset and then a stormy day with lots of waves on Lake Michigan

What I have been doing is a lot of knitting and only a little quilting (Nothing picture worthy yet). I started and finished a pair of socks.  Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. But at 8 stitches per inch they are really tight. I hope this will extend their life as the recipient is very hard on the bottoms of his socks.

Then there was the bear project. I needed a bear for the Lansing Comfort Bear Project (bears are placed in police cars for when there is a distressed child event) I started with a commercial pattern and actually followed it - sort of. Then for bear # 2 I made some significant modifications, #3,4,5 more modifications, then finally wrote out a new set of instructions to share with my knitting friends. This was a really challenge and I don't think pattern writing is for me. Design part OK, but I don't like the process of writing out the detailed instructions for someone, who probably can't read my mind. Anyway I made 11 bears total - 5 for grandkid's Christmas presents and 6 for the Comfort Bear Project. Even thought I have enough yarn for many more bears I think I'll move on to something else for a while.

Hats, Hats and More Hats

As a way to use up lots of left over stash yarn ( and I have a BIG stash) I have been making hats for several charities. Our knitting Guild donates hats and mittens to the school system that lets us use their conference room with no charge. This is our way to say Thank You. Then there are chemo hats for a local hospital. One of our members brought it to our attention that their are few donated caps for men. So I raided the stash and made several for this cause. All total so far 31 hats. These I will keep making because it's easy to keep a tote bag stocked with hat yarn, and they really don't require a lot of thinking for a basic hat. Great waiting in line knitting!

Should have some quilting projects in the next update and the Search for the Perfect Tote Bag.