Casting Off The Cold

FEBRUARY 2012 MARKHAM MEETING

2012-02-07T18:51:00.001-05:00

Once more I would like to say that the member of casting off the cold, amaze me very time. You can see the pride and creativity in every one's work. I remember some one from one of our charities said to me, that it is always a pleasure to receive all the beautiful things we create. And what a great feeling that is.

In Markham today, more great stuff and I hope more people will join the group, so they can also help make a difference in York Region.

Here is Barb showing this beautiful granny
stitch Afghan. Love the colour combination
Barb.

And two lovely hat and scarf sets from Jane.

This is a baby blanket that Madge knitted.
It is very soft , so you wouldn't mind wrapping your baby in it.

And Christine as always, show up with a lot of stuff.
Here are some hat and scarf sets for kids.

And a baby blanket,

and here is another one of her baby blankets.

Christine used scraps to knit this one and I love the way she used her pastels.

Hey Liz these are soooo cute!

Liz is knitting wash cloths for babies and they all have a different pattern in the middle. Sorry you can not see the patterns, but if you click on the picture, you may be able to see them.
She made them to add to baby gifts for some of her friends.

This Afghan Siobhan knitted using the feather and fan pattern stitch. It is gorgeous!

Here we have a couple of hat and scarf sets from a donor, that was given to Monica.
Thank you.

This baby blanket Ulrika crocheted, beautiful.

And this amazing Afghan was made with squares that she designed and the she lined it with a sheet.Isn't it gorgeous!
This was made for her niece.
Great job Ulrika.

Monica this Afghan looks great and the colours are wonderful together. Also they way you used the pattern, I think it shows the stitch better.
The pattern is from Red Heart and they used one colour.
Crochet Textured Throw.

These beautiful hats and scarves are from Margaret.

These squares were donated to us and it took me a while to figure out what colour to use to join them to make this blanket.
I finally choose the green and hoped it will work as a contrast colour. Well It worked and as you can see the squares just pops up.

Another set of large squares we inherited and they were different in colour combination, so I used two that were similar in colour and made four more of the same size. then I joined them using the shell stitch. I find it gives a flat finish for large squares.

Another blanket from the Leisure Arts book I love.
Snuggle Squares, this is the third blanket ( Clusters & Shells) I have done from this book.

Lorraine from Richmond Hill, donated these lovely items,

a baby blanket,

a lady's cardigan. Lorraine loves to knit sweaters and she does a great job at it.

Look at this one,

and this one too.

Wonderful baby blanket.
Thank you Lorraine.

Another successful day of great work. Thank you all.

2012 AFGHAN DRIVE

2012-01-24T21:18:00.001-05:00

We have been having some unusual weather this winter, some days it is sooooo cold. I am sure you are covered up with some thing warm and cozy. Well we have deiced to start an Afghan drive again for 2012. Would you like to help? We need Afghans for twin size beds and some large blankets for 3 to 10 years of age. So get those needles and hooks out and start clacking in the tune of some thing warm to keep the needy cozy.

You know we all get busy with our lives and we forget that there are many people out their, who just need some one to care. So don't you think a blanket will show that you do!

You can contact me to arrange pick up or drop off at any of our drop off points. don't forget to label your parcel to Casting Off The Cold and your contact information. Hope to hear from you soon.

JANUARY MEETING IN STOUFFVILLE

2012-01-18T21:51:00.002-05:00

Here we are in Stouffville at the Legion for our first meeting and what a turn out we had. The room is large and the chairs are really comfortable . You don't have to worry about the noise you make and we all had lots of fun chatting with one another. Look at every one busy doing what they love to do, knitting-crocheting beautiful clothing for those in need. Thank to Sue for finding this spot for us, it's a keeper.

Here you can see the whole group chatting away.

And another view of the group.

Monica modeling her hat and scarf set, lovely.

and Ulrika showing a lovely baby blanket.

This beautiful baby set, Ulrika knitted. so cute.

Pat this little jacket is beautiful!

And this lovely baby sleeper is so adorable!

Oh look at this dress just for a little one. I love it.

Another new member Nancy a friend of Pat's. Nancy is working on a kids sweater and she loves to work on baby stuff.

And here is Dona showing this lovely hooded baby blanket, so cute!

And here is another one.

Here she is showing another blanket, but i did not notice that they held it up the wrong side up. Well you can still see the beauty of it anyway. Love it.

What a gorgeous baby jacket,

and this blanket is amazing!

Look at these two baby outfits are so cute, you just feel like dressing up a baby.

Pat this kids sweater is just lovely!

Well Kathy, I just love this little shrug. It will look so great on a little girl.

And this cardigan is just adorable!

And this one too!

Sue you look so happy you are leaving this cold for warmer weather. I wish it were me.
Love the hat and scarf set, it's perfect with the outfit you are wearing.

And this one too!

Sharon, this scarf is beautiful.

Here is Margaret Happy as usual.

Here she is modeling one of her hats.

This beautiful hat and scarf set, Margaret knitted. Just gorgeous!

As usual the knitting machine has done it again, lots of hat and scarves sets for kids. And all perfectly done.

This blanket Christine knitted using pastel colours to to bring out the pattern, It looks great!

Here is Betty a new member, working on her project. Welcome Betty.

Thank you Ladies, you have done it again.

LOTS MORE DONATIONS FOR JANUARY

2012-01-17T14:17:00.007-05:00

These are some lovely baby clothing from Betty from Richmond Hill. She love knitting and I know that she would have a project on the go at all times. Even when she is out shopping with her family, she said that she would stand and knit while they are shopping. What dedication! I wish I could do that but I have know time.

Hats and mitts,

a few sweaters, beautiful.

And a couple of blankets.

Thank you so much Betty.

The rest of the items from here, was dropped off at Mary's Yarns in Unionville.

A shawl,

a few blankets,

lots of socks,

and mitts.

This blanket is far to small, so we will have to add to it. In the future please make the baby blankets at lease 20x20.

And another,

hats,

and many scarves.

This could be used as a lapgan.

And lots of scarves from Mary.

A beautiful sweater,

hats,

a shrug,

a sweater

and an Afghan.

Another scarf,

and a little jacket,

and a kid's sweater,

a cute vest,

and a blanket.

All so lovely! thanks to all for your donations and for helping to make a difference in York Region.

A VERY GOOD START FOR 2012

2012-01-09T17:52:00.009-05:00

First group meeting for 2012 and we had a great turn out and many beautiful items were donated.

Finally winter is here and i am sure you all will be looking for some thing to do on these cold winter days. Well how about working on an Afghan! There a lots of beautiful patterns on the web you can download for free. We will be working on Afghans over the next two months, since there is a great need for some of our charities, we donate to. Also some large blankets for kids 10 years and over. So if you would like to help out this year, we would be happy to hear from you.Our online members were very busy last year and we received many donates of lovely clothing from them. Thank you all and we hope we will see more of your great work.

Here is Helen a new member for the Markham group,

and she is amazed at the work we do for those in need.

Welcome aboard Helen!

Here are a few preemie hats and booties Helen donated, lovely!

This scarf I used a garter stitch and then i crocheted both ends.

Sharon worked on a few hat and scarf sets over the holidays. They will keep some one very warm.

Christine the knitting machine, showing here first Afghan. It turned out beautiful!

And here is a lovely baby blanket from Christine,

and lots of hat and scarf sets.

She loves working on these because they knit up very quickly.

Here is Barb hiding behind this lovely Afghan she crocheted,

and she also worked on some beautiful cowls, over the holidays.

Ulrika is showing a baby blanket she crocheted.

I love the pattern she used for this blanket.

Close up of it.

Also from Ulriks, lots of hat and scarf sets.

Nayana is modeling one of the cowls she knitted,

beautiful!

This shawl Monica is modeling, is just gorgeous!

Very well done.

On the table are hats, head bands and cowls from Monica.

Here she is modeling one of them.

These two baby blankets are from Marianne, a friend of Monica's.

And a few hat and scarf sets.

And Jane's hat and scarf sets and a gorgeous cowl.

Monica is showing the cowl Jane knitted.

Margaret crocheted this baby blanket,

and so many hat and scarf sets.

All so beautiful.

Liz loves knitting little things, two baby hats and a baby jacket and hat.

Good job Liz!

Lovely blanket from Madge,

and a couple of scarves,

and another blanket.

And from Madge's mom, lots of hats.

Wonderful job every one, and thank you for your dedication. We couldn't do this with out you.

Keep up the good work.

2012 ONLINE DONATIONS

2012-01-08T20:08:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year to all and a prosperous one from Casting off The Cold team. We hope you all had a great holiday and are ready to work on some project for those in need for 2012. As you can see we have already collected a number of items to start the year, from our online members.

Here are a few of them.

From Bev and her group, lots of hat and scarf sets and as usual all beautiful.

Thanks Bev!!

And from Lorraine, a couple vest,

and a sweater,

a jacket,

two scarves,

a shrug,

this vest is very beautiful, but you cannot really see the beauty of it, so try enlarging the photo to see it.

Another top,

and another jacket,

and a Poncho.

They are all so lovely.

Thanks Lorraine for your great work, hope we will see more of it.

These baby jacket are from Dee from Stouffville.

They are so cute!

Lots more from Dee.

Dee these are great! Thanks you so much for your donation and wonderful work.

Look at all these hat from Betty from Stouffville. Great job Betty and hope to see you at the meeting. Thank you very much.

Thanks to you all and keep up the good work.

SEASON GREETINGS

2011-12-21T11:17:00.000-05:00

Casting Off The Cold Team would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a healthy and Prosperous 2012.
To all our online donors, many thanks for all the wonderful items you have donated to us. It is greatly appreciated by those who receive them. So we hope we will hear from you in the new year and receive some more of your lovely work.
Many, Many thanks.

WRAPPING UP 2011

2011-11-20T17:03:00.012-05:00

The last meeting for 2011 was such a great turn out and we all had a wonderful time. Too bad it had to end so soon. Anyway we will be working over the holidays on our project for the winter and will meet up again in the New Year.

We have already started to collect warm clothing and hope to hear from some of you who would like to join in on a good cause. Don't forget we are always looking for new members, so bring out your needles and hooks and start clicking on some warm clothing for those in need.

This is one of the blankets from the Snuggle Square book and I will be crocheting some more over the winter.

This is a blanket from Marianne,

and here are some lovely hat and scarf sets, also from Marianne.

Christine's strip blanket, very beautiful,

and lots of hat and scarf sets.

Kids mitts from Sharon, just what they need.

Barb is using up all her scraps, making hats and scarves.

This colourful scarf was donated to the cause,

and here two more that was donated from a donor from Stouffville.

Here are a few scarves from Nayana.

I love these blankets from Donna

and this is also from Donna.

And another.

Some lovely blankets from Tracy,

and such a cute dress,

and a lot of hats.

Wow look at this Afghan from Sue.

Great job Sue!!

Well Margaret is really whipping up those hat and scarf sets.

All beautiful.

A gift set and hats and scarves from Ulrika.

Thank you all for a great year and don't forget to keep those needle a

MARKHAM NOVEMBER MEETING.

2011-11-07T17:59:00.012-05:00

Well we have started the trend again, collecting great stuff for the winter months. This year, I think there is going to be a greater need for warm clothing for those in need. So it will be greatly appreciated if you will take a little time to make something to add to our collection. As I have said before, one item will make a huge difference.

Here are some photos of a few items from a lady from Stouffville, Dee.

Preemie hats,

kids mitts, lovely colour combination.

And hats for kids.

Thank you very much Dee!

Three beautiful sweaters and a preemie hat

from Liz.

A baby blanket from Paramjette,

and lots of hat and scarf sets.

From Sharon, a neck warmer and hats.

Very colourful hat and scarf sets from Monica.

Here is a hat and scarf from one of Margaret's friends Erika.

And from Marianne, lots of hat and scarf sets.

Ulrika has put together a blanket with some squares we inherited.

She did a great job putting it together.

And two more of her famous bags.

I have to say that Jane must love bright colours like I do.

Two beautiful hat and scarf sets.

Thanks to all for such wonderful work and dedication.

CASTING OFF THE COLD DONATION DAY 2011

2011-11-03T10:44:00.015-04:00

Here we are at the Stouffville Library for our donation for 2011. This year we were able to donate just about 2000 hand crafted warm items, 25 large bags in total to shelters and out reach programs in York Region and the GTA for this winter.

As you can see the bags are jam packed to the brim and the recipients are looking very happy with what they have received and that makes us feel so warm inside, to see their appreciation of we have done to help out. Most of these shelters have lots of kids of all ages and the Casting Off The Cold team was diligently working all year to provide lots of clothing for these little ones.

I cannot imaging not having something to wear in the summer, and what's worse, not having something warm to wear for the winter. I cannot imaging it at all!!

We must be thankful for what we have and always try to help what ever you can, those in need close to home.

Guess what! The Casting Off the Cold team worked trough the winter months making Afghans for youth centers and shelters in York Region and in the city of Toronto, 40 total and will be starting on some more Afghans in January of next year. So if you feel that this is a project you would like to work on to help out with, we will be very appreciative to receive some from you out there. And don't forget the little ones.

Recipients from Touchstone Youth Center of Toronto,

a new charity we have added to our list.

And here is Marcy with all their goods for
Pathways York Region.

Marnie from Yellow Brick House, York Region

with loads of stuff to take away.

Krista looks very happy with the bags, she got for
Rose Of Sharon, York Region.

The group already working on projects for next donation.

That's how dedicated they are. Love it.

Recipients and Monica and Siobhan from the Markham group.

The Casting Off The Cold team looking so proud of what they have achieved for 2011 donation. You guys are great!

I cannot imaging that all of this was done in one year.

Look at it all, amazing!!

We have already started on project for 2012.

Thank you all,Stouffville and Markham group for your wonderful work and dedication, so we can make a difference in York Region.

SO MUCH MORE FOR THOSE IN NEED

2011-10-23T18:29:00.024-04:00

Well we are almost finish filling the bags and will be heading to Stouffville on October 30 to give all of it away. I am so happy that the weather is looking good for Sunday, so we will be easy for us to take all these bags into the Library, with out having to worry about rain. Keep your fingers cross please.

I may have to post one more donation before Sunday and that will be the last of it. but we are still working on project, so you can continue to do your part for next year.

This lot of items was donated by Dee a lady from Stouffville.
Lovely hat and scarf set,

and a couple of lapghans.

A lot of colourful hats from a donor also from Stouffville.

Thank you both for your wonderful donation.

This group of items are from Wendy, she is from Scarborough,

I met her at Michael's on Saturday and here she was on Sunday with two bags of goods.

These are cotton hats, which we will donate to the hospital.

More hats,

lovely scarves,

And a few sweaters,

more sweaters,

and lots of hats.

Great job Wendy!!

Thank you Wendy for your generous donation.

And from the Knitting Knitch Knitters.

A few scarves,

And a lot of baby sweaters,

some kids sweaters,

more sweaters,

baby booties,

love this jacket,

mitts,

more sweaters,

and look at this cwol.

This is so cute,

two beautiful sweaters for boys.

and a vest,

lots of baby stuff,

kids sweaters.

Here are a couple of bags,

a few more mitts,

lots of hats,

baby hat and booty,

and lots of baby slippers.

They are all beautiful.

Thank you so much for your donation and great work.

2011-10-23T18:09:00.003-04:00

More donations from Bev,

Lots of hat and scarf sets,

another hat and scarf set.

And these sweaters are from a donor from Richmond Hill, Loraine.
Don't you like the colours in this one?

Love this vest.

A lady's cardigan,

and this lovely sweater.

Thank you both so much for all your great work for 2011. We will be collecting all winter so please keep up the good work.

2011-10-23T17:57:00.002-04:00

Lots more stuff from Madge's mom,

A few scarves using up her scraps.

And lots of hats

and lots of socks.

Thank you so much Jacquline for so many great stuff.

This beautiful baby blanket is from Madge.

VERY CLOSE TO DONATION DAY

2011-10-19T12:34:00.019-04:00

Well this is what my basement looks like just be fore the end of October. By this time of the year I feel closed in when I go down to the basement to work. I am always worried that my clients will complain about the look of the basement, but to my surprise, they always commend me on all the great work we are doing.

Why do I keep them until now, because all the charities we donate to, dose not have space to store the good. The Shelters usually make up baskets for babies, mothers, and kids to be hand out for the holidays.

The out reach programs usually need warm clothing when they open up in November trough the winter months.

So there, it stays in my basement to remind me that we are doing a good thing for our community.

So if you would like to donate some knitted stuff to us you still have time to make a difference. You may think this is a lot, but for the 11 Shelters and Out Reach Programs we donate to, we need it all and more. Some need more than other but we would like to give even numbers to all, if we can.

Most of these bags a packed to the very top,

and very day I add more bags. All Afghans and blanket bags in this picture.

I will be working on those you see on the sofa soon and I will be receiving lots more stuff this week, to bag up.

More Afghans in these bags.

And now for the Stouffville team last donation for 2011.

Here is a gorgeous baby blanket from Donna,

and a baby blanket and sweater stet.

This is soooo cute.

This Afghan when through a few hand to finish.

Anne inherited the squares and put them together and Tracy added a border to it. Now it is done and looks great.

The happy hooker has strike again.

Look at these, a cute base ball hat for a baby and a beautiful dress and top.

Here she has some hat and scarf sets,

and this gorgeous blanket. I just love it!!!

And another blanket,

another with a hat,

And my goodness, look at this table, it is covered with fleece blankets. May be thirty? Not sure I will have to count.

Way to go Tracy!

Monica tried her hands on mitts and she did a great job at that.

Jane it using some bright colours to make her hat and scarf set and they are lovely as usual.

Well Ulrika who loves making bags, has knitted one for one of our members to carry her project in. so cute.

And here is a beautiful granny square blanket in great colours.

And Margaret, who also loves the vibrant colours, crocheted a beautiful baby blanket.

And I just love these hat and scarf sets.

Christine the knitting machine is working on kids hat and scarf sets and loving it. They are so pretty.

Christine loves to knit sweaters and thought she would knit up some strip sweaters. And she dose a great job knitting sweaters.

Now I have no idea who made this blanket.

May be some one will remind me!

This is such an amazing pattern to knit. And Pat knitted a second one in brown and beige. The first one was a red and white one.

Kathy knitted some lovely hat and scarf sets for boys.

If you can only see the dark sweater on the table close up, it is so cute, you would want to try it on. And a dress and sweater for girls, from Kathy.

I was going trough my stash and found quite a bit of fun fur yarn, I had for a while, so I thought this was a good time to use it up.

Hats and scarves for kids from me.

And Kim whipped up these beautiful hat and scarf sets, so we will have enough for every one.

Well I was amazed at the amount of stuff we collected on Sunday and as I mention earlier, we should be pretty close to 2000 items by next weekend.

I cannot thank you all enough for making this year the best one yet. Great job people.

MORE DONATIONS

2011-10-11T19:05:00.005-04:00

We are almost at our 1500 goal, but would like to be over 1500 by donation day, which is October 30 at the Stouffville Library from 1.30 pm to 3pm.

You are welcome to join us and take part in this special day for those in need. Please drop by and bring along some items you would like to donate. Hats and scarves, blankets Etc.

From Dawn a scarf.

Hats for teen and a few sets, from Bev

and two scarves.

From Rowena, lots of scarves as usual!

Thank you so much Ladies.

LOTS MORE DONATIONS FROM MARKHAM

2011-10-02T18:43:00.013-04:00

Its getting closer to Oct 30th and I am receiving lots of stuff to add to those large bags in the basement. It is so good to see all the wonderful stuff to give to the Charities we donate too, but I cannot wait to see it all gone. It looks as though it is taking over my basement. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it's time. Winter is going to be here soon and they will need all of it.

Don't forget you can drop off any thing you would like to donate at any of the drop off spots. You can find them on the blog, or you can email me (Sally) to arrange for pick up or drop off.

I finally finish the rainbow block blanket and just love it, if I may say so myself. The colours are bright, yes, but you know what, most babies are attracted to bright colous!!

A hat and scarf set for a kid.

And here is the blanket.

A few items from Christine, a beautiful sweater and two hat and scarf sets. Lovely!

Another of Ulrika's bags.

And one for a girl.
They are amazing.

Ulrika used this large ball of yarn I inherited from some one, the ball had five strands together and she used a large hook to make this blanket. It turned out great!

A new member showed up at the Markam meeting and she had lots of goody's with her and her name is Sharon.

Here you can see some scarves,

a few hats,

and mitts,

Preemie hats and booties.

They are all so lovely.
Thank you Sharon!!

An guess who we did not see all summer, Parmajeet. Well she was at the meeting and also arrived with a lot of goody's.

Lots of hat and scarf sets for kids, which we needed,

a baby blanket,

and another blanket,

and this beautiful sweater,

and a poncho.

A boy's sweatsuit,

a lovely sweater for a little girl,

and another sweatsuit.
She makes such beautiful things.

And Barb is working away on all the hats she can make before the 30th. They are all so different.

Today I received lots of scarves from Rowena and I will take a picture and post it tomorrow.

Thank you all so much again for do a great job.

GEARING UP TO OUR BIG DONATION DAY

2011-09-27T13:45:00.013-04:00

Here we are at the Stouffville Library for the last meeting before our big day. We are gearing up to the last minute collection of goods for those in need. So if you are thinking of donating some thing for our charities in York Region, you can drop it off at Candlelight and Memories on main street Stouffville and Pat will be happy to collect it for us.

This meeting we collected a lot of baby blanket from Tracy, since she was very busy this summer with work. We were very happy to see her, as usual with lots of stuff.

Here are two beautiful baby blankets from Kim.

And two lovely Afghans for guys.

A few hat and scarf sets form me.

These are so colourful, I love them!

they are from Sue.

A sweet jacket from Pat

and look at this, so cute,

also from Pat.

And another jacket and hat from Pat.

I love these hats, love the colours.

They were made by Barb.

Donna was also away for the summer, and again she crocheted two gorgeous blanket.

This Afghan was put together by Anne, the squares she inherited and it look a long time to finish, because as you can see they are very small squares. But she did a great job putting them together.

At the meeting, she mentioned that it should have a border, so we all decided that a border will look great.

I will post it when it is done.

Siobhan knitted this 10 stitch baby blanket, this turned out beautiful! And there is a cute jacket to go with it too.

I just love it.

Two lovely hat and scarf sets for Ulrika.

And one of her famous bags, this one is an abstract design. every one of her bags is one of a kind.

You will see on this table lots of fleece blankets,

and also on this table. WOW!

Another,

and some preemie hats.

Another blanket, great colours.

Squares put together, also from Tracy.

Love this one, she said it took her a day to make. Quick and easy.

you can find the patter on her blog.
welcome back happy hooker!

Here are some amazing hat and scarf sets from Christine.

She is enjoying the change from sweaters. Christine used up her bits to design these and they turned out great.

Well one more meeting before we donate all the stuff from my basement. The Markham meeting which is this Sunday Oct, 2.

Thank you all again for a great job done and hope to see you all on donation day, Oct, 30.

KIDS HAT AND SCARF DRIVE

2011-09-11T19:10:00.015-04:00

I completely forgot to mention to the members, that we are low on hat and scarf set for the little ones. So I put a little bug in their bonnets and to my surprise I received quite a few beautiful sets for kids. We do need a lot more before our donation date, which will be after the Stouffville meeting in October. So for those of you who have not been to the last few meeting and would like to whip up some hat and scarf set for us, please do! We are looking for sets for ages 3 to 10.

Here are some sweaters and a couple of blankets from Loraine.

These a just beautiful,

and will be great for some of the Charities we donate to.

Love the colours in this blanket,

and look at this one, love it.

And another.

This baby blanket I crocheted using a cluster and front post stitch.

i got the pattern from Leisure Arts. I just love it.

Here are some kids hat and scarf sets from me.

Here is Ulrika showing this lovely baby blanket.

And a gorgeous hat and scarf set.

These two blanket she used some squares I gave her and she was able to put together a preemie and a baby blanket. They look just great.

Another shopping bag for my sale.

One of my clients ordered this one, isn't it gorgeous!

From Barb a baby blanket

and some great hats for toddlers.

I love them and i hope she would make some more.

Now from the knitting machine Christine, a few preemie blankets,

and wow, lots of beautiful kids hat and scarf set.

And Madge, this is a lovely Afghan and hat for a kid.

Also a baby blanket.

From Madge's mom, who lives in Newfoundland. She knits for us every year and sends a package up . Look at all those hat and scrf sets. Wonderful!

Many thanks to you, Jacquline.

We love all the beautiful stuff you have sent in the past.

Well Margaret, you have done it again.

Lots of hat and scarf sets. Beautiful!

And a lovely baby blanket.

From Dawn, a cotton baby blanket, which she will be entering in the Markham fair. Good luck.

And Jane, who always seem to amaze me, two gorgeous sets.

Very interesting patterns.

A few sets from Monica,

and this Afghan, Monica crocheted for a raffle, that she will be donating to a seniors home in Stouffville.

A few more mitts from Liz

and some baby hats and a couple of sweaters. Lovely!

This was a great collection of items from the Markham group. I would like to thank you all for working so hard to provide the hat and scarf set. You are all such great people.

TIGER BLANKET RAFFLE

2011-09-09T15:04:00.003-04:00

Sorry about the late posting for the Tiger raffle! It was drawn on the 24th of August and the winner is Deb from Markham. Deb was very excited when she heard that she was the winner, because she has a new grand baby arriving soon.

And here she is with the blanket.

Deb I hope the baby will enjoy the blanket as much as Pat enjoy making it.

Thank you Pat for making the blanket for the raffle.

AUGUST MEETING IN STOUFFVILLE

2011-08-25T20:08:00.018-04:00

Here we are at the Stouffville library on a week day for the first time. Anne wanted us to be there, since the Deputy Minister was going to visit the library on Wednesday August 24th.

Every one had a great time chatting with people walking by and showing off the beautiful items they made.

I think this will give us a lot more exposure in the Stouffville community. Well here are some stuff to show you.

This blanket I used scraps, lots of colours and i love the way it turned out.

These two hats were donated by Leigh, a new member, who will be joining us soon.

Thank you very much Leigh!

Here is Sophia, showing off her baby blanket.

And a baby jacket on the table.

Ulrika is crocheting up some shopping bags for us to use for our fundraiser.

they are all so beautiful!

These are some squares that were donated to us and Ulrika put them together into a lovely blanket.

Here is a scarf from Ulrika.

Lovely hat from Sue.

Sue said that this blanket took here a long time to do. It was done in strips and then put together. Great job Sue!

Here are a few hat and mitt sets from Kathy. Very soft and warm.

They are beautiful!

Anne crocheted a first baby blanket, it turned out great!

and a gorgeous kid's Afghan,

Here are some baby blankets and sweaters from Loraine. A lady at Liz's knitting class.

They are all very beautiful, great work.

Some more sweaters.

Now these were crocheted by a new member Melanie and she is learning to crochet from the book, crochet for dummies.

Well i have to tell you, she is doing a great job at it.

She donated four baby blankets.

Great job Melanie!

These two blanket also from Loraine.

Well done very one and thank you for all you great work.

LOTS MORE DONTAIONS

2011-08-09T17:19:00.010-04:00

Considering the HOT, HOT weather we have been having, we have received quite a bit of cold weather items. It is so good to see that you all are thinking of those in need for the winter to come. I don't want to think of the cold weather at the moment, because I am enjoying this beautiful summer we are having and I hope you are having a great summer too!

Casting off The Cold is looking for new members to join our online group. Please feel free to contact us for more info. Also every one is welcome to join in, at any of our regular meetings, in Stouffville and Markham. You can check the calender on our website for the time and place for all our meetings. So drop by and bring your needles or hooks and yarn and help make a difference for those in need, for the York Region Shelters and the Homeless.

Last year there was a greater need for blankets and Afghans. We have made our quote for Afghans for this winter, but in great need for baby and kids blankets. So we are hoping by the end of September we will receive a lot more blankets. So please help!

This beautiful Afghan is from Erma

and she come down from Trenton to Markham,

to drop off what ever she makes in between her visit to Markham.

Here are a few preemie hat from her,

also four beautiful preemie blankets,

two baby blankets

and a large sweater for our outreach program.

Thank you so much Erma for your contribution.

These lovely baby blankets are from Christine.

if you would like to see the pattern close up, just click on the pattern.

Here is another.

And from Barb, a baby jacket, just beautiful!

Monica used up some of her scraps to make this blanket

and it turned out great!

Here she is showing a gorgeous blanket she made to give as a gift for some one in her family.

Thank you all for you wonderful donations and have a safe and healthy August.

HOT SUMMER MEETING

2011-07-24T11:00:00.005-04:00

To all you crafters out there, I am sure with this hot summer weather you are having a hard time whipping up those beautiful stuff you were able to make for a good cause. So what ever you can do will be a great help to us for the cold winters we have, to donate as much as we have always done in the past. All we ask is for you to send one item to add to our collection, it will be greatly appreciated.

Here are three beautiful blankets from Kim,

A frothy wave blanket crocheted by me.

And this beautiful granny square blanket by Ulrika,

I love the colour of this scarf and it is very soft.

Ulrika has made a few shopping bags for our fund raiser and she is hoping to make a few more so we can raise money for the organization. She designs her own patterns.

Margaret is showing this gorgeous blanket she crocheted,

and here is another,

also some beautiful hat and scarf sets.

Lovely colours.

Well ladies thank you and keep up the good work and enjoy the rest of the summer.

STOUFFVILLE STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

2011-07-11T20:58:00.003-04:00

Here we are at the Stouffville Strawberry Festival and I have to say that this was the first time we had great weather, taking part in an out side event. Also I have never seen that many vendors at any of the others festival we attended and it was well organized.

Any way this was the last festival for us, we will continue with our raffles which we do very well with. Right now the next raffle is a beautiful Tigger baby blanket, crocheted bay one of our members, Pat. We stared the raffle at the Stouffville Festival and will be drawn on August 15th.

Here are a few pictures at the festival.

And as you can see Monica, Sue and Ulrika cooling off under the tent.

Thank you all very much for working on all these beautiful items for this event.

MORE DONATIONS

2011-07-11T20:33:00.002-04:00

Here some hat and scarf sets from Bev and her cousin, about fifteen sets in all just for men.

This is great because we don't receive enough of the darker colours, for the street people. So if any one would like to donate hats and scarves and don't mind working with the darker colours, we would appreciate it very much.

Thanks Bev.

A FEW MORE ITEMS FOR THE FESTIVAL

2011-06-28T20:13:00.004-04:00

We will have a lot of beautiful baby blankets for sale at the Stouffville Festival so drop by and have look. And also a raffle for a crochet Tiger blanket, made by one of our members.

These three baby blankets Christine knitted

by Christine for the strawberry Festival.

And two beautiful sweaters.

STOUFFVILLE JUNE MEETING

2011-06-20T21:45:00.010-04:00

Getting ready for the Stouffville Strawberry Festival on July 2nd from 9.30am to 6pm. We will be raising funds for the organization, so please drop by you may find something you have been looking for, for a baby or an adult. All hand made.

Also we would love to sign up any new members if you are interested in joining the group in Stouffville. Spend an afternoon knitting/ crocheting and have fun sharing any of your ideas with others. We are a great group of women crafting for a very good cause.

Here is a baby blanket from Maria,

And an Afghan for the Afghan drive, the

last one she said. So beautiful!

Sue is working on some of those hot coffee cup cozies for the sale,

and she donated a couple of baby hats. Lovely!

Pat crocheted another one of her favorites, a Tiger baby blanket for our next raffle. We may start this one at the festival, so look for us!!

It is gorgeous!!

And here is a baby blanket she knitted, it's done in strips. Love the colours. Also for the fundraiser.

Ulrika is a new member, and she is very excited creating new stuff for the festival and for our charity. This is a beautiful baby blanket for a boy or girl.

Here she is showing another blanket in a lovely orange colour.

This is one of her creations a wine bag, with a strawberry teem that holds four bottles.

And this shopping bag for the fundraiser table.

I love them.

She is hoping to have a few more for July 2nd.

These two baby tops were knitted up by Kathy, she used a beautiful white cotton and added a strawberry teem. They are gorgeous!

Thank you ladies for working on these items for the Festival. Great team work.

HERITAGE FESTIVAL RICHMOND HILL

2011-06-12T18:01:00.008-04:00

Here we are at the Richmond hill festival, and every thing was going well, every one having fun and you guessed it RAIN!! Well I was not too impress with the pouring rain off and on, so the sales were not what I expected. It seems as though every time we decide to take part in an outside event it rains.

We have one more event to do and hopefully this one works for us. The Stouffville Strawberry Festival July 2nd. hope to see you all there.

Here are some pictures from the Festival.

Betty finished this beautiful baby blanket and donated it for the fundraiser.

The table full of great stuff.

The girls having a chat, and knitting away.

And a few more pics.

Thank you all for taking time from your family and the weekend to help out, it is very much appreciated.

JUNE DONATION FROM MARKHAM.

2011-06-07T22:15:00.004-04:00

Well I am sure you are all enjoying the warmer weather, it's been long coming. I can not wait to get out and soak up the fresh air and sunshine, I just love it so enjoy every minute of it.

Now a little bit of crafting, we had a small group this month in Markham, and here are a few things that were donated.

This blanket I used a new stitch from the crochet stitch book I have, and it turned out pretty good if I may say so myself. The name of the stitch is call staggered shells.

This beautiful blanket and hat Liz knitted.

And here is a lovely hat from Madge,

also a gorgeous granny square blanket.

And look at these two lovely baby jackets done by Barb.

I just love them.

Thank you Ladies for taking your Sunday after noons to volunteer for a good cause.

Afghan Draw

2011-05-31T13:10:00.005-04:00

We made the draw for the Winnie the Pooh fundraiser afghan after our Garage Sale on May 28, and we are pleased to announce the winner: Kristin Li of Scarborough.

Here's the video of the draw taking place:

And here's a picture of Kristin with the Blanket. Congratulation!!

And thank you to everyone who took part, selling, and especially buying, raffle tickets. But the greatest thanks goes to Pat for spending all that time to make the blanket for us. Our spring fundraiser was a great success and the money will go a long way to purchasing yarn for next winter's projects, including a number of afghan blankets destined for shelters and support organizations.

STOUFFVILLE MEETING

2011-05-24T08:36:00.015-04:00

Once again, we had a great turnout for the Stouffville meeting, including one new member who saw the article in the Stouffville Sun-Tribune and decided to come check us out.

Welcome to Ulrika, who is, like the rest of us, a 'knitting junkie'. Can't sit still without knitting needles or a crochet hook in her hand. She showed us one of the tote bags she's made - beautiful work! She's going to make a couple of bags with strawberries on them for the Strawberry Festival.

Here are some of the projects that were donated this month:

A blanket, two hats and a scarf from Margret

A lovely blanket from Sue

Barb's latest - great way to use up that tangerine orange!

At long last, Monica finished her final afghan of the winter

A gorgeous round blanket from Donna

Pat found this blanket at a yard sale and couldn't pass it up. Thanks to the anonymous person who made it. They may never know of the good use it will go to!

Thanks to everyone for coming to the meeting and giving such wonderful items.

Remember that our Garage Sale is coming up on May 28th and Knit In Public Day will be celebrated on June 11 at the Richmond Hill Heritage Festival.

MORE AFGHANS

2011-05-14T19:43:00.008-04:00

I think we have made our quota for the Afghan drive, just to let you know that the total at this time is 32 and I am sure we will receive a few more. I know that it took a lot of your time, so I would like to thank you all, for making this happen.

Just a reminder that we will be working on baby blanket for the blanket drive and what ever small things you like to work on.

Here are some Afghans, kids blankets and hats/scarves from Maria and Kim.

This beautiful baby blanket is from Maria,

and this afghan she used the front post stitch.

As you can see they are very long, I had to fold the other three.

A ripple afghan,

and another,

I love her colour combination.

Lots of hat/scarf sets from Kim,

and some kids blankets.

Kim said she is enjoying working with strips.

This one, she used white, burgundy and red and the colours works well.

And this Afghan, she worked with earth colour, that goes beautiful together.

Lovely boy's blanket,

and another.

Thank you ladies for your hard work and time.

SPRING DONATION

2011-05-03T16:38:00.010-04:00

Hey it's spring! And I would love to be out in my garden. I can see all the tulips budding and lots of other plants coming up. I just love this time of the year, the days are longer and brighter and it sure makes you feel good.

Although; I was very surprise at the turn out at the Markham meeting and the amount of items we received. It shows how much the member love helping those in need. I cannot thank them enough.

This Afghan pattern I saw in the Mary Maxim magazine, you have to by the kit, so it had a good look at it and realize the pattern is a cross stitch. it also showed a frill on both sides which I did not do.

This yellow blanket I fold in two to take the picture. And it was crocheted by Madge. Very beautiful.

Here is this gorgeous quilt Madge's sister donated.

Thank you so much Myrtle!!

What a beautiful baby blanket and hat from Nayana.

These preemie hats are from Dawn.

They are so cute.

Christine is lots of fun knitting baby blankets,

this one she used up her scraps and the colours looks great.

And all these gorgeous baby sweater/hat set. She loves making them and she dose a great job at it.

Well Margaret this lovely!

Beautiful colours!

And this one is also lovely.

Here she used up scraps again for these hat.

so you see you don't have to trow them out.

And one from Monica, also using up scraps.

Beautiful baby blanket from Liz,

and a pair of mitts.

I am sure that Liz can knit these with her eyes close. She love making them.

A pair of hat/scarf sets from Jane.

Love the colours and they are beautiful.

Barb crocheted this blanket, the colours go well together and it is perfect!

Thank you all for your great work and time.

DONATION TO PROJECT LINUS

2011-04-20T17:49:00.003-04:00

Casting Off The Cold has already started to donate in 2011. We donated 20 preemie blankets made by our members, to Project Linus on April 14 2011. And will be adding lots more later on.

Thank you so much Tracy for delivering it for us.

MORE HATS FROM STOUFFVILLE.

2011-04-20T10:47:00.003-04:00

These colourful hats we dropped off at Candlelight and Memories, our drop off points in Stouffville. They are so cheerful!!

Thank you Pat for accepting all our drop offs, we appreciate very much.

LOTS MORE DONATIONS FROM STOUFFVILLE

2011-04-18T18:12:00.020-04:00

Her we are is Stouffville again, and we had two new member joined in so now the Stouffville group is up to ten member. That is amazing, we started in September 2010 and this April 2011. Since this group is growing fast we are looking for a place in Richmond Hill to start a Chapter there.

I checked out the main library today and will have a look at the other two next week. I hope one will work for us. I would let you know where and when.

Now here are the many items from Stouffville.

This V stitch scarf is from Sue,

and here is a beautiful Afghan Sue is showing.

The colours work well together.

Also a gorgeous baby blanket from Sue.

Here is a beautiful peach hat scarf set Siobhan knitted.

Jone is a new member and she is working on a scarf.

There is Connie working on squares for a blanket.

Kathy is another new member and she is also working on a scarf.

This blanket I crocheted, It turned out OK I think. I did not get the sides as straight as I wanted, may next time I will. I found the pattern on the Lion Brand web site, and the pattern name is Wind Chime Afghan. If any one is interested in crocheting it.

Now for the fleece busting.as Tracy mentioned on her blog.

Tracy found her fleece bin and as you can see, she went nuts with it.

She edge the fleece choosing the right colour to complement the pattern on the fleece.

This # 3

and this one is the last piece of this fleece that was donated to us. I wish we can get some more, the colours are great!

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14 They are all lovely!

Here Tracy is showing a granny square blanket.

I love the colours.

And a crazy stitch preemie blanket and the blue and yellow goes so well.

Great job Tracy!!

Donna is showing this gorgeous baby blanket,

and two beautiful baby jackets.

This baby blanket is from Pat, love the colours,

and this gorgeous baby dress in peach is also from Pat.

Now a few more baby blankets from Connie's mom Josie,

this one she used the double cross stitch. it is beautiful!

And another,

also this one,

and two lovely scarves.

Thank you so much Josie.

Christine said that this is the first time she has ever attempt to knit a baby blanket. And I think that she has done a good job at it.

These two are from Christine.

Beautiful colours.

This blanket was donated to us from Donna who lives in Richmond Hill. I had to finish it off with the light blue.

Thank you very much.

Thanks to all the member for your hard work and time.

A special thanks from the members of Casting Off The Cold to the Manager and Staff at the Knitters Attic, for accepting our donations for us. It is greatly appreciated.

DONATION FROM RICHMOND HILL

2011-04-16T14:04:00.009-04:00

Here are some beautiful hat and scarf sets from Bev and her friend. All great colours and very warm. Thanks Bev!

Two scarves from Marie

and this Afghan, I had to fold it in two to take the picture.

All the blankets you are going to see below is also from

Marie. This blanket will work well on a double bed, it's that large.

Most of them are crochet except this one,

it is knitted with a beautiful border.

Marie made them all over the pass year and will be happy to send us some more, when she gets some time.

Thank you so much Marie!!

Article on yorkregion.com

2011-04-11T11:27:00.003-04:00

Hey, Everyone! Recently, Sally was interviewed by YorkRegion.com about Casting Off the Cold and what we do for the community in the region. The final article published on their website covers our history and also includes comments from representatives of some of the organizations we donate to. They have also included a photo that was taken at the last Stouffville meeting. Click on the link to see the article on yorkregion.com's website, and please point other people you know to it as well. We can always use new members! http://www.yorkregion.com/community/article/977421--knitters-give-warmth-to-those-in-need

MARKHAM SPRING MEETING

2011-04-07T19:52:00.012-04:00

What a good feeling that spring is here, the days are longer and a lot more sun. Just the type of weather to clean up the garden, I am almost finish. the snow drops are all up and the tulips are picking up. Isn't it wonderful to see life coming up from the ground? Every day I have to take a look to see whats popping up.

Well so much about my garden, now on with the donations.

This month we will be teaching youth students to knit/crochet so they can make up their community hours. Sarah attend the Markham meeting and will be at the Souffville meeting. hopefully we will be able to show a picture of her next update.

Now here are the member with their donations.

Well Siobhan, this blanket looks great!! Love the colour combination.

Liz working on Mitts.

And Dawn, a new member is crocheting.

Phillis dropped off these baby hats.

Thanks Phillis!!

Another Afghan from me,

And these were donated and finally I put them together, using the braid join stitch.

This one I did the same.

We have a lot more squares to put together, so I hope we will finish them this year.

Betty is showing one of her baby blankets,

very colourful and they all have many different stitches.

Betty designs all her blankets.

This one is different, it looks the same but it is not.

And another,

An there is another.

They are all beautiful.

This sweater is also from Betty.

Monica's hat using up scraps.

Here are a couple hat and scarf sets from Nayana.

And Jane finished the hat she was working on.

Beautiful colours in this Afghan from Barb.

And Madge added the flowers she was working on for the hats, Lovely!!

So that's it! Thanks Ladies for your time and contribution.

THE STOUFFVILLE MARCH MEETING

2011-03-22T20:30:00.016-04:00

Well here we are in Stouffville, with a very large group and lots of stuff to donate. As you can see from all our meeting for the winter, we were very busy.

We are almost at the end of the Afghan drive and I must say that we turned out some really neat Afghans. And now we are busy with the baby blanket drive that is going well too!!

If you have not join us on line or at our meetings, don't be shy, we need you to help us with our goal for 2000 items to be donated this year.

We donate blanket to Project Linus three times a year. Since we have been donating to Project Linus North York in the past and we are now we have a contact for York Region, I would like to keep both Chapter to donate our preemie blankets to. So we definitely need your help. If you cannot make it to the meeting and would like to participate, you can contact me at my email address on the web site. We will arrange for pick up or you can drop off at one of our drop off points. Don't forget to label our package for casting off the cold and your name and address.

Now here you will see some of the great stuff the members donated.

This baby blanket was crocheted by Pat,

and here she is showing this unusual kids sweater. love the feet!!

This Pooh blanket Pat crocheted and she mention at the last meeting that it took her two months to finish it. It is amazing!!! She did such a great job with it I hope mine turns out as good as hers.

This blanket will be up for a raffle soon.

These are some very warm hats from Madge.

And here is Margaret showing the two beautiful ripple blankets,

and some hat and scarf sets.

Jane is working on a hat for this scarf, so you will see them both next time.

My first diagonal blanket and if I may, I think it turned out pretty good.

Using up your left over yarn you don't know what to do with it, try knitting/crocheting hats and scarves with them. You will be amaze what designs you will turn up with. These hat Monica used up her ends. I love them.

Another Afghan from Monica, this one is in Christmas colours. You may think a little early but why not use the heaver yarn and colours on those cold winter months. Any ways it looks great Monica!

Connie is a new member and she joined us on March 17 meeting.

The scarf on the table knitted . The yarn is very soft to the touch and the print is lovely too.

She also is showing a baby blanket her mom Josie knitted using the basket weave stitch.

Thanks Josie!

Well here are the famous mitts from Liz.

And a beautiful baby blanket.

These very warm crocheted scarves are from Sue.

And here is a hat, scarf and mitts set from Barb.

I love this blanket Donna crocheted, it is perfect.

And here is another, beautiful!

Now these two baby jackets were also crocheted by Donna.

They are gorgeous!! Donna is working on a bonnet and booties to add to one of these to add to some other stuff i have collected. Which will be donated to Rose of Sharon for a silent auction.

Well to all of you, I would like to tanks you a great deal for all of your contribution.

MORE STUFF FROM MARY'S YARN

2011-03-16T15:29:00.007-04:00

I wish I new who dropped off all these lovely blankets, hats, scarves and baby items, at Mary's yarn for us.

The blankets are just in time for the Project Linus Drive.

Thank you so much form all of us at Casting Off The Cold.

MARKHAM MARCH MEETING

2011-03-08T21:02:00.010-05:00

Here we are at the Markham group meeting, a couple of new members joined in and are working on some scarves. Mom and daughter looking very happy knitting together.

I am always happy to see new members, It gives me a good feeling knowing that there are many people out there who are willing to help out a good cause. We need many more to join, all ages and it does not matter what level a knitter or crocheter you are. You are all welcome and if you need help with a project, we are happy to help you with it. So get your needles or hooks and start a project for one of your charities.

The Afghan drive is coming along great, so far we collected 22!! Good stuff ladies. I cannot thank you enough.

And here is Hannah and Leah, as you can see they are knitting away at their projects.

This Afghan, I use a chunky yarn and the pattern is the herringbone stitch. The pattern called for worsted weight but I thought the chunky weight will give the Afghan more texture and it did.

Another baby blanket, I love this pattern.

Soft stripes blanket a bernat pattern.

Here is a lovely hat and scarf set from Jane.

Great colour and a interesting pattern.

This fleece scarf Madge made,

and this wave crochet Afghan looks amazing!! And the colours worked well together.

Margaret used up some scarps to make this hat. I love the colour combination she used. It looks great.

And here she is showing her first ripple baby blanket, and she was very happy with the result. It looks great Margaret.

The colours in this granny blanket also works well. I love it.

Also by Margaret.

Monica is showing her wavy Afghan and again these colours are great together.

These baby sweaters are so cute!! I just love them.

Also some kids sweaters from one of our new members, Christine.

Here is a hat, scarf and mitts set from Barb,

And a beautiful yellow Afghan. She used a combination of two stitches for this Afghan. I love the way she faded the colours.

Well that's it for now, and I will update you with the Stouffville group next.

Happy Crafting!!!

PREEMIE AND BABY BLANKET DRIVE.

2011-02-28T19:45:00.007-05:00

A little change in the weather and I am sure you are all looking forward to the spring! I know that I am. Hey, warmer weather! So I thought this would be a good time to mention the blanket drive for Project Linus. For those of you who like to make small items, and have the time to take part in this drive, it would be greatly appreciated. We would need all sizes from preemie to two year old. You can check our web site for sizes.

If you are not a member of Casting Off The Cold and would like to help out with this drive, you can visit Casting Off the Cold Online on the website for more info and become an online member. Also there are a few DROP OFF PLACES you can take your items to. All I ask is that you label your package FOR SALLY AT CASTING OFF THE COLD. Also include your name and a contact number for one of us to get in touch with you. If you are unable to drop them off, you can contact me at the email address on the web site to arrange a pickup.

This drive is very important to us because there is a great need for these blankets for our hospitals in York Region. PLEASE HELP!!!

And yes; the Afghan drive is still on because we need about 20 more to make up what we need for October.

Looking forward to seeing all those blankets for Project Linus.

Happy crafting!

MORE DONATIONS FROM STOUFFVILLE

2011-02-21T20:49:00.010-05:00

Back in Stouffville on the 20th of February, a very good turn out and lots of wonderful stuff.

We are still hoping that teens and tweens will join in and learn an old craft. What a great way to learn to make clothing for yourself or for some one else. So don't be shy, we will be happy to help you with your project.

I think learning to knit or crochet is great therapy, a wonderful way to relax.

Now here are a few items from the group.

Here is Donna showing this gorgeous baby blanket.

And another.

Well Pat I love the colous in this sweater and what a great job you did!

Love the scarf too.

And this little boy's sweater, amazing!

And a baby's dress and bonnet.

Anne is showing this beautiful Afghan, it's ashame you can't see it close up. Love it.

A baby blanket I crocheted, and again you can't see the true colour and the pattern. This pattern is from the Bernat free pattern site, the name of it is (soft stripe blanket). Check it out, you would want to start one right away, as Tracy said when I sent the link to her.

This Afghan was crocheted with bulky yarn. When I was finished with it, my shoulders were hurting so much, I had to start some thing with softer yarn. Never rush an Afghan using bulky yarn.

And here is Madge showing the Afghan, we called the yarn eater. This looks great and sure is warm. Love it Madge!

Busy Margaret modeling a hat and scarf she designed, using scraps. great job Margaret!

You can see it on the table with another hat.

These beautiful scarves Sue dropped off, since she was unable to be at the meeting.

This baby blanket is from Tracy, and she used the crazy stitch for the squares. The colous are soft pastel and the blanket is also very soft.

This one is the rectangle granny square. Love the colours!

A few items from donors, dropped off at the Knitting Basket.

Thank you for accepting these for Casting off The Cold, Fareeda.

Ladies thank you again for the great you do.

MARKHAM MEETING

2011-02-09T18:15:00.015-05:00

Well we had a huge turn out at the Markham meeting this month. One new member and may be a few more to join soon. It is such a good feeling to see the community pulling together to give back, which they needed so badly this year because extreme cold weather we have been experiencing. It will be great to see lots more members, so if you are interested please drop by at any of the meetings and spend a couple of hours and share your thoughts. We would be very happy to meet you and spend some time with you exchanging ideas about making a difference in York Region.

Phyllis is from North York, and she is modeling a scarf her step-granddaughter knitted.Tara was unable to come to the meeting, but will try when the weather gets better.

Here are a few more scarves from Tara.

Christine, a new member, is showing a sweater she is working on.

This hat and scarf set Jane is modeling is very beautiful.

And here is another.

Lots of hats and scarves from Margaret.

And a beautiful baby blanket.

Another Afghan from Monica for our Afghan drive and the colours looks good together.

Nayana has been away for a couple of months, she is back and ready to work on some larger projects she said. Here is showing a head band and scarf set she made.

More of the famous mitts from Liz. Liz also deiced to work on a larger projects, baby blankets.

And Siobhan is working on an Afghan, beautiful colours.

It was very nice to see Johanne back and being funny as usual.
These are few items from Johanne,

And here she is modeling the hat and scarf.

Great to have you back Johanne.

Here is Paramjeet showing a baby blanket

and lots more on the table.

I enjoyed working with this Afghan, the squares turn out thick by using the different stitches, good texture.

And here is a baby blanket and hat.

Thank you all for your contributions.

DONATION FROM MARY'SYARN

2011-02-05T17:30:00.012-05:00

I pick up all of these beautiful things from Mary'yarn on Main Street Unionville today, and while I was waiting for Lynn to put it all together for me, I did a little browse and saw some great yarn for scarfs. Very tempting, but I was good.

You should check it out for your own needs, great stuff. Well here are all the hats, scarves, baby blankets and Afghans I received.

The members of Casting Off The Cold would like to thank you all for your donation. Keep up the good work.

MORE DONATIONS

2011-02-05T16:49:00.005-05:00

It is wonderful to see that some of our members who are unable to make the meetings, have been working on some wonderful stuff to donate this year. We would like to let you know, that we appreciate what ever time you have to help.

Here are some hat and scarf sets Maria dropped off.

They were knitted up with fun fur. You can use up those odd balls of fun fur and knit up some scarves for those in need. They will really appreciate it.

Here is a scarf Pat knitted, very pretty.

And a colourful baby blanket.

Also a sweater, great job Pat!!

These hats are from a donor from Stouffville, they are thick and very soft and will definitely keep some one warm for the winter.

Thank you ladies for a great job.

DONATION FROM ERMA.

2011-01-25T18:28:00.005-05:00

These blankets were dropped off today by Erma from Trenton. They are all gorgeous.

This one is a kids Afghan, love the colours.

And four beautiful knitted bereavement blankets and hats.

Thank you so much Erma.

STOUFFVILLE JANUARY MEETING

2011-01-16T18:10:00.009-05:00

The Afghan drive is working out great, so I think every year we will do this in the winter months.

Here is Tracy showing the gorgeous Afghan and as you can see that a lot of work when in to this one.

Here is another one of her creations.

And another made up with different squares.

They are all gorgeous!

I found out today that Anne only crochet Afghans. Well Anne this will be a great help for the Afghan drive.

Here is one she used two strands of yarn, in each colour and it is very thick and warm. It is amazing!

This one is also amazing, she used a shell stitch. love it.

This Afghan is call the wavy blanky and I thought it would take up a lot of yarn, but it didn't. I used one skein each Red Heart super saver and there is five colours. It also worked up very quick.

I would like to thank you all for working so hard on this drive.

JANUARY 2011 MEETING IN MARKHAM.

2011-01-09T17:23:00.009-05:00

Here we are at our first meeting for 2011 , and to my surprise we collected six Afghans already. Well I can see that they have been working diligently on theses Afghans, to make our goal for this year. I will be seeing the Stouffville group next week and I am sure there will be some more there to pick up.

Here are some of the Afghans I made, a granny ripple,

This one is the wave ripple,

and this one is done with chunky yarn and the stitch is a double cross stitch. I love the finish look. And it is so warm.

Two beautiful hat and scarf sets and a nice warm scarf from Siobhan.

Here she is modeling this set that I love.

It is done together, and very warm. The pattern is called Nomad hat and scarf by Kay Coyle, from the fall 2007 interweave magazine.

And these a Liz's famous mitts, I just love them.

As usual from Margaret, lovely hat and scarf sets.

And here she is showing a baby blanket in blue.Looks great Margaret!

This hat and scarf set is from Jane, beautifully done.

Two gorgeous Afghans from Barb.

She used the v/shell stitch for these.

This Afghan looks amazing! Done by Monica.

And here she is showing a beautiful hat and scarf set.

Well ladies thank you again for all the wonderful stuff and hard work, to start the new year. This year's donation will be WARM, WARM, WARM. Love it.