links

Here are the promised links.

A visitor asked me about how to figure out the amount of yarn or thread needed for a project. In her case, she wanted to dye thread specific colors. I did not know how to determine how much yarn would be needed for a specific picture worked in thread in different colors, but it got me to thinking about calculating yarn.

Of course, I know if you make a square, rip it back and measure your yarn, you can determine approximately how much yarn you need per square if you want to make bunches of them.

You can also make a swatch in any pattern, measure it and figure your yarn from that, or rip it and measure, or weigh it and figure by pound. All of these things are suggested in the various sites I visited. There are several yarn calculators out there.

Here are a few sites I found.
Jimmy Beans knitting calculator
Annie's Attic yarn calculator
Knitting Brain
For those with an iPhone http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/knitting-yarn-calculator/id306498697?mt=8

Note that knitting and crocheting needs different yarn amounts for the same project. For example knitting a scarf and crocheting a scarf in a similar pattern will need different yarn amounts.

Also, I have been receiving Red Heart's 12 weeks of Christmas e-mails with very nice patterns. They are in pdf files. If you are on Facebook, they post the patterns there as well.

Another Red Heart pattern I happened across is the Flower Accents Throw using Red Heart soft yarn. I've used the RH Soft and been pleased with it thus far. I'll be buying it again.

I wasn't too pleased when my Super Saver Turqua kept having thick spots that had to be cut out of the yarn. I ignored a couple of them that weren't too wieldy, but some I just felt had to be cut out. Very annoying. I posted on the Facebook page and they said to contact me via the web site, which I did. Really, it is not just the Red Heart yarns that have problems. I had to cut out knots four times in a 12" square of I Love This Yarn the other day. This happens now and then in other yarns. I also sometimes find a different color in my yarn. For example in this turqua there was a small bit of red. Just the once and it was small, but it was there. I've had red in my blue and brown in my blue on occasion. I know that these things happen, but I'd like to know WHY and HOW they happen. Nothing is perfect. If I have an explanation I can understand.

I was thinking of trying to get more yarn to make more Special Olympic scarves, but not sure now if I will want to do that. I'll have to think on it some more.

Maggie Weldon is into using bottle caps for crocheting. I rarely see bottle caps these days. My mom does buy Coke in the glass bottles still so I guess they're manufactured. Here is a cute apple trivet pattern using them.

Then they are sleep sacks or cocoons as they are called. I have lately become interested in these and I was looking for patterns. I purchased two patterns ( I bought the Santa and the pumpkin) from Sandy's Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SandysCapeCodOrig . She's got some really cute cocoons there! I could have bought a dozen of them.

I found these others online.
http://withatangledskein.blogspot.com/2009/08/little-fire-sleep-sack.html

http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/baby_buntings.php

http://www.piece-by-piece.net/Patterns/fp31.htm

http://web.archive.org/web/20010410091900/http://www.cei.net/~vchisam/groovy/51-bunting.html
That one is made with granny square

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/bevs-peapod-cr-cozy.html

I think that's it for now.

Happy crocheting!