Jimbo hook contest

I WON! Now this is a happy day. After my troubles of yesterday (fell while bringing empty boxes outside, and my kitchen flooded in unrelated events), this was a welcome thing to wake up to. You can read the entire post at Jimbo's here, but here is the significant part. :-)

Christmas Hook Contest WINNER IS "SANDIE P" ... (and some hooks for SALE)

SANDIE P IS THE WINNER OF THE CRIMMIS HOOK. SANDIE WAS #47, DRAWN AT NO SMALL EFFORT IN COUNTING, FROM 148 ENTRIES, INCLUDING THOSE WHO ENTERED VIA EMAIL. SANDIE IS A VERY ACCOMPLISHED CROCHETIER! YOU CAN VISIT HER BLOG AT http://crochetcabana.blogspot.com/
AND MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

CONGRATULATIONS SANDIE, I HOPE YOUR CRIMMIS HOOK MAKES LOTS OF NICE THINGS FOR YOU! AND THANK YOU ALL FOR ENTERING.... KEEP WATCHING, THERE WILL BE OTHER CONTESTS COMING.

As soon as it comes in, you will have pictures.

I sometimes mention Teresa's Art of Crocheting at YouTube. She posted yesterday the index of her videos. You can find it here.

Sandy over at the Bridge and Beyond had a request for an "ugly hat". My daughter and I were just talking about these "ugly" parties people have. I truthfully don't see the point. I'd be forever worried my favorite item would show up. LOL Regardless, she made the hat. I'm not sure if I would go all the way to ugly, but it certainly is interesting looking. You can see it here.

I also thought the post before that was interesting. Sandy took some small grannies and turned them to make diamonds and joined for a scarf. She is always innovative with her use of donated items. Hmmm I might have to try that myself.

Every time I get a Herrschner catalog in I stop at the Penguin Afghan. I haven't bought it because ... all that black. I have a hard time with black. But isn't it cute? You also get the book 2009 Juvenile Afghans with some other patterns. They have one kit available from each book 2008, 2009, 2010 in the catalog I'm looking at.

One last note, there is an excellent video on how to make a vertical ripple (wave, chevron or whatever you want to call it) scarf for Special Olympics. You can use it for other things as well, of course. Note that Special Olympics scarves must be 6" wide by 54-60" long.



There are 3 stitches between hill and valley. Hills are made by working 3 dcs in one stitch, and valleys are made by a decreasing over 2 stitches.  The beginning chain is 19.

That's all for now. Hope you're having a great crocheting day!


Happy crocheting!

mini police box and interesting videos

I had some fun last night creating these two squares. They are part of the afghan Patchwork Squares. You can find it at e-Patterns Central or in the Crochet World August 2010 issue (available online if you have a digital subscription).

The afghan contains four different squares. Of the two I made, the one on the left uses the berry stitch, which I just love. So simple. The one on the right uses popcorn stitches. I used to shy away from popcorns, but they are really not difficult. I had to do additional rows to get my square to the same size as the other one, but that was not really a problem. They are 8 1/2" square.

I added a round of hdc to the berry stitch top and bottom and sc to the sides to get it "square". On the popcorn, I worked additional rows plus an edging of  dc all around. That one was really off on size if they are supposed to be the same size, at least for me. Now I must admit I did not work gauge so it is most likely me and not the pattern.

My friend has received her gift so I can show photos of the special project. It is a miniature police box. :-) She is a big Who fan. I know I said I wasn't going to do another, but this one was small. Still the same number of color changes, but didn't take nearly as long to do. It came out a bit smaller than I'd hoped, but still quite serviceable and she is pleased with it. That's the important thing. FYI, this is a "side" view of the police box, without the phone opening.


Here are some photos to show the difference in size between the full size and the mini.

Since we recently talked about crochet courses, I grabbed on to this file that was posted somewhere - Ravelry I think. It is a skills check off list, so you can see how you fare. http://4h.wsu.edu/em2778cd/pdf/c0678.pdf

Here are some online classes that are available. These are not free, but paid courses.

KRW Knitwear. http://learningcenter.krwknitwear.com/

Crochetville http://www.crochetville.org/forum/

Then I found this cute pattern for a long "tree topper" hat for sale.
http://www.crochetmemories.com/patterns/santa-hat-tree-topper.php

Maggie Weldon posted a free pattern for a pretty Cathedral Window potholder on her Facebook page. Look in the tabs under Free Pattern.

I also was going through my YouTube favorites and ran across a few videos from which I thought you all might benefit.



The one above shows how to add chains if you miscount when you're making a long foundation chain.

Then I found this video showing how to make the first stitch of a row with a chain up sort of turning chain. It gives the first stitch of a new row the look of a regular stitch, rather than the thinner chains.



Isn't that neat? I wish I would remember these things when I'm working.

This one shows a different method of taking care of tails as you go. You can decide if this method is for you or not, but I found it interesting.



Also neat. It's great that these things are available so we can share our knowledge with one another.

I think that's all I have for you today. Don't you love when you go through files and find neat stuff? :-) I do.

Happy crocheting!

I PASSED!

Just got the news via e-mail ... I passed the CGOA MASTER OF ADVANCED CROCHET STITCHES AND TECHNIQUES course. My grateful thanks to CGOA and Karen George, who reviewed my swatches. I'm very pleased and excited. Was it worth the wait? Since I passed I can say definitively YES, indeedy. ;-)

It's been a wild ride, but I do think now it was worth it.

If you're considering taking the course, you have an advantage in that you can be prepared if there is a delay. As long as you understand that, I think it is well worth the time and trouble.

Here is the timeline of my experience.

July 12, 2010 Rec'd my course materials via e-mail
July 19 Finished course and rec'd letter to hold it until notified (on July 28 there were 58 ahead of me)
Nov 2 Rec'd request to mail portfolio to head office. I am among the top 15 (mailed it out that day priority)
Nov 5  portfolio was rec'd by CGOA office according to delivery confirmation
Nov 22 rec'd note that my portfolio was being sent to a reviewer
Dec 1  rec'd note from reviewer that she had rec'd the portfolio and I should allow a month for processing
Dec 12  rec'd notification that I passed!

Really, once things got moving, it didn't take that long. If you look at the numbers, it looks to me like they were processing about 15 portfolios a month and I was told mine would take about a month.

These are volunteers, so this is not the only thing they do. They have lives, jobs, kids, etc. and now it is the holiday season. Note that I received my notification on a Sunday so they are working weekends too.

Taking everything into consideration, I think they really are processing as quickly as they can while doing a proper job of it so that when you get the certificate, it has meaning.

In other news, here's a photo of the stocking I made using Maggie Weldon's granny mini stocking pattern. I thought it was a square since it is named "Granny Square Mini Christmas Stocking" but when I went to work it, I discovered it is a pentagon. Nice pattern. Do follow the instructions and sew the ends in when she specifies. This is important. *voice of experience*

Maggie specifies a G hook. I was a rebel and used an H hook and regretted it. I got a stocking that was really larger than I wanted. My bad. I think if I were making this again. I would use sport weight yarn and the G hook or even fingering and a smaller hook to get a tiny one.

That's all for now. I have a special project in the works, but can't post about it yet as it's a gift.


Happy crocheting!

this 'n that

Finished a dozen squares for Share a Square, but haven't been able to mail them yet. Hoping to feel better and get them out in the coming week. I don't like having things hanging about so I try to mail them off soon as I can.

I have to share this blog post I found with a photo of a retro granny square dress. You can see it at http://www.crochetbug.com/i-get-my-go-go-granny-dress-done/  I did not like the Cate Blanchett's dress, but this one is growing on me. She said it was like wearing an afghan, and I can see that. I might like to be "wearing an afghan" on the few cold days we have here which is actually NOW. LOL

I was looking for a hooded scarf pattern to try as hubby mentioned how hard it was to keep the scarf wrapped around his neck in the cold weather. We southerners are not prepared for the cold northern winters. I did make a hooded scarf out of a scarf I had on hand, and it was soooo simple, but I was not as happy as I might be with the pointy back end. It was okay, but not as good as I'd like. I know. Picky me.

I found a seamless hooded scarf at Ravelry - several in fact. I might try this one at Andraya's when my Swish superwash wool yarn comes in. I've never used a superwash that I can recall so I'm anxious to see how it works out.

I also found a hooded scarf at Crochet Spot. This one is for purchase. I'm thinking about it. The one I was looking at doesn't wrap around the neck, but hangs down with pockets. I can't tell from the photo just how the "hood" portion is created.  As to pockets, one could take extra length and fold them up to make large pockets, I'd think. In any case there are lots of good things in her store as well. Instructions for her projects are well done, at least the ones I've seen.

When I was tired of looking at scarves, I went through the links in my e-mail which included this one from Maggie Weldon at http://www.bestfreecrochet.com/?p=964 for a small stocking ornament made of a granny square. It uses triple crochets. Some time ago I had a similar stocking made with a pentagon. You can find it at the bottom of the tutorial on the pentagon. I'm going to have to try Maggie's though. Very cute.

Maggie also has a full size stocking pattern at the site. You can find it at  http://www.bestfreecrochet.com/?p=962 . I love the way she has been sending out e-mails for her for-sale patterns as well as including a free one. All of her patterns are nice. If you missed some of them you can see them in the Archives.

Guess that's it for now. Hope December is not too cold for you. It's been pretty cold here. In fact, I put on a long sleeve t-shirt today and I hardly ever wear long sleeves. I've watched a few news reports with lots of snow in the northern states. I feel sorry for the football players who have to play in the inclement weather. Hope they all stay healthy.

Happy crocheting!