Friday, January 25, 2013

dishcloths and hearts

Even more dishcloths!





For most of these I used the same dc one row and (dc, sk 1, ch 1) for the next row. I chained 31. The green and yellow is just a filled in granny square.

I have also been making heart squares towards a baby afghan. They are about 10" wide and made with Vanna's Choice Aqua worsted yarn.


This pattern was in a magazine many years ago but has been reprinted in Leisure Arts Book A Year of Afghans book 3 which is available at Leisure Arts web site, Amazon and other places too. Some places incorrectly list this book as Book 2 so here's a picture so you know which one it is.





Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

2012 stats

I've finally gotten around to checking the stats for last year.

Here's what happened at the Cabana in 2012
Unique visitors   661,119
Number of visits   854,200
Pages   1,310,300
Hits   37,153,528

The number of unique visitors and number of visits is down from 2011 but the pages those folks visited increased as well as the number of hits.


I'm anxious to see how the "new" Crochet Cabana fares in the coming year. I know that not everyone got the word that the site was updated and are still trying to visit pages using the old URLs. Hopefully, they've found the new pages by now. We'll see at the end of the year what the numbers show.

Those who visited were from all over the world. The top 20 countries represented were:
United States
Great Britain
Canada
Australia
Netherlands
India
Germany
Spain
south Africa
France
Italy
Romania
New Zealand
China
Mexico
Philippines
Sweden
Norway
Brazil
Israel


I have a small confession. I love reading those countries at the bottom of the list and know that someone in Liechtenstein, Kyrgyzstan, Eritrea, Kiribati and other places where I can barely pronounce the names (and probably incorrectly) are seeing things that I wrote.


The granny square tutorial continues to be the most visited page on the site.

As I looked at the places from which my visitors have come - the URL of the sites from which they found me - I am reminded that the links at those sites will have changed with the site update. If you've put a link to a particular page at Crochet Cabana on your web site, please change the link either to the main page or to the new page for the thing you originally linked to.

I do appreciate everyone who visits the site and hope it continues to be useful and entertaining!


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Monday, January 21, 2013

dishcloths

Here are some more dishcloths. I was in one of my repeater moods. I started this pattern and just kept making it over and over again. heh I didn't actually follow a pattern exactly. I chained 31, worked one row of dc, then one row of (dc, ch 1, sk 1). I worked 8 dc rows, then added a single crochet edging around. This is all cotton yarn. The second picture is the same but I added a pretty edging as I ran out of the red cotton and wasn't sure if the second bit I had was the same dye lot.

These are all made with yarn donated by Beth and will be going to the Bridge and Beyond project.



Here is another Dalek dishcloth, but this one went to a new friend who is a Whovian.


Lest you think all I've been doing is dishcloths, I was at Ravelry and daughter showed me a beautiful baby afghan made with cables. You know how sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach and you eat too much? Well, I had to try this pattern, but my eyes were bigger than my patience level. It's a very complex pattern. I have the skills to do it, but I would not enjoy it as you have to keep careful track of what you're doing. No TV watching while working this pattern. Complete concentration required.

I even took the time to retype the pattern so that each line would show the different instructions, with the repeats spelled out, to make it easier to keep the cables straight. I got through one cable row. Then I decided there was no way I was going to make an entire afghan of this, so I put it aside and you got dishcloths!

I don't mind a challenge now and then, and if it would have been a square or even a scarf, I'd have probably finished, but a 10 pattern repeat of 8 or 9 rows? hmm. 10 years ago, maybe. Today, no.

I am presently working on some heart squares for a baby afghan. I waffled on which pattern I wanted to work and finally decided on the tried and true. Pictures forthcoming as I get more done.

AND I still have yarn sitting for another Who scarf ... Soon.


I wanted to remind folks that if you write to me for help please don't just say "I need help with this pattern" or "this doesn't work" and not tell me what pattern, the name of the pattern or leaflet, or the link where I can see it and most importantly, what problem you're having with it. Also, your first and best  option would be to contact the designer or publisher for help. Check their web site for errata if you think the pattern is wrong. The person who designed the pattern is the best person to help you. I can sometimes interpret a line for you if that is all that is needed, but rarely do I have the time to make something to show you how it's done. (P.S. Don't send me any copyrighted patterns.)

I AM always glad to help if I can and of course I will do all I can to help with one of my own patterns. If it's my pattern, it's my responsibility. If it's someone else's pattern, I am limited in what I can do without their permission.

If you are a person who likes to make hats, CrochetMe (Interweave) had a nice brief article to give you some tips. These are not new ideas, of course, and all this information is at Crochet Cabana as well, but I thought it well written, short, and timely since it's cold outside and hats don't take but an hour or two to make if you're in need.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie