butterflies-fleece-shawls

I happened across this tutorial on how to make a crocheted butterfly. I have made dozens of these over the years. Although I did not use this tutorial, I thought it was well done and might help someone else who is having a problem with the technique. I generally use pipe cleaners for my antennae but I may give this method a try when I make more of them.

I mentioned in a previous post the video demonstrating making fleece blankets at Binky Patrol. That video is pretty long, but you can find shorter ones at YouTube demonstrating the same type of blanket. Search for no sew fleece blankets. I also found this little video demonstrating how to do this without knotting. I love this idea!

I have only made a couple of these blankets but I'd like to do some more when I can get some fleece. I think I will use that no knot method. At least I will try it. I prefer my fringe to be a little bit longer personally. The problem *I* had with the blankets is getting all four sides even (before cutting the fringe). Guess I need to use a level!

I have been fiddling with a one piece project using the puff stitch prayer cloth pattern. I am on the way to getting this down but have more work to do. I made a small sample. The sample is 5" x 38". The idea is not my original thought. You might remember that I donate prayer cloths to a church project and someone had the idea of making shawls by assembling them together. I thought it would save a lot of time if one did a one piece stripe and put those together. Well, it would save on the joining, but not on the making since it is single crochet and puff stitches.

This one is 38" and it does not go all the way around me. Now, I'm not small so maybe it would work for a smaller person. I don't know. The shawls I have made in the past have been longer than this. I would probably make it about 60". Of course it would not be 5". There will be 4 or 5 put together. We'll see how it turns out.

This small sample took an entire skein of Vanna's Choice. My thought was to place crosses in between these on the next one. That will take a little more yarn though and I'm not sure one skein would be enough. Still thinking. :-)

I also would like to do one with the filet cloth. More food for thought.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

charity giving

I am honored to accept this award for Best Crochet for Charity from Crochet Concupiscence. Kathryn wrote a nice article about the award and specifically my site. Such sweet words! Crochet Concupiscence gives awards throughout December. Check it out!

Charity work is important to me. I feel strongly that we should share what we have and help those less fortunate. I am not able to do as much these days as I might like, and you might be in the same situation. However much you can do, it's a help to someone. Each hat or scarf or mitten or slipper or afghan or square is one less that someone else doesn't have to make and one more than the recipient had before. To a person with no home, living in the cold outdoors, it might even save a life. 

To a parent who is watching a preemie struggle to hold on to life, each little hat or blankie lets them know someone else cares. Each prayer cloth given to someone who needs comfort reminds them that others are praying for their situation and that God cares! Each snuggle donated to an animal shelter keeps someone's future pet alive and warm. Soldiers serving in cold climates appreciate hats.

I often see folks asking where they can send specific items. Here is a site that lists 10 charity efforts that need items. One of these efforts is the Binky Patrol. You'll notice that the picture on the site home page shows fleece blankets which require no knowledge of crochet or even sewing skills. If you watch the half hour video demo, she shows you just how to make this type of blanket. I enjoyed her comments and suggestions throughout as well. Fleece blankets are very warm and lightweight, suitable for all ages and genders.

I also have charities listed on my charity links page at Crochet Cabana (if you see a bad link please let me know so I can correct it). I have a short starting list here in the sidebar of the blog too.

Lion Brand lists charity efforts as does CGOA. Remember that lists can quickly go out of date. Charities may fulfill their need and move on to something else. Before you mail off an item, I would suggest that you contact the organization or coordinator and make sure they are still active and in need of that particular item. Most are very gracious and will answer your questions with no problem. If you are making items for the mililtary, it is particularly important that you have a contact who can let you know colors and materials that are acceptable in that unit.

Now you have a starting point - go crochet something! :-)

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

afghan

We've had several weeks of illness here so I've not been online as much as usual. I did get at least one thing done.

I enjoy making what I call name afghans. This is the one I completed during the sick weeks. I washed it before delivery to make sure any germs were gone. Finished size was about 35" x 50".

I used yarn that I had on hand. I Love This Yarn and Red Heart. The first and last stripes are ILTY red. The other reddish looking one is actually ILTY Terra Cotta. The yellow didn't have a label on it. I think it was Red Heart cornmeal or something like that. The blue is ILTY Royal. The white is ILTY white. I can't find the label for the teal looking color and I can't remember what it was. Each stripe took roughly half of an ILTY skein, made using an I hook. I think that is accurate because both red stripes were made with the same skein and I have a little bit left over.

I used a 3dc filet stitch for the name and worked it on every other stripe. The letters are my own design, but they are really just simple block letters that anyone could do.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! This is our first Christmas without my mother and I have been thinking about her a lot. We do have my 1 year old grandchild, however, and he is such a joy. There is nothing like seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.

May the coming year bring you all much joy, good health and success in all you do.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Scarves and cowls

I decided I wanted to make a scarf. And I did. But it took me far longer than it would have a few years ago! Part of that is my attention span. heh But regardless, I did finish a scarf and here is the proof.

The yarn used is I Love This Yarn worsted weight in the color Terra Cotta. The pattern is simply dc across. I think I worked 30 chains. I used an H hook.

I made it long - a full 6' and 9" wide. Hopefully it will keep someone warm during the cold days. Not here in Louisiana, of course. We do have some cold days but this week we are back to highs in the 70s.

I probably own too many scarves for the few days of weather cold enough to don one. LOL In any case, my favorite neckwear these days are the two cowls my daughter made me. They keep me toasty warm and I don't have to worry about where they will hang. These are some my daughter has made - aren't they gorgeous? I have a black one and a dark blue one. They are knitted and the free pattern can be found at Ravelry.Gap-tastic-cowl by Jen Geigley

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

baby hats

I've been making baby hats! 

Most of these I worked the same way. I started with an adjustable ring, worked 12 dc in ring for first round, 2 dc in each stitch for Round 2, and increased in every other stitch for Round 3. Thereafter work even (36 stitches in every round) to Round 9. Rounds 10, 11, and 12 are worked even in single crochet.

The yarn used for these hats is so adorable! It is Red Heart Gumdrop in colors Cherry and Smoothie. It's a worsted weight acrylic yarn I picked up at Michael's. I used an H hook to work these hats.

If you're looking for baby hat patterns, here are a few sites I have referenced, including my own.

Crochet Cabana - see hats for babies and children.
Kelley's Yarns (Feb 23, 2008 post) pattern in two different sizes
Cats Rockin Quick Crochet Newborn Baby Beanie (and other baby hats) has measurement information which might be quite helpful.
Bev's Country Cottage also has information on measurements

There are many other wonderful sites with baby hat patterns as well. Just do a search for crochet baby hat patterns.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

hats and sizing

Sandy over at the Bridge and Beyond posted photos of the hats I forgot to take a picture of so I thought I'd share Sandy's pictures. You can see her post about these and all the other donations that are sent for the homeless at the blog site here. 

Sandy asks that items are labeled as to size so I estimated what I thought the size might be for these hats. That's the little white tags you see here. I am TERRIBLE at this but hopefully the hats will fit someone in the right range.

You might recall I've been also working on baby hats. Going from baby hats to adult men hats is an interesting transition. The adult hats always look so large compared to the baby hats. Sometimes I will impose on my husband to try them on and often, although they fit, they could be larger. Men just have large heads! I have a small head so I can't go by my own measurements.

Isn't it funny how we (read *I*) never trust ourselves with sizing. I always wonder if I've made the item too small or too large for the need. Invariably I am reassured by the coordinator of whatever effort I'm sending to, but I still have little confidence! I am not the only one as other crocheters have also talked about it. 

If you are in that situation, there are a couple places with information on hat sizing. One I use often is at Bev's Country Cottage. 

Another one I ran into recently is this one. Southern Threads for Heads sell hats but the sizing info is good for anyone. If you can't crochet or knit and want to just buy one, these are currently $35. (I have no affiliation. I just ran into this site through a link somewhere.)

Of course, I have hat patterns that I designed and I use them myself too! You can find them at http://www.crochetcabana.com/html/patterns_hats.html .

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

hat and links

I got sidetracked yet again. I'm still making adult hats and prayer cloths, but there was a call put out for some baby hats. Since I had two skeins of Red Heart Kids periwinkle, I thought I'd make some of those. Now I wasn't sure just how big a newborn's head is - it's been a whole year since my grandson was that tiny! I guestimated and hope these will do.

They are different sizes. I worked at least one 12, 24, 36, 48 then even. Then I worked a couple to 36 and then even. I worked a couple 12, 24, 36, 42 and even. And I think I have a couple worked 12, 24, 36, 45. They are simple dc hats with a sc rim. I wasn't very creative but they should keep a little one's head warm and the color is really pretty. If I felt confident in the size I could put a pretty rim at the end but these may need to be curled up to fit. I'm just not sure. I used an H hook for these.

I did look at a couple of sizing charts so I think they will be good. Do I sound positive? LOL

In other news, are you following the Red Heart 12 weeks of Christmas? I always enjoy seeing what they will come up with.

Also, I received an email from a young lady associated with Sheru Knitting and Crochet. I checked out the web site and they have some very good video tutorials. One in particular that I looked at was on making the popcorn. She demonstrated two different methods in one video, one of which I had never seen. Since the popcorn stitch is not my favorite stitch to work, perhaps this new method will bring me into the fold. There are 5 videos concerning the popcorn.

Another site that caught my interst this week was Naztazia.com . I just love the cancer ribbon scarf and shawl patterns that she has up right now. It is on my list to try. You can make these in different colors to represent the different types of cancer.

That's all for now.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

hats

I do plan to work on more stitch-cation squares, but I got sidetracked - which I often do. LOL A skein just called to me to be made into a hat so that is what I did. Then I found a skein was a good size for a hat so I kept making them. I forgot to take pictures of the first group, but here are two that I did remember to photograph.

The hats are very plain and simple, mindless really.  Easy to work while watching TV. 

I used an adjustable ring for the beginning and put 12 dc in there. Then I increased as 24, 36, 48, 48, 60, 60, 72 stitches per round and then worked even. I added 4 rounds of sc at the brim. 

I used an H hook for these but I think I used an I hook on a couple of the previous ones. Depending on which yarn is used, to 72 stitches on round should give a medium size hat. The I hook would give a larger one, of course.

On one hat I do remember I decided it was too small and I added a round increasing half the number of stitches. That may have been the RH Soft as that is a thin worsted.

To begin each round, I used (ch 1, dc) as my first stitch. When I got back to the beginning, I worked a slip stitch into the dc not the ch-1 to end that round, and began the next round by working the (ch 1, dc). Clear as mud?

I think the grey is Vanna's Choice Charcoal Grey and the brown Vanna's Choice Honey. I'm working on one now in Knit Picks Brava Worsted Eggplant which is a deep purple. I'll try to remember to take a photo of that one, but really they all look the same except for color.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

cross stitched square

The next square of Stitch-cation that I chose to work is the Cross-stitched Square.

I used Red Heart Soft Wine and an I hook. In retrospect, I should have used the H hook for this one. You never know until you're done, eh?

The pattern is for 27 rows. I stopped at 12 cross-stitch rows and finished with a row of single crochet. The important part is making sure the edging has the right number of stitches.

Sometimes I think I should just give up crocheting. heh I carefully counted out the stitches to get the proper number for the edging. Finished it and sewed my tails in back and forth. THEN I realized I had put the edging on the wrong side. *hangs head in shame* I was so annoyed I put the square aside for the night. Today, I ripped back the edging and redid it. You can imagine how much fun that was to do! LOL  This was not the pattern's fault, but mine. I just didn't pay close enough attention.

After all was said and done, however, the square looks really nice. It is slightly larger than the other two, even stopping short of the suggested number of rows.

The Stitch-cation uses an H hook but if you notice the patterns, they use different hooks. I think this one used an F.

I might mention here that if you go to the Stitch-cation page, you can download the book with all the square links. It does NOT have the square instructions, just links to the pattern, videos, and also has some extra information. But it is useful to have in one place in your computer.

As I think I said in a previous post, Stitch-cation was done over last summer as a project with Mikey of the Crochet Crowd. I happened across a mention of it on Facebook and decided to give some of the squares a try. I've worked three so far and I really like the way they are coming out.

This square is not too difficult to do. Things to look out for include watching to make sure you don't shorten your cross-stitch and pull the shell in, and also that you don't start your next section in the last stitch from the previous one. Skip that stitch - you will see that a stitch is already there, and skip the next stitch. Your 2 dc will go into the next two stitches and then you cross over to catch the missed stitch. Don't miss your last stitch, which goes into your turning chain.

Of course, you should keep track of your size if you are making these to all go together. Mine have been coming out 10" although this one is slightly larger, It will still work with the others.

That's about it. This is a nice square. Think I might make another one.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

front post stitch square

I didn't rework the back loops only square but I did do the Front Post Double Crochet square of the Stitch-cation. When I looked through the list for this link I thought I'd made a mistake and worked the square incorrectly, but as it happens there are three different front post squares on this afghan. The FPdc is one and that is the one I worked.

Here is my FPdc square.

My square is 10" x 10". It is like a waffle stitch, thick and cushy. It is not too difficult a pattern to do, but new crocheters need to watch that they do not miss the front post stitch which is sort of pushed back on the working row, and also not to add stitches by working the front post stitch and then working a dc in that same stitch. The dc goes in every other stitch and the front post goes in every other stitch. 

The other thing is to know whether you are on a 2 dc start row or a fp start row (my words). If you pay attention, you shouldn't have any trouble. If you do, however, Mikey has a video demonstration. I didn't look at it, but he normally does an excellent job.

The yarn I used for this was Red Heart Soft Grape, just as I used in the other square. 

I have started the next square (for me) which is the Crossed Stitch Square using RHS Wine.I don't know if I'll have enough for two squares as I've used part of this skein for other projects. We shall see.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

stitch-cation

I saw a note on Crochet Crowd's Facebook about something called Stitch-cation. Now perhaps I did read about this during the summer or maybe I completely missed it, but in any case I don't remember it.

If you are like me, you might want to have a look at the site and accompanying pattern links.
http://thecrochetcrowd.com/stitch-cation/

I decided this would be a good thing to make with all my single skeins. I completed a granny square and was almost done with a second single crochet through back loops square when my nail caught on one of the first rows. :-(  I ripped it completely and trimmed that nail! What a disappointment. 

There are 10 squares, 10" each. They use an "H" hook but I made mine with an "I" hook as I was using Red Heart Soft yarn which is a thin worsted. For the actual CAL one had to make 2 of each square and it was a contest I think. For my purposes I am just going to try a few of the patterns and those I like might end up in an afghan or more likely lapghan. 

Here is the granny square I made. It is worked turning each round. The last round is dc in each stitch. If you can do a granny square, you can do this. It's pretty simple. Instructions are laid out for every round.

That's all for now. I hope to make more squares from the Stitch-cation. I certainly have enough square patterns if I want to add others to it.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

potholder by PixieHeartStrings

Sanderella's newsletter contained an invitation to make a nice potholder, design by Susan of Pixie Heartstrings. Susan has a post about it on her Facebook so I assume she has given permission to share the pattern but she does have it on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/notes/pixie-heartstrings/old-mas-potholders/778818765496994 . She has other patterns in her Facebook notes as well. 

If you don't want to take time to make the potholder, you can buy one already made by Susan herself at PixieHeartstring's Etsy shop. 

I decided to make one and here it is. The pattern is super easy if you can do a ripple or chevron. It's basically just sc with 3 sc at the point. Easy peasy. I plan to make another one or more myself. I think I will do a shorter chain on my next one as my sc in the ring did not cover the ring. Or I could make more sc I guess since those are not really used in the making of the ripple. Another idea would be to use a plastic ring there. 

Last night, I watched TV and did not even crochet a single thing. That almost never happens! LOL I have a lot of yarn but it's all either one skein of a color or sport yarn which is not as good for things like homeless scarves which I enjoy making. Maybe I just need to make another Who scarf. :-)

We'll see what calls out to me next. 

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Puffs and Bobbles

As mentioned recently, I have been making prayer cloths. I had seen a pattern using popcorn stitch and I liked how that looked. However, though I can do the popcorn stitch, I don't really care for it. I decided to use my own pattern and make them with the puff stitch.

As I was looking at one of the cloths the other day, I said to myself, "Self, these puff stitches don't puff out very much, especially when variegated yarn is used." I listened to myself and pondered this problem. I decided to do some experimentation and try a Bobble Stitch instead. I also tried a larger Puff Stitch, which is what I eventually settled on.

Crocheters sometimes use different terms for stitches so just to make sure we are on the same page, this is what I am calling a Bobble.

Instructions:1) Yarn over, insert hook in stitch, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook (2 loops remain on hook)2) Yarn over, insert hook in the same st, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook (3 loops remain on hook)3) Yarn over, insert hook in same st, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook (4 loops remain on hook)4) Yarn over and draw through all 5 loops on hook. 

Some choose to ch 1 to close but I do not.

The Puff Stitch I had been using is as follows:

Instructions:1) Yarn over. 2) Insert hook in next stitch, yarn over.3) Pull through and bring yarn up to height of rest of stitches (3 loops on hook).4) Yarn over.5) Insert hook in SAME stitch, yarn over.6) Pull through and bring yarn up to height of rest of stitches (5 loops on hook).7) Yarn over.8) Insert hook once again into the SAME stitch, yarn over.9) Pull through and bring yarn up to height of rest of stitches (7 loops on hook). 

10) Yarn over, pull yarn  through ALL loops on hook. Puff stitch complete.

A different finishing method: Yarn over, draw through 6 loops, yo, draw through remaining 2 loops. Puff Stitch complete. (I used the first method as in step 10) 

A Bobble and a Puff can be made smaller or larger by the number of times you do the repeat. For the purposes of this test I chose to go to 5 loops for the Bobble and 9 for the Puff.

You can also use the ch-1 to close the puff if you want to, but I do not.

I don't know if you can tell in these pics, but the one on the left is the smaller Puff Stitch and the one on the right is the larger stitch, Bobble or Puff.

In this picture the top blue cloth is the smaller puff stitch and the bottom variegated is a larger puff stitch. 

The reason I decided to go with a larger Puff is the back view. I tried to take a photo but was unsuccessful in getting one where you could actually see what I'm talking about. With the Puff Stitch the opposite side has a flatter version of the puff. With the Bobble Stitch, there is more of an indentation. I thought the smoother version looked better.

The cross is not as evident using variegated yarn but it is prettier than it shows up in the pictures. With the larger puff the cross is higher and shows up better. With solid colored yarn, it's not as important to use the larger puff, but it doesn't hurt either.

I'm really happy with the new look!

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

charity giving

Every now and then I get an email wanting to send items to me for charity giving. I am not presently collecting anything but there are a lot of organizations who can use your beautiful work.

After my last post, I was asked where to send prayer cloths, so I decided to write a general post about charity giving. This is from MY perspective, of course, and opinions expressed are my own opinions. I've been crocheting for 34 years and have a lot of opinions on a lot of subjects. LOL

There are crafters out there who ask that we send various things for charity. One good place to look for these is Crochetville, which has a section for items needed for charity. Generally the small efforts are started by people like you and me. Most of the time these are legitimate efforts by people who care. But not ALL of them are.

Do your homework if you want to be sure your hard work goes where it will do the most good. Sometimes this is just having a convo back and forth or visiting a Facebook page to see if items are actually being donated and if the charity effort is still active. On Crochetville, you can see when the last post about the topic was made and ask questions.

If the organization is a national one that's been around a while (like Warm Up America for example), it is most likely legit. If it is on the IRS list for tax exempt it is likely legit though that is really only a matter of filling out a lot of paperwork. If the web site hasn't been updated in several years, I'm suspicious. This is sometimes just a fall-through-the-cracks thing if info remains the same through the years. It may also be that the coordinator is too busy actually working with donations to work on the web site. In any case, it's a red flag to check out.

Many of the large organizations have small sub groups, like Crochet for Cancer. These small group coordinators personally oversee things and can often tell you how your items are being used, personally or with a blog or Facebook posts that show distribution.

Can you always be sure a group is actually doing what it says it will? No. Not unless you are there watching them hand things out. But you can have a pretty good idea if you've done some work. I have gotten caught myself a few times by efforts that started off strong and then fell by the wayside, leaving the items you have donated in a box somewhere. Sometimes time passes, contacts leave, hospital policies change and life interferes. Organizations fold through no real fault of their own. As long as there is communication and responsible accounting, that's fine. A long time organization of which I was a part recently shut down after many years of service. This coordinator did it right. Everyone was kept informed and knew for the last year exactly how things would go. It was ended sadly but well.

Sometimes you can tell when a person does not seem to be excited about his or her work and will not follow through. Sometimes things take off too fast and the coordinator can't catch up. It becomes overwhelming and they drop out. Again, communication is key.

Some projects are time sensitive. When an event occurs in the news, crocheters and knitters want to help. Finding a legitimate way to do that can be difficult. Partnering with a well known organization is a good idea and can get things accomplished in a timely manner. When things take off, they are prepared through long experience in dealing with these types of situations. This is especially true of situations occurring in a country other than your own.

Getting back to prayer cloths or specifically pocket prayer cloths. If you google prayer cloths you will see a lot of information, some of which is misleading. Prayer cloths that you make and give to someone do not contain special healing properties. They are a reminder to that person that you care for them, have prayed for them, that God loves them and cares what happens to them. I like to make the ones with the cross on them as this is pretty much a universal Christian symbol and a good reminder to keep hope and faith alive in difficult situations. These are generally given to people of faith for which the cross will mean something.

You don't HAVE to put a cross on your prayer cloth. It can be a simple rectangle with no adornment or make it plain and attach a charm of some kind. You could make a heart or some other shape if that has special meaning to you or the recipient if all you want is something that lets them know you are thinking of them. Right now, however, I'm talking about prayer cloths made from a Christian perspective.

You will also note sites where prayer cloths are made of fabric and not crocheted or knitted, some are offered for free, some are sold. Some places say you are not to sell them. Like all things on the Internet if you search long enough you will find someone supporting your idea. I think selling cloths is a matter for you to decide. Not everyone can crochet or knit but they may like the look of these cloths and they can do their own praying for the person to whom they intend these to go. I do not sell my own prayer cloths. Any I make are freely given.

Where are prayer cloths needed? St. John's Lutheran Church includes a prayer cloth with the food packages given out to the needy from the food pantry. They can be any color. I suggest putting each cloth in a sandwich bag to keep it clean.

Another organization that accepts cloths is Sadie Sunshine chapter of Crochet for Cancer. These cloths can be any size or color.

100% wool cloths can be sent to soldiers but I don't know of an organization doing that right now.

When donating to ANY charity effort, you should make sure that what you are making fits their current needs before sending. Make sure any item you donate is well made, properly finished (sew those long tails in - no knotting and cutting at the knot!), and in whatever colors and yarn the organization requires.

If prayer cloths are not your thing, perhaps you enjoy making scarves. I enjoy trying out new patterns this way. I thought I'd just put a plug in here for those. Two great organizations that will get your scarves where they need to go are The Bridge and Beyond for the homeless, and Knit Your Bit for veterans. Both sites are informative and have been around for many years.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

prayer cloths

My fingers have been busy using yarn which was donated by my friend Scarlet. I decided to make prayer cloths with the variegated yarn. I love the way each one is different, just as we are all different. I have to say the I Love This Yarn, especially the Seaspray Stripe color, was so soft that it was such a total joy to work with. The greens (High Meadow Stripe and High Meadow Ombre) were not quite as soft but still a joy. I'm very grateful to Scarlet for her generosity in sharing this beautiful yarn.

Here are some pics of the cloths I've made so far, which will be going to Pastor Mona's church in New Jersey.

I am not finished with this yarn. I am thinking I can get between 25 and 30 cloths out of the 3 skeins.

These cloths go so quickly. If you are not able to work on large projects, they are perfect. Just 20-30 minutes of your time. The pattern can be found at Crochet Cabana. I am making the one with the puff stitch cross but if you don't want a cross on yours, the pattern by Kaye Rogers (shared with permission) does not include a cross or you could just do the single crochet pattern eliminating the puff stitches.

If you are unfamiliar with prayers cloths, the idea here is to pray for the recipient as you work. Since I work as I watch TV, I say a prayer for the future recipients before mailing the package. When the person touches or views the cloth, he or she will be reminded of God's infinite power, wisdom and love, and that they have been loved and prayed for by you. You can do this even if you do not know who will receive your cloth. Just pray for the recipient - God knows who will get it before you've even finished the prayer cloth. :-)

Remember that the cloth itself, the yarn, the crocheting are not endowed with any special power. Only God can answer prayer. In His infinite wisdom His answer may be yes, no, or wait. If there is healing, peace, or protection it is because God answers our prayers in the affirmative. It is important to realize that it is not the cloth itself that gives the comfort or healing, but the power of Almighty God.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Troop thanks card

A friend asked me for the design of the cards I send with the troop hats. If I did this correctly, this should be it. Click on the card itself and it will come up on the Vistaprint site.

Premium Business Cards by Vistaprint

If the item is made with wool yarn, I put these stickers on the back of the cards. Any item made to be used by ground troops must be wool.

Return Address Labels by Vistaprint

This is the sticker I previously used. It gives the same washing information.

Multi Purpose Labels by Vistaprint

The link will send you to the Vistaprint web site. The picture will send you to a picture of this particular item. You can either use their Design Recreation service or just choose a label and create it yourself.

Of course you don't have to use mine. I'm just posting it to help my friend. :-)

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

name afghan

Coke has this new gimmick called Share a Coke where each bottle of soft drink has a name written on it. Of course this makes folks look for their name and the names of family and friends. Cute gimmick, but there are some folks who can never find items with their own names for whatever reason. Perhaps they are spelled differently than the majority of folks with that name or just not in the top 250 name list they used. Find out if your name is on a bottle here.

My own name, for example. My full name is Sandra. My nickname is Sandie. I am almost always able to find items with Sandy (Coke has it) but rarely Sandie. I can sometimes find Sandra but it's not on this particular Coke list. I don't drink Coke so no biggie for me.

Anyway, all this to say that a sweet relative of mine mentioned that she can never find anything with her name on it so I decided to make her a name lapghan as a surprise so she could have something with her very own name. Here is the result. (Guess what her name is. heh)

The yarn used is leftover skeins purchased for Doctor Who scarves.

The edging is Red Heart Burgundy. The two tan colored solid stripes are Vanna's Choice Taupe. Some of the other skeins did not have labels but here's what I remember (if my memory can be trusted).
Bernat Waverly Gypsy Gold
Red Heart Soft Wine
Vanna's Choice Honey, Eggplant, Toffee, Rust
Knit Picks Dublin, Sienna, Eggplant, Currant

There is a grey but I don't know which it is.

The yarns were all worsted weight but not necessary all equal in thickness. The RH Soft is slightly thinner than the rest and the Bernat Waverly is a little thicker. It all came together pretty nicely except when I went to work the edging.

I ripped that edging out at least three times. LOL I could not get it to lie flat and I do attribute this somewhat to the thinner yarns. I finally settled on one round of single crochet, then one round of (sc, ch 3, sk 3) which I adjusted along the side that was giving me trouble. Then for the final round I worked (3 dc in each ch-3 loop, ch 1). I think it came out pretty well.

I might give an additional tip if you decide to do this and use that edging. When working the ch-3s you need to extend those chains to match the length of the stitches beneath them or you will have puckering there. In other words, work loosely and pay attention.

The strips are joined with a whipstitch. The lettering is my own design, but basically is just square lettering. Easy for anyone to do. I used 3dc mesh. The letters are 5 squares across and 9 down.

[update] I'm unable to update the web site currently, but if you want a filet alphabet chart Pinterest is a place to start. You can also google "filet alphabet chart" and will get a number of hits. I'm happy to send my alphabet chart to anyone who inquires as well. Just send me a note via the contact form. One caution - some of the alphabets I saw did not design each letter to be the same size. If you are making squares and need them to be the same size, make sure you choose a chart design that does this. In other words, all the letters being the same number across and the same number down. For example, all my letters in the chart used here are 5 across and 9 down. In order to get a "center" you need an odd number. I also have a larger chart which includes lowercase letters but I have not tested it in a project yet.

That's all for now.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

hats

I know it's been a while since my last post. Apologies for that. Life gets in the way of the best intentions.

I've been working on a couple of things. Today I will show you the hats I've been making. These hats were made with Patons Classic Wool using my pattern Classic Adult Beanie which can be found on this page at Crochet Cabana.

I ordered 8 skeins of yarn (6 deep olive and 2 black) and was able to get 9 hats out of that, with possibly enough of the green to get another hat. I will be attempting that later. I am noting this info down because I was thinking I could get 12 hats from that yarn and I will be short of that goal. I was relying on my previous memory so  ... not going to do that again! LOL Here are pics of the hats, the leftovers, and the bill.

I ordered the wool from Knitting Warehouse. Michael's also carries this wool. A new Hobby Lobby just opened up in our area so I will be checking them out soon as I can as well.

I hope your crochet world is in good order and you're enjoying the projects on which you are working. In my world, crochet has taken a back seat to my sweet growing-much-too-fast grandson.

I've also been having a spot of trouble with updating the web site so I need to figure that out. If there are things you want to save from the site, I would offer the suggestion that you save them off now as with my luck the whole thing will disappear while I'm trying to update it.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

join in round

Last time I mentioned joining the rounds of a hat with a (ch 1, dc) so when you come around you have an actual stitch in which to insert your hook rather than a chain. Well, a chain is a stitch of course, but the pattern stitch is what I mean. In this case, a dc. 

The next hat I made, I worked as is normally done, joining in the top chain of the turning chain. This is what that looks like.

Here they are side by side. What do you think? I folded the hats to make it easier to photograph. I personally don't see that it makes a whole lot of difference which you choose to use. I'm sure there are other joins that you can use as well if you have a preference.

That's about all I've been doing crochet-wise. I've been more into reading lately as that is something I can do while I'm rockin' the wee one. I use the Kindle app on my phone (or iPAD but that's a little heavier to hold with a little one). :-) Didn't have that option when my own were tiny tots. I like it!

Did you know you can save patterns purchased at some places (like Annie's Attic, for example) to your Kindle or Kindle app? I can also borrow some ebooks from my library which can be read on my Kindle. At first I wasn't sure I'd like ebooks, but now I am really hooked on them and it feels strange to have to search for where I left that paper book I started.

Hope your summer is going well!

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

hats hats hats

I'm getting slower in everything I do these days. About three weeks ago I was asked to make some hats for the troops and, of course, I agreed as I always support our troops when I can. I didn't have any wool (needed for anything going to ground troops) so I had to order. I chose Patons Classic Wool since I've used it before and it is what I used in my patterns. It's about $6/skein. I ordered from Knitting Warehouse on 6/11. I received the shipping notice on 6/16 so I'm sure I received it soon after that.

I bought Black and Deep Olive. I may later get some of the Chestnut Brown. I hope to get a dozen hats out of my purchase. We'll see how that goes. They aren't needed until November so I have plenty of time. Thanks to the coordinator for giving me an early heads up this year.

Anyway, I've only made 3 hats in 2 weeks! Not that long ago I could have whipped one of these up in a couple hours. I'm not sure if I'm moving slower or if I just have too many other things going on to interrupt me. 

For troop hats the simpler the better, so I decided to use my Basic Beanie pattern which was developed for this purpose and can be found at Crochet Cabana on the hats page. These are meant for warmth so close stitching is desired. Since the Patons yarn is worsted, but a little thin, I used a G hook.  I am using double crochet for the main part of the hat with a rim of single crochet. 

Here is the hat as shown from the front.

Here is the back of the hat. It shows the join of each round. For the beginning of each round, I use a ch 1, dc so that when I come back around, I am joining to an actual dc, not in a ch-3. I haven't done it with the ch-3 in quite a while. Perhaps I'll do one that way to compare. 

For those who can read my shortcut, the rounds are 12 dc, 24, 36, 48, 48, 60, 60, 72, 72, 84, 84. I worked 18 rounds of dc and 4 rounds of sc. 

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Doctor Who scarf finished

The double crochet version of the Doctor Who 4th Doctor's scarf is finished. I even added fringe! 

I began the scarf on June 1. I finished the body of the scarf on June 9th and the tails were all woven in by June 11th. Fringe was added this morning, June 12.

Here are pics taken outside in daylight. I think it gives the best representation of the colors.

Finished size is about 10" x 12' 2"

For this scarf, I used
Purple = Knit Picks Brava Sport Currant
Camel = Stylecraft Special DK Camel 
Mustard = Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK Pumpkin
Rust = Stylecraft Special DK Copper
Grey = Stylecraft Special DK Graphite
Greenish Brown = Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK Moss Green
Bronze = Knit Picks Brava Sport Brindle

The details:
I chained 42 for my foundation chain, worked first dc into the 4th chain from hook and used ch-2 for my turning chain. All rows are worked in double crochet.

For gauge, I followed a general rule of 2.5 rows per inch and used doctorwhoscarf.com inches pattern for reference (with permission). I multiplied it out using the general rule for fractions - if it's over a half inch, go up. In other words, if I needed 6.5", I multiplied 6 x 2.5. The result is 16.25 which is less than sixteen and a half, so I dropped the quarter and made it 16. If I needed 5.5" I multiplied 5.5 x 2.5 and got 13.75 which is more than thirteen and a half so I went up to 14 rows.

Pattern can be found at my Doctor Who weebly site (under My Scarves) at http://gallifreyancrochetin.weebly.com/ 

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

DC Doctor Who scarf

Someone on the Stitches group showed a picture of their Doctor Who scarf worked in dc. I have been saying I wanted to do a 4th Doctor scarf in dc and this inspired me so I began one Sunday (June 1). I have about four and a half feet done so far. I would guess I am maybe a third of the way but that is just a guess.

Here is a comparison between the dc, knitted, and sc look. The colors do not show up well in these photos, but you should be able to see the difference in stitches. The original scarf was knitted.

The top one is Stylecraft Special DK Camel in double crochet. The one in the middle is I Love This Yarn Lt. Taupe in knit The bottom one is Knit Picks Brava Sport Almond in single crochet (the one I finished recently). 

Here is what I've done so far on this one. Again, the colors in the photo are not really accurate. The grey, for example, is not as blue as in the picture.

I will of course give you an update when it's completed.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Mini TARDIS

I guess this cannot really be considered a TARDIS since it has 4 windows instead of 6 and 6 boxes instead of 8 and the words did not fit on the smaller version. But I am putting it with my Doctor Who stuff. :-)

Finished size is about 26" x 31". My Walmart did not have the Red Heart Super Saver Royal Blue which is what I wanted to use. They did have the blue, so I used that. The picture actually shows it up well but in person I find it a little light for a TARDIS. It took less than 2 skeins of yarn, probably about 10 ounces.

I will put the pattern with chart at the web site eventually. [update: I am having problems getting the pattern on the web site, but it is up at Ravelry]

The pattern is worked in 3dc mesh. The chart has blue x squares and solid white squares. I used the blue squares as open mesh and the white squares as solid squares. I know this is probably opposite of what most patterns do, but you can work it whatever way you prefer. I like a more solid piece myself.

I used an I hook. It took me only two days to make it. I could have finished it in one if I'd had the yarn on hand already. It's very simple. You only have to know chain, double crochet and single crochet and how to follow a chart. The pattern is symmetrical so it doesn't matter if you read from left to right or right to left. The center is wider than the sides to allow for a keyhole/handle though I didn't put one on there.

You could conceivably make a separate piece with letters. I actually considered making the top section in single crochet and try to do some kind of stitching of the words, but decided it didn't matter to me enough to do that.

For what it is, I think it came out pretty well. Perhaps a Whovian parent would appreciate it although they might then ask for the larger version. LOL That one is also not difficult to do but would take a bit longer. 

The pattern is not as visible with filet as with a worked in color version but IMHO it's easier to do than the worked in one.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie