International Crochet Day

Just popping in to mention the contest at Jimbo's Front Porch. Tomorrow is International Crochet Day. What are YOU going to do to celebrate this special fiber art? Go let Jimbo know.

Myself I plan to spend some time crocheting, in public if I can! I'll keep you posted on that.

Happy crocheting!

strips and squares

 I decided to make some crocheted strips to use for making scarves using the pattern Restful Rainbows (an afghan pattern). I've done this before and liked the result. You can see one of them below. Anyway, I made two strips and played around with them in the photos. :-) I was able to make 2 strips and 1 square from one skein of Vanna's Choice (3.5 ounces).

The pattern can be found in Mile-a-minute Afghans (Leisure Arts and Oxmoor House c1996).

Here are two squares I made from leftover after making four strips.  The pattern is Susan Smith's Filet Granny Square which can be found at Crochet Cabana. These squares came out 6" for me with an H hook. They are going to Share a Square. If you are making squares for this effort, remember to leave a long tail for sewing. 


That's it for today.

Happy crocheting!

dragonfly square and scarves

I'm going to try and show you the dragonfly square I made. I don't know if you can see the dragonfly in this yarn. It seems to show up better in light colored yarn. The pattern is here. It wasn't terribly difficult to do, but you do have to pay attention and count your stitches well.

Those who have visited my other blog, Crafty Corral, in the past, know about the Knit Your Bit campaign to make scarves for veterans all across the country. This is headed up by the folks at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, right in my backyard. :-) Not literally, but you get the idea. This is the 5th year of the program and it's going strong. Each year a new pattern has been offered to knitters and crocheters. The new pattern will be out very soon. Keep on the lookout. It's a good one!

Although they encourage you to use their pattern, scarves are happily accepted with any appropriate pattern - something a veteran, particularly a man as most are male, would enjoy. If in doubt, read the FAQ or e-mail Lauren.

In other news, I saw this interesting looking scarf by Coats and Clark. There is a video showing how to make this Cosmic Loopy scarf using their yarn called Cosmic Yarn, which has both thick and thin sections. You use the thin sections to make the scarf and the thick sections make the loops. Here is the video.



See? A little tricky, but only uses single crochet stitches.

I haven't tried that one, but I do have another scarf done. Here's a photo of it. I used Red Heart Soft off white yarn. Very nice yarn though I usually shy away from Red Heart. The RHSS is so rough but this one is not. It reminded me, in fact, of the bamboo yarn I used some time back. Finished size was 5 3/4" x 63 1/2". I did not border this scarf because I found I was pleased with the way it came out without it. It will be headed to Knit Your Bit.

That's all for now.


Happy crocheting!

on my hook and patterns to drool over

No more news on the JoAnn store contest. I asked on Facebook but the person who replied said she didn't understand the question. I personally am not entering, but if you choose to, just read the rules carefully and if you have questions, call up and ask them. I could have called them to get an answer, but since I'm not entering, I didn't bother. I'm not much of a phone person.

I finally got around to using this red sport yarn that was in the Carolyn Toups donation. I used two strands and just did straight double crochet with a single crochet edging. That is actually my favorite "quick" scarf pattern. I alter the foundation chain to suit how much yarn I have available.

Right now I'm working on a new pattern which will be unveiled in a week or so.


In other news, I saw this beautiful dragonfly scarf pattern (also available as a square) at http://myblueangels.blogspot.com/2010/08/dragonfly-wonder-scarf.html . Note that the Star Trek Enterprise theme song starts playing on every page. When this series began, I ran screaming from the room or turned the sound off every time it came on as I didn't feel the song suited the Star Trek series, but have come to accept it now and even like the song itself. I'd rather it didn't start over every time I changed pages though. Personal preference. Everybody does what they want on their own page and that's as it should be.

If you want the square rather than the scarf, here is the direct link to save you listening to the song over and over again. LOL http://myblueangels.blogspot.com/2010/07/single-dragonfly-6in-square.html  However, I will add that some of her other patterns are well worth having a look.

Another site I revisited recently is http://whatnottocrochet.wordpress.com/ . I tell you the truth, there are some odd things on there. I wonder what places she frequents to find these. I will admit that not ALL of them did I deem unsuitable. There were a few I didn't find bad. Generally speaking, however, she was spot on. :-) Recall the granny square dress worn by a famous actress at an award show...

Here are a few links to books and things I thought you might like. I've seen so many little hats with attached flowers that I immediately was captivated by this book of 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet: A Collection of Beautiful Blooms for Embellishing Garments, Accessories, and More. Beautiful. I don't know how many are knit and how many are crochet though, so you may want to have a look before purchasing it. The library is a great resource to investigate books before purchase.

And look at this one 500 stitch designs! The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs: 500 Classic & Original Patterns. I think that is the most I've seen in one book. I laughed at myself because I put this in my wishlist and Amazon came back and said hey, it's already here so you must REALLY want it. They put it at the top of my list. LOL

Amigurumi is so popular right now, I couldn't resist having a look at Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet. I don't know if I'll ever do any as I'm not really into this type of thing, but I know better than to say never. My interests change with the wind though they are usually crochet oriented. :-)

That's all for now. Hope you all are having a glorious week!

Happy crocheting!

JoAnn contest again

I went back to look again at the rules for the contest and the submission portion of the actual rules is different from what they have abbreviated on the blog - which is fine as the essentials are the same. The rules give more information.

All entries MUST include all of the following to be eligible:
1. Completed official entry form, available online at www.joann.com/craftforacause, including entrantʼs contact information and
a short description of how the hand-made item meets a specific need of the selected charitable organization or otherwise assists that organization.

2. Scanned image of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store or Joann.com receipt(s) showing proof of purchase of materials used to make the item.

3. Three color photographs (one of entire item and one each of the front and back showing detail) of the item. Digital photographs should be in .jpg format; however, .tif, .gif and .png formats are also acceptable. Files should be no larger than 2MB. No professional photography allowed.

4. Each entrant must sign the Liability and Publicity Release and Consent (“Release”) at the bottom of the entry form and, if the entrant is a minor, the entrantʼs parent or guardian must also sign. Online signatures must be typed between / marks (example: /Jane Smith/) and have the same binding effect as handwritten signatures.

5. After completing all required portions of the entry form and properly uploading the images of the Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store or Joann.com receipt(s) and photographs, click the “Submit” button to enter. Any other method of entry is void. Incomplete or illegible entries will be disqualified. Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, or garbled
electronic transmissions.

Also, the entrant form says it must be a "nonprofit organization" which I assume means it must be a 501(c)(3) organization.  IOW the Bridge and Beyond would not qualify but Crafting for a Cause would because it is legally a nonprofit.
http://craftforacause2010.joann-mail.com/EntrantInformation.aspx

There is a list of charities from which you can choose, but you can also write in a different one. I have a few tax exempt organizations in my Charity section, but that is but a very small sampling.

I will keep you posted as I learn more about this.

Happy crocheting!