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