on my hook

Here is the baby afghan I finished. I ran out of the green yarn with a round and a half to go on the last square so I had to drop one column. Even so, I think it came out a nice size. I did measure it, but I didn't write the measurements down and the ghan is packed away so ... you'll just have to trust me on that. LOL The squares are assembled using the continuous join.

I've also been making 7" squares with larger leftover balls. Yes, I am determined to use all this yarn up - at least a good portion of it. It gets harder as the quantities go down. I know some folks do mix different types of yarn - like a boucle or a brushed acrylic with a regular yarn. I may give that a try. I'll have to have a sit down and think on it. ;-) Maybe pull out a book of stitches and see what I can come up with. That is both the fun part and the excruciating part, making the decision.

I also want what I make to be useful so we'll see what happens next. I still have a cold so that is hampering my thinkin' a bit.

Before I sign off I want to thank all our veterans for this service. Our great country would not be what it is without the many sacrifices of our servicemen. A round of applause for them all, past, present, and future.

Happy Crocheting!

Sandie

Hi! I've switched back to the old template as I couldn't figure out how to get to my links and my Twitter updates, my google search and all the things I myself use on my blog. LOL

I'm working on a baby blanket and will post photos soon.

Did you all remember to set your clocks back? That first day felt like it lasted forever. heh Maybe that is because I have a cold. I didn't sleep well and was up early, but it sure seemed to drag.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

new blog design

Well, this new design thing already confused me. You have to click on the little "blogger" icon to get to the dashboard. Not likey. But I guess I'll get used to it.

I received something which suggested I try the new blogger interface. I had seen it before and they will eventually use it for everyone so I figured I'd try it out and get used to it. I particularly wanted to see how it would work with the monetizing feature since monies received from that help to keep my web site running and pay my charity mailing costs. Today's charity mailing was just under $6. I go to post office at least twice a week. How much it cost depends on what I'm mailing. Lately it's been saltines, yo-yos, squares, and scarves, fairly small packages. Packages run anywhere from $2 to $10. Afghans can run more but I rarely send out completed afghans these days. I try to donate those locally. I saved quite a bit by hand delivering those Special Olympic scarves. Anyway, I digress... heh

My understanding is that you, as the viewer, can choose which design you want to see for the blog. Just click on the different views - classic, flipcard, mosaic, magazine, sidebar, snapshot, timeline. I think I have the default as classic. There are advantages to each one. I like to look at photos so I'd probably use one of the designs that show most of the photos if I were viewing it myself, but everyone is different. Anyway, we'll see how that all pans out.

For today, I've completed more saltines and yoyos, some 6" squares, and a pet pad made of leftover yarns. Here are the photos.

The pet pad will go to one of the dogs, probably Lexi as she is the girl and there is pink. :-) It is about 18" x 34" and I used leftover homespun type yarn with a strand of fine yarn. It is all leftover from long ago projects. The dogs don't care about looks. I noticed it was quite warm as it lay on my lap. I was almost sorry to finish it, but I didn't have enough of the white to do much more with it. I have a fairly large ball of the light blue left but that yarn is too thin for most efforts that collect squares unless I double it - which I could do is I rolled it into two balls. Might could make one square if I did that.

Always interesting to see what one can do with all these odds and ends, eh? I'm still working on the first bin, but most of the small balls were in this one.

That's all for now. Let me know what you think of this new blogger thing. Remember it's not MY design though I think you can customize it. I haven't gotten that far with it.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

more saltines, yo yos ...

If you can believe this I am still making saltines, yoyos and granny's daughters. :-) These are made with an H hook and whatever yarn was in the bag of leftovers. Some of them came out smaller than others because of the type of yarn. From what I understand, these small pieces are forgiving and size is not as critical. However, I've sent a lot of them so I think there will be enough of any size to handle a multi-colored project. I know many others have sent some also.

As you may recall, I work from largest to smallest. I start with traditional granny squares, but most of these balls were too small for a full granny. Although there are a number of the same color, these are from different balls.

Then I go to saltines (2 round grannies), then yoyos (1 round of 16 dc in ring), and finally granny's daughters (first round of a granny). The granny's daughters use just slightly less yarn than a yoyo.

Of course I always leave a nice tail at the beginning and end which takes up yarn. Anything under 7 loops around my ruler is tied onto the magic ball which is getting to be a nice size. :-) My plan for that is to make a pet pad. We have three dogs in the family at this time so I'm sure one of them will love a nice pad.

Unbelievably, I am still not finished with the leftover balls, but I'm coming close to the end. :-) Then I have a lot of one ups. One ball of yarn in this or that color. I do also have a few colors where I have a good number of balls and can make an actual project, like a scarf or something. I look forward to deciding what these will be used for. Part of the fun for me is choosing a project when I have the opportunity.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

scarves

Remember that single crochet, back loops only scarf I started a while back? I finally finished it. I had actually forgotten about it and couldn't remember if I'd used an H or an I so I just finished off the row I was on and called it done.

The finished size is 5 1/4" x 54". It's heading to Knit Your Bit for a veteran. Working in back loop only gives it a nice bit of stretch. I was pleased with the finished product.

I also finished the wool scarf I'd begun. I used Lion Brand Fisherman 100% pure virgin Wool. I had an 8 ounce skein and was able to make the scarf and hat with a small ball leftover. I began and ended the scarf with a row of dc. The rest of the scarf is straight sc through both loops. It should be quite warm.

The hat is adult size. Finished size is 5" x 65". It's part of the Crafting for a Cause effort and will be going to Native Americans in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Both of the above scarves were very easy on the mind and fingers. I have a number of patterns that I'm itching to try though so I'll be finding something a little more challenging for my next project I think.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie