troop hats and site update

I am happy to report that I have 33 hats ready to deliver to Donna for the Louisiana troop in Afghanistan. Big thanks to Annemarie, Rosemary, Myrna, Joyce, and Carla. I am expecting more to come in the next couple of weeks as well as crocheters have contacted me for information. I appreciate each hat.

I was reading a guest blog post that Kathryn did over at Stitch and Unwind. I was intrigued by the idea she put forth on cutting up lines of different patterns, putting them together and working the "new" pattern. What a crazy - and fun - idea! I think I must do that soon. I'm curious to see what I would come up with.

I've been so busy working on the web site to the exclusion of most other things. I've reworked some of the old patterns. I'd like to do them all, but of course won't have time to do that if I ever want the site live in this century. LOL

Here are some things I've completed recently.

Chevron scarf

Jamie scarf

Quick Scarf

striped scarf

dishcloth worked in blo

Dinah's Tears square

front post dc hat

Spiked dishcloth

There may be other things as well, but you'll have to wait and see them when the site debuts. (All of the above patterns will be available on site.)

Finally, I hope all my friends out there who experienced the wrath of Hurricane Sandy are safe and dry. My prayers go with you.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Hook and Needle Club

I received my Hook and Needle Club kit last week. I don't have the time right now to work on it, but it is one that I am anxious to try.

I haven't opened the package because it would just be too tempting!

First, I must get these troop hats done. I may work this kit before I hit the donated yarn though. :-) So much yarn temptation!

If you are using the hat patterns I posted, please do check the posts before commencing as I update the actual post if I find errors or make changes.

As I'm going through the patterns to put on the new Crochet Cabana site, I've found some minor errors and have changed a few things. Of course, you know that means I probably made new errors! LOL

The good news is that many of the patterns I had on the site years ago will be back. These are not fancy patterns - I lean towards the simple, for beginners in most cases, though I do challenge the beginner to  use a few special stitches like front post and cross-stitch and V-stitch. These are not difficult stitches once you get to know them. You will find simple hats, scarves, afghans, shawls, dishcloths and a few miscellaneous items like simple baby blocks, beanbag, bookmarkers, placemats etc.

I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am hopeful it won't be too long before we can have the site up and running though everything might not be in place.

I spent a good part of this weekend putting photos in photo albums on Picasa/Google+. However, although it was easy to add the photos, I have found photos appearing in the wrong albums and when I move or delete them they don't seem to leave the incorrect spot and there are multiple copies of things in some folders. I will take a break and see if when I come back to it everything works better. :-) Then I'll decide if that is what I want to do with the photo section.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

troop hats and wedding afghan

The afghan for which I made the cross-stitch squares a while back has been delivered to the happy couple, so I can now post pics of it.

I made the 6" squares - we used 72 of them laid out 8 x 9. Daughter edged and assembled them. The edging is one daughter designed herself. What a team! :-)

I also received this wonderful outpouring of generosity in boxes and boxes of donated yarn from Beth W. in Texas. A good portion of this is cotton yarn and I can't wait to get my little hands on it. First I have to finish with the troop hats. Then yes, I'll be digging in. I will be making lots of dishcloths, squares, scarves and whatever I can with this generous donation.

A quick note about troop hats, and really anything you make. When joining yarn for whatever reason, please don't knot and cut or leave just an inch of yarn. Leave several inches, please, and sew it in. Also, if you work in a spiral, please make sure your final round ends up even with your previous round. Thanks!


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

update on hats

I've been busy making hats for the troops for my friend's project. These hats will go to a Louisiana unit serving in Afghanistan. Two friends sent money for yarn and I have made hats in their names.

Here's what I have so far - 11 hats made in chestnut brown, deep olive, and black.

Note that I have made some changes to the patterns. In particular, the green color should be Deep Olive, not Eucalyptus. When the yarn came in I saw the Eucalyptis was not as dark as I thought it would be. I hope I didn't mess anyone up with my mix up.

In the Basic Beanie I changed the actual pattern a bit, starting the work even roound one increase later. IOW It is 12, 24, 36, 48, 48, 60, 60, 72, 72, 84 and then work even to 7 1/2". Then 4 sc rounds.

I don't think I changed the other patterns except for the yarn color, but you might want to get the latest version regardless.

Heads come in different sizes, so it is likely no matter what size the hat is, it will fit someone.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Happy 15th Anniversary

I wanted to acknowledge Crochet Cabana's 15th anniversary on the WWW. It's been a fun and interesting ride. There have been many changes since 1997, particularly in myself! I've learned a lot in the past 15 years, both about crochet and about being a website owner.

We're still working on the new web site. As you can imagine it's a humongous task but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am presently going through patterns and updating where needed. I can't actually work every pattern, but I have found a few things that needed to be changed, mostly on the older ones.

I plan to put up some patterns you haven't seen in many years. Some almost as old as the web site but I think still good for today's crocheters. My patterns generally fall in the easy to intermediate category. Favored colors change over the years, but the same patterns can be used with many different color schemes with good result

The biggest change will be the use of more video tutorials and less pictures. I've said this before, but I wanted to emphasize it again so that those who work better with pictures can have the opportunity to either work the tutorials now or save off the pictures for later (for your own use only - don't post anywhere). The pdf files I have made for teachers do contain the pictures and are available for purchase by anyone who desires them. I am hopeful, however, that most of my readership will be able to use the videos without a problem. Remember the pause button is your friend! :-)

It's been a delight to serve the crochet community the past 15 years. I hope to be able to continue to do so for many years to come.

Let's take a walk through memory lane. Here are some of the banners used for Crochet Cabana through the years.

And the new banner ... heh You didn't really think I'd show you, did you? Soon. It will be soon. I will give you a hint. It is not like any of these others. :-)

Happy crocheting!
Sandie