A change will do you good.

The year 2011 has been a year of Change for me.

Lots of old energy cleared out and great new things have come to fill the voids.

Amen!

I think it's time for a new name and a new design for this blog.  :)

Stay tuned...

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 22-27

I now have a total of 328 friendship bracelets and there are seven more crochet days on my calendar.

Here are the most recently completed bracelets.

 

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 15-21

I crocheted 48 bracelets in a 7-day period. Not my minimum hoped-for output but I'm getting it done. Part of the problem is feeling like I want them all to look different.

Wellllllllllllllll, I do realize that's not gonna happen but it's still flitting around in the shadows of my mind.

Any whoooo, the latest bracelets bring my total to 236.

Approximately.

And here they are:

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 11-14

Bracelets x 30 = lots of friendship!

***

Hyperbolic Bliss

I took a break from crocheting the Friendship Bracelets for a few days.

During the break, I organized the bracelets. It took a few hours to measure, sort according to length, then bag according to length. I hope that helps make the distribution process easier for those who give them to the children in Russia.

While I was sorting, I decided to crochet my second hyperbolic ball of bliss.

Here it is:

The pattern can be found here: The Rambling Rose. Thank you Julee!

I love this pattern so much that I might be crocheting hyperbolic balls of bliss all summer.

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 7-10

The project has become an obsession of sorts. I've tossed my 10-a-day quota out the window. Instead I just crochet until I get tired.

The decision was a good one as it has resulted in a burst of productivity. However, I know there will be days I don't overachieve as much *chuckle* so I guess I'm getting a head start on myself.  lol

Without further ado, the bracelets.

Total bracelets to date: 153.

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project: day six

More bracelets crocheted in the wee hours:

Total: 80

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project:: day five

Yesterday I was so busy celebrating Mother's Day that I didn't make any bracelets. I made up for it after midnight, when I started crocheting with a gusto.

I meant to do 20 bracelets but ended up with 21.  *chuckle*

Which is okay. I just need to keep a running tally.

It's possible that I'll make an additional 10 tonight. I'll make more if possible.

Today's haul:

Current total: 69 friendship bracelets.

Gotta add these to the bag with the others.

***

Craft Hope

Are you interested in crafting for a good cause?

Are you looking for a(nother) good cause to craft for?

Have you heard about Craft Hope?

Craft Hope "is a love inspired project designed to share handmade crafts with those less fortunate. It is our hope to combine our love for crafting and desire to help others into a project to make a difference around the world."

Their projects are awesome and their dedication to helping and sharing is awe-inspiring.

I'm crocheting friendship bracelets for their Project #12, to benefit children living in orphanages in Russia.

If you're interested in this project or you just want to see the other cool projects Craft Hope facilitates, check out their blog here: Craft Hope. And their Facebook page here: Craft Hope on Facebook.

Here are pictures of the bracelets I've crocheted so far, 48 and counting.

Darius's Royal Flush Scarf.

In late October 2009, our family went to lunch at Showmar's. It's one of our favorite places to eat, though it's been several months since we've eaten there.

On one occasion neither my husband nor I had any cash to tip our waiter, Darius. So I offered to crochet a warm scarf for him. He said yes.

I put the photo and pattern on Ravelry soon after. And just now, I remembered that we aren't supposed to include patterns in our Ravelry notes. We're supposed to have a link to the pattern, for either a page or a PDF file.

So I'm gonna put the pattern here so I can make this post the link "page".

All terms used are American English crochet terms.

Darius's Royal Flush Scarf

















Materials Needed:

• yarn of your choice (I used Red Heart Grande Craft Yarn)
• hook to match choice of yarn (I used a 9 mm -- aka M/N hook)
  
• tapestry needle to weave in ends (optional)

Finished size will depend on the dimensions you want.

Gauge is not important for this project.

Skill Level: Beginner

sc = single crochet
sk = skip


Pattern:

1. In multiples of 2 + 1, chain desired number of stitches.

2. Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook. Continue sc to end of row. Ch 1, turn.

3. Row 2: Sc in 2nd sc. *Ch 1. Sk next sc. Sc in next ch. Repeat from * to end of row. Ch 1, turn.

5. Row 3: In this row, *sc in ch 1 sp(ace), ch 1, sk next sc. Repeat from * to end.

6. Rows 4-end: Repeat Row 3 to desired length of scarf. Cut yarn and weave in ends.

I've only made this scarf once so if there are any errors, please let me know so I can make corrections.

Thanks and enjoy!

***

Today I am...

... meeting with a gentleman who I hope will hire me as part-time creative director for a project he's working on.

In this capacity, I will have the opportunity to make purchasing decisions as well as sell my own crocheted household and (possibly) personal items.

I am thankful.

Amen.

***

Busier and busier.

Wow!

It's been over a year since I've posted anything here.

:(

But it's because I've been a busy busy crafting lady.

I've made a few pieces of beaded jewelry but mostly I've been crocheting.

Soooooooo many yards of yarn and thread have passed through my hands in a year's time.

Incredible. LOL

My daughter and I joined our local chapter of Newborns in Need several months ago. Membership has been keeping me busy with my hooks and yarn. I've made baby washcloths (and am currently making more) and bookmarks so far.

My current projects:
ng. :o)

1. A set of coasters for my daughter's godmother. Got 2 done so far. :) Hope to have 6 similar to this: coaster.

2. Baby blankets #2 and #3, both of which I started months ago. One is a multi-colored granny square, seen here on Ravelry.

3. The other will be a light blue-with-white-trim blanket with a stitch pattern I can't recall the name of. (It's 6:35 a.m. right now...)

4. My daddy is waiting for me to finish his sun visor using this pattern: Vizor.

5. I'm working on a bottom-up crocheted triangle to insert in the side slit of a skirt I'm altering.

The washcloths need to be done before June 2. I'm using Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Cotton" in Woods Print and Spunky Print.

gifting

I gave away one of my homemades the other day. The ring above wasn't it but I can't find a picture of the right one. I know my daughter helped me take photos of it but I'm at a loss as to their location on my computer.

Well, it was made like this one, with several coils but the beads were different. The larger beads were brown glass and the smaller ones were bright blue. Or the opposite may be true.. But the ring was blue and brown.

The young lady who has been working on my teeth is studying to become a dental hygienist. We (the patients) pay the school but I don't think the students get paid. I know we don't give the students any money.

I thought it would be nice to give her a token of my appreciation because I was really really grateful to have my teeth put to rights and she did a good job.

So I put all my completed jewelry in individual baggies (most of them in the snack-sized bags), put all the bags in a plastic container, and let her pick something for herself when she was done with my teeth.

She picked a beaded ring and a pair of cowrie shell earrings that I'm gonna re-do for her. She's done with my teeth but I have to go back in a few weeks for the follow-up, so I'll take the earrings to her then.

If I have time, I'm going to crochet her a necklace too.

yesterday's needlework group

It was fun talking and laughing whilst needles flashed all over.

The group was 5 adults (1 male) and 4 children (all female). The male was there with his wife and he was a knitter. Pretty much, it was the same folks as the first unofficial meeting. A few folk were missing.

I was hoping we would have more people but it was fun as it was. The (children's) librarian spent most of her time helping one of the children with puzzles. One of the other girls started out knitting but quit after a few minutes. My daughter took her knitting with her but surprised me by crocheting. She made a cute choker in blue, white, and red. (She wants to go to France and has fallen in love with all things French.)

Everyone was excited about the fliers I printed from Crochet Kitten. Everyone in the group has pets and they all thought crocheting for critters is an excellent idea.

I sent the e-mail to the other group I mentioned but haven't heard back from them. I'll check their blog (at least by Friday) to see if they've posted any updates.

so I'm over at Crochet Kitten...

...taking a look round. I like the idea of calling local animal shelters about the possibility of making critter beds and mats, called Cuddles for Kitties at Crochet Kitten. I have some yarn in my stash that will make nice critter goodies. Critters aren't critics either (usually) so I feel confident that they won't care if I don't follow the patterns to the letter. It's also a good home schooling project for my daughter. She can knit a critter mat or two or several for school credit.

 

* * *

Just got an idea! I'm gonna take a few Cuddles for Kitties fliers with me to the library tomorrow. 

tomorrow I'm going to...

...the needlework group at our local library. 

I'm very excited about it. Although we met once before tomorrow will be the first "official" meeting. There won't be any structured instruction going on (because the library is not providing it) but I'm hoping the very experienced will help those of us who need help and we, the slightly experienced, will help those who need what we can show them. 

Now don't laugh folks but I've been crocheting for over 30 years and I still consider myself to be an advanced beginner. I can crochet lots. But lots of what? Almost anything I don't need a pattern for. Or anything I can make my own pattern for. Sometimes I write the patterns down. Most times I don't. Later I'm sorry.

But I can talk about all that in another post. I am very excited about tomorrow's group. I think I might take a few extra skeins of yarn from my stash, to give away or maybe exchange. I'm also hoping to make a new friend or two. A real friend, who I can craft with.

crafters around the world

I have a few friends who live overseas. Two live in Europe and the other lives in Japan. 

In all the years I've known them, I've never asked them about crafting in their lives. The two in Europe are sisters. I'm pretty sure one of them doesn't craft at all. The other might but I really should ask her. At Christmas, I sent one sister a scarf I crocheted for her (she's my original friend and her sister is my friend by extension). A few weeks later, I got a request for scarves for her sister and mom. (How could I have left them out? Silly me!) One is completed, one is almost done, and one I started and re-started a few times. 

 My friend in Japan doesn't craft either. But I'd love to know what kinds of things crafters are doing in her world. Specifically people who make beaded and/or crocheted jewelry, people who knit and crochet, and people who are making/modifying their own clothing. 

My daughter and I have standing invitations to visit my friends but we haven't yet. We don't have our passports yet (yeah. I know, I know) and I have no desire to get on a plane. But I can still make the inquiries because I'm curious. :o)

crochet item #2

This was one of my earlier anklets.

Maybe it still is.

I'm not sure because I haven't seen it since I took the photograph.

crocheted item #1

I made this scarf in two colors. This here's the beige one.


It's a loose interpretation of a pattern I found online. There's also a navy blue one floating around somewhere, which is an even looser interpretation of the pattern. Or maybe I made the blue one first...

Either way, it was my first try at a pattern using the cotton thread I've been hoarding. (Thankfully, the jewelry I make with the cotton thread doesn't require a pattern.)

It was a tedious job, looking at the small stitches and using the tiny hook. One of my great aunts used to make beautiful doilies from white and beige cotton thread. I remember her glasses being very thick...

When she died (almost 15 years ago), her son gave me her collection of stainless steel hooks, bunches of the doilies, and a ton of magazines and pattern books going back to the 40s.

I still have the hooks (I used one to make the scarves) and the doilies but unfortunately I lost the magazines when I moved cross country.

plans to meet others who craft

I joined meetup.com recently. Not sure how I found it but I did. I've joined a few groups already and I've been to one meet up. Wasn't exactly my cup of tea. Maybe because there wasn't much opportunity to interact with everyone and there didn't seem to be a real connection with those I sat nearest. 

 There was a woman I wanted to get to at the other end of the table. I thought she might have been around my age and wondered if we had any common interests (children, husbands, hobbies, etc.). Usually I mingle as much as possible at such events but that night I stayed in my seat. I know I was tired and felt a little stressed with my efforts to get to the meeting on time. (I was late.) Perhaps an opportunity passed me by... 

The older I get, the more I like to spend my spare time doing things that contribute on several levels to my happiness. That's what I like about creating things. When I make something that I love to look at and wear or something someone else might love to look at and/or wear, it makes me happy. Meeting other people who share a similar interest is icing on the cake. So I plan to attend a knitting and crocheting meet up very soon. 

There's also a group meeting at our local library. The good parts: they both meet close by and they start at reasonable times. ("Reasonable" meaning "day time hours". The older I get, the more I like being close to home at dark.) 

 Now I need to send an e-mail to the group of ladies I want to meet for needlework fun. :-)