Pop 'N Love

Yesterday I finally made it over to Norman C. Sleezer Youth Home to drop off the things I wanted to donate. It wasn't bitterly cold out so that helped the process a lot.


Among the crocheted items that I left at their new home is the purple scarf you see in three different shades of Pop 'N Yarn brand yarn. I LOVE that yarn! It feels thicker than other 4-ply worsted weight yarns and the colors are so deep. Love it! I've already started another scarf in Royal Blue.


Back to the donations: I had collected a variety of items from around the house and bought a few extra things such as shampoo, conditioner when I went shopping for my own needs.



The receptionist filled out a donations intake form. She asked for my name and address and I named the things that I brought while she wrote them down.


I shared notebooks, pens, pencils, postcards, construction paper, some bookmarks that I'd made, stickers, suckers, shampoo & conditioner samples, pocket combs, green nail polish, some of my surplus emery boards. One of the ladies in the reception area said that they are going to love me. Wow! I remember being a teenage girl. I clocked countless hours doing my hair and nails. I do have lots of hair stuff from my cosmetology school days around here that I don't use, hmmm.


Last night I felt inspired enough by the experience and abundance of stuff to start another box of donations for the same place. So far there's a sweater and a pair of shoes that I've never worn anywhere. I'll donate more hair scrunchies.

Click on the pic to get a better view of the stuff. A black loom-knit hat, fleece scarf, crochet headbands, a couple of wrist purses, four pairs of pants, a top and a soft grey sweater. Important for me to keep some sort of log so I don't imagine that I still have the items and go looking for them in the house again.















I hope that colorful blanket (double-stranded, double crochet) provides the girls with warmth and cheer.

I was on another introvert vacation last week. Here's a pile of the stuff that I worked on finishing off. Have woven in the ends on several of the things. I think the teal & white blanket might be the only thing there that I might not donate. We'll see. I feel ready to start another scrap blanket.













This is the double-stranded half double crochet poncho that I impulsively decided to start making to fit a toddler. I slip-stitched the seams together. I'm going to go around the neckline and bottom in pink Caron Simply Soft yarn and add a millefiore flower embellishment.

Good crochet news

This is my second post for today. I just wanted to show you the blankets that I crocheted that were delivered to Stephenson Nursing Center yesterday.



Diane H. braved the cold and snow on my behalf to make the actual delivery. She was one of the women who responded to the message I posted on Freeport Freecycle Café seeking delivery service for charity items. I'm so glad she did because the only barrier between the residents getting the blankets was my own aversion to being out in the painful cold more than absolutely necessary.



I did go out yesterday to shovel the snow from the last snowfall and that experience just reinfornced my aversion to the unbelievable cold. Right now it is 6 degrees Fahrenheit,
-14.44 Celcius, outside and we are under a winter storm warning. Winter "officially" begins on Sunday, December 21st. Sure.

Throughout this winter I will continue to make items to be donated in the community. I feel grateful to have all of this yarn around me and the ability to help myself and others stay warm.

Still hooked

I'm sort of in shock at the moment. Came on to make a new post and saw that I needed to moderate a comment written by the author of Hooked On Murder, Betty Hechtman, which is a book that I mentioned in my last post. (You can read the comment in the previous post.) I was reading more it in the bathroom earlier this morning! Due to my curiosity, I had to skip ahead to find out who the killer is. That won't ruin the story for me. I'm more interested in the gripping crochet parts than anything else. I love reading about crochet almost as much as I like actually doing it. I still have to read about how the group's blanket turns out in the story. I feel like starting another blanket myself.

Here are pics of the slippers I made. As you can see, they start off as rectangles that are gathered at the toe. Whip-stitched the back seams then single crocheted a cuff around.











They're half wool and half acrylic. I put them through a hot water laundering with a few other clothing articles, then dried them in the dryer. I applied puff paint to the bottoms to prevent the slippers from slippin' on the floor while I wear them. Has worked so far. I've worn them a lot since they were ready to be worn. I'm wearing them right now.

I'm almost done with an off-white scarf that I've been crocheting. I've also have started knitting one in thick yarn, but that will take me longer to accomplish.

More glorious crochet

Decided to make my own blog post so I can go back to checking out other crochet and knitting blogs.



At left you see the two light teal dishcloths that I took my time crocheting using a half double crochet + single crochet stitch pattern. A simple pattern that gives a nice texture. I used Red Heart Soft and that yarn feels glorious. My idea is to sell the washcloths with a bar of soap for added value.



I have been reading a lot as usual. I have three books in rotation that I'm reading hands-on and one of the fiction novels is Hooked on Murder: A Crochet Mystery by Betty Hechtman. The man character is 48-year-old Molly Pink who initially gets detained by the police after literally stepping on the body of the woman who led the book's crochet group. It's funnier than I thought it would be. I do wish I could have gotten it on audiobook through the library so I can crochet while listening to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Murder-Crochet-Betty-Hechtman/dp/0425221253

My current audiobook is Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris.

I've been wondering what crocheters and knitters in Canada have been making to survive the cold. I have been delaying getting out of bed these days just to postpone being cold for a little longer.



Yesterday I finished the grey slippers that I started months ago when I was on a slipper binge. They are quadruple-stranded; two strands of acrylic and two strands of wool. My feet have been freezing so badly that I have to warm them up several times a day so I thought the wool would help insulate them. I'll show you the slippers in progress and in action in my next post.






This is the teal & white double crochet blanket that I've been working on. The one pound skeins have been going a long way. So glad that I won't have so many ends to weave in after the crocheting is done.

I have more crochet news, but I'll save it for my next post.

Maintaining comfort with lots & lots of yarn

It was asked on Rockford Crochet where we keep our stash. Decided that it would be easier to show pics. What you see is some of my yarn, not all of it because some of it is sorted into homemade kits. Most of it is in the meditation room in the tall bookcases you see below. They used to have doors on them, but I took them off so I can more easily stare at my yarn. It is very much like having a mini yarn shop in my home and it is so fun to go in there to shop! A very cheery room.

The white and off-white yarns in the hanging organizers live in the office now. I had to bring in my yarn from the enclosed porch because of the cold meaning that I don't want to go out there when I want to make a selection.

That's my Sierra Leone, Africa orphanage box on the desk next to my covered sewing machine. Accumulating and making items to send will be an ongoing project. I bought a box of 60 Band-Aids. Will remember to take some out and put them in that box since even basic medical supplies are greatly in need in such places. I happened to have some unopened hair beads that I don't think I'll use along with some non-crochet baby clothes that had been for my current stuffed animals and childhood dolls.

The first yarn I'd bought after purchasing the four trash bags full (as seen in a previous post) was 3 skeins of Red Heart Spring Green which is the same shade as Caron Simply Soft Brites Limelight. I got it from Walmart. I got really hungry for green last winter so I'm glad that they had it in stock. They only had 4 skeins of it. I did buy a pound of black yarn too.

Right now around here it even looks like "a lot" of yarn to me, but I'd still be willing to take more yarn in if anyone needs to rehome some. Has to do with maintaining my psychological comfort level so having a lot of yarn around me as much as possible is terribly important. Oh, and course it will be used too.

I usually work on crochet projects in my bedroom, the living room, porch, and office. I usually take a project with me when I go out. Takes the anger out of having to wait.

I have taken projects with me to the bathroom and worked on them there . . . Don't worry, I launder/sanitize the items that I donate to charity. Washing helps soften acrylic fabric and removes manufacturing oils, body oils, and whatever other substances may have collected on in-progress projects.

I think I've crocheted in the basement while waiting for my laundry to finish it's business. Yes, I'm pretty sure I've done it there. I'm sure I will have done it all over the house someday.

I like to write a lot so I tend to alternate between writing in a notebook or on the computer and crocheting. Recently cleared the pile of yarn and papers that accumulated on my desk.

My current project which I started the day before yesterday: Cherry Chip dishcloths. Popped into my head to make sets of them for people who have to rebuild their lives due to fires or other unexpected circumstances. Whoever needs 'em, basically. I'm on my fourth and last one for this set.

I'm probably going to switch over to making a navy blue scarf that will go with a navy blue hat that I've already made with the intention of donating it. Need something that doesn't require a lot of concentration while I watch movies on the computer.

I've also been working on a teal & white blanket. It's so nice. I'm leaning toward selling it because I'm sure someone would love it and give me money for it, but we'll see what I do when I do it.

Will be posting again soon!

While I was gone

This is the scarf & hat set that I made for my male eating buddy while I was on my recent introvert vacation.



I chose Red Heart brand acrylic yarn in Coffee and Aran Fleck. The hat is double stranded for extra warmth. I used every stitch except for triple crochet.



That is the first set I'd made. Kinda strange that I'd never made a coordinating set unless I have and just can't remember.

Now I'm on a roll with crocheting matching sets. I've been making a yellow child's scarf to go with the hat I made because I felt like using the yellow yarn. After I make that I'm going to make a blanket and then another blanket after that.

Crochet away

Today I'll show you charity crochet projects that have moved out of the house that They already live with someone else or will in the future as intended.

At left are the chemo hats that Rockford Crochet made for a local woman who lost her hair due to cancer treatments. The ones I made are on the bottom and can be seen in a previous post when they still resided in my home.



Below are the items that me and my friend donated on Tuesday the 18th which will help people in the surrounding community also. What do we see there? A crocheted hat, two winter scarves, dish cloths, shampoo, toothpaste, Irish Spring with Aloe soap bars that I had a lot of, cups that I didn't use, crackers that I got from the restaurant where I last dined, plastic tableware and straws accumulated over time. The two bags on the right are filled with clothes that I chopped up to transform into cleaning rags along with a number of crocheted cloths that I made a couple years ago to use up leftover yarn.

It's good that I have the photo to remind me of what is gone now so I don't think it's still here and search for it the next time I want to start a donation pile.






The donations nicely consolidated on the porch waiting to be picked up by the woman who made me aware of the needs of the organization that will distribute the items.










This is an Aran Fleck scarf that I made a long time ago using half double crochet stitches. Maybe the second longest scarf I've made. Thought it would be good for a man. That stitch pattern took a long time and I'm glad to not see that scarf around here anymore as a reminder.

Today I started a brown winter beanie for my new eating buddy. I haven't decided what color I'll do the stripes in. Thinking Aran Fleck.

Pretty flowers!

On the sun-warmed porch this afternoon while listening to Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris, I glued rhinestones onto the centers of some of the millefiore flowers that I crocheted. Very pretty!




Here's my gradated half double crochet blanket. I finally finished weaving in the ends which made it an official blanket. I use it while I sit on the couch in the living room.











I like making these multi-colored blankets with scrap yarn. I just tie the ends of extra yarn together to form a ball. The ends that hang out are a design feature. Exciting to make because you don't know how all the colors are going to look together. I used a second strand of white throughout for this one to make it extra warm. I'd like to try one like this with black when I have enough black to make a large lap blanket like this. This one is destined for a nursing home.

I have a ravenous appetite for making blankets! This is the one I'm working on now using two and three strands at a time. It's double crocheted and destined for the charity of my choice. It's going to be different from others that I've made.











I just need to make one more baby washcloth to finish this set which I mentioned in a previous post. Here you can see the blue, peach and white variegated baby yarn that I mentioned.





I've been working on other things. Man, I crochet a lot! If I didn't have to go bed at night, I'm sure I'd do it even more.





You know what? I also started knitting my first hat on straight needles rather than on a loom. I've cast on in Simply Soft Heather Grey for the knit 1, purl 1 band. I'm thinking about making the main body of it in Soft Yellow. We'll see what color I feel like when I get to that part.

I've got lots more to tell you and more pics to share. I'll have to make a second post for sure this week.

I've been making things that I don't usually make, learning new patterns. I made this motif a little while ago. It's called "Briar Rose" and it called to me from the pages of the Reader's Digest book, The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches that I own.









Items that I sent to the winner of Rockford Crochet's BINGO winner last Monday.










This thing I can only call a swatch of some sort. Started off as a scarf, but the simple half double crochet stitch pattern was going to take too long with that yarn so I did single crochet around it and gave it away.










My spider plant is thriving. It continues to shoot out runners, flower, and have babies.

I have made many, many small flowers from a very simple pattern called "Millefiore" in different colors over the past couple of days. They can be used as appliques. They are very easy to make while watching movies or listening to audiobooks. Because I have made so many, I have many ends to weave in. I think I'll start embellishing some of the things that I make more. Depends on how many steps I want to take.

Yesterday I finished crocheting a Soft Blue scarf that I'll use three of the flowers on. I missed a stitch and there's a small hole that a flower would conceal perfectly. I'm going to glue rhinestones in the middle which will look cool with the icy blue. I've already cut some fringe for the scarf. Added steps. Think a hat with the flowers would go nicely with it too.

I finished listening to Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris on the porch then started listening to Tick Tock by Dean Koontz. Worked on that yellow thing as seen in a previous entry with the bunny. Was going to be a blanket, but Paris/Bushy Stitch just takes too long to make a large project!

Porch pumpkin patch

I last sold two sets of pumpkins to my friend Kathy to give to her daughters. I happened to think to set them in a nest of raffia for the photo that I took of them on the porch.

Today I crocheted two baby washcloths using variegated pastel blue, peach and white yarn. Planning on having a crafts & bake sale this month and in December with one of Kathy's daughters. I'll do the crafting and she'll do the baking.

This morning I gathered items around the house that I can transform into crafty saleable gift items. I'm going to make more washcloths and package them with a bar of soap. You'll see what else I come up with. I spent time online this morning looking for quick crafts for fundraising. Saw some non-crochet ideas that I would like to pursue. I'm trying not to go out and buy things. I combined a baby blanket, the yellow stuffed bunny as seen two entries ago with a Peter Cottontail book to be sold as a set.

I can see already that making gift baskets would become habit-forming for me. I imagine combining different related items into one set or bundle. I see some practical, awesome ones in my head already. I'll make an effort to use what I already have first. I have lots of craft stuff so I just need to calm down and go into an exhilarating creative frenzy. I'm going to have to whip out my hot glue gun for some of the things that I have in mind.

For some of you, the pics below will look familiar. In the past, I shared the one on the left my face-to-face associates and online pen pals to illustrate what yarn ends look like before they are woven in with a needle.

This was an order that Kathy gave me to make for the daughter who bakes. There are 2 hot pads, 6 climbing shells dishcloths, 5 rose pins, and 4 drink coasters.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that I want to use the same edging around the baby washcloths that I used for the dishcloths. I'm going to use white baby yarn with the sparkly thread of rayon going through it. I have a lot of that kind of yarn. It's a nice feeling to think about yarn.

Saturday in Soft Blue

These are in-progress pics of the the Soft Blue blanket that I've since finished and have been weaving the ends on today while listening to From Dead to Worse, A Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Mystery by Charlaine Harris. I used a cross-stitch double crochet stich here and there.












Oh! This is also a project that is now basically finished. My first sweater. Grew some brain cells for sure trying to understand the pattern in order to crochet in such dimensions to form, in one piece, what looks like a T-shaped sweater when folded over. Used half double crochet.

I'm probably going to add Heather Grey around the edges after I weave in the ends and sew the seams. I'll have to measure it to see what size person it would fit for sure. Going to donate it somewhere.

Bunny's first crochet

Either this motivated bunny taught itself how to crochet or that's the project I started working on earlier today on the sun-warmed porch. With the intention of making a blanket in the same color as the bunny, I started using Paris a.k.a. Bushy Stitch. It's a beautiful stitch pattern with a lot going on in one chain. Think it burns calories.

Today I found out that my female pen pal who lives in South Korea received the package that I sent to her a couple weeks ago. I sent several handmade crafts as you can see below. A white rose black ink pen, a sparkly pink rose pin, a bookmark, a mini gift bag made with chenille yarn in Antique White, 3 face scrubbies, 3 hair scrunchies. Left click for a closer look.

I recently made this pretty pink & grey hat for someone using Caron Simply Soft yarns. I just need to weave in the ends and away it can go to its intended owner.



















A decorative scarf that I started several weeks ago using Simply Soft "Bone" and Bernat Matrix ribbon yarn in Natural Network. I'll pick it up and finish it when I get into a finishing zone. It's in a box in my bedroom with a few other items that need to be finished.












Slate Blue brushed acrylic yarn transformed into a hat. I just wanted to use up the yarn to see what it looked like. Going to donate the double-stranded hat somewhere, somewhere.

Today I'll probably finish the last few rows of the sweater I've been making and decide which sweater pattern I'll start on next.

Capture color

It's 7:54 a.m. I've been awake since 4 something. I've already crocheted today. I've been in my bedroom listening to Club Dead by Charlaine Harris read by Johanna Parker. It's a Sookie Stackhouse mystery. The only vampire novel that has held my attention. Very entertaining. I want to see more of the new HBO show, True Blood, based on the books. I saw some of the first episode online. It was good. Anna Paquin (Rogue from the X-Men movies) plays Sookie and she's appropriate for the role.

Color. Below are my Lilliput zinnias that live in the back yard for now. The cold hasn't killed them yet. There are some bright yellow ones back there which have had their leaves gobbled up by insects. My first time sowing that variety. Last year I had the giant profusely blooming zinnias that you see above which I loved. Next year I'd like to have gladiolas and lilies.

Yarn that I bought last year. My meditation room and bedroom are painted a deep pink coral color which is why there is a reddish overtone in some of my photos. Mmm, yarn memories.

I made this hat last year along with 6 others with the intention of donating it, but it called to me over and over again to keep it. I reasoned that I had a right to keep it since I bought the yarn and made it afterall. The others hats did make it to the non-profit agency so it all worked out. I have been wearing the pink & black hat inside the house lately. A house hat. I received several compliments when I wore it last year. I could make more like it.

This is the colorful blanket that I'm going to donate to the local youth foster home when finished. I think I'll stop with the Paddy Green round. It's already fairly large and I've got other crochet projects going on that I can't keep my hands off of.

I've worked on the Soft Blue blanket and sweater already today. I took pictures of those items plus more pumpkins that I made. My mind told to me to stage them with raffia for an organic, realistic look. I've made 13 pumpkins and I am so over making pumpkins. Too many steps. No more!

I really like looking at the pics on this site and what the group members have done for charity. http://www.halfknits.com/photos.htm

I took a closer look at the photo shown of hair scrunchies on a table. Delicious. I have cranked out so many of those. I'll have to make more and put them in a colorful pile like that and stare at them. I'm going to donate a small bag of them with the colorful blanket. I'd think they'd be handy for teen girls.

Yarn and more yarn

The most yarn I've ever brought home at once. I got four trash bags full of it at an estate garage sale earlier this month.








I got lots of really good yarn, packages that had never been opened, skeins that had never been used. All of this yarn cost me only $32. My hands are shaking just looking at this picture. I remember the day I brought it all home.








On Tuesday, October 14th, I opened my front door to check the temperature and saw a box sitting on the steps. I knew what it was. (I didn't scream because I was getting ready to go out and didn't have time.) Caron yarn company rapidly responded to my email request for free yarn for community charity projects. I mentioned that I LOVE Simply Soft yarns which are very soft with a sheen and that's what they sent me. The colors received are Soft Yellow and Soft Blue. New to me. I have used several of the 60 three ounce skeins that they sent. I have been crocheting a lot as usual.

I've been working on this blanket today. I started it recently when I just wanted to see how the yarn would look. It's double-stranded, thick and warm. I think this is going to be a large toddler blanket or lap blanket. We'll see what happens. Yesterday I started making my first sweater in the same color. I have it in mind to make and donate sweaters to a local low-income preschool program. I've made good progress on it so far. Of course, I'll post pics of it at another time.