Back in October

Below you can view a variety of things I donated to a group foster home facility last month. Some scarves that I made, a red & white bag, Red Heart Cherry Chip dishcloths, and white stuffed pumpkins made last year.














Donated to a local nursing home: White shawl, two blankets, three hats, white doily set, an orange doily, two walker totes. Three stuffed animals which will be used as BINGO prizes.













A newborn baby set donated via Freecycle. I made the blanket in '07, I believe.

Right now I have two blankets going. One is a baby blanket for a set and the other will be a full size blanket.

Crocheted baby sets

I donated all of these sets and another which resulted in an order for two more sets
via Freecycle earlier in the month.

Still crocheting

Below are blankets that I made and am donating via Freecycle. Both are double-stranded. The blue, white, and peach blanket is made with sport weight yarn and it measures 25" x 25." The Soft Yellow (Caron) & Grey is a combination of worsted and sport weight yarns and it measures 33" x 32 1/2."













A blanket made with very soft acrylic yarn, Red Heart Kids Beach Ombre.









A set of felted wool potholders ordered by my #1 customer.








My first filet crochet project. It's a shamrock doily that my best friend ordered for my #1 customer.

My current crochet jag is hats which I will donate along with the many scarves I've already made.

Official crochet

This is my second official round doily made with Peaches & Creme cotton yarn.
















A cotton hand towel that I made to be used in the bathroom in lieu of paper towels. The stitch pattern is called "Thistle Stitch."






















I knit this dishcloth/washcloth on my Sensations #10 knitting needles. Probably took longer than the hand towel to make because the stitches are so much shorter. I was glad to end it.

Here's a bright baby/toddler blanket that I must've crocheted months ago now, who knows? The crochet train keeps chugging right along at my house! I made this blanket just because I wanted to put those bright colors together.





I've still been crocheting scarves in between projects. Right now I'm working on a multi-colored one using scraps.






I have two official crochet orders that I will be working on in the near future. More money for yarn, hooray!

My first booties

I made these booties for my great niece last month, I believe. My first pair. Just like making slippers. An easy pattern.

The last thing I made was a scarf. I'm going to start another scarf today. A medium pink color.

Going to start a hooded baby blanket in lavender acrylic yarn as a larger project. The stitch pattern is ripple stitch as I know it to be called. Produces a highly textured fabric. It's going to look great!

Peach & mint granny square doily

This lives at my friend Kathy's house now. She said it's gorgeous.

I've been steadily crocheting scarves. The last blanket I made was a baby blanket. A large one in yellow and grey. Yet to be photographed.

Less blogging, more crocheting

I'm on the tail end of my introvert vacation from direct contact with other people. As this one has passed so quickly, I'd like to go on another vacation next week after I acquire more fabric for my upcoming sewing projects.

It must've been a couple weeks ago when I decided to make a set of coasters from a an old Herrschner's magazine pattern that I'd never tried before. I gifted the finished items to my friend Kathy. I made something else for her in peach & mint green that I will post another time. Have several other items that I've made that need to be photographed.

This is the first round doily I've ever made. I'd say it's about 8' wide. I wanted to try this pattern from a book. Too many increases resulted in pretty ruffles. Made this for Kathy's daughter using Red Heart Burgundy as a living room accessory.

I've been working on a wide scarf in Red Heart Lipstick, hdc stitches. Needed something mindless to work on for relaxation purposes.

Getting green

Have been crocheting a lot as usual. Have many, many crochet projects in various stages going on as evidenced by the heaping pile on one end of my couch. Today I sat on the porch listening to an audiobook like usual while crocheting a yellow scarf. I'll be crocheting scarves all year long so that I will have a ton of them finished by the time the next cold season arrives.






It's getting green outside for sure now. The trees and bushes are budding leaves.









Here you can see the 2005 run seeds that I started in containers on the porch. Nice to see that almost all of them have come up even though they're so old. The turnip greens really took off. In 2nd place is broccoli.





I have started composting! That's something new that I wanted to try for a while. I'm using a large pail that I found in the shed.





Below is a baby blanket that I'm going to donate. I used reverse single crochet for the edging.

















Looking at that blanket makes me feel like starting another one, but I'll finish the scarf which I'm almost done with first.

Spring Green

I'm almost done with this baby blanket. Made it with Caron Simply Soft primarily in Soft Blue, double crochet and crossed half double crochet stitches. Going to go around the edge with the white yarn (Jamie by Lion Brand, I believe) and then make a pair of booties to go with it. Maybe two. One in blue and one in white. Have never made booties before, but I'm sure they'll be simple to make since the pattern I chose is a smaller version of slippers that I've made before. Intend to donate the blanket and booties to someone via Freeport Freecycle. People won't stop having babies; best to be fortified with baby goods.


I have another unphotographed blanket that I'm almost done with. Made with Red Heart Spring Green and Beach yarn with a couple wide stripes in a coordinating blue. When I finish the Caron Simply Soft Blue blanket, I'm going to start a pink blanket for my nephew's new baby. He chose the Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn himself when he came over last week. Along with a baby hat made with RH Soft White, I gave him a baby blanket that he'd admired in the past made with Wintuk Knitting Yarn by WonderArt in the variegated shade called "Lullaby" and also the yellow stuffed bunny featured in the past post "Bunny's first crochet."






Three of the five walker/wheelchair totes that I've made. These are at the stage where I need to add the hook & loop tape closures. I'll decide which to offer for sale and which I want to donate after making more. I was thinking about making little coordinating pouches or something small to go with them. It would take too long to make blankets.

It's supposedly going to get near 70 degrees today. Yesterday was warm. I've already gotten a bit eager and have started decorating the enclosed porch. Last year I did green & white, but this year I'm going with lilac or lavender & white. Have already put yarn out there.

I'm going to start flirting with the notion of getting my bicycle ready for riding, but let's see if this isn't a false start to spring first.

I remember last fall waiting for the snow to melt so I could mow the lawn. Crazy climate.

Blanket news

This is the latest blanket that I've been working on. The color parts are double crochet and the black rows are crossed half doubles.I'm going to put black around the edge when I get done with the red.








This is the second to last scrap blanket that I made. I'm sitting on top of it because it's being used as a chair cover at the moment.



I've been working on my third walker tote using Pop 'N Yarn in Regal Blue and Calif. Coral which is a bright shade of orange.

Happy magnets

I have six handmade refrigerator magnets on the freezer door at the moment. I made 4 smiley faces with the intention of using them as promotional tokens for my new knit & crochet group. The first time I used wiggly eyes.
I used a new children's toothbrush to brush the faces' fun fur hair.

I made my first plastic canvas project, a kiwi fruit a few days ago. Except for the yellow center which is crochet thread, I used worsted weight yarn.






The faces without eyes. I won't show you the disturbing photo of one of the faces when it had a needle stabbing through its head when I had to weave in the ends of its hair. Rest assured it kept a smile on its face the entire time so it must not have been too painful.













I picked up a double crochet striped blanket that I hadn't worked on in a long time. I'd say it's baby blanket size. Have to weave in many, many ends. (I'm just not pleased with the way it looks when I crochet over ends.) I haven't decided which color I'll use to go around the edge. I'm thinking I might go with teal or turquoise.


















It occurred to me that I didn't have any photos posted of my hand holding my knitting. This is a scarf in bulky yarn that I pick up occasionally. I prefer the slickness of Sensations knitting needles by Jo-Ann Fabrics. My blue needles are size 10 and my pretty green ones are 10.5.

I have more blanket news. I'll post more pics this week.

The new knit and crochet connection

This week has gone by quickly. Today I've spent most of my time in my bedroom crocheting the scrap blanket from the previous entry while listening to The Janson Directive by late author Robert Ludlum. I'll probably get more of his books because they have a pleasing amount of action in them. He was the creator of The Bourne Identity. I'll have to get that one for sure.




Above are the items that I received from my West Virginian Rockford Crochet partner for January's exchange. Two 6" squares, a cotton dishcloth, hat and bookmark. They are at my computerless friend Kathy's house at the moment. They'll return home on the 16th.


I converted the bookmark into a refrigerator magnet by gluing on magnetic tape with Tacky Glue. The peel 'n' stick adhesive didn't adhere well enough.


On February 6th I started a new Yahoo! group for knitters and crocheters. It's called Stephenson County Knit & Crochet Connection. I'm still getting the word out about it through flyers and business cards.

You can read the description about it here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scknitcrochet/

Today I approved the first member so now there are officially 2 members!

Crocheting on impulse

I made it over to the group foster home facility on Monday the 2nd to make my second donation. Under the stuffed animals is a scrap blanket that I crocheted. There are several crocheted hair scrunchies and one knitted headband which is atop the Red Heart Grey Heather scarf. I liked the sweater underneath it, but it's too small for me. I bought it from a thrift store. I received a sample of Celine Dion's new fragrance which I'd sent for. Left click your mouse for a closer look at the items.

I finished the scrap blanket that I made for myself and started making another scrap blanket with half double crochet clusters of two and rows of double crochet to speed the progress even more. I should donate it to a nursing home when I'm done. I have one done already that could use some company in the trash bag that I have it stored in.

I very awkwardly held the camera with my left hand to take a photo of how I hold my hook. The button for taking the photo is on the right side of the camera.

I must've been watching a season 2 episode of The Waltons on DVD when I decided on impulse that I'd like to make a cotton dishcloth. Peaches 'n Creme Pink Lilacs. It almost used the entire 2 oz. skein.

For those of you who don't already know this, the grandmother on The Waltons crochets. She usually uses an off-white thread and a steel hook, but last time it looked like she was using a white hook that looks like a plastic one that I have and off-white worsted weight yarn. The actress wasn't faking it. She could crochet rather quickly and uses a grip like you would holding a pencil. I can't hold my hook that way for long. I think the way a person holds their hook might depend on how their hand and wrist bones are formed.

When crochet gets better

This oddly shaped object is one of the first dishcloths that I made more than two years ago when I was learning how to crochet. It's made of cotton and I still use it occasionally.

As you can see, my skills have improved with practice and knowledge since then. Here's the most recent dishcloth that I made for my Rockford Crochet January exchange partner in Caron Simply Soft Blue and white acrylic yarn with a nylon thread running through it. Ripple stitch pattern for the main part and a lacy scallop shell pattern for the edging.

These are the other items that I sent to her which she received earlier in the week. She loved the colors that I chose. The thread bookmark has a bow-shaped button that I sewed on. I'd bought a bag of buttons and thought to try out a novelty one for the bookmark. I used double crochet and cross-stitch double crochet stitches.

I've been in my bedroom listening to a short story audiobook, Murder for Revenge, edited by Otto Penzler while working on a large tote bag. All Red Heart yarns; double-stranded. It'll be four colors: Grey Heather, Magenta, Light Raspberry, and Petal Pink when I'm finished. I'm not using a pattern, just making it up as I go along. At this point, if it were stiffer, it'd make a nice basket for something.

Tasty crochet

I finished the pink 13"x 14" granny square with picot edging the day before yesterday. It was just one of those things where I made it because I just wanted to see how it would look. I didn't use a pattern. I think it is very pretty, but lacy things are just not my taste. I'm going to give it to my friend Kathy who will surely call it a doily.

Something else that will hopefully appeal to someone else's taste is this scarf that I must've made last month or so. The worsted weight yarns are purple, teal and brown. What happened was that I came across the ball of fun fur yarn that you see I used for the edging and decided that I wanted to use it up.

I'm going back to my bedroom to listen to an audiobook and continue working on this scrap blanket. I'm using black throughout for the second strand and I like the way it looks.

Crochet quickie

This is a mauve hat that I made for my January Exchange partner. The large rose pin with fun fur is one that I've had for a long time and just threw it on there for the pic.

Below are 4 and 6 inch granny squares that I made just to see what the colors looked like together. The left one is teal and bright yellow.

I've been crocheting a multi-color scarf that I'm going to donate. Finished a Grey Heather one before that and also started making a tote bag for myself.

A couple days ago I received a very nice, non-generic letter of gratitude from the executive director of Norman C. Sleezer Youth Home regarding the donations I made last month. This morning I wrote to the Hanes company requesting donations of socks, panties, and bras for the residents of the facility. Hopefully my email will get a prompt response. I've continued to crochet more items to be donated to the foster home as well as finding things around the house that I no longer want or just don't use.

I need to finish two of the walker/wheelchair totes that I made last week or whenever.

I'm hungry and my feet are cold and I have to go watch The Waltons and crochet. Bye!

Crochet possibilities

I have been crocheting a lot. Today I made a couple 6" squares for my Rockford Crochet January Exchange partner. They are lovely. I experienced glitches with both patterns. I had never made one of the squares before so I had to do some thinking about what I was trying to do which is something that I usually don't care for while crocheting. I had to rip out stitches for the basic granny square a couple times because I didn't have enough double crochets for one cluster and one too many for another. Eventually my hands took over and I was able to let my mind go to other thoughts.

Have been getting annoying static electricity shocks when I touch things in the house especially when turning on light switches. Not enough moisture in the house. I had to take my Vicks Vaporizer apart to clean it out. Had to use an unusual tool meaning that I had to get out of bed and think about what I was doing. Winter creates so many nuisances. Bah!

I finished the Royal Blue scarf that I had been working on. Took several days after the fun for me to finally weave in the few dangling ends. If I were a drinking woman, maybe getting blitzed would make me feel less dreadful about weaving in ends. I crochet a lot of things and that means lots of dangling tails. Bah!

I'm almost done with a scrap blanket that I started with the intention of donating to Sleezer. Will be long enough to cover a person up to their shoulders. Well, it will cover me up to my shoulders. Have collected other things around the house. There's a bottle of aqua/turquoise nail polish that I don't use. It occurred to me when I was looking at it sitting atop my makeshift dresser that I have yarn the same color which means that I can make a hair scrunchie to go with it!

Oh, again I was so excited about crochet possibilities that I didn't want to go to sleep last night. I started making my first wheelchair caddy. I began using a pattern that I found online, but ended up deviating from it. I'm only making one rectangular panel so I won't have as many you-know-whats to weave in. Thinking I'll go on a streak of making them. I want to try different color combinations. The one from last night will be mainly Skipper Blue. A big log of yarn. The label was old. Anyway, the contrast color will be Red Heart Monet.

One night, probably weeks ago now, I impulsive decided to start making rug mugs to sell in the future. I got this colorful bouclé yarn on sale from JoAnn Fabrics some time ago. It has wool content. I also made two and a half rug mugs with Homespun "Wine" using single crochet.

Looking forward to starting another blanket.