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.

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.

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.

Destination: unknown

I finished the double crochet "Lullaby" blanket with reverse single crochet around the edging yesterday. I'm going to offer it for FREE on Freecycle this weekend. I made it knowing that I wanted to donate it and I want it to go to someone who really needs it. It turned out nicer that I imagined. It is large. It measures 36"x 43 1/2". It is heavy & thick because I used two strands held together.

Left-click on the images to see a close-up view.













Here we see what I consider to be "the money shot." Yes, yes, yes! There's nothing more satisfying than looking at a completed blanket folded up, ahhh.










I must've had a productive day yesterday. The "Corn" wool potholders turned out quite pleasing after undergoing the felting process. They're still on the porch drying. Wet wool is not a pleasant odor. Yuck!







I also finished crocheting the Soft Navy & Pumpkin scarf. Just have those fun (not really) ends to weave in!












Shades of blue scrap yarn rug that I started months ago. It'll be some time, I imagine, before I break down and weave in all of those loose ends! The sad part is that I already weaved in many of them, plus there are ones on the other side. I think weaving in ends with a needle looks better and is more secure than just crocheting over them which I used to do. I want to crochet a solid blue border around this rug which will look nice. I have two other scrap rugs to finish.

One thing about me is that I do eventually finish projects started months prior. It's nice to be able to pick up a project that is already underway.


Yesterday evening I returned to crocheting a scrap blanket that I started months ago. It has shades of orange, blue and white. Some of you have seen it before in photos that I shared of me working on it at the park. I'm adding more white to it from a 16 oz. skein of Red Heart using my favorite red plastic H hook to form clusters of two half double crochet stitches. Taking a long time. I just want to make it wide enough to be a lap blanket. Its ultimate destination? Unknown.

The pleasing result of impatience

Earlier today, with my Red Heart acrylic yarn, I began crocheting a Soft Navy blue scarf which I will add Pumpkin stripes to when I get to the ends. Also began listening to David Baldacci's Last Man Standing which is detailed and unexpectedly amusing in some parts.

The Aran Fleck headband you see is the pleasing result of impatience. Decided that I wanted to try a different "simple" shell stitch pattern and found one that looked like it would be easy. It was slow going despite reading the instructions multiple times. I decided that two rows were enough for me. I single crocheted around the edges then decreased stitches until it was time to make a chain for the adjustable ties. For the cool fall weather and inevitable winter, I will be making extra thick earwarmer headbands in various sizes as soon I can get on that streak.


Below is the manifestation of the last crochet order that I made. I like looking at the calm, restful image. Since I know the person who received the eyeglass case cover, I happened to see it in action at my August 30th sale which she attended. She opened her purse so I could drop her purchase in it and I saw the peach cover with her eyeglass case inside. I grabbed it out of her purse. I was surprised to see it again!