Mindless Crochet

I made a few potholders and washcloths this weekend.  I would have liked to work more on the bag I started last week.  Things have been so crazy and hectic lately, it's been hard for me to concentrate on a new pattern.  I think some more mindless crochet like making more washcloths is what is in store for today.  I hope I get my mojo back because I am looking forward to making a bag for the first time.

An Owl, Wooden Clogs, and a Bag

So my husband is finally home and I got to give him his gifts that I got in Amsterdam.  He loves owls so I got him a figurine.  And I knew I'd regret leaving without a pair of wooden clogs so I bought that as well.  He loved them so now I feel less guilty for going on vacation without him.

I mentioned yesterday I was going to attempt to make a bag off the top of my head because I couldn't find a pattern I liked.  I wasn't thrilled with how the bag was turning out so I started blog surfing when I came across the Hobo Bag Pattern.  Wish I would have found it sooner because it is exactly what I was looking for in a bag.  I'm going to frog what I started and try that pattern out.  I'm hoping I have enough yarn for it.

I'm up for a challenge

I bought this cotton yarn awhile ago online and when it arrived it was a little more white than I expected.  I was hoping less white and a little more black.  So it has been sitting in a drawer for at least a year while I tried to figure out what to do with it.  I finally decided it would make a good summer bag to carry around. 

So I surfed around the internet yesterday hoping to find a good pattern that wasn't too complicated for me and I really didn't see anything that grabbed my attention.  I'm thinking about coming up with something on my own which should be interesting because it will be a first.  I already know it won't be anything fancy and as long as it resembles a bag then I will be happy.  Of course my husband is coming home tomorrow and I need to clean the house so I'm not sure when I'll get started.  Hopefully soon, because I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Slowly getting the hang of it

I'm slowly getting better at making potholders.  Although I don't think no matter how good I get they will ever compare to the ones my husband's grandmother made.  Hopefully, they are good enough to sell at one of the community flea markets that the base has every once in awhile.  I don't have high hopes that I will ever make much money off of selling my crocheted items but even just a few dollars here and there to go buy more yarn would be nice.  I'll probably wait until we get to Hawaii to try my luck at selling. The red and blue multi-color potholders were made with Bernat Handicrafter yarn and the solid blue ones were made with Sugar 'n Cream.

Crocheting to keep me sane

Still working on items for the Crochetville Charity CAL.  These items will eventually be donated to the Bridge and Beyond.  The hat was made with Caron One Pounder yarn and the black was maybe Red Heart Super Saver.  The blue dishcloth was made with German cotton yarn and the variegated green one was Sugar 'n Cream.

Crocheting has been keeping me busy while my husband is away but I still feel a little down in the dumps.  As much as I have loved living in Germany, I think I'm ready for the fresh start in Hawaii.  Living on a military base in a foreign country is almost like living with people you go to high school with.  And it really is literally living with people you work with.  Traveling has been a escape for us where we aren't constantly surrounded by all the drama.  I've become close friends with a few people here but for the most part I keep to myself.   I'm hoping in Hawaii I'll be able to meet people outside of the military community. 

Potholders

My husband's grandmother was a crocheter.  She was well known for giving out potholders that she made to just about anyone that she came into contact with.  I remember going over to her house before we left for Germany and leaving with 10 potholders. She also loved to crochet baby blankets.

Unfortunately, she passed away during my husband's deployment.  However, she provided me with the inspiration to try my hand at making some potholders this weekend.  They didn't come out anywhere near as perfect as the ones she made but I will be switching these out in my kitchen so I can keep the ones she made as a keepsake if we have children.

Here's the link to the pattern I used: Crocheted Double Thick Diagonal Potholder.  I ended up doing a chain of 41 the first time and then a chain of 36, which I preferred, for the second potholder.  I used Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in the Swimming Pool varigated.

Go Illini!

Using the yarn I had previously intended to be used for a U of Illinois afghan, I recently completed a scarf and 3 hats.  I'm fairly certain I have no more skeins left in the navy blue which is good and bad.  Good because I no longer have to keep staring at the navy blue as I try to work through the skeins and bad because I'm getting low on acrylic yarn. 

I decided since my husband is away at a training class until next week I would join the April Charity CAL over at Crochetville.  Once a month they have a CAL where you complete items to be donated to charity.  It will be fun at the end of the CAL to see what we accomplished.

Speaking of donations,  I decided to keep track on my blog the items I have donated to charity this year.  I decided to only count the items once they are sent instead of after I complete them.  I forgot how much I sent in my most recent package to Bridge and Beyond so I will just wait until Sandy makes a blog post there before I add to my totals on my blog.

Soldiers' Angels

I would like to proudly show off something that I did not make for a change.  This is a crocheted storage bag that was sent to my husband while he was deployed in Afghanistan by a complete stranger.  Soldiers' Angels is a wonderful organization where people can support the troops by sending care packages.

This is the bunk bed my husband slept in for a year.  He worked the night shift so the bottom bunk where he slept is covered up so light doesn't get in.  As you can see he proudly displayed his patriotic bag for everyone to see.  He also has a Josh Groban tshirt that someone sent through Soldier's Angels that he  brought home with him.  He wears it to the gym all the time.

My point in posting is that someone took the time to make a handmade item for my husband to brighten his day and it did so much more than that.   My husband is very supportive in my hobby and knew that someone put some time and love into his gift and for that he was very appreciative.  I'm extremely thankful that not only did my husband make his way home safely from Afghanistan but so did this wonderful crocheted gift.

I finally went to see the tulips!

As I mentioned before, I spent 4 days in Amsterdam with one of my good friends.  One of the days we took a day tour to the famous Keukenhof Gardens.  Seven million flower bulbs are planted in the park each year.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with us so it was cold and rainy most of the day.  Overall, we were glad we did the tour.  According to our guide this place has been the site of the most photos taken in the world.  Don't know if that is true or not but according to my camera I definitely took more photos here than anywhere else in Amsterdam.

All of the pretty flower colors has me anxious to finally receive my yarn order from Joanns.  The navy blue skeins that I have been working on just aren't cutting it anymore.  But since my acrylic yarn stash is pretty low, I don't really have a choice so I will keep on plugging away with what I have left. 

One Blue Scarf

Got back from Amsterdam a few hours ago and I'm ready for bed.  I had an awesome time and will post some photos tomorrow.  But since I missed blogging while I was gone, I'd thought I'd post a photo of a scarf that is almost done.  I started it the day before I left on vacation and plan to finish it tomorrow.  After 4 days of traveling my plan is to zone out in front of the tv and crochet.

Déjà vu: Movie Night and Washcloths

After over 2 years of not seeing a movie at the theater my husband and I have seen 2 in the last week.  Last night Hunger Games finally made its way to the theater on base.  While the movie was good, I still think the book was better.  If you only watch the movie without reading the book you will miss out on some of the important details. 

I managed to get a few more washcloths done.  I used 3 leftover balls of the German cotton yarn and was able to make another washcloth.  The blue, yellow, and lavender one was previously started. I ran out of yarn so I added a lavender border. 

Tomorrow I leave for my trip to Amsterdam with a good friend of mine.  During our husbands' deployment we discussed going when they got back as kind of a reward for sticking it out here in Germany when so many of the spouses decided to go back to the States for the year.  It was a difficult year because most of us had just arrived in Germany when we found out our soldiers would be deploying in just a few months.  So I'm proud of the small group that took on the challenge of staying here and trying to make the most out of the year.  It's just going to be the two of us on the trip because our husbands don't have any interest in seeing the tulip fields. 

Washcloths

I've been working on washcloths for the Bridge and Beyond the last few days.  As you can see I made two more washcloths using the German cotton yarn I bought.  The lavender and other multi-colored one were made with Sugar 'n Cream yarn.  And the dark green washcloths were made with I Love This Cotton.  I have made dishcloths with all of these brands before and the ILTC brand seems to hold up the best and is definitely the softest to the touch.  

Hat and Scarf Set

I'm almost done with another hat and scarf set.  I just need to add another foot or so to the scarf.  I decided to use up some of my Caron scrap yarn and add some some stripes.  I think I'm down to my last skein of RHSS in Soft Navy.  I have a few hiding spots for my yarn stash so who knows if I'll find another one.

Polka Dot Afghan

I made the Polka Dot Afghan a few months ago when my husband was away at a training class and later a field exercise.  It was made with Red Heart Super Saver yarn.  I can't remember the exact color names but it is cream and brown.  I still have some ends to weave in which I've been putting off.  I'm not overly thrilled with the final product but I am happy that I challenged myself with a new square pattern.  I'm also very thankful that I had enough yarn in the brown color to finish.  I really did not want to have to order another skein and then wait a month for it to arrive.

German Washcloth

Yesterday I went downtown to the industrial area to get some cotton yarn.  The last time I bought yarn it was 1 euro per cotton skein which is a pretty decent deal.  This time the price was $1.85 euros which is a little bit more than I like to spend but I bought 3 skiens anyway.  Each skein is 85 meters.  I have no idea what the name of the skein is but it is made up of the colors red, blue, green, and yellow.  I managed to finish a washcloth last night as my husband and I were watching tv.

Navy Blue

Before we moved to Germany, I bought 3 or 4 Red Heart Jumbo Super Saver skeins in Soft Navy.  I can't remember what price I paid for them but they were on clearance at Walmart.  I also purchased some skeins in Orange with the plan being I would make some type of afghan using the U of Illinois colors.  Well, I never got around to making the afghan so instead I've been using the navy blue to make hats and scarves.  So anyway, I've completed one scarf and hat this weekend and am working on another scarf. These items are not part of the items I posted yesterday that are packed and ready to ship.  These items were either completed or started after I made yesterday's post.  So as you can see,  I've made a ton of items with this color. And while I like the color, I'm looking forward for my yarn shipment to arrive so I can alternate back and forth in between different colors.

Boxed and ready to go

Finally got around to packing a box full of items to send to the Bridge and Beyond charity.


4 matching hat and scarf sets:

2 scarves and 7 hats (There's a red hat at the top that you can barely see peeking through.  My photography skills leave a lot to be desired.)

And 10 washcloths:

So if I counted right that is 6 scarves, 11 hats and 10 washcloths packed and ready to go.  All of the scarves and most of the hats were made with Red Heart Super Saver.  I used Caron One Pounders for a few of the hats.  The washcloths were made with Bernat Handicrafter Cotton.  Joann's had a sale a few months back and I got 14 oz skeins for $4.99.  I wish I would have bought more since that was such an awesome deal.

Movie Night

Did not get to do a lot of crocheting yesterday because my husband and I went to a movie and then hung out with friends.  We've been at this base for almost 2 1/2 years and this is the first movie we went out and saw here.  One big difference in going to see a movie on a military base vs. a regular theater is they play the National Anthem before the start of the movie.  It's a bit cheaper to see a movie here but we also don't have a big selection of movies.  We usually have to wait at least a month before a new release makes its way here and then it only plays here for a weekend.  And when I say weekend I mean it will play once a day, not 7 or 8.  We live on a small base so at most they will have 2 movies a day. Still though, it's nice to have the option of seeing a movie if you want to because the other alternative is watching the movie in German if you want to watch it here in town or driving a ways to find an English theater.

By the way, we saw 21 Jump Street if anyone is interested.  Great movie.

9 Hats

These hats are what I have been working on lately for the Bridge and Beyond.  The majority of the yarn I used for these was Red Heart Super Saver but I think the hat at the top right I used some scraps from a Caron One Pounder.  I try to use up all my scraps as much as possible. 

2012 Goal

I have decided to set a goal for myself and will attempt to make and send 100 hats to charity this year.  I already have a decent stockpile that I am waiting to send next week.  And yes, technically some of the hats were made last year but either way 100 heads will be warmer and that's what counts.

Now I am patiently waiting for my shipment from Joann's to arrive here.  That's is one of the bad things of living on an Army base in Germany, having to wait at least a month for your yarn shipment.  There are yarn shops here in town but I really do like the affordability of Red Heart and Caron yarns so I buy the majority of my yarn online from the States.  Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to continue to do this when we get to Hawaii because it doesn't look like there's going to be a lot of yarn stores on the island.  Oh well, I guess I will just have to jump on the online sales and buy enough to keep me occupied.

What a mess!

I was in the middle of crocheting a hat last night when the skein of yarn I was using became tangled.  Oddly enough it usually doesn't bother me that much when this happens.  I look at it as sort of a challenge to get it untangled.  Weird, huh?

I'm using Red Heart Super Saver yarn in the color Shaded Browns.  I'm hoping I can find another skein of this in my stash so I can make another hat. 

First Post!

I started crocheting in 2009 but I wish I had learned sooner.  I have found it's a great way to calm my nerves.  Crocheting helped pass the time when my now husband left for Basic Training and AIT.  It helped me relax when after only being married for a few months we PCS'd to Germany.  And of course it got me through the year I was in Germany having just moved there while my husband was sent to Afghanistan.  And now I have my fingers crossed that it will help keep my mind off our big move to Hawaii later this year. 

I tend to crochet mostly for charity because I love the feeling of turning a pile of yarn into something that can be used by someone else.  I mostly crochet for HAP  and the Bridge and Beyond.  I'm always on the lookout for a new charity to support so please feel free to share with me in the comment section if you know of another worthy cause.