Hats and Squares

Finished off some more hats last week.  These will all be donated to Bridge and Beyond 

And I made a few more squares for my scrap afghan.  I appreciate everyone leaving me comments and suggestions about my crochet projects.  I like blogging anyway but it's even more fun when you see that other people are interested in your blog.  Also, a big thank you to everyone that is a follower on my blog.

Part 2 of the Scrap Afghan

I've been having way too much fun making the 2 round squares using up my scrap yarn. I haven't bothered to start attaching them together because there are still a few colors I want to add.  I have to wait though until I make about 4 hats from each of the Caron One Pounders I have so I can add more colors.  I really only want this afghan to be yarn that I can't really use for any other project.  So I will get back to making hats so I can get to that small ball of leftover yarn.

I will probably end up making the afghan for a child or teen and donate it.  Each square is about two inches so now I just need to figure out how big I want the blanket to be and then I can decide how many squares I will need. I also need to figure out what color I want for the outside border.  I was thinking black but my husband suggested something bright like yellow.  The other thing I was wondering about is should I only use the color for the border or should I also use that same color as some of the squares?  Decisions, decisions. Any suggestions?

Beginning of a Scrap Yarn Afghan

So I'm feeling burned out on hats so I need a distraction for awhile.  I would like to make an afghan using up my scrap yarn.  I would make the first 2 rounds of a square.  Then I would either join 4 squares together and add a border like I did with this square:

And keep joining 4 squares and adding a border until I have enough to join all the bordered squares together.

Or I could just skip the border and join all the squares together like this:

Please ignore the quality of the joining.  This was my first attempt at joining using a hook and not a needle.  This picture is more to illustrate that I will just be joining all squares together like this so the final afghan will be comprised of squares all the same size.  The only border there will be would be around the entire afghan.

Anyway, I was undecided on which method to go with so I asked my husband.  He chose the second option which means I will have to make more squares than had I chosen the first option.  I would like to only use the scrap yarn I have laying around to make the squares and not use any skeins that have enough yarn to make a hat or something.  This will be an ongoing project.  Something that I can work on when I'm bored with another project.

 

Off the top of my head Square

I have a ton of small balls of yarn that have been accumulating so I decided yesterday to take a break from making hats and try to figure out some purpose for the scrap yarn.  I did 2 rounds of a square in 4 different colors and sewed them together.  I then crocheted a border around them to make a bigger square.  I think I will continue to play around with my scrap yarn and come up with some more squares that I can eventually use for an afghan.

May Charity CAL

Here's what I've been working on for the May Charity CAL over at Crochetville.  These hats will eventually be donated to Bridge and Beyond.  I'm getting closer to my goal of 100 hats donated this year.  Even though I have made 3 yarn purchases at Joanns this year, I still don't think I will have enough yarn to finish my goal unless I place another order.  I almost have another box to ship off to Bridge and Beyond and after I count all those hats I'll have a better idea of how many hats I still need to make.  So far I've been able to make 4 hats out of each Caron One Pounder skein.  .

More Yarn!!!!

I received order #2 from Joanns today.  I bought 2 Caron One Pounders in Black and one skein each in White, Scarlet, Rose, Country Rose, and Soft Sage.  I also decided to try Red Heart's With Love yarn in Lettuce since it was on sale and I've never worked with it before.  Most of these will be used towards making hats for the Bridge and Beyond.  Not sure what I will do with what is left over but I'm not complaining because at least my acrylic yarn stash is growing again.

Favorite Square Pattern

Awhile back I posted a photo of what I call the Polka Dot Afghan.  I got the free pattern at Deb's Crafts.  It makes a nice looking square and you can easily adjust the size by using a different hook or by adding more rows.  It's such an easy pattern that once you make a couple, you will have it memorized. 

Favorite Hat Pattern

I've been working on hats for the Bridge and Beyond this past week.  These 11 hats are a step in the right direction of reaching my goal of 100 hats donated this year.  I've been using the Total Fpdc Hat pattern lately because it makes a pretty thick and warm hat.  All of these hats were used with the Caron One Pounder yarn that I received in my Joanns order.

2012 Bridge and Beyond Donation #3

I packed up a box yesterday of items that I am sending to Bridge and Beyond.

33 washcloths all done with just a simple half double crochet stitch.

Hard to tell from the photo but here are 9 hats and 7 scarves.

And finally,  I was able to fit 2 more hats into the box.  Hopefully, I will have a chance to ship it off tomorrow.  I've updated my 2012 donation totals on the right side of the blog.  I'm hoping little by little I will be able to reach my goal of 100 hats this year.

Good things come to those that wait

My yarn order from Joanns finally arrived.  They had a sale on One Pounders for $6.99 each.  I have to say I miss the days when I could go to Michaels and use a 40 or 50% off coupon and get one for under $5.  However, since this yarn is regularly $8.99, I can't complain too much.  I ordered 2 skeins of Kelly Green, and 1 skein each of Cape Cod Blue, Deep Violet, Espresso, Nutmeg, and Ocean.  I will be using these skeins to make hats and maybe a few scarfs for the Bridge and Beyond.  I still am hoping I can reach my goal of 100 hats donated this year. 

My yarn is almost here!

I checked the status of my package from JoAnns yesterday and it looks like it might arrive this week.  I took for granted being able to go to Michael's or Hobby Lobby whenever I wanted before I moved to Germany.  Oddly enough there was a JoAnns in my hometown also but I never shopped there.  Other than occasional purchases of cotton yarn from some local German stores, I've depended on Joanns online for all my yarn purchases  I only wish that they were more like Amazon where my packages usually get here within a week.  Waiting around for a month or two is slightly ridiculous.

Here are some potholders I have been working on this past week.  They were both made with Bernat Handicrafter yarn.

And here are some washcloths I made with the same yarn that will be donated to Bridge and Beyond

Completed Hobo Bag

I completed the Hobo Bag last night.  I am pleased with myself for branching out and making a bag for the first time.  I tend to crochet very loosely so if I made this bag again I would probably use an even smaller hook ( I used an I hook this time even though the pattern called for a K hook).  I would also consider revising the pattern so there are less rows.  I followed the pattern but it ended up being longer than I would prefer.  I probably won't use this as an everyday bag but I think it will make a great beach bag for Hawaii next year.

Good start to my Hobo bag

Things have settled down some what so I've been able to get a good start on my Hobo bag.  I'm hoping I can get the rest done today since it looks like according to the pattern that the majority of what is left is just mindless double crochet.  I'm very excited to see the completed product and it's coming at a perfect time since I need a good spring/summer bag.