Longer Nights

During high summer, I was able to come home from work at quarter till 9 in the evening and still have time to get the lawn mowed before sundown. Not anymore! Now that I can't do outside chores in "the cool of the evening", I have more time to sit and do handwork. The first baby blanket is finished and the second one is about to double in size to be used for a child's nap blanket. I'm working on a star pattern where you crochet the pieces and sew them together a la quilting style.

In trying to find a star pattern for you, I found a nice five pointed star blanket made all in one piece. See if this might be fun to make and look good on the child of your choice. http://yarn-diva.blogspot.com/2006/03/free-star-shaped-afghan-pattern.html

Here's a six-pointed one all in one piece http://www.meibythepug.com/2009/01/6-point-star-afghan-pattern.html

And finally I found a website with crocheted quilt patterns. Crochet the bits and pieces and sew them together. Very pretty work! http://www.happyyellowhouse.com/htm/quilts.html

Happy crafting.
Kathi

Converting

Sometimes when I wander through patterns, I find the perfect pattern in knit when I'm a much more accomplished crocheter. It's somewhat frustrating - and a puzzle to be solved. Can I think of a way to accomplish the same look using crochet stitches? Is there a way to convert patterns from one craft to the other?
Here are some websites that offer possibilities:
http://www.ehow.com/how_18632_convert-knitting-pattern.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_18631_convert-crochet-pattern.html

But if I really ponder the complexities of, say, a fisherman's knit with the intricate cable pattern, I am persuaded that there is no crochet stitch, nor any combination of them that will give me the smooth rippled effect that flows off of knitting needles. And so I looked farther on the websites and found that the stitch differences aren't the only consideration. Crochet uses about one-third more yarn than knitting. Here are a couple of websites that explain the differences:
http://wheatcarr.com/blog-a-mentary/convert-crochet-to-knit-no-not-really.php
No, not really the same
http://crochet.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=crochet&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetshoup.com%2Feasy%2Ftips%2Fconvert.shtml
More yarn for crochet and not the same.

So once again I must make my peace with my preferences or determine to spend some time becoming more familiar with the other discipline.

Happy crafting,
Kathi

The fogs of August

Maybe I just like the way the words sound together, but fogs in August are a bit of weather lore speaking of the winter to come. The dampness this morning made me think of a light cover-up like a shawl. Here's a website with free shawl and stole patterns - I'm guessing over 200 of them. Do you like to do quick projects, or lacy beautiful craftsmanship, or cozy pieces that will keep off the chill. There's some of each in here.
Happy crafting.
http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/shawls_etc.php

Dog Days

August is often called "The Dog Days". Do you want to make a winter jacket for your best 4-legged friend? Or a Christmas idea for a friend or family pet? Here are a few cool websites with links to free patterns. A couple of the links have gone out of date in the first one, but most of them still work. http://mycrochetstuff.blogspot.com/2005/05/hello-puppies-crochet-for-dogs-links.html
http://www.knittingforcharity.org/free_knitting_patterns_go_to_the_dogs.html
(What appears to be spaces in the above link are actually underscores _ )

I'm guessing that most cats would rather play with the yarn than wear it, but if you can make your cat sit still for such a thing, here's link with cat crafts too. http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/pets.php

If you truly want a chic cat or dapper dog, knitting or crocheting just might be the way to do it.