This fall (I don't have the exact dates) will be the eighth annual "60 Scarves in 60 Days" challenge. Last year (2010) it started in September. The point of the challenge is to knit or crochet 60 scarves and donate them to the local charity of your choice. No postage or distance hauling required. Any color, any pattern will do.
Now maybe this is cheating, but maybe we can save some people from getting carpal tunnel or crocheter's elbow. Summer is a good time to work on smaller projects. Scarves make easy carry-along items. And you could be working toward a worthwhile goal. Maybe we could call this version "60 Scarves by November".
Are you inclined to send your work out of town? Here are some ideas:
Knits from the Heart by Kristin Spurkland includes a list of charities that accept donations.
http://bevscountrycottager.com/charity-links.html has links to charities on more than one continent. Another way to locate a charity after your own heart is to put your favorite charity into a search engine and see what comes up. It would be wise to find out if that charity still needs donations, if it is still in operation, or if there are complaints against it.
Happy crafting,
Kathi
Monday, May 23, 2011
Crochet in Warmer Weather
Lion Brand Yarn gave us permission to copy their pictures into our blog. I'm thankful because pictures add so much.
Happy crafting
Kathi
It's warming up nicely (finally), so I'm looking for crochet ideas that won't make me sweat as I'm working on them. One possibilty is to make a few baby items. Well - maybe the fact that I have a couple of pregnant friends might have something to do with it.
Anyway, these pictures put me in mind of some very young people who would enjoy them. I hope they trigger your imagination too.
Happy crafting
Kathi
Monday, May 2, 2011
Knit and Crocheted Rugs
It's May and I was under the impression that it should be warming up some. Instead, when my feet hit the floor this morning, they got chilly quickly. So I'm think about rugs of some sort. Just a little something to keep my tootsies warm.
I checked out http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/rugs.php and found 89 crocheted rug patterns.
The sister site http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/rugs.php had 25 knitted rug patterns.
Ravelry.com is another huge website for several kinds of crafts. You have to sign up to get a screen name and password, but then have access to patterns, ideas, community chat, etc. When I went to http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/ and put "rugs" into the search bar, I found 20 pages of patterns. I loved some of the crocheted "quilt rugs". The piecework was beautiful.
The Lion Brand yarn website has 9 knit patterns and 7 for crocheted rugs including this spiral one which rather intrigues me. If I were to make this rug, I might extend the last taper a little more to smooth out the edge. If you wish to look at this pattern, it is called "Shaker-Inspired Rug".
Happy crafting,
Kathi
I checked out http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/rugs.php and found 89 crocheted rug patterns.
The sister site http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/rugs.php had 25 knitted rug patterns.
Ravelry.com is another huge website for several kinds of crafts. You have to sign up to get a screen name and password, but then have access to patterns, ideas, community chat, etc. When I went to http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/ and put "rugs" into the search bar, I found 20 pages of patterns. I loved some of the crocheted "quilt rugs". The piecework was beautiful.
The Lion Brand yarn website has 9 knit patterns and 7 for crocheted rugs including this spiral one which rather intrigues me. If I were to make this rug, I might extend the last taper a little more to smooth out the edge. If you wish to look at this pattern, it is called "Shaker-Inspired Rug".
Happy crafting,
Kathi
Monday, April 18, 2011
New Knitting Book
Hot off the presses, we just received "A Knitting Wrapsody" by Kristin Omdahl. There are patterns for lacy scarves and shawls and an openwork tunic to drape over an evening dress. There are skirts and shrugs with cables, lace and ruffles. A CD is included to explain the stitches.
If you are reasonably good at knitting, please treat yourself to the goodies you'll find in this book.
A book like this makes me a little sad that I'm not a better knitter. (I crochet, but - shh - don't tell the knitters.)
Happy crafting, Kathi
If you are reasonably good at knitting, please treat yourself to the goodies you'll find in this book.
A book like this makes me a little sad that I'm not a better knitter. (I crochet, but - shh - don't tell the knitters.)
Happy crafting, Kathi
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Lion Brand Yarn has gone Spring with their patterns. The tote seems to be the right size for multiple tasks and could be carried anywhere.
The shawls look comfortable for slowly warming weather or to toss over your shoulders on a cool-ish evening.
Need to work up something quick before Easter? You might want to start at http://www.lionbrand.com/.
I also took a quick tour of http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/. I typed "Easter" in the search bar and got 87 patterns. You can crochet Easter baskets and Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and Easter chicks. The same search at www.ravelry.com gave me eight pages of patterns with 36 patterns per page. You've got one week to go, if you let it sneak up on you like I did.
Happy crafting,
Kathi
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Weaving Books through Evergreen Indiana
Along with the last post, I'll give you a list of books that show fingerweaving and small loom weaving.
Fingerweaving Basics by Gerald L. Findley (Excellent book!),
Using Yarn, Fabric and Thread by Betty Leitch,
A Beginner's Book of Off-Loom Weaving by Xenia Ley Parker ( Many forms of weaving),
The Basic Book of Fingerweaving by Esther Warner Dendel,
Small Loom And Freeform Weaving: Five Ways to Weave by Barbara Matthiessen,
Kids Weaving by Sarah Swett
Happy crafting,
Kathi
Fingerweaving Basics by Gerald L. Findley (Excellent book!),
Using Yarn, Fabric and Thread by Betty Leitch,
A Beginner's Book of Off-Loom Weaving by Xenia Ley Parker ( Many forms of weaving),
The Basic Book of Fingerweaving by Esther Warner Dendel,
Small Loom And Freeform Weaving: Five Ways to Weave by Barbara Matthiessen,
Kids Weaving by Sarah Swett
Happy crafting,
Kathi
More Yarn Art
At the library today, we are having Civil War Days in honor of the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter. My part in the festivities is to give a demonstration of small loom weaving.
My original plan was to weave a rug out of old bed sheet strips. I am going to use two card table legs for the loom. (Set the card table on its side and warp the two top legs.) Well, the more I looked into various weaving techniques, the larger the demonstration grew. I already had an inkle loom which was strung and partially woven. All I had to do was bring it in.
I found a website in which someone was using a hula hoop to weave a round rug. As I looked more into that, I discovered that round weaving used to be worked on wheel hoops (the kind you see children rolling with a stick in some old paintings).
Following that trail, I ran across fingerweaving, also called Indian braiding, Osage braiding, Chickasaw knitting, or Cherokee fingerweaving. The only equipment that it requires is a stick! I used a pencil. You can take this project on a trip. It's lightweight, makes no noise, can be worked on a plastic straw if you are flying, and makes an interesting, pretty product.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FingerWeaving will take you to a the sharing place for photos and tutorials on fingerweaving. Check http://www.youtube.com/ under fingerweaving and look for sashweaver. There are other very good videos, but sashweaver shows the basic skills.
Happy crafting,
Kathi
My original plan was to weave a rug out of old bed sheet strips. I am going to use two card table legs for the loom. (Set the card table on its side and warp the two top legs.) Well, the more I looked into various weaving techniques, the larger the demonstration grew. I already had an inkle loom which was strung and partially woven. All I had to do was bring it in.
I found a website in which someone was using a hula hoop to weave a round rug. As I looked more into that, I discovered that round weaving used to be worked on wheel hoops (the kind you see children rolling with a stick in some old paintings).
Following that trail, I ran across fingerweaving, also called Indian braiding, Osage braiding, Chickasaw knitting, or Cherokee fingerweaving. The only equipment that it requires is a stick! I used a pencil. You can take this project on a trip. It's lightweight, makes no noise, can be worked on a plastic straw if you are flying, and makes an interesting, pretty product.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FingerWeaving will take you to a the sharing place for photos and tutorials on fingerweaving. Check http://www.youtube.com/ under fingerweaving and look for sashweaver. There are other very good videos, but sashweaver shows the basic skills.
Happy crafting,
Kathi
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