Comfortghan Package Has Been Sent!

1. one of the girls' ghans
2. one of the girls' dolly ghans
3. stuffed toys for the girls
4. cards for Jessie and the girls
5. the other girls' dolly ghan
6. the other girls' ghan
7. One of MY squares!!!!
8. Jessie's 'ghan

Just look at that!!! I'm just glowing with the love and pride I feel for having been a part of making those gorgeous items up there. Krystal got them completely finished and sent off today. As it's only Tuesday, it's quite likely that Jessie could get them by the end of the week!!! I can't wait to hear what she thinks of them!

I definitely think I'm going to keep a better eye on the comfortghans forum from now on. All it took was 2 hours of crocheting time and less than £2 in postage for me to be part of this (not including the $$$ donation I put in there, but this was a special case... I wouldn't be doing that every time I sent out comfortghan squares). It's an amazing feeling, knowing you've been a part of something like this. Something meant to bring love and comfort to somebody. This time it's been somebody I know (albeit not WELL, but still...). Next time it might be a stranger. But the intent behind it would be the same, and this is such an awesome natural high I just can't even describe it!!

"Shades of the Rainbow" - a scarf for Syrina

I just started this on Tuesday evening, and finished it last night. All I had to do today was weave in the ends.

The scarf in its entirety

A close-up... but fuzzier than I would have liked.

Syrina with her new scarf!!!

You'll have to excuse the way Syrina's looking in the picture. She's not been feeling well lately. She's stayed home from school for the past 2 days, and I have a sneaking feeling that she'll be staying home again tomorrow too. I was lucky I got her to sit still with the scarf on and look in my general direction to get the picture in the first place.

I hadn't actually planned this particular project. It all came from Syrina "stealing" a scarf from the hat/scarf/glove box in the front hallway on Tuesday morning. It was one of my scarves (I have several). I asked her if she'd like to borrow it for the day, and she nodded yes at me. As Syrina is severely autistic and completely non-verbal, a nod is a BIG deal when it comes to communication. It isn't the first time I've gotten a nod (or a shake, for that matter) when I've asked her a question, but simply asking a question doesn't necessarily mean that I'll GET a nod or a shake. So when she so obviously wanted to borrow it, I couldn't NOT let her.

That evening, when I was cleaning up after the kids having dinner and such, I found it on the floor of her bedroom. I picked it up to put it away, and the lightbulb went off over my head. "You really like this scarf, don't you, Syrina? Would you rather have one like this instead of a furry scarf?" (I asked this because I had plans to make her a furry scarf, because she'd seen me making her sisters' and seemed to like it.) I got ANOTHER nod - even more emphatic this time. "I can make you one if you want. Would you like that?" Yet another emphatic nod.

So I grabbed a few balls of yarn out of my stash to try and figure out what kind of color or color scheme she liked, but to be honest, she looked like she couldn't care less. What she really likes are the patterns and the textures of the stitches. I don't think she CARED what color it was.

So I got the idea to make a rainbow scarf. But seeing as I had 2 shades of pink, 2 of green, and 3 of blue, I figured I'd make it with every shade of every color I had. The one color in the rainbow I didn't have was orange, but rather than go out and buy a skein of orange just to make the scarf, I figured I'd just leave it out. Considering all the other colors I already had, I didn't think it would make a difference.

I really thought I would have it finished all in one night, but it took me 2 days. However, seeing as she ended up staying home from school and didn't really need to wear it anyway, it was just as well.

I'm thinking I might add something to it, though. It seemed almost TOO plain. I asked for suggestions over at the 'ville, and somebody suggested I do curly fringe. I did something like it for an amigurumi I did last year (if you search through the archives I'm sure you'll find it, because I posted it), but I just didn't think of it when I was looking at the scarf trying to figure out what to do. I'm seriously leaning towards doing that. I may change my mind, of course, but ya never know. :D

Jessie's Comfortghan

Krystal's almost done putting the comfortghan together. Isn't it beautiful??

I gotta tell ya, I get a warm fuzzy feeling all over knowing that I've been a part of this. And the outpouring of support from the members of the 'ville has been astronomical. Krystal has had so many squares sent to her that she's got enough to make a 'ghan for Jessie, each of her 2 girls, AND Jessie's MIL!!!! And not only that, but a lot of members have sent money that Krystal is going to give to Jessie to help take care of the girls until they decide what to do (apparently they're considering moving after the girls' school year is out, to be closer to family).

I am just in awe at the amount of love and support that has gone into this thing. It's the first time I've ever been involved in a project of this magnitude, and I'm just amazed.

Caitlin's Purse

The whole thing...


Close-up of the body of the purse...


And an even closer close-up, so you can see the cute little button I found for it!!!

Caitlin had gotten a little craft kit from one of her friends as a late Christmas present, and we were both disappointed to find out that it was for nothing but making pom-poms. Pom-poms are okay for certain things, but what the heck is a 10 year old supposed to do with a BUNCH of them???

So I came up with the idea of using the yarn inside to make a purse for her (which she'd been dying for anyway) instead. She absolutely loved that idea, so Saturday night I sat down with the box and started crocheting away.

She didn't even see the entire completed project before going to bed (because I still had to finish the lining) but already she kept asking me "are you going to finish that tonight, Mom?" So I'm guessing she likes it.

And really, that's all that matters. It's HER purse, so as long as SHE likes it, nobody else's opinions matter worth a damn anyway. ;)

Ellie's BICO

Hayley asked me a few days ago to make Ellie a cardigan. I explained to her that I'd never done one before, but that I'd seen the posts on the 'ville about the BICO (Baby It's Cold Outside) cardigan from Crochet Me!, and it was supposed to be super-easy, so I'd try that one first.

Well... here we are!

I used a different yarn and hook than what the pattern calls for, mainly because there's no way I could GET the yarn the pattern calls for (sold only in the U.S.). I ended up using baby dk yarn (slightly thinner than regular dk yarn) and an H hook. I made the pattern as indicated for the 12 month size, due to the changes in hook size and yarn.

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks to me like this is something Ellie will be able to use now, instead of having to grow into.

I'll find out soon, though... I'm going to wash it tonight and hopefully I can get Hayley to bring Ellie over tomorrow for a fitting. Maybe she'll even let me take some pictures of Ellie in it! :D

Circle of Hope Tutorial

A lady over at the 'ville tried to make my Circle of Hope pattern as written... but ran into problems. So I thought I'd create a pictorial tutorial (try saying THAT 3 times fast! *lol*) to help her and anybody else who might have a problem with the pattern as written. So here it is!!

Circle of Hope
Suzanne Barrow’s Version
February 2007

Largely based on Melissa R. Green’s Circle of
Hopehttp://www.geocities.com/alyssa5000/circle.html

Materials:
Size H hook
About ½ oz. yarn

Makes a 7 inch square

Ch 4, join with a sl st to form a ring

Rnd 1: ch 3, 11 dc in ring, join





Rnd 2: ch 3, dc in same sp, 2 dc in next st and in each st around, join





Rnd 3: ch 1, sc in same sp, [ch 3, skip next st, sc in next st], repeat from [ to ] around, join.





Rnd 4: sl st into ch-3 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in ch-3 sp, [3 dc in next ch-3 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same ch-3 sp, 3 dc in next 2 ch-3 sp], repeat from [ to ] around, join.




making the first corner

starting to look more like a square
There you go! From a circle to a square!

Rnd 5: sl st in first 2 dc and in the sp between 2 dc clusters. Ch 3, 2 dc in between the two clusters, [3 dc – ch 2 – 3 dc in next sp, 3 dc in next sp], repeat from [ to ] around




starting the next round

Round 5 all done!
Rnd 6 – 8: repeat pattern from Rnd 5, putting 3 dc – ch 2 – 3 dc in every corner.




Round 6

Round 7
Round 8

Rnd 9: sc in each st around, putting 3 dc in each ch-2 sp in the corners.Fasten off, weave in ends.



Round 9

I hope this helps. If there are any other questions, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment!!

Thread Pincushion

Made with Aunt Lydia's size 10 mercerized crochet cotton - "Ocean" color - using a Boye size 6 (1.80 mm) steel hook.

After making some of the "fun stuff" for my swap partner, and realizing I needed to buy straight pins, I realized I needed a pincushion. Hubby said to me "I can buy you one at the pound store, complete with pins and everything." But what fun would THAT be? Besides, I already BOUGHT the pins... I just needed something to stick them in!

And I just LOVE the color of this thread. I was dying to make something for myself with this stuff, but didn't know what. I need to make a pincushion, I have this thread that I want to use... make the pincushion with the thread!!!

I did take one suggestion from the hubby, though. He suggested I make it "smelly." So I put 5 drops of lavendar essential oil in the stuffing. It smells heavenly!!!

Wild & Woolie Swap

Angie's swap package went in the post today. I'm SO relieved!! It was getting WAY too close to the deadline. I didn't think it would take me so long to finish, but then again, I made certain things for my swap partner that I'd never made before, and I underestimated how long it would take me to do them. I can't wait until she gets it, so I can show off what I've made. I'm very proud of them, even if I DO say so myself. Hey - they MUST be pretty good, because my SIL has requested exact duplicates of 2 of the items, and a 3rd thing to go with one of them.

I'm just glad I finally got it all off to her. It was fun shopping, planning, and creating for her, but with the deadline fast approaching, I was starting to stress.

Comfortghan Squares for Jessie's Girls

These are the comfortghan squares I've done for Jessie's girls, Rory and Lori. Rory is around my Lexi's age (Lexi's 6), and Lori is only 2 1/2.

I know this isn't enough to take the pain of losing their father away from them, but I hope it helps even just a little bit. Hopefully when they're older, they'll understand what it is we're trying to do for them.

What they will never understand is that this is as much for us - those of us who are donating squares - as it is for them. Crochetville is a wonderful place, where people you don't even know will rally around you in your time of need, all you have to do is say something. I'd be willing to bet a lot of us are like me - meaning if circumstances allowed it, Jessie would have a huge group of people at her front door, asking what needed to be done. But we can't all do that, and so we've got to do SOMEthing. It's just the way we are.

Comfortghan Squares for Jessie

Jessie, a woman I've been getting to know recently on the 'ville just lost her husband yesterday. She's a SAHM with 2 small children, and she's already had a lot to deal with lately. The timing of this couldn't be worse.

So another lady on the board immediately started organizing a comfortghan for her and her kids. I've still got a few finishing touches to put on my swap partner's package, but I decided this was important enough to put it off for just one day to get some squares done.

I'm going to do a couple more for the kids as well, but as it's already well past late here, they're going to have to wait until the morning.

My heart hurts for Jessie. She's been so supportive to a small group of us who are trying to do some "self-improvement," and like I said before, she's been through so much lately. It's times like this when I wish I was lucky enough to be rich. If I had an unlimited supply of money, I'd be on a plane right now. I'd just show up on her doorstep and say "what do you need me to do?" - AFTER I gave her a big hug, of course.

But I don't have an unlimited supply of money. So the closest thing to a hug she's going to get from me is to know that a couple of the squares in her 'ghan came from me. So I guess that'll have to do. It's not enough, but it's something.

WiP Wednesday, March 7, 2007

I've been so busy working on my Wild & Woolie Swap partner's items that I haven't gotten anything else done this past week.

But I am really pleased with how they're turning out. They're nearly done - just a few finishing touches left that I need to do. Hopefully I'll be able to get her package out by this weekend - Monday at the very latest. Once I know that she's received it, I'll be posting pictures of what I've made her.

Also, I've had a request from Ellie's mom (Hayley) for a cardigan. I showed her the BICO, because I've heard they're super easy - and I've never actually DONE a wearable before that wasn't a poncho or a shawl. So I'm going to be starting that soon. I've already got the yarn for it, I just want to make sure I get this swap stuff done before I start on anything new.

Crochet is definitely "IN"!!

I snapped this pic in the window of Monsoon in The Bridges today. From what I understand - from my SIL, and from the various people I've spoken to around town regarding shopping and fashion trends, Monsoon is one of THE places to shop. I'm talking like I'm a total freak of nature because I DON'T shop there.

But I happened to walk past there this morning on my way to another shop, and when I saw this, I just had to backtrack. I wasn't sure at first if it really was crocheted or not, but when I looked a bit closer, I saw that sure enough, it's definitely crocheted. So I had to whip out my phone and snap a pic (aren't camera phones great? *hehe*).

If they're putting things like this on display at a shop like this, then crochet is definitley "IN"! Now if only people would realize that these things ARE crocheted, then they wouldn't look at me like I've grown a second head when I tell them I crochet, NOT knit (or more accurately, I crochet WAY better than I knit!).