Crochet for a Cause

You may have read in my last post that I have decided to whip up some scarves for the Special Olympics as a part of their Scarf Project. I mentioned how I had not been able to find any Red Heart Super Saver Blue (#886) yarn in stock at any of my local stores (I tried 4 different ones). Well, I finally broke down and ordered the yarn online through Joann last week.

Naturally, I couldn't buy one skein of $2.50 yarn and be expected to pay $7 in shipping... So, I bought 2 skeins of the blue (I have high hopes) and managed to add a few other items that I didn't really need. This included two different pink yarns, just in case I really get in the groove and decide to make some items to sell to raise money for my Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that's coming up in May. (Join my team here, if you want to walk with us, run without us, or stay home and sleep but still raise money for the cause. -More on this campaign in a future post.)

Since I've been itching to begin my scarves, I was really hoping that my yarns would have arrived today. And I think they did...only the post office didn't deliver because I wasn't home. Argh! I was stuck with that little pink slip they stick in your mailbox, saying the item will be available for pickup tomorrow after 10am. Sorry, I have a job! I'm going to go to the website to see if they'll redeliver (and leave it at my door or at the apartment complex offices). Wish me luck!

I also checked the Scarf Project website to see how many scarves have been provided for the Northern CA event, and out of the 1,150 scarves they requested, they have only received 45! Please consider contributing your own creation to this worthy cause. See the project guidelines here.

The deadline to receive scarves for the your scarves in for the Northern CA event is 3/1/2011. There are different deadlines for the games in different locations, as well as a different number of scarves requested for each event. If I have leftover yarn after the Northern CA deadline (a surety), then I will just keep making more scarves and send them to another state's event. Everybody wins!

New Project

I have decided to whip up some scarves for the Special Olympics. I actually found out about their Scarf Project last year, but never got around to doing anything with it. I found the site again this year via an ad on Facebook that appeared on my sidebar (how do they know me so well?). So, this is it. Fate, right?

I will be contributing to the Northern California program. The events are floor hockey, cross-country skiing and Alpine skiing. Totally scarf-worthy! The scarves are actually gifted to the athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters as a symbol of unity. The deadline for shipping scarves to the Northern CA program is 2/25, so I'd better get a move on!

There are 2 official colors - blue and turquoise. Wait, that's not quite right. The official yarns are Red Heart #886 Blue and #512 Turqua. Believe it or not, I cannot find the blue color to save my life! I've been to 4 different stores, and none of them have it. I'm going to have to buy it online, which means I'll buy other things too, simply to justify spending the $ on shipping. (I know myself.)

Anyway, the Special Olympics would like to receive 1,150 scarves, but has only received 45 so far. So, please join me in my crafty little efforts to help them reach their goals! For more information, check out their Official Site. You can also make scarves for events in other locations, if you would prefer. They all have different deadlines and are requesting a different number of scarves. All scarves must incorporate both official colors, though.

As soon as I get my hands on that 2nd color, I'll see how many scarves I can produce...

Cry for Help

Pick a winner!

Okay, it's a bit less of a cry, and really just more of a polite request. I have made 3 practice swatches of different mitred squares (see above). Which one do you like best? I'm personally leaning towards the stockinette stitch, because I think it looks the best. But, the garter stitch square is the easiest, and results in the squishiest and softest texture.

I have decided to make a blanket for my 6 year old little brother, as a Christmas gift. I usually take some project or other with me when I go visit my Dad, and Gino always asks who it's for. The last few times I had been working on different baby blankets (for different babies), and now he just asks me if what I'm making is for "the baby." Not too long ago, he asked me why I didn't make one for him. I asked him if he'd like me to make him a blanket and he got kind of excited looking and said yes. So, I decided to do it. It's hard to resist those big brown eyes looking up at you!

I did ask him what colors he liked, and while I honestly can't remember the exact color combo he gave me, I do remember that it was a bright and garish selection. He's only 6 - what can I say? I have settled on a palette of greens, cream/brown, and grayish. The yarn will be Loops & Threads (Michael's brand) Charisma, which is a chunky acrylic. I wanted something that would be easy to care for (you're welcome Dad) and quick to work up. After buying a sample skein to test with, I was happy with the feeling of the swatches.

But really, which stitch do you like best? (Keep in mind that the garter stitch square is only that small because I was running out of the sample yarn.)

Thanks for your help!

*Lesson learned while swatching: Always make sure to read (and more importantly to understand) any special stitches to be used in your pattern before getting to the end of your project and wondering why your square is curvy...oops!

Adventures in Entrelac II

After my first foray into the world of Entrelac, I decided to give it another go with a better suited yarn. Luckily, I happened to have an old abandoned skein of Noro Silk Garden laying around. I had purchased the yarn with great things in mind for it, I'm sure...I just don't remember what those things might have been. Probably a one-skein scarf or something. I know that everyone raves about this yarn, but I found it a bit scratchy and decided I didn't want to wear it against my skin...thus, the availability for my new adventures...

Using the same pattern that I used last time, I started stitching merrily away. It was a much smoother ride than my first little adventure...for the most part.

Off topic - I love my new tablecloth!

I didn't block it, so this was the natural bumpiness caused by the stitches. My rows of picked up stitches have improved, and are less obvious than last time. However, even though it's not really apparent here, I still seem to have some pretty large holes were the corners of the blocks meet. If I were to block the piece, I'm afraid there would be huge gaps at those spots. All in all though, I'd say it looks pretty good...

Look again! Oops! That glaring bright spot in the upper right hand corner there? Yep, that's where I took my inevitable wrong turn. I was so close to finishing and ended up running out of yarn! Nooo! If this had been an actual garment or something to be gifted, I would have frogged the last 2 tiers and finished it off, simply making the whole thing shorter. (You have to start the final tier of half blocks after a tier that faces in the correct direction.) But, since this was just a practice piece anyway, I decided to leave it as is.

I haven't decided if there will be any more attempts with the entrelac technique or not. I have determined that I quite dislike picking up stitches, and this technique requires a ton of that. Plus the gaping hole issue. We'll see...

In the meantime, I found the softest yarn ever at Michael's the other day, and will give you all a peek.


I am using this to make a surprise for someone, so I can't say any more about it, except that it's a little bit tricky to work with, but I am getting the hang of it.

Practice Makes Perfect...

Or in this case, practice makes slightly better than barely trying...

As you may know, I have a slight yarn addiction. This has led to an accumulation of yarn-related items, including fun little magazines with ideas for projects (and actual projects, too). While flipping through the latest issue of Knit Simple (it sounded like it might fit my very limited knitting skill level), I found the section of nature inspired afghans. There are 3 afghans shown, all of which are pieced motifs. I thought I'd try out two of these motifs to practice increasing and decreasing, which I've been kind of afraid of, since I am not great at fixing my mistakes unless it's a straight knit or purl row.

I used some spare cheap-o cotton yarn I had laying around (Sugar 'n Cream, I think - the label is long gone) to whip up the 2 motifs over the weekend. The originals look like this and this. Here are my 2 attempts:

I had to rip out both of them at least once after the first few rows... I was convinced that the falling leaves one (the more diamond shaped one) was misshapen and supposed to be square, but then looked at the original photo more clearly. Looks like I didn't screw it up after all!

I was actually pretty proud of my results, even though the gauge on the square one is totally and noticeably uneven.

I gave these to my little brother Gino, who kept asking me if knitting was hard (only, he kept pronouncing it "nipping," and I kept correcting him). At one point, he said he wished he knew how to knit. Maybe I'll try to teach him next time I'm there. I didn't have a spare set of needles on me this time, or I would have given it a shot.

Adventures in Entrelac, part I

One day a few weeks ago, when I was just this side of finished with the crocheted cables baby blanket for Moriah, but was itching for something different, I received my Knitting Daily newsletter from which included this video on entrelac knitting. I've always liked the look of this style of knitting - like a woven fabric without all that pesky weaving. Of course, I never tried it before since I couldn't knit to save my life. But, after watching Eunny explain it while demonstrating how to work the stitches, I thought it looked manageable.

So, I picked up some sticks and some unused cast-off cotton yarn, and stitched up a swatch. Here are my results - don't judge, I'm new to increasing/decreasing...
I thought it wasn't too bad for a first try, though it could use some practice...it looks better in this shot, since you can't see the joins between each block:
Still doesn't look like Eunny's work...

Long time no see!

Okay, I realize it's been over a year since I've posted here, but I've been thinking about reviving this here old blog... So, this first one is going to be short and sweet (like me, only not as short, and much sweeter).

Over the last year and half, I've been pretty well occupied with the stress of my last job ending (phasing out the end of operations for the closed company) and 3 months of unemployment (which were surprisingly non-stressful). The end of ops at the last job was a little bittersweet - I had some pretty awesome co-workers, and I'd been there for 9 years by the end. Oh yeah, and since I generally don't like change, I was having some pretty nasty IBS symptoms (Or at least, that's what the doctors told me it was most likely to be, after running tests and x-rays) during the last 6 months on the job. The up-side of the IBS symptoms was the weight loss, which I described to my doctor as involuntary anorexia - no appetite, had to force myself to eat. Of course, after finding my new job (which actually found me), all that weight came back with a vengeance. I'm working on that again...

As for the new job, I won't be saying much about that here (too public a forum), but so far it's going pretty well. I ended up with the same old commute though, but have thought about moving closer. Not making any big decisions yet though, since it's only 2 months in.

As for the 3 months in between, I spent lots of time with my family and did some traveling - Boston and Santa Fe. I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Sacramento, to benefit local breast cancer research and services in the Sacramento Valley - and I walked it, because I definitely couldn't run it! I also continued my crazy crafting obsession. I took it into my head to attempt knitting again, and it finally took. I don't know why this time was different, but I've finally managed to master the knit stitch and the purl stitch. Of course, that's pretty much the full extent of my skill at this point, though I did try Entrelac. More on that in another post.

Anyway, I think that will be it for now. I need to save something for subsequent posts, after all!