100 hats

it's destash time!

well, kind of. i'm not a very good de-stasher. like my grandmother, i feel it is necessary to keep EVERY little ball of yarn, and throwing them away seems like an awful thing to do. at the same time, i don't want to embarrass anyone by even thinking to include them in some sort of yarn swap. i also don't feel that donating 40 yards of what was originally a $1.99 skein of acrylic is any benefit to a thrift store. so! like i usually want to do, i figured i could come up with a project that would help me clear out my stash.

i recently went through a pretty awful depression and came out of it feeling like i need to focus way more on others than i do on myself. so, the 100 Hats project was born. i am going to knit/crochet 100 hats to give away to a charity, probably friends of pine ridge reservation.

i'm not setting myself a deadline, because lord knows with my slow hands that i'd never meet it, and i'm not going to cop out and just make 100 single-crochet hats. however, most of the knitted ones will probably be worked flat and seamed, just because my options for DPNs are limited.

i'm starting off with this hat. wish me luck!

i love this new hat

and with good reason! soft, silky yarn in a wool/acrylic blend, natural colors... it's supposed to be "high plains variegated" by patons shetland chunky or something, but i ordered some of that and it doesn't match exactly. it's similarly colored but the browns aren't as dark as the one in this hat.

i casted on 70 sts on number 8 needles for the rib, and then kf&b'd every stitch with circular 11s and just went from there. i ended up knitting the last bit using the circulars and two pens, since i don't have size 11 dpns and really wanted to finish the thing.

oh, and as you can see i cut and colored my hair :)

cheers everyone, i hope you're settling into fall :)

crocheting for charity

a little while back i did a website to find items that accept crocheted/knitted items for charity. i found an abundance of websites for a variety of projects, and i'd like to dedicate this post to highlighting these charities. my monthly crochet for charity group on ravelry has already made a bunch of items to give to a few, but i am just astounded by the amount of charities that are out there. if you have a charity you'd like to have posted here, please PM me on ravelry (ikisstrees) or send me an email at buckleybones AT gmail DOT com.

• adopt-a-native-elder
• algerian action
• american angels
• angels for hope
• baby bear project
• barb's caring touch
• binky patrol
• blankets for canada
• blankets for deployed daddies
• blankets for the gulf
• bridge and beyond project
• BUMP mission
• bundles of love
• care wear
• chemo caps
• christmas at sea
• comforting special angels
• crocheting hearts
• dulaan project
• ellie's angels
• forever warm
• friends of pine ridge reservation
• from ewe to you
• gifts for the unborn
• hat box foundation
• hats for the homeless
• heartmade blessings
• heavenly angels in need
• hugs for homeless animals
• in-kind, inc
• knit with love
• knit-a-square
• knitting and giving
• knitting for noggins
• lilybugs
• lutheran world relief
• many arms reaching you
• mother bear project
• newborns in need
• pink slipper project
• planet blanket
• project linus
• project purl
• red scarf project
• shawl ministry
• ships project
• touching little lives
• warm up america

baby crafts

so i've decided that, since every project i begin takes me about 6 months to complete, i'd better start working on some baby items so that when the time comes i'm not bereft. babies have been on my mind a lot lately, especially since the Man and i are getting married next year, so i thought it might be fun to do some baby items (especially since i don't have anyone else to make them for.) the "monthly crochet for charity" group on ravelry has a focus on booties/blankets this month as well- i figure it's grounds for good practice!

my current project is this pattern from Lion Brand yarn.

it's very instantly gratifying and works up super quick (in other words, my type of project!)

i'm making it in bernat handicrafter cotton, in a very neon teal blue. but tofu cutie, you protest, how will cotton warm your baby, presumably what blankets are intended for? since my fiancé (i love calling him that!) is from phoenix, and we are moving there in a few months, my guess is that any baby we have will be born there, and- if i have my way- will be born august/septemberish. august in phoenix is around 117 degrees. poor child will not need a blanket for some time methinks. don't worry, i'll knit a wool one for all that air conditioning.

what are some of your favorite baby projects?

Red Heart

For a very long time I was prejudiced against Red Heart yarn. I had it labeled as the domain of extremely poor people and grandmas. But recently I've been buying scads of it and I've had to change my tune, especially since I found out that if you wash the item you make in warm water with castile soap (i.e. Dr. Bronners) or shampoo, the sizing that makes the yarn stiff and scratchy will wash off, and the item will get softer. I have tried this several times with moderate success.

I'm not a total RedHeartophile- there is only so much my fingers can take- but I'm enjoying their color selection now that I am in the boonies and am too poor to buy from a LYS. Our Joann's is small and has a poor selection of yarn, so I find myself turning to Red Heart more and more often. We'll see how long this lasts.

There's a long thread on Ravelry about this that I've been following, and it's interesting to see the opinions.

yarn update!

oh man, what a week! it seems like i haven't been able to keep my mind ON work and OFF yarn, but that's okay! i've discovered that knitting while waiting for faxes is very soothing.

i've been a busy bee lately. here are a couple of things i've finished/worked on:
i was SO proud of this towel, despite its simplicity. i made it out of cotton cooking twine with size 11 (i think?) needles. the twine was like $4 and i still have plenty left. the towel is thick but not rough and it's great for wiping hands on after using the kitchen sink. it also looks homey!
i went to loopy yarns a week or so back, the first actual LYS i've ever been to. i was overstimulated like woah and ended up spending $50. the purple stuff is hemp yarn and the grey is sock yarn for the socks i'm intending on making for J. the green is cascade 220 worsted merino, $8 a skein (220 yards) and super easy to work with. i tried to make a hat:
with my new 16" needles (i never realized how much 24"ers were holding me back) but, i am sorry to report, th eproject failed miserably when i got impatient and gathered it too quickly without adding many more rows while decreasing. the hat came out looking like a yarmulke. oh well. i can make it into a bag or re-use the yarn!

no patterns for the mo- i'm planning on going home and trying my hand at another beret. wish me luck. still working on the home sweet home wall hanging, the afghan, and something else i can't remember (figures!)

cheers.