Stash Bust Update, March 2014, on Safari with Halos of Hope and Stitches South

Posted on March 20, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

I’m always so excited to hear when Halos of Hope has a new collection campaign. Mainly because they are awesome and do awesome work but also because it gives me some direction on what type of hat to make. Sometimes I’ll have a ball of yarn sitting in my basket begging for me to make a hat with it but I’ll have no idea what design or pattern to use. Then, along comes Halos of Hope with a new themed collection and BINGO, the light bulb comes on (and I don’t even need my Thinking Cap!) and I know exactly what to do with that yarn. That is what happened with both some brown yarn and this crazy Pomp-A-Doodle yarn I had purchased.

Halos of Hope’s latest themed collection is ‘On Safari’ for Atlanta area children’s hospitals. Basically, they are requesting any type of themed hat that can be found on safari or at the zoo. They are collecting the hats and plan to distribute them while in town for Stitches South in April. If you remember, last year they went ‘Under the Sea’. So with this in mind, I peered into my yarn bin and that super soft, dark brown yarn I had no idea what to do with yelled out at me-MONKEY! but not just any monkey, ZOMBIE MONKEY!! He’s a cute little guy with mismatched zombie button eyes. I hope he brings a smile to a brave young man (or lady).

The second ball of yarn to call to me was this crazy Pomp-A-Doodle yarn. I thought it would make a pretty good lion. I had to get a little creative with this one. Click on the photo to bring you to the project notes-you won’t believe what pattern I used!

My last hat to share was actually started in …2012… and I finished it up in February during the Winter Olympics (Ravellenic Games on Ravelry). This is another hat where I got creative with the pattern as I used the Candy Corn Stocking Cap for this one. I’m real please with it and it too will be donated to Halos of Hope when they are in town next month. The three hats come in at 9 ounces.

Total hats made in 2014 challenge to date: 6

Total weight of the hats made in the 2014 challenge to date: 1 pound 1.25 ounces

Save with Daylight Savings

Posted on March 9, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Flash Sale on all Crochet by Darleen Hopkins Patterns on Ravelry

Use coupon code “Savings25” for 25% off your entire purchase, today only! March 9, 2014 until midnight Eastern Standard Time. Over 30 patterns on sale!
CLICK: Crochet by Darleen Hopkins on Ravelry

Men in Crocheted Pants

Posted on March 2, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

You know you are a real man when…

I seem to spend as much or maybe even more time looking at crochet online than actually crocheting. It’s a sickness I can’t get control of; I’m hopelessly addicted to all things crochet. Because I spend a lot of time online, I find some unique stuff. We all know the saying, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. This saying applies to crochet too. There are some who would never touch acrylic yarn, it is lace-weight wool only for them. There are some who would never crochet a silly hat, it’s shawls and baby blankets only for them. And of course, there are those who would never crochet, it’s knit only for them, but that’s another post… Anyway, there are some who would never crochet the man in their life a pair of pants and there are men who would never wear a pair of crocheted pants. But the opposite was true for these fellows-or maybe they made the pants themselves, I don’t know. Either way, congratulations to these men who proudly wear the crocheted pants in their family!