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
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!
Last, one for the ladies so you don’t feel left out.
Stash busting for Halos of Hope is in full swing. It’s mid-February and I have two hats to share! I’m so proud of myself for getting this month’s goal done early. I *hope* to complete one or two more this month to catch up for last month.
The first, The Frostberry Hat by Sarah Jane Designs, is a hat I started back in November, but had to put it down for a couple of months while I worked on other projects. I made a couple unintentional adjustments to the pattern. I really shouldn’t crochet while watching TV as I got my row counts off. The hat still looks great even with the adjustments. I love this pattern and plan to make another, as the pattern is written.
The second, The Happy Puppy Hat, was made for a co-worker’s daughter, Sarah, an adorable 2-year old, who is currently going through chemo treatments. The little girl recently received a new puppy so I thought this Happy Puppy hat would put a smile on her little face.
The weight of the two hats came to 6.5 ounces
Total hats made in 2014 challenge to date: 3
Total weight of the hats made in the 2014 challenge to date: 8.25 ounces
Have you ever had a pattern tell you to hdc-whb or whb-hdc? Huh? Half double crochet worked in the horizontal bar (also called ‘back bar’) is a pretty easy stitch and creates beautiful ribbing. After watching the video, take some time to work a few rows of hdc-whb and you’ll feel like an expert crocheter!
Wow, only one month in and I’m already falling behind in my goals. I’ll get there, I PROMISE! I did manage to get one hat for Halos of Hope completed during January. If you are on Ravelry, plynn (blog) has started a CAL/KAL forum for Halos of Hope hats. Since I don’t really knit much, I’m participating in the CAL. For January she chose the Shells and Trellis hat by Melody Hamor. It is a really cute hat and easy pattern. With a few modifications, you can use just about any yarn. As always, I made a few tweaks. You can read my notes on my project page. This pattern has been on my radar and I’m glad to finally have had a reason to make it-thanks Pat!
Stash Bust 2014 hats made to date: 1
Total weight made to date: 1.75 ounces
Want to see more hats made for Halos of Hope? Check out this Pinterest board!
2013 was a great year for me crochet-wise. I met some of my 2013 goals and completed a 6 pound stash bust challenge. Crochet by Darleen Hopkins on Facebook is establishing a cozy community (come join us!), Pinterest is up and running and even a monthly Newsletter (Feelin’ Loopy) is getting ready for its second issue. So what is there to accomplish in Crochetland for 2014? LOTS!! A few of my top goals or to-do’s for 2014 are listed below. The Super Stitcher in me is determined to complete them all.
1) Complete the Crochet Guild of America’s Master Crochet Program. I’ve signed up and received the materials, now it is time to start stitching.
2) Work from yarn stash and only purchase yarn when absolutely necessary for a specific project; don’t buy yarn just because it’s on sale! This is ongoing. I started it in 2013 and plan to continue until I can get this huge stash under control!
3) Stash Bust for Hope Challenge 2014. This is my favorite goal. Last year I crocheted 6 pounds of Bernat CottonTots into soft hats for Halos of Hope. In addition to the 32 hats completed in that challenge, I also crocheted many other hats for Halos of Hope that were made from other stash yarns. So this year I challenge myself to crochet 7 POUNDS of my stash yarn into soft hats for Halos of Hope stitching at least 2 hats a month and, like last year, post photos and report on the total stitched yarn weight.
4) Continue to work on left-handed crocheting. Every once in a while I give this a try. I’m not there yet but I’d like to be comfortable enough using my left hand so I may be able to one day teach a lefty.
2013 flew by in what seemed like a nanosecond. The years are going faster and faster and sometimes I feel like my hooks can’t keep up, but I’m going to try. What are your crochet goals for 2014? Be a Super Stitcher too and have fun with whatever you make. Last, enjoy all the new year has to offer.
Darleen
It’s been a year now that I have been working on my 6 pounds of Bernat CottonTots yarn stash-6 pounds!!!! There was so much yarn in the box (a standard paper box) that the lid didn’t close properly. Why I had that much yarn, I have no clue. But I had it and I decided to spend 2013 crocheting it into soft hats for Halos of Hope. Hats were crocheted that looked like frogs, sharks, pigs, owls, bunnies, chicks, baby birds, fish, cats and a cartoon character. I also made hats with hearts, flowers, stripes, swirls and stars. And a few solid hats as well. It’s been both a joy and a challenge to find the right pattern for the yarn on hand. Especially towards the end of the challenge when I had less full skeins and lots of partial and small bits of yarn. Being true to my thrifty self, I have been determined to use every last bit of yarn, even those scraps no bigger than a yard or two.
Over November and December I made 7 hats. I used the last full skein on the Yellow Kitty Hat. The remaining hats were made with partial skeins and the small leftovers.
The Owl Hat is one of my favorites. For the owl features I followed the Owl Bib pattern and for the hat, I followed the Crazy Frog Hat pattern (psssst! That pattern is FREE with every Crochet by Darleen Hopkins pattern purchase.)
The Pink Heart Hat and the Blue/Green/Purple Striped Hat are both based on the Crazy Frog Hat pattern as well. I just changed color as I ran out of yarn. The cute heart is a pattern by Jill Gilbank and you can find it on her website, PlanetJune.
Both the Blue/Brown Swirl Hat and the Pastel Stripes were patterns I was just playing around with, possible prototypes for future Crochet by Darleen Hopkins patterns!
The last, the adorable striped hat with the huge flower, is an adaptation of the Daisy Hat pattern by Akua Lezli Hope. I had to adapt it a little for the heavier weight yarn. I love how it came out and I’m excited to one day make the hat as the pattern is written and in a lighter weight yarn.
Shortly after starting the draft of this post, I found out about Halos of Hope’s-Stripe It Up January. I guess I had a Stripe It Up December. Stripes are a great way to use leftover yarn.
In just 3 easy steps you can use up those last little bits of yarn and make a hat that costs nothing.
1. Group scraps that go well together.
2. Follow a hat pattern you like.
3. Change color when you run out of yarn. It is that easy!
Got Scraps? Join Halos of Hope this January and Stripe It Up! See Hat Guidelines for more information.
The Final Stash Bust Countdown
November and December’s 7 hats weigh in at 1 pound 1 1/2 ounces.
Total hats made in the 2013 Stash Bust Challenge: 32!
Total weight of the 32 hats made: 5 pounds 15 1/2 ounces!
I am JUST UNDER 6 pounds! I don’t have enough yarn left for any more hats but I do have some ideas for what is left. So, I’ll have one last post in this challenge! Please check back. : )
Update to the post Christmas and the Kitty
Even when Santa came to visit, the Kitty would not relinquish her spot under the tree… I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
I’m not a fan of Christmas and more than a little bit of a Grinchy Scrooge. There are a number of reasons why Christmas isn’t one of my favorite holidays, actually, it is not even in my top 10, but I try to have some Christmas spirit for my husband and kids. And for the kitty. Our cat LOVES Christmas or at least the Christmas tree. She’s an indoor cat who has the full reign of the house and our screened-in-porch. During the hot summer months she’s out on our porch listening to the beautiful melodies of the cicadas and the birds. In the cooler months she goes out there to watch the squirrels play in the leaves. But when it is real cold, she only goes out when nature calls (her litter box is out there) and keeps to the warm house the majority of the time. Once, a door was left ajar and she escaped into the great outdoors for a couple of hours. I combed the neighborhood (lots of wooded acres) and thought we had lost her. But thankfully, she found her way back home. She’s tried to venture out a couple other times but never made it very far.
One year when I was feeling less Grinchy than others, I crocheted a tree skirt. I was pretty new to crochet at the time and found a free pattern somewhere. I don’t know if it was the pattern or me (likely me) but the skirt turned out huge and really wonky! It wraps around the tree one and half times and the edges are uneven. I got my increases wrong and miscounted a lot. But it is pretty and I made it so it comes out every year when ‘the great outdoors’ is brought inside. Of course, because I’m a Grinchy Scrooge, ‘the great outdoors’ consists of a fake 6′ skinny tree, but to the kitty, it’s paradise. As soon as the tree goes up and that crazy cozy crocheted tree skirt hits the floor, she’s on it and she stays there until December 26 when the tree comes down.
My family and I spent Black Friday in Chattanooga at the Tennessee Aquarium. Although it’s a 2 1/2 hour drive to Chattanooga, we have a membership to the aquarium and we’ve been a number of times. I have a lot of favorites, love the seahorses and the jellyfish tanks, the rays touch tank and the silly penguins, but one of my other favorites are the piranhas. The aquarium has two piranha tanks and they are great. The first tank has a cut out where you can crawl under the tank, poke your head up and ‘swim’ with them. It’s always a big hit with kids. In typical Black Friday fashion, the aquarium was a mad-house. Even though we were there when the doors opened, the entire facility quickly filled up with lots and lots of little ones excited to see the amazing marine life. We got lucky and had a couple quick moments to pose with these beautiful animals.
The Piranha hat is included in the Indie Giftalong and although the discount period for the GAL is over, the pattern is included in my Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale where all Crochet by Darleen Hopkins patterns on Ravelry are 25% off. Use coupon code ‘Gobble2013’ but hurry, the sale ends Tuesday 12/3/2013 midnight EST.
Aww, what a cutie!
If you make this hat, I would LOVE to see you posing with piranha (in tanks only please!) while wearing it. You can always post them on my Facebook page or email me at CrochetByDarleenHopkins@gmail.com. Have fun!
Crochet By Darleen Hopkins 