2015 Stash Bust for Charity, Sneaking in One More for April

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One more for April, 2015!

Purple Fuzz chemo hat for donation, Halos of Hope

While gathering up my collection of hats to mail to Halos of Hope I found this hat that was 90% done.  I had started it in February while I worked up the pattern for the orange furry wig.  I didn’t have enough yarn so I had to turn it into a beanie.  At some point I set it aside and completely forgot about it.  It is a whole ‘lotta Purple Fuzz!  The furry wig pattern is still on my to-do list and I have more furry yarn in stash to work with.

This hat weighs 3.25 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 10

Total bears made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 6

Total weight of yarn used in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 2 pounds, 6.25 ounces!

15 hats ready to mail to Halos of Hope

15 hats ready to mail to Halos of Hope

 

Whispers, Crochet by Darleen Hopkins http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/whispers-shawl-shawlette-or-scarf

2015 Stash Bust for Charity, End of April Update

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Three More Hats for Halos of Hope

Halos of Hope chemo hat for donation, crochetPat with 12 Months = 24 Hats challenged me this past month with who could make the most hats during the month.  The winner gets 2 skeins of cotton yarn.  I started out strong and completed 2 hats in the first week.  But the month became busier for me and I was only able to complete 3 more in last couple of weeks.  Overall, 5 hats in one month is pretty great and I’m pleased with my progress.  I’m anxious to see how many Pat completed and if she’ll be sending me yarn or if I’ll be sending some to her! Of course, the real winner is Halos of Hope as all hats will be donated to them.

Halos of Hope chemo hat for donation, Big Kahuna crochet pattern The first hat is a pattern from the April issue of ILikeCrochet.com.  It is the Darling Baby Hat made in the largest size.  I used some organic cotton yarn I have had for a while and love it.  The flower is attached with a safety-pin so it can be moved or removed for washing.

Big Kahuna crochet pattern by Darleen Hopkins. Made for Halos of Hoe chemo hat donationThe next hat is a Big Kahuna made with Bernat Handicrafter CottonTwists.  I LOVE the bright pinks!

Beanie crocheted by Darleen Hopkins for Halos of Hope donation, chemo hatThe last hat is a random striped basic beanie.  I didn’t follow a pattern.  I just grouped together some small balls of leftover cotton/acrylic blend yarn that I thought looked nice together and started crocheting.  I like the way it turned out but it was A LOT of ends to work in.

It was a lot of fun to “compete” with Pat this month.  I can’t wait to see how many she finished!!  Did she beat 5???

These three hats weigh 8.75 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 9

Total bears made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 6

Total weight of yarn used in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 2 pounds, 3 ounces!

Black Raspberry Shawl Crochet Pattern by Darleen Hopkins

Crocheted Wee Bears for Team Lewis

2015 Stash Bust for Charity, Mid April Update

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More Crocheted Bears

Crocheted Wee Bears for Team Lewis

6 Wee Bears for Team Lewis ready to mail!

Wee bear for Team Lewis crochted in cotton/acrylic blendscrocheted bears for Team Lewis, used Sugar 'n Cream ombre and a solid lavendarThree more bears for Team Lewis.  The striped matching bears are made with alternating rows of Sugar ‘n Cream ombre and a solid lavender.  This yarn was given to me by very generous crocheter (Read more!)  The pink striped bear was made as the sibling to the blue striped bear I posted last week.  I used a couple different brands of cotton/acrylic blend yarn for her and she is super soft!

The bears are a lot of fun to make. I’m honored to be able to help out this group and I hope the bears can bring some comfort to those who are going through the worst thing imaginable. The  three bears weigh 5.75 ounces-before stuffing!

Team Lewis is a sweet organization, please check it out.

Total hats made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 6

Total bears made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 6

Total weight of yarn used in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 1 pound, 10.25 ounces!

Sunny Days Baby Mobile crochet pattern by Darleen Hopkins #CbyDH

Time for Spring, April 2015

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Springtime Crochet

Spring was late to north Georgia this year but when it finally did arrive, it brought the beautiful and bright colors of the springtime flowers.  First the sunny yellow daffodils, then the bright purple pink of the redbud trees and the sweet purple of vinca.  Currently the white and pink dogwoods are in bloom and azaleas in many shades of pink to red and white are starting to show their colors too. Of course the new green leaves are popping out and to the dismay of many, the light green of pine pollen covers just about everything in sight.  It is because of the pine pollen that I am always happy to see April showers.  Springtime is beautiful and colorful and often wet.

I finally had a chance to peruse the latest issue of ILikeCrochet.com, April 2015.  And just like the colors Mother Nature brings us in the spring, this issue is full of gorgeous and bright patterns and projects to bring a little springtime to everyone, even if nature is a little late.  From the bright Flower Power Throw on the cover to one of my favorites, the Retro Flower Cushion (adorable!). Blooms abound on hats, bags and in the lace of shawls, wraps and tops.  There are some wonderful gift ideas for new baby and Mother’s day.

Sunny Days Baby Mobile crochet pattern by Darleen Hopkins #CbyDH

photo courtesy of ILikeCrochet.com

And because we are always thankful for April showers that not only bring May flowers but clear the pine pollen from the air and the cars, the Sunny Days baby mobile would make a great gift to any expectant parent.  I just had to give a shout out to my design. 🙂

I’ve already started a Darling Baby Hat in extra large as one of the hats for my 2015 Stash Bust Challenge.  What will your first project be?

2015 Stash Bust for Charity, Early April Update

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Bears and Hats and Hats and Bears

Cubed Hat, Relaxed Beanie crochet pattern by Darleen Hopkins with adjusted stripingchemo crochet beanie for halos of hope - Cubed Hat, Relaxed Beanie crochet pattern by Darleen Hopkins with adjusted stripingThe Cubed Hat with alternate striping.—–>

This past week my boys been on spring break so we decided to take a quick road trip to Tennessee and Alabama.  The road trip was fun and we saw some great sites.  Raccoon Mountain, Cathedral Caverns, Russell Cave National Monument and Little River Canyon National Preserve.   Whenever we road trip my husband does most of the driving.  This gives me lots of crochet time.  This is good because  as mentioned in my last post, Pat, with 12 months = 24 hats challenged me to hat-off.  We are competing to see who can make more hats for Halos of Hope this month.  In addition to hats, I’m making bears for Team Lewis.  Lots to crochet in April!

Relaxed Beanie Cubed Hat Crochet, crochet pattern by Darleen Hopkins Cubed Hat Relax Beanie Halos of Hope, crochet pattern by Darleen HopkinsI decided to make a Cubed Hat as my first hat for this challenge as my husband wears his Cubed Super Slouchy a lot and I thought it would be nice to make one for donation.  Halos of Hope always seems to need hats for men.  My intent was to make a Cubed Hat, Super Slouchy but apparently I picked up the pattern for the Cubed Hat, Relaxed Beanie!  Whoops!  About 80% into the hat I realized I was making a beanie.  Oh well. The good thing about this error was I had enough green yarn to make a second beanie.   I used the same pattern but adjusted the striping.  My husband really liked the color combination so it looks like I’ll be making him one as well.

teddy-bears-team-lewis crocheted bear for Team LewisThe bears are a lot of fun to make.  Team Lewis is a sweet organization, please check it out.

It’s been a busy month so far!  The two hats and three bears weigh 12.25 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 6

Total bears made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 3

Total weight of yarn used in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 1 pound, 4.5 ounces!

 

Crochet to do list and a hat challenge

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Hats, and Lists and Bears, Oh MY!

Hats for Halos of Hope; bears for a sweet charitable project called Team Lewis I just found out about and has a very special meaning to me; a new design currently in progress; new design ideas I’m dying to get started on; the CGOA Master Crochet Program I’m determined to start and finish in 2015; and EYEBALLS, gotta have more eyeballs in lots of colors.  So much to crochet and so little time.

cotton and cotton blend yarn stash for charity crochet

How many hats and bears will this yarn make?

What do you do when you can’t decide what project to crochet first?  Do you have multiple WIPs going at once, skipping from one project to another or do you just crochet as fast as possible to finish one item and then move onto the next?

Me, I’m a list girl.  Growing up I remember my dad making lists.  They’d be in the corner of his desk blotter with the items crossed out as completed.  I don’t remember or know what the lists were for, “to do” lists of some sort, but I can still visualize them on his desk in the house I grew up in.  I guess that is why I make lists for everything.  I make them at work, I make them at home.  I make lists for my kids of chores to do when school is out and my husband and I have to work.  I make lists for the grocery shopping (sectioned into quadrants: grocery, non-food, cold stuff and produce).  And I make lists of items to pack for when we go on vacation.  Lists for everything!

See UPDATE below! So here’s my list of crochet items I plan to stitch in April.  I tend to get bored making too much of one thing so I have to mix it up a little.  I’m going to try to stick to it and in order…

1) Finish WIP hat for Halos of Hope
2) 2 bears for Team Lewis
3) Cotton hat for Halos of Hope
4) Work a night or two on WIP design
5) 2 more bears for Team Lewis
6) Work a night or two on WIP design
7) Cotton hat for Halos of Hope, ship all hats made to date
8) 2 more bears for Team Lewis, prepare for shipping
9) Finish brown eyeball
10) Start that new design you want to do so badly!!

UPDATE:  After drafting this post but prior to publishing, I received a challenge from Pat.  She bet me 2 skeins of cotton yarn that she could make more hats for Halos of Hope this month than I can.  I say GAME ON!  I may have to tweak the order of my crochet to do list a bit due to this new development and pick up in May what I don’t get to this month.  Halos of Hope is such a great organization so I want to make as many hats as possible.  Also, I want to WIN!   And I do want to make at least 6 bears this month as they need to be in the mail by the end of the month.

Revised list
1) 6 bears then as many hats as physically possible.

Looks like my crochet time will be spent mainly on hats and bears.  And it looks like we may be eating a lot of frozen dinners this month.  Less time cooking = more time crocheting!  So much to crochet, so little time.

Silly hats for silly kids crochet patterns by darleen hopkins

Enough Snow Already

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 Seriously? More snowy yuckiness?

Crochet Flapper Hat by Darleen Hopkins http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/waiting-for-spring-flapper-hat-with-roseI had just stepped out of the shower when I received the call that my boys’ school had a two-hour delay, what?  Thor (is that the name of the latest winter storm?) was only supposed to bring us some nighttime lows.  Shortly after that call, I received a text that my job, the local university, had a one hour delay.  Universities aren’t so quick to close or delay, so I figured that warranted a look outside and sure enough, there was snow on the ground.  It was only a dusting and I can’t really complain as I know other southern areas got a lot of snow and northern areas will receive even more, but still, enough is enough!

Spring will be here in TWO WEEKS! so in celebration of warmer days ahead, I’m offering my Waiting for Spring, Flapper Hat at 50% off for the next week.  Use coupon code EnoughSnow2015 at checkout, Ravelry purchases only, expires 3/15/2015 midnight EST.  This is an awesome hat for young ladies in sizes to fit American Girl doll/preemie to small teen/preteen (approx. 12.25-20.5″ head circumference).  Crochet yours in aran/heavy worsted cotton for warmer days ahead or acrylic or wool for the colder days that continue to linger.

Why delay school with only a dusting?  Georgia isn’t equipped to handle snow or ice.  Our best winter mess removal tool is the sun.  See this post for more info on the lack of snow preparedness in Georgia.

Whispers, Crochet by Darleen Hopkins http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/whispers-shawl-shawlette-or-scarf

2015 Stash Bust for Charity, Early February update

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Fun Fur Silliness, Phase One

Fun fur crochet hat for donation https://crochetbydarleenhopkins.com/category/2015-chemo-hat-challenge/My last post stated  “I’ve got some funky fun fur that needs to used…” and this is the result of the first fun fur hat in 2015.   It’s pretty stretchy and should fit most about 8 years old and up.  I’m hopeful it will find a home to someone with a unique sense of humor. This hat weights 2.25 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 4

Total weight of yarn used in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date:
8.25 ounces

 

Happy Puppy Hat, crochet pattern by Darleen Hopkins

2015 Stash Bust for Charity, Mid-January update

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New Challenge for 2015

It’s a new year and therefore time for a new challenge.  A couple of years ago I decided I was going to work on busting out some of my stash yarn and make hats for chemo donation.  My 2013 Stash Bust Challenge was focused on a box full of Bernat CottonTots yarn.  I ended up crocheting 5 pounds, 15.5 ounces of it into 32 hats for Halos of Hope or other charitable donation.  I had also crocheted other hats for donation in different yarn that I didn’t include in the count.  I was pretty busy with hats that year.  Last year’s challenge didn’t focus on any yarn in particular, just random yarn in my stash.  Last year I made 24 hats out of 5 pounds, 4.25 ounces!  I must have made some pretty heavy hats!

It would seem that most of my stash yarn would be close to gone at this point. Sadly, no.  I still have too many boxes of yarn.  So 2015 will once again be all about working from stash yarn for charitable causes. This year’s goal will be a minimum of 24 hats and 5 pounds of yarn.  I’ve got some funky fun fur that needs to used and a ton of cotton and cotton-blends that will be perfect for chemo hats.  I also hope to make a lapghan or two.

Let’s start this challenge off with the first 3 hats of 2015 completed!

Hat for Halos for Hope, crocheted by Darleen HopkinsThe first is called End’s Swell.  I won this pattern in the Gift-A-Long on Ravelry last month.  It is stitched with slip stitches which was totally new to me.  The final result is adorable.  The pattern is a great way to use up smaller leftovers without having to work in a million ends.  I can see making more of these in random stripes as leftovers come available.

Divine Hat for Halos of Hope, crocheted by Darleen HopkinsNext is another Divine Hat.  This is a great pattern and my third one.  I used Caron Simply Soft for this one.  It looks great but, going forward, I’ll use thinner yarns when making this pattern.  I loved it in Caron Spa.

Happy Puppy Hat, crochet pattern by Darleen HopkinsLast is a Happy Puppy.  Last month I re-worked the pattern in Vanna’s Choice by Lion Brand.  I also re-formatted the pattern and took new pictures.  The pattern was originally written with Bernat  Denim Style-a great cotton/acrylic blend.  Unfortunately this yarn has been discontinued.  I (of course) have a few skeins of it in my stash and found this hat partially finished.  Because Denim Style is super soft and perfect for chemo hats, I finished it and will include it in my next batch of hats to Halos of Hope.

This 2015 challenge is on and off for a good start!

The three hats weigh 7 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 3

Total weight of yarn used in the 2015 Stash Bust Challenge to date: 7 ounces

CrochetForMen

 

Stash Bust 2014, Final Update

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Last, but not least… but what is it?

Critter Hat for Halos of Hope, chemo charity crochet hat

Critter Hat

December 31, 2014 and my last hat of the year for the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge was just finished.  I didn’t think I’d have time for another hat this year but then remembered this hat I had started a couple of months ago and hadn’t finished.  There’s a reason I didn’t finish it…fun fur/eyelash yarn.  I’m not a fan of this type of yarn but for some reason (clearance aisle a few years ago!) there are a few skeins of this stuff in my possession. UGH.  There’s no pattern for this critter.  I just made a hat.  As it progressed it was kinda large so I added some super bulky yarn as an edging to tighten it up.  Then, to use up what was left, made some ears-why not?-to create a critter of some sort.  The edging part is pretty tight on Buffy’s head so I’m hoping it will fit a large child.  The good news is I used up all the super bulky and the dark blue fur yarn, less than a yard leftover of each, and created a hat some child will (hopefully) like. The bad news, I have more of this fur stuff, lots more.

This hat weighs 4.25 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge: 24
Total weight of the hats made for donation in 2014: 5 pounds, 4.25 ounces!

Check back in a week or so for a new 2015 Challenge!