Stash Bust 2014, Update-October

Posted on October 9, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

More Divine Hope

I just finished my second Divine Hat, pattern by Sarah Arnold, to be donated to Halos of Hope. This pattern creates a beautiful stitch and should be made in a yarn with great stitch definition. I don’t think it is for beginners but for those who have some experience, give it a try! I’m so glad I did and will likely make more hats with this pattern. I used Caron Spa, so soft and perfect for a chemo hat. This one will go with others for my next shipment out to them. They have been running short on their hat supply this year. If you have some time, maybe you can make a hat, or two, for Halos of Hope! I used the full 3.0 oz skein for this hat-had less than 12 inches to spare. I LOVE when that happens!

Total hats made in the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge: 15
Total weight of the hats to date: 2 pounds, 15 ounces.

Stash Bust Challenge, 2014 September Update

Posted on September 30, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Crocheted in Cascade Yarn’s Bentley

I just finished this hat about an hour ago and I’m really excited to share it with you! This past Saturday I was playing around with some of the fantastic Cascade Yarn I received from Shannon a few months ago and decided to “wing it” with an idea. Four days later I have this adorable hat! I’m really pleased with the final design and pretty sure this one is going on my “make sure your write up this pattern” list. I used 100% of the 3.5oz skein. The hat can be worn with the ends rolled up and the hat pushed back, slouchy style, or pulled all the way down over ears. I added a pompom because they are fun. But I didn’t sew it on. Instead, it is attached with a safety-pin so the user and alter the style either with or without the pompom or it could be removed when the hat is washed. I hope you like this one as much as I do!

Bentley yarn is an easy care, 75% acrylic, 25% superwash wool blend.

Halos of Hope is falling short on the need for adult hats. I’m going to try to get at least one more done before I mail this one out. I’m behind in my Stash Bust Challenge for 2014 but I’ll keep on stitching!

Total hats made in the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge: 14

Total weight of the hats to date: 2 pounds, 12 ounces.

Stash Bust Challenge 2014, Update Aug

Posted on August 30, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Divine Hope

I took a quick break from designing to work up a hat for Halos of Hope. I have been eyeing the Divine Hat by Sarah Arnold for some time. I remember trying it when I was new to crochet and just couldn’t figure it out. It has been on my to-do list ever since. The stitch pattern is beautiful and once you get the hang of it, it doesn’t require much concentration. In other words, it is a “get in the zone” hat. I had some tweaks to the pattern as it calls for worsted and I choose Caron Spa, a lighter weight yarn. You can see my notes here. This is a beautiful pattern and it is free so there are a ton of projects on Ravelry. I love seeing the variations others have made; extra long slouchy style, stripes with pom-poms, big flowers added, sc edging with buttons, brims and bows are just a few of the adjustments. There are so many ways you can make this simple and beautiful hat your own. Give it a try. If you can’t figure it out right away, bookmark it and come back to it after you have a little more experience. You will be glad you did.

This hat weighs 2 3/4 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge: 13

Total weight of the hats to date: 2 pounds, 8 1/2 ounces.

Shark Week 2014, Day 7 and a Stash Bust 2014 Update

Posted on August 17, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Shark Hat Finished!

His name is Cap’n and he is mighty proud of his multiple stripes. I’ve had a lot of fun making this hat during shark week. I’ll have to remember to do this again next year. But I do have a slight confession. I only watched one shark show while making him, the one on giant hammerhead sharks. We recorded a couple on the dvr and will watch them eventually. It seems like every year the researchers get themselves in more and more dangerous situations in order to get the great whites to breach or catch the elusive Old Hitler (giant hammerhead) on film. Watching the shark shows gives me the heebiegeebies a little but they are wildly entertaining. Now back to the hat…

I do love the pattern by Monica Miles but as I’m working with limited yarn and a totally different weight than what the pattern calls for, I have to make a lot of adjustments to the pattern. You can see a few more details on my project page as well as a couple more pictures. One day I’ll get the right yarn and make one as the pattern is written. Cap’n will be donated to Halos of Hope and is another hat completed for my Stash Bust Challenge 2014. He weighs in at 5 1/2 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge: 12

Total weight of the hats to date: 2 pounds, 5 3/4 ounces.

Shark Week 2014, Day 6

Posted on August 16, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Shark Hat Update, Day 6-Almost Done!

Moving right along! Last night I adjusted the body of the shark by removing about 10 rounds and reworking them. The hat was a little too loose so I frogged back to the last increase and reworked the rounds without it. I also saved enough yarn to finish the fins. I wish I had enough to outline the fins in sc but this will have to do. I had less than 2 feet to spare of each color! I added the gums and worked in some of the ends. With a couple more ends to work in, teeth and eyes left, I hope I’m able to finish it tonight. CHOMP!!

Shark Week 2014, Day 4 and 5

Posted on August 15, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Shark Week Hat Update!

I made a lot of progress on the hat Wednesday (day 4) as you can see by the photo! I really like the two colors together. I was a little concerned about the different yarns as one is worsted/aran and the other is bulky or maybe even chunky weight. I worked the bright blue, the thinner yarn, in hdc and the aqua, the thicker yarn, in sc and used the same hook for both yarns. Therefore, the sc stitches are stitched pretty tight. Last night (day 5), I finished up the body of the hat and started on the fins. Unfortunately, it looks as if there won’t be enough yarn for all the fins so I will have to frog a couple of rows. I’ll just make the gums and teeth section larger to make up for any lost length. There’s nothing wrong with a lot of big shark teeth!

Shark Week 2014, Day 3

Posted on August 13, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Update on the Shark Hat for Halos of Hope

Last night I realized I wasn’t going to have enough of the bright blue yarn to finish the shark. I’ve made them before and they usually use more than a full skein. So a frogged a few rounds and added some aqua stripes. They are totally random and I add a stripe as I feel it is needed. I’m happy with the progress so far. I have a couple free minutes so it is time to squeeze in a round or two. Check back tomorrow. : )

Shark Week, 2014 Day 1 and 2

Posted on August 12, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Crochet a hat for Shark Week!

In honor of Shark Week, I’ve decided to crochet a shark hat for Halos of Hope. I’ve made a number of these hats before and I have a lot fun giving each shark a different personality.

The crochet pattern is available here and the knit version here. I always make a few adjustment to the pattern as I prefer to work in the round and the crochet pattern is written for rows. In addition, the pattern is written for bulky yarn and I only have aran available so I’ll add few stitches to adjust for the sizing.

I started the hat on Sunday but was REALLY tired and didn’t get to far. That is a good thing because I frogged what I did and restarted it last night. I wanted to make my shark in hdc so I started over. Now I’m really behind and have a lot of catching up to finish it before the week is over.

Anybody care to join me?

Waiting for Spring Crochet Pattern by Darleen Hopkins https://crochetbydarleenhopkins.com/patterns/hat-flapper-waiting-for-spring/

Crochet Pattern Re-lauch

Posted on July 11, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Pattern Nightmares (not really) Episode 1: Waiting for Spring, Flapper Hat

My husband and I are big fans of Chef Gordon Ramsay and all his crazy cooking shows. We watch Hell’s Kitchen, Master Chef, Kitchen Nightmares and Hotel Hell. He seems to always have something airing every season. My favorite show of his is Master Chef. Even though his entertaining antics and colorful language and sayings keep us giggling and wonder what the heck will he do or say next, I prefer the encouraging chef he is on Master Chef as opposed to the ticked-off chef on Hell’s Kitchen. A close second is Kitchen Nightmares. If you aren’t familiar with the show, Chef shows up to a restaurant that is failing (at the request of the owners) and he tells them what they are doing wrong and (tries to) help them. The smart ones take his advice and the others often end up closing their doors for good. The first 40 minutes of the show highlights all the things wrong with the restaurant with a lot of nuttiness in the mix. There’s usually about 10 minutes of self-realization for the owners, makeover of the kitchen, dining room and menu and the last 10 minutes of the show is re-launch night of the new and improved Restaurant X.

So, what does all this have to do with my Waiting for Spring Crochet Hat pattern? I’m re-launching it of course! This was my first self-published pattern, 2 1/2 years ago. Although the pattern never was a “nightmare”, I’ve learned a lot and have made many formatting adjustments over the past 2 years. So, the pattern has been reworked to my current format. The pattern itself is the same, just a lot prettier and cleaner in its presentation.

This is a perfect hat to work in worsted cotton for the warmer months. It is available in 5 sizes to fit premie to teen/small adult. Got an American Girl fan in your family? Make the Extra Small to fit an 18″ doll and a matching one for the big girl!

Get it while you can on sale! A restaurant can only serve so many people at one time-so, the first 25 to respond will get this adorable hat pattern for 50% off! Use coupon code “RelaunchWfS” at checkout or click this direct link: http://www.ravelry.com/redeem/crochetbydarleenhopkins The sale is running now until 7/18/2014 midnight EST.

Dog Themed Charity Chemo Hat by Darleen Hopkins

Stash Bust Update, June 2014 Busting out the Dogs

Posted on June 18, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Who Let the Dogs Out?

I’m still working on making a hat or two for the Kanine Kap Kampaign. I just finished my second, Woof! Woof! The pattern was improvised as I went along and used EXACTLY a full skein of Hushabye Solid by Baby Bee. This is a really soft 50/50 cotton/acrylic blend in aran weight. I’m really pleased with how the slouchy style turned out and it will likely end up as a pattern in the future but most likely minus the Woof Woof. The hat weighs in at 3.5 oz.

Total hats made in the 2014 challenge to date: 11

Total weight of the hats made in the 2014 challenge to date: 2 pounds 1/4 ounces

I’m still behind in my challenge but I’ll keep on stitching! : )

Crochet By Darleen Hopkins

Crochet tips, tricks and patterns

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