Stash Bust Update, March 2014 – Stash Busting for Halos of Hope

Posted on April 13, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Still On Safari with Halos of Hope and Stitches South

Going along with the On Safari theme, I made three more hats in March for Halos of Hope. Two are flamingos, a variation of my Chirp! Chirp! Tweet! Tweet! pattern. The third is another wacky variation of the Zombie Monkey pattern turned into a Lion. After making two of these lion creatures, I still have some Pomp-A-Doodle left. I guess a third lion will appear later in the year. I had the privilege of dropping these hats and others off at Stitches South yesterday. It was a great day-check for a blog post about it later this week. The 3 hats weigh in at almost 8 ounces.

Total hats made in 2014 challenge to date: 9

Total weight of the hats made in the 2014 challenge to date: 1 pound 9 ounces

2014 Stash Bust Challenge for Hope

Posted on February 15, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Update, February 2014 Stash Bust Challenge

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

Stash Bust for Hope 2014, January

Posted on February 2, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

January 2014 Stash Busting for Hope Update

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!

Super Stitcher Goals for 2014 and a NEW Stash Busting for Hope Challenge

Posted on January 5, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

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

Stash Bust Challenge 2013-Update Sept 2013

Posted on October 5, 2013 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Stash Bust Challenge 2013, September Update

Textured Halos of Hope Hat, pattern by Yvonne Tate

September was a busy month. I’ve been working on two blanket designs, both of which I hit a snag in the design and had to work it out. Because of this, I fell behind in my other projects and only made 1 hat in my Stash Bust Challenge for this month. But I really like this one. This design was written by Yvonne Tate, specifically for Halos of Hope. You can find it on her blog. I used a thicker yarn than the pattern calls for so I made few adjustments and ended up with a slightly slouchy hat rather than the beanie as the pattern is written. You can see my notes on my Ravelry project page. I’m real pleased with the results. It’s a cute hat pattern. Thanks Yvonne!

The hat used almost an entire 3.5oz skein of yarn. I’ve got 3 months left in this challenge and 2 pounds to go. I gotta get stitchin’!

Total hats made to date: 21

Total yarn used to date: 4 lbs 1 oz

Stash Bust Update: April/May 2013

Posted on May 30, 2013 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Stash Bust Update, April and May 2013

When I sat down to write this I realized I didn’t post an update for April. I guess it’s because although I made a lot of hats for Halos of Hope in April, I didn’t make any hats out of my Bernat Cottontots stash. But I do have 3 Stash Bust hats for May.

First, Hooper the Shark. I love this pattern by Monica Miles. She designed it for Halos of Hope and you can own it with a $10 donation to this great charity. The money goes directly to them and is used to pay for postage in shipping their hats. I made a couple adjustments to the pattern for worsted/aran yarn (it’s written for bulky). You can see my adjustments on my Ravelry project page. And if you have friends who knit, they have a knitted version as well!

My second hat is Oink! I made this one on the bus going to and from my youngest son’s field trip. We had a nice day-went to Chattanooga, TN and saw Ruby Falls, an underground waterfall and went to the aquarium. Three hours on the bus each way and I had more than enough time to finish this cutie.

My last one to share with you is a bucket style hat. I was playing around yarn and didn’t follow a pattern. It came out kinda cute. There may be a Bucket Hat pattern in the future…

The 3 hats together weigh in at exactly 12 ounces.

Total Stash Bust Yarn Weight to Date: just under 3 pounds! (almost 1/2 way!!)

Total Stash Bust Hat Count to Date: 13

And for kicks and giggles, here’s a photo of Ruby Falls. : 0 )

Pattern Testing for Hope

Posted on March 6, 2013 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Thank You Amazing Pattern Testers!

Whenever I’m ready to release a new pattern, I always tech edit and pattern test it. There’s a great group on Ravelry where individuals volunteer to test patterns, for free. They work through it and let me know if anything is confusing and could be worded better. Or if stitch counts are wrong, if I missed a “ch 1 and turn” or even typos. I usually ask my testers to list final yarn usage so I know if my amounts listed are accurate. It’s a great group and everyone wins. The testers get a lot of free patterns and the designers get a lot of free help from the very people who use the patterns.

When I was ready to test my Kissy! Kissy! Fish Face Hat, I tried something different. With the help and blessing of the group’s moderator, Chris, I made an unusual request of the test that the tested hat be crocheted in chemo friendly yarn and then mailed to me to be donated to Halos of Hope for their Under the Sea Campaign for Atlanta area hospitals. I wasn’t sure what to expect-postage is expensive and a lot of people don’t have the extra $$ for postage, but boy did this great group of ladies step up to the challenge. I had 16 volunteers in a short period of time. From the 16, I received 26 hats for donation! What a great, giving group!

Check out these amazing fish! I included the 3 that I’ve made so far. I’ve got a couple more fishy hats I plan to finish up this week (Stash Busting for Hope!). Once they are done, I’ll be packing up all 31 hats to send to those brave young fighters.

Find out more about Halo’s Under the Sea Campaign. It’s not too late to make a hat and get it in the mail to them. I’m offering a 50% off coupon on my Ravelry site for the Kissy! Kissy! Fish Face Hat pattern. Use coupon code “HOHFishFace” to save $2.25 on the pattern, then, apply the savings to your postage. You’ll be so glad you did. : )

Coupon code expires 3/15/2013 midnight EST

Enjoy!

What to do with 6 pounds of yarn…Stash Busting for Hope!

Posted on November 30, 2012 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Stash Busting for Halos of Hope

Last week we were getting ready to meet my parents for Thanksgiving at the beach. I was frantically running around with last-minute packing and realized I didn’t have a project to work on in the car (6 hour drive!). I had just finished a baby blanket and had two bib patterns in testing. My only other WIPs were Christmas gifts for the boys-not something I could work on in front of them. I did a quick glance at my yarn stash and made a Thanksgiving promise-I’m going to bust this stash and make some hats for Halos of Hope.

: 6 pounds of Bernat CottonTots. 2013 Challenge, crochet into hats for Halos of Hope.

My yarn stash is stored in paper boxes (you know the ones, I think 10 reams of 500 sheets of paper per case). I won’t tell you how many boxes I have, but it’s a lot. I have one box full of just Bernat CottonTots 100% cotton yarn. I love this yarn. It’s so soft, perfect for chemo hats. So, in that frantic last-minute packing, I decided I will crochet all of the CottonTots into hats for Halos of Hope-Stash Bust 2013 (although I have a head start as I started on our trip). I weighed the yarn when we returned home and it’s over 6 pounds! While sorting through the box, I found some hearts already made. I’ll be using them on some of the hats. I’m excited about this challenge and plan to post updates at least once a month. Please check back on my progress and if you like, join in! Check this list for pre-approved yarns perfect for chemo hats and this Guidelines and Helpful Hints in making hats for those experiencing hair loss due to chemotherapy or radiation.

Halos of Hope is a fantastic not-for-profit organization that distributes handcrafted hats to chemotherapy patients. They work directly with chemo centers across the country . Pam, a survivor, started the organization in 2006. I’ve not yet had the pleasure of meeting her or the other volunteers in person, but hope to in the near future. For now, I will continue to make hats and send them to Illinois. Read some to their Stories of Hope .

Do you have some yarn in your stash that’s not on their soft enough for chemo hat list? Try this stash buster pattern Made with Love, Heart Baby Blanket.

Crochet By Darleen Hopkins

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Tag Archives: Halos of Hope