Stash Bust 2014, November Update

Posted on November 9, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Two more for Halos of Hope

Give it a Whirl hat

Willow Tree Slouchy

First week of November and I have two more hats to be donated to Halos of Hope! I was so excited to receive the gifted yarn that I just had to make some hats right away. The first is a pattern that was suggested through the Hat of the Month Ravelry group. Each month, the members of the group decided on a free hat pattern to stitch over the month. I’ve found some great patterns this way. The second hat is a pattern I found written for bulky weight yarn. I wanted to use the gifted ombre yarn paired up with some solid yarn I had in my stash. I had to tweak it slightly to adjust for the different gauge but I’m really happy with how it turned out. Click on the photos to be brought to the project pages and the links to the free patterns. The two hats weigh just under 11 ounces! Heavy hats!

Total hats made in the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge: 18
Total weight of the hats to date: 3 pounds, 13 ounces.

PS-If you haven’t joined Ravelry yet, it is time to do so! Look for an amazing announcement later this week!

Just Treats this Halloween!

Posted on November 1, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Generous Crocheter Sending Treats this Halloween

Gifted yarn. www.cochetbydarleenhopkins.com Crocheters (and other crafters too!) are such generous people. We love our craft and want to share it with as many others as possible. How often have you found yourself saying to others “If you’d like to learn, I’ll show you.” Not only do we share our skills, we also share our stuff. Last week, one of my regular pattern testers mentioned she had some cotton yarn she couldn’t use and asked if I’d like it. She said maybe I could make a couple of hats for Halos of Hope with it. Because she lives rather far away I suggested she see if she might be able to find someone local so we wouldn’t have to worry about shipping costs. Her response was, if I wanted, it was mine and she would treat on the shipping. I said sure thinking it was maybe 3 or 4 balls of yarn. Yesterday (Halloween), I arrived at my house to find a large box at my door. “What?” I wondered, “What treat did I receive?” I opened it to find 17 full and a couple partial balls of cotton yarn. WOW! Yeah, I think I can make more than a couple of hats for Halos of Hope with it! The yarn weighs over 2 pounds, 10 ounces, almost as much as the yarn I have used in 2014 (to date) to make 16 hats!

This isn’t the first time someone has shared her craft items with me. Last year, a woman my husband knows through his job, was clearing out some knitting items. She sent him home with 2 large bags of books, patterns and needles for me. She said for me to take what I wanted and donate the rest. How sweet! I pulled out a couple of books and some lovely bamboo needles and brought the rest to the thrift store that supports a local women’s shelter.

Thank you both Heather and Maggie for your generosity. All of these gifts will be put to good use as I continue to bust out my stash for Halos of Hope. If you’ve received a generous gift from another crafter, I’d love to hear about it!

Stash Bust 2014, Update-One More for October

Posted on October 30, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Silly Hair for a Silly Girl

Whew! I finished a second hat for October to be donated to Halos of Hope! I wanted to change it up a little and make something fun. While searching for ideas online I noticed many fake hair/wig hats. There are hats that look like Cabbage Patch Kids, Princess Leia and just about every Disney and fairy tale princess who ever wished upon a star. So going with that theme, I grabbed a partial skein of Caron Simply Soft in Strawberry and made a wig hat for a little girl who might think pink hair was fun. The pattern is a basic beanie with strands added for the braids. And just for kicks and giggles, I added some random button decorations to liven it up. This was a lot of fun to make and I will definitely make some more versions of this hat in the very near future. This hat weighs just over 3 ounces.

Total hats made in the 2014 Stash Bust Challenge: 16
Total weight of the hats to date: 3 pounds, 2 ounces.

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.

Whispers in Knit Picks Chroma, in processhttp://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/whispers-shawl-shawlette-or-scarf

Crocheting with the Scouts

Posted on September 22, 2014 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Yipee! It’s Monday!!!

Some people hate Mondays. Garfield hated them and Mondays made the Carpenters feel bad. But I love Mondays. Actually, I love 6 to 7:30pm on Mondays because that is when my youngest son’s boy scout troop meets. I drop him off and I have a good hour and 15 minutes of alone time. When it’s cold and the days are short and it’s dark out, I often go to a fast food restaurant, get a cup of decaf and sit in the back and crochet. Sometimes in the hotter months, I find a quiet place at the local university, enjoy the AC and crochet. Most of the time though I park my car at the park, open the windows, enjoy the quiet and crochet. Wherever I may be, if it’s just after 6pm to about 7:15pm on a Monday night, I am likely crocheting.

The weather in north Georgia this time of year is beautiful and a lot of people come out to enjoy the park. This week, I’ll be there with them working some more on my Whispers in Chroma. This yarn is gorgeous and perfect for this pattern. I can’t wait to finish it and block it.

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!

Crochet By Darleen Hopkins

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