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A Vacation from Crochet

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I thought it would feel different, not crocheting for 2 weeks, but surprisingly it was a bit liberating.

I did not start out planning to put my hook and yarn aside through the entire holiday season, but that is what happened. My family and I took a holiday vacation, a true first for us. We were gone for 2 weeks taking a whirlwind guided tour of Europe, from London to Rome. It really has been a lifelong dream to actually have a passport stamps of travel, and the end of 2017 the stars aligned and the dream became reality. We visited Stonehenge, and the Eiffel Tower. We took in a show at the Moulin Rouge, and checked out the views from Mount Pilatus. We enjoyed dinner on the Grand Canal, and visited Michelangelo’s David. We were awestruck with the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum. It was a lifetime of dreams wrapped into an adventure, an adventure we would love to do again.

I packed a couple of crochet projects and added them to my backpack. There is down time in travel, like the direct flights of over 10 hours, and the coach rides across the French country side, or the moments before sleep in the hotel. However, I was captivated by the dream, engaged in conversations with my new traveling companions, and spending quality time with my family.

When I got home again, and dug those projects out of my backpack, they felt fresh and new. It was like my whole body, all of my ideas and inspirations were able to be rejuvenated and see my stitches with fresh eyes. I cannot remember when I last felt that way about my hand craft, it has to have been at least several years, and I do not know that just putting it down at home without the adventure would have yielded the same result. My hooks feel lighter, my ideas crisper, I hope this side effect has some staying power, but if it doesn’t at least I have an idea of how to recapture it again.

Beyond Basic Hat- Free Pattern

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Last week I shared a Basic Hat free pattern, I had an increased number of people wanting to make hats, and they really are great, quick projects, that can help those fighting cancer by the means of chemo therapy. I have designed both of these hats using baby weight yarn, as I find that it is both soft and hypo-allergenic.

The Beyond Basic Hat is worked holding 2 strands of baby yarn at one time (you could substitute 1 strand of medium weight yarn instead). To use 2 strands is not as difficult as it seems, you simply hold them together and treat them as if they were just 1 strand, so you yarn over using both strands together, you pull through loops using both strands together, they just get worked as one. I find it fun to use 2 different colors, like I did in this sample with teal and lemon yellow.

I find that this pattern tends to be my go to hat more often, as is really works up fairly fast, however if you want to learn how to customize the size of hat, check out my tutorial, Crochet Hat Formula, here.

 

Beyond Basic Hat

Materials:

2 skeins Lion Brand Soft Baby light weight yarn (60% acrylic, 40% nylon)

I/9/6mm crochet hook

Gauge: 5 rnds/ 8 dc=3”

This pattern is worked holding 2 strands of yarn throughout.

For directions for the Reverse Single Crochet (Revsc) check out my tutorial here.

Sizes: Baby (Kid, Woman, Man)

Rnd 1(1, 1, 1) Ch 4, 11 dc in 4th ch from the hook, sl st to join.

Rnd 2 (2, 2, 2): Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, sl st to join.

Rnd 3 (3, 3, 3): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next st, [2 dc in next st, dc in next st] rep around, sl st to join.

Rnd – (4, 4, 4): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 2 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 2 sts] rep around, sl st to join.

Rnd – ( -, 5, 5): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 3 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 3 sts] rep around, sl st to join.

Rnd – (-, -, 6): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 4 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 3 sts] rep around, sl st to join.

Rnd 4-8 (5-11, 6-12, 7-13): Ch 3, dc in each st around, sl st to join.

Rnd 9 (12, 13, 14): Ch 1, Revsc around, sl st to join. Fasten off, weave in ends.

The Basic Crochet Hat

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I have been asked to outline a basic pattern for a top down crochet hat several times over the last few weeks, this has resulted in this really basic crochet pattern.

I designed this pattern with baby yarn, so it can easily be adapted for donation hats for those journeying through a cancer diagnosis that might include chemotherapy. Baby yarn is recognized as being soft, and as it is 100% acrylic it is hypo-allergenic.

The pattern is written to address 5 different and popular hat sizes, to use the pattern find the type of hat you want to create, notice the location of the name in the parentheses, as all subsequent rounds of the pattern will relate to this same position. (To make a custom sized hat, check out my basic hat formula here). This hat has a tie at the brim to allow for some adjustment by the user to get a bit of a more custom fit.

Basic Hat

Materials

Lion Brand Baby Soft light weight yarn, (60% acrylic, 40% nylon)

G/6/4mm crochet hook

 

Gauge

10 rounds =4 ½”(11.5cm)

 

Preemie (Baby, Kid, Woman, Man)

Ch 4, sl st to first ch to create ring.

Rnd 1(1, 1, 1, 1): Ch 3 (counts as dc here and throughout), 11 dc in center of ring, sl st to top of ch-3. -12 dc

Rnd 2 (2, 2, 2, 2): Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, sl st to join. -24 dc

Rnd 3 (3, 3, 3, 3): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next st, [2 dc in next st, dc in next st] rep around, sl st to join. -36 dc

Rnd 4 (4, 4, 4, 4): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 2 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 2 sts] rep around, sl st to join. -48 dc

Rnd 5 (5, 5, 5, 5): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 3 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 3 sts] rep around, sl st to join. -60 dc

Rnd – (6, 6, 6, 6): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 4 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 4 sts] rep around, sl st to join. -72 dc

Rnd – (-, 7, 7, 7): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 5 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 5 sts] rep around, sl st to join. -84 dc

Rnd -(-, -,  8, 8): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 6 sts, [2 dc in next st, dc in next 6 sts] rep around, sl st to join. -96 dc

Rnd – (-, -, -, 9): Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next 7 sts, [2dc in next st, dc in next 7 sts] rep around, sl st to join. -108 dc

Rnd 6-11 (7-15, 8-16, 9-16, 10-17): Ch 3, dc in each st around, sl st to join.

Rnd 12(16, 17, 17, 18): Turn, ch 1, sc in same st, ch 1, sk 1 st, [sc in next st, ch 1, sk 1 st] rep around, sl st to join, fasten off.

Tie

Create a chain that is 5 inches (13 cm) longer than the circumference of the hat. Weave the chain through he ch-1 spaces, tie into a bow.

Finishing

Weave in all ends.

Get This Gift! The Perfect Kit

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Wow! I am excited about this!

This has been a unique undertaking in which I have partnered with Lickin Flames and Mountain Colors Yarn to put together an AWESOME Kit.

I contributed the patterns, both crochet and knit (Brenda Atchison helped a lot with the knit version), for this cute one skein shawl. Lickin Flames added an adorable Shawl Pin, this little black sheep, which works wonders at pinning a shawl while making everyone smile. Mountain Colors contributed the yarn, a skein of Twizzlefoot (a great blend of Superwash Merino and Domestic Wool with silk and nylon), a great sock weight yarn.

This kit features 2 brand new colors from Mountain Colors….Shooting Star and Silver Anniversary, as well as the classic Ruby River.

We released this kit last month exclusively on the wholesale market, getting it in the hands of shop owners, so that anyone needing a holiday gift would find the perfect kit for their loved one…either the knitter or crocheter.

It is FINALLY available for direct sale, so you can get your own kit! Or one for a loved one!

This really is a great kit. The colors of the yarn or FABULOUS…not to mention that the yarn is pretty great too….and the Shawl pin is really adorable…I think you will like it. The pattern, okay, well I always have a hard time talking about my work…but those that have already worked it tell me that they LOVE it…That makes me feel good.

I have never had something put together in such a way as to allow everyone contributing really shine. It was fun to work on the collaboration, and I hope we can pull off another one in the future. If you are looking for a perfect Christmas gift for your yarn lover, or just looking a gift for yourself, please consider checking out the Cooperation Shawl.

 

Crochet Crunch Time

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How is it that the month of December can sneak up on me every year? As I get older, it almost seems to happen faster and faster. I once was able to have the holiday shopping completed by the middle of September and have everything in place to feel relaxed during this crazy time of year.

Then the years pass, I somehow lose weeks of my life and instead of having things outlined and planned in early fall I am just aware that I need pull everything together as my sister pulls the Turkey out of the oven on Thanksgiving.

All of my plans of what to crochet and for who gets put into over drive and long nights of flying fingers are scheduled. However, I must not be alone in this last minute hustle, as it is also this time of year that I get many requests for “can you make”.

“Can you make” always seems like a loaded question, it is not really asking if I would want to make and item, or if I have time to make an item, or if I charge to make an item….it simple asks if I can. Yes, I do have the skill set, but I don’t know if I have the time. But, at least I know that I am not alone in my last minute hustle.

So as the festivities begin, please know you are not alone, there are many of us up late making our hooks fly. Deciding that instead of an afghan, a nice scarf will work. Figuring how we can finish our self-imposed “to do” list and still stay sane and enjoy this time of year.