Dead Men Don't Crochet is in the House!!!!

The second book about crochet and the mystery of a homicide is out! Mine has just arrived and I can't wait to dive into this book.

This time poor stressed-out Sheila is the one accused of murder. I relate closely to Sheila, as I have a stress disorder and I do crochet to help me relax. It works wonders.

I'm very behind on my crocheting though. I have one more lapghan to finish up before X-Mas and I'm only about a quarter of the way done. So I've decided to treat myself. For every four squares I get done in a day I get to read for half an hour. Although I doubt this will work (I know once I start to read I have a hard time stopping.. it's like Pringle chips.)

A toast to Betty Hechtman! For bringing us great books to read centered on crafts we love!!! Cheers Betty!!

(when is the next book coming out? ;) )

Charity Crochet Group a Huge Success!!!

On Tuesday the 18th, myself and four others held another Charity Crochet and Knitting Class at Street Reach in Thunder Bay. This time we held it in the evening. It was a huge success! We had around 6 crochet students and one knitting student. We ran out of hooks!! LOL

It was a lot of fun. Each student received a pattern, hook or needles and yarn. I was amazed at how well all of our students did. They were wonderful to teach. Each student worked at their own pace and they worked hard.

I was very surprised that we only got one knitting student. I expected more people that wanted to learn how to knit then crochet and we had more supplies for knitting. It was the exact opposite of what we all expected! Never less, we had enough to go around.

I 'm not sure if we will be holding this charity teaching class again. However all of the students were invited to our, open to the public, craft group on Wednesdays. Three of them showed up the next day!

Cheers to everyone who participated!!!

The Afghan Craze

Well I have officially gone crazy for Christmas this year. This is lapghan number one. I only have three more to go!! I have to finish joining this one this evening and border it tomorrow. They are a bit larger than what a lapghan is considered. I am dutch after all and most family members average at 6'2 (the really tall ones are 6'6 to 6'7.) So these are actually 3x4 feet in size in order to hopefully cover my family members legs.

It's pretty funny actually since I am the midget in the family. One of these covers me up to my chest as I'm only 5'4. And no, no one knows what happened to me to end up being so tiny. Even my boys are very large. The eldest was 6'4 last year and my youngest... well let's say he's almost at the six foot point!!

So I have only two weeks for each ghan in order to finish on time. *sighs* This is a killer with carpal tunnel, let me tell you!! Advil is my best freind right now. Someone please remind me to start X-mas gifts in July next year!!!

Crochet Novel Series by Betty Hechtman

Hooked on Murder is the very first novel starring our crochet heroine, Molly. It is a great read and so much of how we crocheters think, react and what we crochet is dead on. This author really knows her stuff! It's a very fun read and any one who crochets will relate to it.

Betty has her second book in the series coming out in December called Dead Men don't Crochet. I have already pre-ordered mine. Molly once again must solve the murder case. I'm really looking forward to it!

They are recommended to read! You will be missing out if you don't get ahold of these books! :)

Teaching Projects 2

This is the Ridge Scarf. It's not very long but covers your neck very nicely to keep you warm and snugly on those cold Canadian winter days.

Ridge Scarf
By Rebecca Van Drunen

5.5mm (1/9)
WW Yarn (one large skein)

Abbreviations:
ch= chain sc= single crochet
dc= double crochet st= stitch
r= row Fo= finish off

Ch 31.

R1: Sc 2nd ch from hook, sc each st across, ch 2, turn. (30 sts)
R2: Dc each st across, ch 1, turn. (30 sts)
R3: Sc each st across, ch 2, turn. (30 sts)
R4 to R99: Repeat rows 2 &3. (30 sts)
Fo. Weave in ends.

All Rights reserved. This pattern is intended for personal, charity or teaching purposes only. For teaching purposes this pattern can be copied in multiples.

Teaching Projects

As I get ready to begin teaching I am slowly making patterns that are simple that I can give to my students and use as a teaching aid.

Okay I can't figure out how to add a pdf file to download so I'll just copy the pattern here:

Ridge Dish Cloth
By Rebecca Van Drunen

5mm Hook (H/8)
WW Cotton or WW Yarn (1/2 skein)

Abbreviations:

ch= chain R= row
sc= single crochet FO= finish off
dc= double crochet st= stitch

Ch 31.

R1: Sc 2nd ch from hook, sc each st across, ch 2, turn. (30 sts)
R2: Dc each st across, ch 1, turn. (30 sts)
R3: Sc each st across, ch 2, turn. (30 sts)
R4 to R28: Repeat rows 2 & 3 to last row. (30 sts)
On R 28: in the last stitch of the row put 3sc to turn corner, sc down side, 3 sc in corner st, sc along bottom, 3 sc in corner st, sc up side, 3 sc in corner, sc along top. FO.

All Rights reserved. This pattern is intended for personal, charity or teaching purposes only. For teaching purposes this pattern can be copied in multiples.

Learn to Crochet or Knit Charity Group at Street Reach

Today was our charity group in which we teach anyone how to knit or crochet. We supplied the yarn, hooks or needles, pattern, teachers and refreshments at no cost to those who dropped in.

Before I get into how it all went I have a few thanks. First I would like to thank Street Reach Ministries, Thunder Bay for providing a nice place for our Charity Group which included a kitchen to make coffee and tea. Thank you so much for this opportunity!

I would like to thank Threads in Time, Thunder Bay owned and ran by Lynn Landry-Rody who so generously provided many crochet hooks for use to give away as a supply. Without her extremely generous offer we probably wouldn't have had any crochet hooks and I would have been giving away my personal ones. Thank you so much Lynn!!! :)

Third I would like to thank St. Joseph's Care Group, Thunder Bay and personally Kaitlyn McFall for the idea, the support, finding a location, making the poster etc. This could not have been done without you! Way to go girl! Kaitlyn is responsible for this group from top to bottom! :)

Fourth I would like to thank the lovely people that have donated yarn and needles. I received some both from Freecycle Thunder Bay and from a lovely lady at a garage sale. Thank you both. Your yarn and needles are being put to great use! :)

Fifth, a huge Thank you to Melissa and Kaitlyn who are the other teachers for knitting and crocheting! We can't teach without teachers willing to donate time and knowledge! :)

Lastly and most importantly a huge thank you to all the people that dropped in today! It was lovely to see and meet such wonderful new people! Thank you for coming and for being great! :)


It was a lovely day. A nice warm and sunny one. We were all prepared and ready to go for 1pm. We had a ton of yarn, needles and hooks. We had a few people drop in for coffee and a snack to see what we were up to and to chat for a bit with us all. It was quite wonderful to meet all the new people and have friendly conversation! Thank you to our one student! She was such a trooper. She learned how to begin crocheting a dishcloth and was so easy to teach. She picked up crochet like a duck to water! It made it all worth it to work with someone.

We did learn from one of our drop in coffee chatters that our time we had picked was awful. Most people had other programs or things to do at that hour. So we have decided to do another charity group in November on the 18th from 6 to 9 pm, which we were told was a better time! We will be better prepared for this one too! We have all our supplies and will have posters up next week, so hopefully we get a bigger turn out! I am very much looking forward to it!

I had a great time and felt very honoured to be one of the crochet teachers. I really enjoy teaching and love being able to give and bring a smile to someone's face! It was a blast and I'm very pleased with it all! :)

I will post pictures here later this evening! Watch this space! :)

bec

The World of Ravelry!!

I have recently discovered this awesome site. I have been missing out!! It's so handy! I can keep track of my hooks, books, stash and projects on there! Exactly what I needed! Now the job of putting all my stash on there and dragging it out of it's hiding holes is a whole 'nother story!

I'm still lost on it actually. I haven't yet figured out the pictures and I can't seem to add them if my life depended on it. I'm still trying to figure out what half the buttons do. LOL

I love crafts online! It becomes such a small world! :)

Where are all the crochet hooks?

I have been searching for crochet hooks in second hand stores, and in give-a-ways for a charity group I'm involved in. In just a few weeks I will be one of the teachers for knit and crochet where we are offering to teach street people how to make an item for free. We are providing the yarn, patterns and hooks. I've made up a few simple patterns for it and have gathered yarn for a few months now. I find a huge stash of knitting needles at the local Sally Ann and will be picking up those today. But where are all the crochet hooks? I can not find any, anywhere to use for this. I may have to dig in my pockets and just buy new ones as I'm starting to get desperate.

Oh crochet hooks, where o' where have you gone?

Winter Wear Overload

As it gets cooler my hook gets busier with request items for warm outdoor clothing. I made my own pattern of wrist warmers and they are going like hot cakes. I wear mine quite a bit so I get asked about them often. Since I've submitted the pattern for publication I can't share. Sorry. But I did want to show them off. :) They are fun and easy to make.

Calorimetry caps are also a hot item this year. I've been making these as gifts all over the place. Good bye toques and hello Cal caps!

After this craze dies down a bit I will have to settle in and start making little X-Mas gifts for the family. Some will get warm winter toques, some mitts, some slippers. All little things but things that the whole family enjoys and appreciates.

What's on your hook this winter?

Happy International Crochet Day!!!

It's officially International Crochet day! Yipee!

Today (that is after I go to bed and wake up) I will be crocheting out in public, while I wait for my doctor's appointment and then I'm going to crochet in a coffee shop. I will be taking extra yarn and hooks in case someone is interested and be available for the opportunity to teach someone else the fun and lovely art of crochet!

What are you doing to celebrate and further public knowledge on this grand day?

Camo Crazy for Christmas

I did a little yarn therapy today. I've been down in the dumps and allergies kicking my butt so I decided to feel better. :)

I went Camo Crazy in Michael's today. Some of it will be turned into gifts for X-mas for my hunting addicted family and some of it will become an afghan for an X-mas present next year.

Now if only I could get all the items I'm working on completed first! ;)

Second Hand Stores Suck

Yesterday I was in an off mood so I decided I would go second hand shopping for yarn and hooks to cheer myself up. It turned out to be a very bad idea. I went to the nearest Sally Ann and could not find hooks. None in the building, as a matter of fact. They did have yarn. It wasn't too badly priced and most of it was odd colours mixed together. It would be perfect for making Granny Squares. I found knitting needles. There were two huge vases right full of them! No hooks though. I passed on the yarn for the moment.

Next I went to Value Village. They had an assortment of yarn in bags on a far back wall. Highly overpriced. I could buy a whole large skein for the same price, and it would be about the same amount of yarn! Again no hooks here either and no knitting needles either!

I've heard great stories about yarn bargains from dollar stores, so I stopped by the largest one I know of here. No hooks or needles again. They did have some yarn though. It was tiny skeins (you know the size of baby cotton yarn skeins) for $2 each. Way too much money in my opinion. It was that awful material (jeez and now I forget what it's called, it's kinda like furry string?) I was not interested.

So no bargains on yarn here. Looks like the best bargain is Wal-mart mill ends. I have gotten yarn of off freecycle before. However it is yarn that we use for charity projects and groups. I refuse to use it for personal use. If it's given I think it should be used to give back. :)

So my searches were fruitless and didn't improve my mood in the least.

New Blogging, Old Hooking

Yes yes I know. Many people will go, "Hooking?" and completely have their minds in the gutter. That's the whole point! Hooking is a term that many crocheters use to describe what they do and their art. We do use a hook you know! (Needles are knitting and no I don't knit.) I love using the term Hooking. The shocked look on someones face when I use the term never fails to delight me. Sometimes I explain, sometimes I don't! LOL It's just too much fun for such an innocent craft.

I hook on a daily basis and have carpal tunnel to show for it. Not that it would stop me, just has slowed me down some. I've been at it for over 20 years now and have started getting into designing my own items. So far it's just little projects and recently an afghan but hey everyone has to start somewhere right?

I also get rather annoyed some days with the lack of available products. It's hard to believe I live in a small city most of the time. Craft stores are very hard to find and usually only carrying what Wal-mart does. What's the point in that? Wheres the specialty yarns and odd sized hooks? How about different kinds of hooks? Have these people every heard of bamboo or wood? I actually found one bamboo hook, in Wal-mart of all places. I've yet to try it. Soon. After I started knocking off the suddenly huge list of requests I have to make! That's a rant for another day.

Anyways I'm off to figure out how to post picutures and lovely things like that! Nice to meet you all.
Bec