Warm Up America - The Pile is Still Growing!

Yep, my little stack of crocheted and knitted squares is still growing! I now have 31 in the pile; only 18 more to go and I will begin the process of sewing them all together into an afghan. The afghan will then be sent to the Warm Up America Foundation to be donated to a homeless shelter or hospital.

I've been using yarn given to me by Rose Rich a couple years ago when I was visiting her in Utah. I love being able to put that yarn to good use! Of course, I also have lots of stray skeins, partial skeins, and various sized balls of yarn hanging around from past projects, or projects that I never did get to. I'm digging into it all.

I got tired of the crocheting the same patterns (the ones provided at the Warm Up America Foundation's website), fun though they are, so I started looking around for more stitches to try. I dug up an old (unfinished, natch) afghan project I started a long time back. The pattern I was using is in a booklet called "63 Easy to Crochet Pattern Stitches - Combine to Make an Heirloom Afghan." The 63 patterns all make squares so I've just been modifying them to make a 7" x 9 " rectangle instead. It's been really fun trying out the different stitches.

I've found I can easily crochet at least one piece per evening, if I'm watching television; sometimes I will do more - just depends on how much time I spend in front of the t.v., which usually isn't a whole lot.

I've never actually joined a bunch of squares into an afghan before, so that may prove to be a bit of a challenge in spite of all the tips given at the Warm Up America Foundation's website. It'll certainly be something new to learn.

Any suggestions??

Me and the Warm Up America Foundation

I discovered Warm Up America a few years back. This awesome foundation provides knitted and/or crocheted afghan blankets, clothing, and accessories to people in hospices, shelters, hospitals, and nursing homes. The cool thing is that, to help out, all you or I have to do is knit or crochet one 7" x 9" rectangle and send it to them. That's it, to make a difference in someone's lfe. How cool is that?

Of course, if you want, you can knit or crochet an entire afghan. Or you could make 49 of the 7" x 9" rectangles and sew them all together into a complete blanket. Or, if you aren't that ambitious, or don't have a lot of time, you could just make one the next time you have to spend some time sitting in the car, doctor's office, or DMV, or when you are watching t.v. Slip it into an envelope and mail it to the good people at Warm Up America. The volunteers there collect them, organize them together in groups of 49, sew them together, and then donate them to wherever they are needed most.

The photos show my growing pile of rectangles. I've been going through a lot of leftover yarn that's just been sitting around in my closet. So nice to be putting it to good use! I can make about one-and-a-half rectangles while watching a couple of hours of t.v. in the evening. My goal is to make and/or gather together 49 rectangles AND sew them together so that I can send out a complete blanket this fall.

If you'd like to help me reach my goal, go to the Warm Up America website, download the simple knitting and crochet guidelines, break out your needles, hooks, and yarn, and get stitching! Be sure to read & follow the guidelines carefully. Check your gauge early on, to make sure your piece will end up the correct size. They must be as close to 7" x 9" as possible or they can't be used, and you wouldn't want all your hard work to go for naught.

Send me your pieces and when I have enough, I'll assemble them and, of course, take photos for the blog.

You can also send your pieces directly to Warm Up America, to the address on their website.

Questions? E-me!

An Outing with Yarn Yumminess

So one-half of the team who housesat for us last year during our 8-week sailing cruise, Mary (of Richard and Mary), is currently nearby in San Jose at a housesit there. Mary and I took advantage of being within 90 minutes of each other to meet halfway, in Dublin, CA., for lunch. It has been almost exactly one year since we saw each other and it was fun to get together and catch up on each other's lives.

We had lunch at Taqueria Los Pericos and, luckily for us, we arrived at 11:30 so we ordered, got seated, and were eating when the lunch crowd arrived. The line went out the door! Mary had researched the restaurant on-line since neither of us is familiar with Dublin and it was as good (and popular) as reported. And reasonable, too, always a plus! Mary had the tostada and I had nachos and both dishes were fresh, tasted great, and arrived quickly.

Afterwards we visited a nearby yarn shop, That Yarn Shop, at 7164 Regional Street, where we spent...oh, I don't want to say how long, oohing and aahing over the yummy yarns! Wow, I think I picked up fingered and rubbed on my face a skein of every brand and type of yarn in the entire store! I took the picture below when I got home, but it definitely doesn't do the yarn justice.I can't wait to knit with these yarns, they're so soft...I have plans for them but can't say what those plans are just in case I get an item or two done in time to give away for Christmas! Of course, my gifts-to-be-made list is soooo long, and there's not nearly enough time to do everything. Still, I'm having a lot fun trying. Oh, the yarn info is: blue/purple blend is by Teseo in Italy, 55% Wool and 45% Microfibre, the red/gray/black variegated is by Berroco in Uxbridge, MA., and is 41% wool and 59% rayon. (I don't like 100% wool as I find it scratchy against my skin.)

It was a really nice outing, especially since I've been at my computer almost constantly for the past week or so, working on client projects for my digital scrapbook business. So nice to get out of the house and, once I was across the Benicia/Martinez Bridge which was socked in with fog like most of Benicia, I found myself in sunshine! Gorgeous, warm sunshine.

I have got to get out more!

Holiday Mystery Gifts Knit-along

I recently got involved in the Holiday Mystery Gifts knit-along via yahoogroups and we're having a Blast! Here is a pic of the current mystery project:
What is it? I don't know yet!! The guesses among the knitters have been absolutely wild as you can imagine; I mean, look at the shape of it so far, lol! For these mystery projects we are given clues for 7 days. Each clue has a portion of the knitting pattern, so you knit each portion over the 7 days. At the end of the week we will have a completed . . . . something or other!

Also, twice a week new knitting and crocheting patterns are posted. You pick the ones you want to make and go for it. All the designs are originals created by members of the group, and all are suitable to be given as gifts, so doing this now, with Christmas coming couldn't be better timing!

If you enjoy knitting or crocheting at all you'll definitely want to come join the fun. It's a great, and very friendly and helpful, group of ladies, and a fantastic way to improve your knitting skills. There's always someone to help you over a rough spot in a pattern, or to give advice on yarn and needles, plus there's a big gallery of photos of completed and in-progress projects.

I'm tellin' ya, you'll love it!

My Own Eco-Friendly Produce Bags

A few weeks back I found these pale blue sheer curtains at a flea market. I got two panels for $5.00. I washed them in hot water and bleach, then hung them to dry. I had plans to repurpose them as reusable eco-friendly produce bags.

This tiny white "treat" bag from a wedding was my inspiration, not so much for the bag itself since that was just a simple rectangle, but I LOVE the drawstrings. Not just your ordinary drawstrings, these are the type that draw shut from both sides, and are super-easy to re-open.

Here is one of my finished bags. In cutting up the sheers I found I would be able to get 8 to 10 bags out of each panel, so I'll end up with a total of at least 16 bags. Four are completely finished. The next dozen will sew up quickly since now I've got all the shortcuts figured out.

The drawstrings are a teensy bit more trouble than the regular ones (that draw shut only on one side) because two separate strings must be threaded completely through the casing but are worth it for their ease of use and, I think, they're just cuter! I used lengths of yarn that I have in my stash so the 16 to 20 bags I'll end up with only cost me $5.00 and a little of my time.

Here is one of the bags with three Gala apples inside, giving an idea of the size of the bags, which are very close to the standard plastic ones available in any grocery store.

I'm pretty happy with them!