Hats & Colors

I say it pretty often: I love the times when a fun hobby can become an opportunity to give back and make a difference. 

Playing with yarn and color is one of the things I enjoy. I especially like the yarns that have a very slow color change like this one. 

I think the variety in variegated yarns definitely makes the project more interesting while working on it.

Little Blankets

Lately, one of my favorite tv-watching activities is crochet: it keeps my hands busy and I can still enjoy the show!

Here are some of my latest little projects: little blankets. Our crochet group at church donates hats and blankets to various community groups and mission projects.

I love the fact that a favorite hobby of mine can also be a way to "give back" to the community and show love, even to people I'll never meet!

It's been great to be a part of a group that makes an effort use their time and talents for good. I've received a lot of inspiration from these ladies, and I appreciate what I learn from them.

Granny Squares

Granny Squares are definitely among my favorite ways to crochet! 

This is a recent project that combined some scraps and some random yarns to make a colorful lap afghan.

After making two randomly-colored rounds on each, I gave them a little consistency with a third round in an ombre turquoise. 

I used black for the background, partly because it looks classy, and partly because I had a lot of black yarn. I added a simple edging in a bumpy, bulky black yarn, and it was the perfect use for it!

Yarn Crochet ... With a Purpose

Over the years, I've done a lot of crocheting ... everything from fine-thread doilies to worsted-yarn afghans. I'm pretty sure my first real crochet projects were made from granny squares, which explains why I can almost crochet granny squares with my eyes closed! 

  

For a few years, I didn't crochet much at all. For a while, during my craft-y time, if I wasn't quilting, I was probably knitting socks. But that changed and my love for crochet was re-ignited when I had the chance to join a group of ladies at my Church to crochet things to donate to mission projects. 

 

Joining in on the group's projects reminded me how much I love crochet, and how satisfying it is! The group projects mostly involve simple hats, small afghans, and baby gifts. 

 

We donate hats by the hundreds to be given in the winter to workers on cruise ships and barges at our nearest major seaport. The hat-gifts are part of a bigger ministry that provides various services to these workers who arrive at the port from around the world and are soon on their way again. The hats are super simple to make, since they're designed to be the kind of thing a person could wear under their regular rain-gear/uniform. It's a simple gift, but might bring a little warmth, colorfulness, and cheer to a stranger. 

 

Our group is making small afghans which we donate in a variety of ways, including disaster relief projects, nursing home gifts, and things like that. I've had fun making small afghans to test out new patterns, to use up scrap yarn, and to create a finished product in almost no time. And giving it to a great cause makes the process even better!

 

For the past few years, our group has partnered with a local organization that provides baby gifts for young families in our community. Cute baby "cocoons" with matching baby hats has been the project our group makes for this organization, and they're fun to make and really adorable.

 

Although it's not an official group project, some of the ladies in the group have also made and donated baby blankets to send to a ministry in Haiti that's supported by local friends. I've enjoyed the chance to crochet some cute things with baby yarn, knowing that some cozy crochet might just remind some moms and babies that they are loved. 

 

 

I think making things and giving them away -- even to strangers -- is a wonderful way to put our talents to good use. I love to hear about the community projects that other crafters are working on, so I thought I'd share a few of mine on my blog, too.

Still Quilting ...

It's been a while since I've blogged much, but I've always got projects in the works! 

Every now and then, I realize that I should start a blog series on the topic of "Quilts I Forgot to Blog About!" Or, better yet, "Projects I Forgot to Blog About," since there are plenty of not-quilty projects that are always happening. 

Anyway, just to get started, I thought I'd share some quick photos of my recent and current projects. (After all, where does one start to blog again after an 18-month break?!) Pictures are important to a blog post, so here are a bunch. Any of these may turn up in a longer post soon, but this will be a good way to get back to it. 

In no particular order, here are some quick looks at things I've been doing in the past few months.

Quilts remain a perennial favorite. Each of these projects was special and fun, and I finished all of them in the past year. (Two of them were started long ago, and two were started and finished in just a few months.) I'm hoping they'll each become a blog post soon, but for now, here are some sneak peeks:

 

 

Crochet projects have kept me busy. There's a crochet group at my church, and we always have several charity projects going. Here are a few of the things I've worked on during the past few months ... a few baby items and lap-sized afghans. It's a great way to put my yarn to good use!

 

 

As always, there are plants ... some early spring flowers, a few vegetables, tiny succulents in pots, and some summer blooms.

 

 

 

 

In other news, I usually have some knitting going, and now and then, I remember that I started a massive cross-stitch project two decades ago ...

 

So, that gives you a quick glance at the crafty, quilty stuff I've been up to. As I said, I'm hoping to update the blog more often than I have lately.