280

I'm so busy with biochemistry lab, so I'm going to make this brief. Total items donated is now at 280 with this latest shipment to ARC.

Items:
-11 hats
-1 pair of mittens
-1 scarf

-4 10" x 10" squares for an ARC project

Surviving the Hurricane

So last night was an interesting night. The wind was howling and my heart was racing every time I heard even the slightest knock against the house. At around 10:30pm, I saw a flash of light and heard was sounded like a firecracker exploding - a transformer blowing, I presumed. I still had power, but the entire other side of the road didn't. Such strange power wiring in Maryland. 


As the night creeped on, I thought that I might actually keep the power all through the storm, which would be a first. Unfortunately, this was not to be. At 2:30am, the power went out. It is actually quite frightening when you can't see anything, the wind screaming by and the trees all around your house straining to remain rooted. Eventually, the tendrils of sleep took hold, but only for a few hours. 


At morning's light, I surveyed the damage. Four large tree limbs had collapsed on top of one another in my backyard. One punctured the lining of my pond and two brought down the phone and cable wires that run to my house. Who knows when I will have my power restored, much less my phone and television. Based on previous power outages, I'm betting on three days for the power and two or more weeks for the phone and cable. 


What crazy times Maryland is having...

Basketweave Scarf

It's a simple design that requires front post double crochet (fpdc) and back post double crochet (dpdc).


Pattern:


Materials:
Worsted weight yarn
I Hook


Ch 17. 
Row 1. Dc in third ch from hook, dc in each ch across. Ch 2. Turn. (15 dc sts)
Row 2. Dc in first st, * fpdc in next st, bpdc in next st. Repeat from * to the last two sts in the row. Fpdc in second to last st, dc in last st. Ch 2. Turn.
Repeat Row 2 until the scarf is the desired length.


You can change the width of the scarf by changing the number of initial chain stitches. However, make sure the number of initial chains is odd, or else the pattern will no longer work.

263

So I've been home for fair stuff for about 2 weeks. In that time, I crocheted a lot, as usual. Here are the items that will be sent to ARC this week, bringing my total to 263.


Items:
8 Pairs of mittens
5 Scarves (two are scrap yarn)
2 Ear warmers
2 Hats
1 Cowl
1 Child's poncho
1 Baby blanket (only the blue one in the picture; the white one is at the MD State Fair, but it will be donated at a future date)

Every Other Row Hat

With the Howard County Fair gearing up, I thought I would upload this hat pattern before my life gets really hectic, helping out at the fair. The bpdc increases used in this pattern can be a bit awkward to make. 

Pattern:

Materials:

Worsted weight yarn

K hook

Abbreviations:

Ch - Chain

Sl st - Slip stitch

St/Sts - Stitch(es)

Dc - Double crochet

Sc - Single crochet

Fpdc - Front post double crochet

Bpdc - Back post double crochet

Adult Size:

Ch 3 and join with sl st to form ring.

Rnd 1. Ch 2. Dc 12 into ring. Join to first dc with sl st. Join this way throughout.

Rnd 2. Ch 2. 2 fpdc in each st including the one slipped to. Join. Ch 2. (24 sts)

Rnd 3. Ch 2. *2 bpdc in first fpdc st, 1 bpdc in next fpdc st. Repeat from * around. Join. (36 sts)

Rnd 4. Ch 2. *2 fpdc in first bpdc st, 1 fpdc in next 2 bpdc sts. Repeat from * around. Join. (48 sts)

Rnd 5. Ch 2. *2 bpdc in first fpdc st, 1 bpdc in next 3 fpdc sts. Repeat from * around. Join. (60 sts)

Rnd 6-21. Alternate between one round of 1 fpdc in each st around and one round of 1 bpdc in each st around, starting with a Ch 2 for each round. Join the same way between rounds. End with a round of bpdc.

Rnd 22-24. Ch 1. Sc 1 in each st around. 

Fasten off. Weave in ends. 

New Born Size: (~4"diameter)

Ch 3 and join with sl st to form ring.

Rnd 1. Ch 2. Dc 12 into ring. Join to first dc with sl st. Join this way throughout. 

Rnd 2. Ch 2. Dc 2 into each dc around. Join. (24 dc)

Rnd 3. Ch 2. Fpdc in every st around. Join.

Rnd 4. Ch 2. Bpdc in every st around. Join.

Repeat rounds 3-4 until the had measures approximately 4" long. End with Rnd 4.

Brim rounds. Ch 1. Sc 1 in each st around. Join. Repeat this round one more time.

Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Baby Size: (~5.5" diameter)

Ch 3 and join with sl st to form ring.

Rnd 1. Ch 2. Dc 12 into ring. Join to first dc with sl st. Join this way throughout. 

Rnd 2. Ch 2. Dc 2 into each dc around. Join. (24 dc)

Rnd 3. Ch 2. *Dc 2 in the next st. Dc 1 in next st. Repeat from * around. Join. (36 dc)

Rnd 4. Ch 2. Fpdc in every st around. Join.

Rnd 5. Ch 2. Bpdc in every st around. Join.

Repeat rounds 4-5 until the had measures approximately 4.5" long. End with Rnd 5.

Brim rounds. Ch 1. Sc 1 in each st around. Join. Repeat this round one more time.

Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Teen/Adult Small Size: (~6" internal diameter)

Ch 3 and join with sl st to form ring.

Rnd 1. Ch 2. Dc 12 into ring. Join to first dc with sl st. Join this way throughout.

Rnd 2. Ch 2. 2 fpdc in each st including the one slipped to. Join. Ch 2. (24 sts)

Rnd 3. Ch 2. *2 bpdc in first fpdc st, 1 bpdc in next fpdc st. Repeat from * around. Join. (36 sts)

Rnd 4. Ch 2. *2 fpdc in first bpdc st, 1 fpdc in next 2 bpdc sts. Repeat from * around. Join. (48 sts)

Rnd 5. Ch 2. Bpdc in each st around. Join.

Rnd 6. Ch 2. Fpdc in each st around. Join.

Repeat rounds 5 and 6 until hat measures 5.5" long. End on Rnd 5.

Brim rounds. Ch 1. Sc 1 in each st around. Repeat this 3 times.

Fasten off. Weave in ends. 

Some of my entries for the fairs this year...

The Howard County Fair and Maryland State Fair are very big in my life. I've always entered them in Home Arts and I usually volunteer at both. I just wanted to share a few of my entries before I enter them later this week. Here are the two I'm most proud of:


Kangaroo and her Joey

It turned out great, but it was a bit of a pain to attach everything.










Black-eyed Susan Man

The building theme for the Home Arts Dept at the HoCo Fair this year is our state flower. I usually don't enter the building theme, but this year I had a good idea so I went for it. This is my design, but I took some of the pieces from other patterns as follows:
Legs - Squiggy, specifically
Head
Petals (this pattern has moved or has been completely removed as of 1/5/13)




The kangaroo got first and the black-eyed susan man got third at the Howard County Fair.
At the Maryland State Fair, the kangaroo got Honorable Mention and the black-eyed susan man got third. I never do as well in crochet as I do at the HoCo Fair.

243

In between studying for the GRE and working at the Smithsonian, I was able to make these five items which have been donated to ARC. And now I'm up to 243 items donated since 2009.

Items:
3 scarves (I actually knitted one for a change)
1 small hat
1 earwarmer

The result of a 2 week break between school and my internship...

I crochet prolifically, especially when chem labs have kept me from the art. Durning my break between the end of finals and the start of my internship, I crocheted almost everything in these pictures (all except 11 hats, 1 scarf, and 1 pair of gloves). All of these items will be donated at some point during the summer, bringing my total to 238. 

Items:
21 hats
6 ear warmers
4 pair of mittens

4 scarves
2 cowls

2 skeins of yarn I can't crochet with

Total Fpdc Hat

Hello. Happy Summer, everyone. I'm still waiting to start at the Smithsonian, so in the meantime, I was able to write up a hat pattern I've been meaning to do for about a year now. Here it is. I'm going to need to take better pics at some point.

Pattern:

Materials

Worsted weight yarn

K hook

Ch 3 and join with sl st to form ring. Ch 2.

Rnd 1. Dc 12 into ring. Join to first dc with sl st. Join this way throughout. Ch 2. 

Rnd 2. 2 fpdc in each dc including the one slipped to. Join. Ch 2. (24 sts)

Rnd 3. *2 fpdc in first fpdc st, 1 fpdc in next fpdc st. Repeat from * around. Join. Ch 2. (36 sts)

Rnd 4. *2 fpdc in first fpdc st, 1 fpdc in next 2 fpdc sts. Repeat from * around. Join. Ch 2. (48 sts)

Rnd 5. *2 fpdc in first fpdc st, 1 fpdc in next 3 fpdc sts. Repeat from * around. Join. Ch 2. (60 sts)

Rnds 6-23. 1 fpdc in each fpdc st around. Join. Ch 2.

Rnd 24. Sc 1 in each st around. Join. Fasten off. Weave in ends. 

Check the length of your work when you get to Rnd 22 or so. With 23 rnds and one rnd of sc, it could be just slightly too long for some people.

Requests for the Beard Pattern

I have received several requests for the beard pattern, through comments on this blog, convos on Etsy, and messages in Ravelry. I have not replied to any of them, mostly because it is the end of the semester and I've just been too busy studying for 4 chemistry and geology finals in addition to squaring away my internship at the Smithsonian in DC this summer.

I am still upset about the listings of my beard on Etsy. One of the sellers promptly removed her listing upon my request, which I am happy about. However, even after repeated requests for the removal of the listings by the other seller, nothing has been done. This only confirms my sentiments about this seller, that he/she has little ethical standards for the items he/she sells.

I do not know what I'm going to do at this point about the beard pattern. I feel so betrayed that I honestly don't want anyone to have the pattern. As of right, I will not give the pattern out to anyone.

No more beard...

My beard pattern was probably my most popular pattern, but I had to remove it. I stated on the pattern that no one may sell the pattern or the final beard. However, this morning, I found two people on Etsy selling my beard. To prevent this from happening further, I had to remove the pattern. Sorry.

One away from 200....

More donations, yet again. This time, 22 of them. This brings the total to 199 items donated since 2009.


All items were donated to ARC.

Items:
1 Scarf
1 Hat, adult
8 Hats, child/enfant
5 Earwarmers
1 Baby rattle
1 Pair of mittens, adult (good size for a female)
1 Pair of mittens, child
1 Cat mat
1 Cat bed
2 Beards (not pictured)


Craft on!

More Donations!

I've been crocheting a lot as a coping mechanism to get through some of the worst classes I've ever taken.  *cough*biochem 2*cough* The result will soon be sent to Awareness, Respect, and Compassion...I just have to find a big enough box. This will bring the total number of items donated to 177.


Items Donated:
Crochet Hats
    -6 baby/child
    -11 adult
Fleece Hats
    -1 baby
    -2 child
    -1 adult
2 Adult Scarves
1 Small Drawstring Bag


Cheers