• crafting - Crochet - crochet motivation

    It’s October – new goal?

    October 2, 2026 - By 

    My goal for 2026 was to make 85 sets for donation and work on a few other things. I made myself a sweater, have another in mind, and only have a few more rows of color to complete on my color block throw. Since extended my goal to 100, I have 95 completed sets with a few more months to go for the year. I could possibly extend the goal again this time to 115.

    It’s not like I don’t have enough yarn. Fall is here, so there is more time to crochet – during pre-concert lectures/talks, while watching the Bears and movies. If I don’t meet my new goal, no one will be hurt and while the calendar just turned to October, I will have extended MY goal twice! Twenty sets in about 3 months is definitely possible. Considering that I have a three or so sets in progress as well, I’m going to set the new goal as 115 and see what happens.

    I made a couple of gauge swatches for another sweater, then after working on it for a bit, I decided that I didn’t like it. I haven’t unraveled it, yet but I will. I’m glad that I figured it out before I got too far in. Though I did become better at back loop only single crochet and have incorporated that stitch into a few hats so it’s not like I have lost anything.

    Anything is possible…

    Happy crocheting!

  • Crochet - Odd balls

    Colors & Revising the goals

    August 28, 2026 - By 

    What I miss about making afghans is that I would use more colors because the blankets are meant to brighten a space in addition to giving warmth. Some people don’t want to wear as many bright colors. There are ways to make something colorful without being garish. Using a dark and light yarn together or two yarns can create houndstooth or stripes or a block pattern. I’ve been looking at old posts from several years ago and the afghans were so colorful. I still use color but in a different way. Depending on the group or age of the clients of certain organizations that receive donations, would be comfortable wearing something super bright. That doesn’t mean that colors are relegated to neutrals only. It’s still possible to use darker or even neutral colors to give some style and patterns. The neutral color or a solid dark with a color block adds flair without making someone look like they are a walking billboard.

    The colors and patterns can speak for themselves whether it’s a light and dark color or two complimentary patterns. Colorful doesn’t mean looking like a bioluminescent creature in a sea of darkness. Colors can be blended to create something subtle and lush. Two complimentary patterns or stripes of different shades, hues or tones with a solid primary yarn puts pigment center stage.

    Set #85 for 2026

    Revising my goal

    Since I have already completed 85 sets for the year and it’s not quite September and I have three sets in varying states of completion, I have decided to make 100 for the year which still give me a chance to work on a couple of other things that I want to make for myself and maybe a gift or two. In previous years when I set goals, I have mentioned that I want to crochet faster, especially get faster with colorwork. Now is the time to practice that since there are four months left in the year. Even if I made some sets with one multicolored or self striping yarn in familiar patterns, I feel that making 15 additional sets is doable.

    Happy Crocheting!

  • Creative reuse - Crochet - Hats and scarves - leftover yarn

    Bespoke winter gear

    July 30, 2026 - By 

    Too often, I have leftover small balls of yarn that I want to use without buying more of the same yarn if it doesn’t have a dye lot. Instead, I have been making an effort to create unique looks with stripes or gradient colors that coordinate and aren’t too garish. Taking marled or color striping yarn and combining it with a solid – oatmeal/aran, gray, or other neutral is one way of doing things, but taking similar yarns with subtle shade variations can create an appealing set and also use up yarn.

    The lack of stores that carry washable, budget-friendly yarns you can try in person has made me more creative about trying new ones. Several months ago, I got a few different yarns at a yarn swap during World Wide Knit in Public Day. I was happy to score a ball of yarn that I wanted to try, but didn’t want to pay $10 shipping for yarn that I might or might not like. Now that I’ve tried it, I found that an online shop that I purchase from frequently, which has free shipping with a threshold that I would meet from other purchases carries the yarn.

    There are still containers of larger remainders – half skeins and balls as well as a basket with assorted colors of tiny balls – in my stash that I can’t bring myself to toss. Though I haven’t been on a yarn buying hiatus, I have become more intentional about what I want to buy, try and give away. There is a lot of yarn that I don’t want to go to waste which I am making into eye-catching one of a kind sets!

    Drumroll, please… I have completed 72 sets this year. That’s right six dozen and my goal is 85 for 2026! I might need to change the goal or start on some other projects. Stay tuned…

    Happy crocheting!

  • Crochet

    Reuse or repurpose?

    April 22, 2026 - By 

    The mystery balls that I made were lurking about in my view again. Initially, I made them with the intention of making an afghan. After several false starts, I used one ball to make a couple of sets, then tried using another in a new stitch pattern. Nothing fancy, but the way the colors were stacking looked great. I tried a new stitch pattern for the scarf, and it’s looking great. The set is colorful but in a more subdued manner. While it may not look like or cost hundreds like a high-end designer’s items that use “scrap yarn,” I’m pleased with the outcome, how it will turn out, and mostly that it will keep someone warm.

    The afghan I started may get unraveled and be incorporated into something that I’ll donate this year, since I’m not donating afghans as much. After further examination, I might continue working on it. It’s an afghan – how long will that take – and use it as a gift. I hadn’t looked at it in a while and didn’t remember how much I had actually completed on the project. It may be a keeper. Still, using leftover yarn with a neutral, in this case, black yarn, is a fun way to use up what I have.

  • Crochet

    No Buy Lent 2026

    February 18, 2026 - By 

    This year for Lent, I am going to refrain from buying any yarn and use up what I have. There’s more than enough in my yarn closet. I’m going to try everything, use different color combinations, or make the same pattern in several colors. Before I made the decision, I bought some yarn on sale that I’d been wanting to try. I was intentional with the colors that I purchased because I chose a couple of colors that I thought would complement each other when I combined leftovers of the remaining skeins. I was able to make a set out of two similar leftover yarns.

    After some yarn was caught up in customs for an exorbitant amount of time, I thought, “Do I need it?” No. Will I use it… of course! So I thought that I would just use what I have – whole skeins, partial skeins, leftover bits and bobs, and see what pools off my hook. My stash has been whittled down to what I like. I want to use up more and make space. This will help me be more intentional about purchases in the future. The idea is to just use what I have during Lent. I’ll probably make another eight sets or so during Lent, which should put a good dent into my stash. This year, what I have worked on so far has been a variety of colors, but I can use up the remaining yarn from projects and put them to creative use either by combining them with other colors or a standard neutral.

    This will be a good time to scroll less and create more.  I’ve made an effort to put my phone in another room in the evenings so I can just do something else. If I’m watching television and start scrolling, that’s all I do, because if I start scrolling, I’m not crocheting. Putting my phone away has been very effective. Additionally, I bought another battery-operated alarm clock. Then I’m not checking the phone and set it away from my bed at night.

    My goals for the year haven’t changed. I’m committed to making 85 sets and some other projects for myself. I am looking forward to this Lenten period, contemplating the purchases I make, being intentional about what I use, and using up more of what I have. Here are photos of the sets I created using the yarns I bought specifically to combine. Then I used the partial skeins together.

    Blue set
    Combination of two skeins
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Happy Crocheting!
  • Crochet

    2026 Crochet Goals

    January 13, 2026 - By 

    Happy New Year!

    After a pivot and change to the 2025 donations at the last minute,  I made hats to go along with the scarves earmarked for an organization that stopped accepting scarves. Also, I made hats to accompany scarves that I found around the house. Initially, my goal was 75 sets and 12 red scarves. I tallied up everything and thought I had made 104 sets, I donated 100 of those sets. Then a lurker appeared, bringing the total sets made for 2025 to 105 sets after the mix-and-match combos were included.

    In 2026, I have plans to work on a couple of items for myself, and I want to set a manageable goal of 85 sets. I’m already working on two of the projects for myself and have completed 2 sets, and have the hat completed for the third. Additionally, I’d like to scroll less and hook more. That should make my goals more manageable.

    While I did receive yarn for Christmas and a gift card, I would like to try out some new yarns I have seen online or heard about from friends. My plan is to buy the yarn on sale, so if I don’t like it, I won’t feel as bad as I would paying full price for something I don’t particularly like crocheting.

    Here are the first two sets of 2026.

    In addition to my goal of crocheting 85 sets, I would like to learn some new patterns, try different yarns, and increase my speed a bit.

    Happy crocheting!

  • Crochet - Hat and scarf goals - Hats and scarves

    Mix and match 2025

    December 1, 2025 - By 

    Officially, I have exceeded my goal of 75 sets for the year and met my goal of 12 scarves. Instead of stopping, I kept going. I decided to make as many as I could before the deadline to drop them off. In addition to the completed sets that I have, in the summer, my father found a box of scarves in the basement. In my craft room, as I was moving things for a furniture delivery, I found a larger cache of individual hats that I thought I had. Now, I am mixing, matching, and creating sets with the hats and scarves, and creating new ones in a flurry of stitches before I drop off the sets at a church for their hat and scarf drive.

    Another organization that I have donated to for a decade or so – Foster Care to Success has decided to discontinue its Red Scarves program. The information wasn’t on the website, so I contacted the organization. After inquiring, I received a call saying that this is the last year, and I could donate the scarves locally. This made me look at my Where to Donate page and check to see if the links are current. At least three of the organizations are no longer accepting items for donation because postage costs have increased, and sending their donations to recipients costs too much. Each org recommends that people donate their items locally. This won’t deter me from making things to donate. There are many places in the Chicagoland area that will have coat drives, and if you read the fine print, they also accept cold-weather gear – hats and scarves. Even my local coffee shop has a bin for people who come in and need something to keep them warm.

    My plan is to shift into overdrive this week to whip up a few hats to accompany some of the red scarves.

    Here are a few of the scarves that I found in a box, and the combinations I made to complete sets. A couple aren’t exact matches, but they are close enough to make a set and keep someone warm, and that’s the ultimate goal.

    Happy crocheting! 

  • Crochet - trial and error

    Messed up

    September 26, 2025 - By 

    Things don’t always line up. After making a hat, I had a couple of false starts on the scarf. The yarn is not forgiving and does not want to unravel nicely. It snags and rips. After two false starts, I decided to go with the basic double crochet. While working on the project, I decided to try a different edging, which made the scarf wider, because I didn’t count the number of stitches I had in each row. When I realized my mistake, I regrouped and kept going. For a more forgiving yarn, I would have ripped it out. For this snaggy yarn, I just kept going.

    It doesn’t make a difference how long you have been crocheting. Everyone makes mistakes. When you realize that and don’t focus on the mistake as a complete failure but a learning opportunity, then you can just say – whatever and keep moving. That’s what I did. Next time, I will not try a new technique mid-project and also remember to count my stitches!

    The scarf looks ok, it’s just not up to my regular standards. It will keep someone warm, so that’s the most important thing.

    Happy crocheting! 

  • Crochet

    Beat the heat

    July 18, 2025 - By 

    Beat the heat – crochet indoors!

    People consider crocheting or knitting with heavier yarns a cool weather activity. Not me, crocheting is a year round activity… because these sets aren’t going to make themselves! Plus, there is air conditioning indoors. In many public places in the U.S.,  the air is cranked up so high that you want a shawl. Going to a lecture or a talk? Crochet. Enjoying a cool breeze at an outdoor evening concert? Crochet. You won’t move fast enough to get sweaty but the project will give you just enough warmth to knock the chill off.

    Here are a few of the latest items I’ve created. I need to step up my red scarf game. I’ve made over half of the sets for the year, but I haven’t kept up the pace with the scarves.

     

     

    Happy crocheting!

  • Crochet

    Spring might stick around…

    May 22, 2025 - By 

    Spring is coming! The warm weather still hasn’t taken a strong footing in Northern Illinois.  What is constant, is that I’m still crocheting. I may not post often but crocheting is part of my daily routine. When I was looking at previous posts, I realized that I hadn’t made an accurate count of what I made last year. I know for certain that I made 12 red scarves. After that, things get fuzzy. I donated 72 hat and scarf sets, but 9 of those were from the previous year. I did make another 3 after those sets were donated. I made a few random hats – how many, I can’t say.

    As we’re nearing Memorial Day 2025, I have been trying to make a better count of what I’ve made, I have completed 4 red scarves, 27 hat and scarf sets and 1 hat from leftover yarn. For the main goals I’ve surpassed a third of each. Now that summer is coming, there will be more time to crochet – Grant Park Music Fest and other outdoor events where I can sit and relax.

    It still perturbs me that I didn’t make a note of what I made in 2024. For the past 15 years or more I have kept a record of what I completed and donated. Now, I need to do some sleuthing to figure out what I made. Not losing sleep over it, just curious as to what the final tally was for last year.

    As for moving forward, I’ve found some new patterns that like and I’ve tried them out in yarns that I am familiar with… which is half the battle when you know how the yarn behaves.

    Here are some of my favorite creations from the past few months:

    Happy Crocheting!