The American Heart Association has ended its Little Hats Big Hearts program. Many of us who made hats for the organization were concerned. The hats that were already sent to the AHA will be donated. Those of us who hadn’t sent in our hats were looking for other organizations that would accept the hats. In the Little Hats Big Hearts Illinois group, another organization’s founders said they would gladly accept the hats. This isn’t the first time that a program has ended and won’t be the last. When one door closes another opens. Several years ago, another program which asked knitters and crocheters to make items for special Olympians ended. That was the first year that the women in a shelter also received a scarf along with other goodies that were donated from my church.
While both of these endings made me sad, there are dozens of other organizations that seek handcrafted items made with love and would be ready to receive them. Some organizations are local or very small but they are out there.
For a few days I was concerned that I wouldn’t have a place to donate 75 red baby hats to, but that didn’t stop me from making other items. Everything I make will eventually find a good home.
Just keep going! Don’t get discouraged when you don’t like the yarn you are working with, put it aside and work on another project. Try a different hook or pattern with the yarn and the project will practically fly off your hook, There may be crafting setbacks, learn from the experience and move on.
Happy crocheting!
Two weeks ago it hit me, crochet project fatigue. I’m ready to make something larger. For the past decade or more I have been occupied with making afghans between 10-20 per year. When I decided to take a break this year for a crocheting sabbatical and only focus on technique, hats and scarves, I wanted to step back and not concentrate on large projects.
The almost instant gratification and satisfaction of a completed work, has challenged me to seek out new motifs at a much faster pace than I normally would when working on an afghan. The fast pace has given me an opportunity to increase my speed, and work out new finishing techniques. There are pros and cons to this sabbatical year… The biggest benefit will be the number of groups that will receive more donations. I’ve become more particular about the yarn I use for certain projects, my speed has increased and I have tried more yarns than before since the amount needed for a scarf isn’t as costly as the amount needed for an afghan.
Ten adult sized hat and scarf sets. That is part of the new goal.
A few weeks ago, I found a crochet-a-long for an afghan that piqued my interest because the center section would allow me to make a creative top down hat. I made a hat with a few modifications to the center section of the afghan because I didn’t want it to be too big. It was ok and on the smaller side, but the next one I made worked out beautifully, then I decided to make a third with a change in the pattern – same basic premise and it also turned out well.