• 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

    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!
  • Crochet

    Twelve Red Scarves…

    December 12, 2024 - By 

    That sounds like it should be part of the Twelve Days of Christmas, but it’s not.  Just after Thanksgiving I shipped off a dozen red scarves and met the only goal that I set for myself this year. This didn’t mean that I didn’t create any additional items, I knew that this would be a busy year with moving, packing, and settling into my new home. Instead, I tried to use as much yarn that I have from my working stash as possible.

    If anyone has a large collection of yarn, yarn makes great packing material and works well to cushion items, especially if you would have to pack it anyway.

    Twelve red scarves

     

     

    Last weekend, I dropped off 72 hat and scarf sets for a hat and scarf drive at an area church. Sixty-three of those were made in 2024, nine were from last year. There are still a few solo hats that I can drop into boxes that I see, since my local coffee shop generally has a box to collection donations for winter gear for people in the community.

    After I dropped off the six dozen sets, of course I started working on some other projects. One of my new projects uses multiple yarns which will take more time and isn’t very portable without everything getting tangled. Also, no one is getting a handmade gift for Christmas this year, and it’s relaxing and freeing.

    There are a couple of scarves that I want to try again next year. My goal is to improve my craft and not have to rely on the pattern if I have yarn and hooks with me and the pattern isn’t around. No specific numeric goals for the New Year yet, except a dozen red scarves. I’ll see how I feel after getting through Christmas and more home improvement projects.

    Merry Christmas!

    Happy Crocheting!

  • Crochet

    Gliding into 2023

    January 2, 2023 - By 

    Before we get too far into the New Year, I need to share my totals for 2022:

          • 115 hat and scarf sets
          • 12 red scarves
          • 36 hats

    plus… a few things made for family and friends.!

     

     

     

    My crochet goals for the 2022 were 25 hats, 100 hat and scarf sets, and 12 red scarves. It may seem like I’m bragging but I’m proud of myself for what I made in 2022.

    Maybe my 2023 crochet goals will remain the same?

    • 12 Red scarves
    • 100 sets
    • 25 hats

    There are a few other non-crocheting projects that I want to work on, so to give me some breathing room… And a chance to live, experiment and play, I’m keeping my goals the same.

    Unfinished: 

    I still didn’t finish the scrapghan that I made the yarn balls for, and I’ve been stashing leftover Puzzle yarn and Mandala Ombre to make a couple of fun throws or lap robes.

    For Christmas I got a lot of Puzzle yarn and I know I’ll have some leftover from sets so throws may be on the docket for this year.

    All I know for sure is that I crochet practically every day, some more days than others and I find it enjoyable. That’s the sentiment I want to carry throughout this new year!

    Happy crocheting!

    Happy 2023!

  • Crochet - Donations - Hat and scarf goals - red scarves

    Ahead and behind

    September 3, 2022 - By 

    I am a little behind on the goals I’ve set for myself.

    I crochet fast. It’s not a race, just years of practicing my craft.

    It’s the beginning of September, and I have 90 sets completed, 5 red scarves (goal 12) and 18 hats (goal 30). For sets I’m well ahead but haven’t made as much progress on the other categories. There’s still time. Like I said, not boasting but factually I crochet fast.

    It’ll all sort itself out. I’ll go on a tear and just get a few solo scarves and hats done in a short time.

    Though the numbers for my three goals aren’t equal, I’m happy with what I’ve finished so far!

    A few of the most recent sets are shown here. Eight months of the year have passed and 90 completed sets –  that’s an accomplishment! Wow! My uncle likes to joke that I am running a sweatshop…maybe he’s right.

    Don’t compare yourself. Crochet at your own pace, not mine.

    Does it really matter? Don’t worry about my goals, make your own!

    Happy crocheting!

  • Crochet - Hats and scarves

    Where did August go?

    September 1, 2020 - By 

    Time flies when you are crocheting…

    The mini goal of 10 scarves was completed with a few bonus items. I used up more yarn from the stash, dyed some yarn and made another set.  Eleven scarves completed in August as well as a set that started as a scarf and two scarves in progress as of August 31.

    August’s mini goal also gave me a chance to take a break from working on afghans. The almost immediacy of completing a project is fun especially now when most of the things that I like to do in the warmer months like movies and concerts in the park have been cancelled. Many previous posts from the summer show me posting what I worked on during the outdoor events. Sheltering in place will definitely boost the number of items that are added to the donation bags. Some yarns, I combine such as a dk and sock weight to make a colorful combination or if I don’t like them at all I will just add those yarns to the donation bag. Someone might like them and it’s contributing to the stashdown.

    September makes me think of school starting and whether it’s remote, hybrid or in person regardless of the venue some things never change. In the Midwest, September means that fall is not far behind. I saw a Facebook promotion for Foster Care to Success with a student promoting the organization’s Red Scarf Project. I keep this organization in mind during the year and will just take out a few of the red/burgundy scarves to send to them. This is something that is constant – or at least has been for the past few years.

    The only thing that appeared to be normal during the sheltering in place has been crocheting. I’ve gotten into a routine with reading which was automatically built into my day when I commuted to work. Now I will read a bit after work while listening to music or for a few minutes before falling asleep. When I worked closer to home I was able to walk, now I devote a portion of my day to getting some activity in – either walking or some other exercise so I’m not just sitting at the computer all day.

    Crocheting always fit into my day – a few minutes before bed or during lunch or during an intermission or pre-concert talk. That was in the before time. Now it’s crocheting while watching a movie or the baseball game. There’s more time to crochet since there’s more time at home. More time to crochet, means more time to make things to donate, and more opportunities to help those in need.

    Happy crocheting!