Some Personal Projects

Kitty has been knitting this hat. We spent time trying to get a good pic of the sparkle in this hat. What looks like perhaps white specks in the photo are really sparkles of light. It's one of those items you look at and go "ooooh!". So chic!

Maria went to Texas to visit her daughter and came back with her first ever felting project. You can see her knitting needles sticking out of this cute project bag. There is no stitch definition left and looks really smooth. It's amazing how a single bright color can look so expensive. I always like it, but it always surprises me. Great first felting, Maria.

Some Other Projects

Well, while I was so busy, I kept taking pictures and finally my desktop was covered. I'm glad to say that these are the last of the pics. But even so, they are wonderful projects just like all the others.

Shelli finished this poncho for a little one. The pastel colors are sweet and the flower as cute as the dickens! Bet the little one loves it.

The other Amanda made this cover for her kindle. Truly, when you want a little project, think of all the electronic gizmos we have now. A beautiful cover like this one would certainly be a delightful gift. The same Amanda is going large with the last item, a great afghan. The ripples are always striking and timeless. I love variegated yarns for decor because they can go with so many things.

Jayne Hats

Well, I had to do some searching to have enough info to tell you something about Jayne hats. First there was a TV series named Firefly, then came the movie Serenity, then there were comic books that filled the gap between the two. The best I can explain is that there is a man named Jayne who wore this hat. Everyone knew that a man who wore that hat must not be afraid of anything. That's what I know.

Then there are Kitty and Paulette who volunteered to make Jayne hats as "door prizes" for the blood drive at the Pittsburgh Comicon. The blood drive is on the 16th of April. The comicon is Apr 15-17 at the Monroeville Expomart. So give blood to win one of 4 Jayne hats!

Kitty is modeling one of the hats. I don't know if she isn't afraid of anything, but she sure is a good sport.

Amanda's Projects

Amanda is another prolific knitter.

She frequently wears a shawl during our group get togethers at Panera's because when the door opens a blast of air just whips right in. So she comes prepared. The colors in her shawl are just great.

She says it only takes her five hours to make these gloves. She made a pair for a friend as a gift and posted a pic on Facebook. Another friend saw them and said."Have to have them". So Amanda made this pair for her and is getting glass jewelry in return. I think they both made out like bandits.

Finally, Amanda made this hat for the Yarn Ball. I had the hat sitting on the table to give to Lyn who organizes items for the Yarn Ball for us. But a family was sitting nearby and began asking us questions about what we were doing , what all the group is about, etc. Well, the mom purchased the hat then and there (because it matched her coat) and they were happy to support our charities. Now Lyn is organizing a donation.

Carol's Projects

Carol has a special fondness for the Linus project and is always working on small blankets for infants. She usually uses yarn from her stash or donated yarns. She has made several for a church group who occasionally needs blankets for members of their fellowship who are having new babies. Apparently they sometimes need a little help and purchase the blankets from us. Carol donates that money for Yarn Ball charities.

Carol keeps the tasks interesting by trying out new stitches, and using different edgings and trims. The little touches add that "sweet" factor.

In addition, Carol has a friend who quilts. She made the quilt for Linus Project. Her quilt will be turned in with the blankets and other items for Linus Project. Nothing like a beautiful project to put a smile on everyone's face.

Wendy Osher

Wendy Osher, an installation artist, is in the planning stages for an eco-art project concerning the safety of the water we drink. I'm not sure that calling her an installation artist is accurate since I think most artists don't fit into neat categories. The point of her project is to raise awareness of how plastics get into our water and is found in breast milk. I won't describe her entire project since her blog does a better job: http://www.h2oforall.blogspot.com But as a collaborative work, Wendy was looking for crocheters to make breast forms from plastic bag yarn (plarn). Some of you out there are probably aware of plarn as a way of reusing plastic bags.

The first two pictures show making the bags I collected from grocery shopping and was making into loops for yarn. They also show my first attempts at making a breast form. Daunting since we are going for 12-36".

Wendy visited with the group at the 3/5 meeting. She showed us some rather impressive "boobs" she'd been sent already. She really helped us see what she was looking for. We were on the right track but apparently they needed to be sturdier, so we switched to smaller hooks. She will pop into the 3/26th meeting to collect the breast shapes.

How About Some Firsts?

While Pat was in the hospital, her daughter Randy was here from Seattle. She ended up trying to help someone with a crochet problem and said: "Hey, Diane." Well, the problem was with the instructions from a free flyer. This isn't the first time I've run across poorly written instructions. They weren't wrong, (which I've run across, too), just saying things in more than one way and then throwing in a chart to save space.

So I worked with Randy on changing the chart (filet) into an international symbols chart, so she could picture the actual stitches. She did great! It helped her discover where she made a mistake from the chart. The end result? A darling star square for a baby blanket made from filet squares and solid ones. Now Randy can do charts, filet crochet, and international symbols. WOW!

Kitty made this great jacket for her sister. It was her first attempt at a garment. On top of that she changed the pattern and I think used a different yarn. But getting some directions from Theresa after running into each other at JoAnne's, she apparently breezed through the project. I think the jacket is very Chanel looking.

April has developed a very regular tension with her stitches. She made the pot holder for practice and then we worked on how to edge her square with sc. Of course, moving along, she learned dc.

Three Interesting Afghans

Paulette seems to like to try lots of different crafts. She also seems to do an excellent job at whatever she turns her hand.

How many of you have seen the ads for a small, like the size of your palm, hand loom called a "Weave-It"? I watched Paulette finish up the last few squares for her afghan weaving with a needle. She says it is a small, portable craft while making the squares. She picked the colors for this afghan to take to the ocean. They all remind her of things from the seashore. The trim is crocheted from the same yarn, making a great finishing touch.

Theresa makes many baby afghans for young couples she knows. But she also likes to try new things. This is her first attempt to make a star shape. Turned out darling. She added a sweet simple edging that also takes her project up a notch.

Carol is holding up an afghan she borrowed from her dentist's office. Imagine! If you get cold at the dentist, they cover you up with a nice afghan.

But this afghan caught her eye because if you look carefully the colors are not the same on each side. How'd they do that? When making the first colored round only the front loop was used. Then the afghan was reversed and the other color was placed right behind the first color using the remaining loop. Turning back to the first side, the next row was crocheted by catching the loops of both sides. Clever!

Anyone for Hats?

Well, I've been collecting photos for quite awhile when 3RC gets together. Since I've been very busy; there hasn't been much time for the blog. So I've come up with some groupings to handle the "pile up".

Krystle has 2 hats in this grouping. She recently learned to knit and has been doing great. The blue cap is for her. The jeep hat is for her boyfriend. He was wearing it last week and looked really cool.

Chris is showing off her"summer" hat. Soft colors and a small brim. It's perfect on her.

How about this cap for a nice Fair Isle design?

Then there's Phyllis's yellow hat with a blue design. How cool is adding blue jewels?

How about Kitty's hat? Another great pattern!

Last Day for Caps for Good

The little white hat being held by April is her first crocheted project. All the hat used was chains and single crochets. The hat is adorable. I like how this particular picture shows how very small these hats are.

Peggy shows off a sweet spiral cap she made. Rebecca made this table top full of hats. Again she used the leftover pieces of yarn. Some only long enough to go around the cap twice. But the result is fun and pleasing.

The final total was 88 caps for good and donations over $200. Check the sidebar for the final count.