Wedding Present

This is an afghan I made for my nephew's wedding.

It is a Terry Kimbrough design, I made using Caron One Pound and used 3 lbs.

While this is not the softest yarn while crocheting, after washing and some fabric softener and then popping in the dryer, it really softened up. Very cuddly now.

The design calls for 6 strips and then crocheting them together. Then a 5 row edging. Its name is Simply Gorgeous and I think it is!

Rwanda Knits Update

Three Rivers Crochet has been receiving updates from Cari Clement and she has been liberal with her praise of our efforts on behalf of Rwanda Knits.

These pictures I believe are of the Ignezi group who are making their moves towards total independence. Apparently our donation made it possible to get computers and programs that enabled them to set up business operations like they needed. I am impressed that Cari made all the connections that made this work out. But her real joy was seeing the group to independence. That final goal that all the little steps moved towards. I can't imagine the feeling of accomplishment. For her and for the women.

The first picture is of the management and design teams together. The next group is checking out some design ideas. Finally, Cari is smiling away with Immaculee and Faina. Cari says 3RC helped put those smiles on their faces.

Beginning of May

It seems we are okayed for the Yarn Ball date. This year it will be on October 9th, so we can (hopefully) take advantage of fall color and comfortable temperatures out on the deck. We will be at the same place as last year, the Thermo-Fisher Building next to the Hot Metal Bridge.

Several weeks ago I made a necklace from the latest Crochet Today. I thought the necklace turned out well. But we all thought that as a design for the Yarn Ball offering, it needed to be scaled down and colored threads would be more attractive to people. What do you think?

Amanda is making 3 of these caps for the "Ball". I love that color and the design is really cute. She also is making us labels to put in the items we make that tell how to clean the items. How professional is that? She's actually quite a label maker. Last year for the ball, Amanda made a "Yarn Ball" label for the wine her husband made and she brought to the ball. No, we won't be selling wine!

Behind the large Steeler helmet afghan is Theresa. I would kid her about hiding behind it, except it really shows how big this project is! Figuring that a male "fan" might really like this afghan, she made it larger than most. Anyone out there interested in getting hold of this afghan before the "Ball"? Contact me. Charity donations are welcome year round.


Lyn has been making amigurumi again for the "Ball". These mushrooms go up in size and have corresponding dots on their caps 1-4. A great teaching tool. But even if they weren't, I think tots would love them. Lyn also made a starfish. We think Amelia approves of this design, too!

Yes, We're Still Active

The blog hasn't said much recently because I've been busy and so has everyone in the group.

Two weekends ago Theresa, Karen, Marlene, and I went to Knitter's Fantasy. The Northcoast Knitter's Guild in the northeast area of Ohio has a conference in Youngstown at one of the high schools. There are tons of classes, vendors, and even a fashion show. They serve a bag lunch. It really is a full day and not that far to travel. The group supports its charities with this event.

Truly worth the trip, especially if you live north of the city.

I have to admit the items shown in the fashion show were impressive. The final item, a bridal veil, was stunning. Many talented knitters in northern Ohio; now I'm looking for the crocheters.

This week I taught a class at Highland Alpaca on crocheting motifs and how to read the international symbol charts. Then I bought yummy yarn. But only had less than an hour to spend with the group. Carol was again kind enough to take some pictures. There would have been pictures from Knitter's Fantasy if I hadn't forgotten both my phone and my camera!

Carol passed the red, white, and blue afghan over to Lyn, who generously handles getting items to Linus Project. And Amelia was sporting the socks I made for her. Maybe there will be more pix from this upcoming Saturday, along with some info on our new Slice Project.

Latest Completed Projects

Well, not everything here is a completed project.

Although I'm not sure if Amelia is to be considered a completed project or not. Actually her pretty knitted dress was a shower gift knitted by talented Susan. This little girl is always in a delightful yarn item.

Carla is showing off a yarn toy that makes a good starting toss toy that little hands can grab easily. Her pattern came from the Berrocco yarn site and is called a decohedron, but apparently also goes by other names. Stacy made one for Amelia and is made from sock yarn which results in a colorful toy. Carla found the pattern difficult to deal with. So if you decide to do the pattern, it might prove to be a challenge or you can try to find it in another place which may have more clear instructions.

Yay! Chris, worked really hard on Saturday to finish up another afghan she is donating to another school. She needed to hand it over on Sunday. It's nice to see someone meet her goal.

Carol and Becky are showing off Carol's special afghan made for her grandson. This afghan is a real accomplishment, since Carol totally designed it herself. She initially described the design to me and she really nailed it. There was a lot of adjusting to get it looking just perfect, but her hard work paid off. I think it's a design that will grow up with her grandson.

Finishing Up Projects and a Design Chance

Theresa just finished one of her famous diagonal baby blankets. This one has a particularly sweet edging.

Pat has just finished up a neck scarf. Pat is usually attracted to these colors. Now she is looking forward to a felting project.

Do you have design ideas in your head, but want a chance to start small?

Go to crochetme.com and find the chain reaction afghan project. Professional designers have been asked to make half the designs for the squares. Then the rest of the squares are being chosen from submissions by people with ideas. The afghan and directions for the squares will be in future issues of Interweave Crochet. Here's your chance!

Hats!

After we sent out a call for hats, Lynn was able to take 30 hats and 8 lapghans out to the VA Hospital. It was an impressive number and at least 14 were made by Lynn.

But I continued to make 4 more since I knew others were making hats but hadn't yet been able to drop them off. Jody, Joyce, and Marylen all made hats.

The pink hat is special because it was Becky's first attempt at crocheting in the round and making a hat. With every project Becky gains new crochet skills. I hope that being part of the group has helped us all to extend our skills.

Lynn will be making another stop at the VA!