Random thoughts - & Special Olympics Scarf #18

I haven't posted in a few days, so here's just a few random thoughts and such ..

If you ever wanted to learn how to do a bargello quilt, this website has a tutorial started on it.  They are really much easier than they first appear!

I added a pic on my sidebar for the Quilting Is Murder shop hop.  It's a bit of a different take on the internet shop hop.  You still go to quilt fabric websites, and click on the clue, and get entered for the prize .. but there is also a murder mystery story that you get to read chapters of each week and each week you get a mini puzzle to solve, submit your answer and enter for a smaller prize.  It's quite fun!  Check it out. :)

I got the Special Olympics box mailed off on Friday morning.  It was so neat, and such a God-thing .. I had collected $12 for shipping from the other members of the group, and the cost of the postage with a delivery confirmation was $12.05! lol... worked out perfectly!  We ended up sending in 31 scarves. 

Here is My scarf number 18.  I was able to finish it and include it in the 31 that got mailed.


Wisconsin Special Olympics  is reported as having received 455 as of January 5th, so our 31 will go a ways to getting them to their goal of 600.  I just checked the tracking number and it was delivered on Saturday. the 7th.  :)

Now I'm trying to work on a few red scarves for the hospital in Grafton, WI.  They want to give their Cardiac patients a scarf when they "graduate" :).  I have one done, and one almost done.  I also have enough red yarn to make two more.  I'll also be sending in as many premie hats as I can get done the end of this month.  I'll try to get pictures of these scarves and the hats before I deliver them.

Special Olympics Update - 2 more scarves

Just thought I'd share a quick photo of two scarves that I recieved from NH yesterday.  She did a great job! :)

This is NH's 2nd and 3rd scarves for the Special Olympics project .. That makes 29 that we are sending in, with 1 more on my needles that I should be able to finish today.

Special Olympics Scarves 16 & 17

Okay, well, ds2 did not finish his scarf, we ended up unraveling the 12 inches or so that he had done .. but that means that I had more yarn to use, so I went ahead and made up two more scarves .. using some of the yarn ET had given me and the skein that ds2 had.

So here is my scarf number 16 - it's granny squares .. I had some leftover from my earlier granny square scarf, (Hey that was #6 - this one is 16 .. kind of neat!) so I just made some more to finish this one off.

And my number 17 is another lemonade stitch scarf like my number 4 scarf and like my number 13 as well.  I love this stitch, it's very fast and gives a nice texture.

Our knitting and crochet group has one more meeting this Thursday before I mail the box on Friday.  I may even try to mail it on Thursday if I can squeeze it in between the meeting and ds2's piano lesson.

Special Olympic Scarf Update

Hello! :)

We had a meeting of our knit and crochet group yesterday .. and lots going on!  Several members finished scarves and so we've increased our total! :)

3rd Scarf by FH

1st Scarf by FH's sister, EH

1st Scarf by NH

1st Scarf by ET

Aren't they great?  That brings our total up to ....

*drum roll please*

25 Scarves for Wisconsin Special Olympics!

Wow ..
Our number will get a little bit bigger, ET gave me a couple of skeins that she didn't think she'd be able to use and I'll probably get atleast 2 scarves out of that.  Also, NH is about 1/2 way through with another scarf - a really neat design by the way.  Can't wait to show you the finished product.. She's doing a great job on it.

I'll be mailing this box the first week of January.  Just wish I could see all the olympians faces when they get the scarves.  I'm sure they'll really enjoy them.

Another big happening, is that the local paper, the Ozaukee Press, came a took a photograph of our group with the scarves and did an article about us! Not sure if it is in this week's or next weeks paper, but I'm going to get a paper today to find out.  I'll let you know when I know!

Special Olympic Scarves 14 & 15 !!

Well, my Special Olympic Scarf making is coming to an end... I've completed number 14 & 15.

#14 is made with crocheting a long chain - of any number 4x + 1 ... then ch 1, sc in 2nd chain from hook, *ch 3, skip 3 ch, sc in next ch* to the end where you sc in the last ch or sc.  Here's how  14 turned out.  I did this the long way on the scarf. Every other row I changed colors.

 Here's 15 - it's the same basic pattern, only I did it the short way ..

I don't have enough yarn for another whole scarf, but I suppose I might get scraps from one of the other people in my group working on these.  I do have 3 granny squares plus a small ball of the blue. May save these for our next charity project - not sure.

So far, in our box ready to go are -
15 by me (I purchased 8 skeins, and received mom's leftovers)
2 by FH
4 by mom (Mom purchased 4 skeins)

and I know others are working on finishing theirs .. atleast 4 more that I am pretty sure will get finished.  We do have another month before we can mail these, as Wisconsin Special Olympics wants them sent after Jan 1st, but get there before Jan 21st.  So I'm aiming to mail these by Jan 4th.

I'm thinking for every 2 skeins, you can get atleast 3 scarves from them.  So from the 12 skeins that mom and I purchased, we got 19 scarves .. almost 20 (19 1/2) if you count the granny squares I have left over.

Special Olympic Scarf - #11, 12, & 13 !

Hello!

I've finally finished that Special Olympic Scarf with the cable running up the middle.  This is number 11 for me! :)

 It's pretty neat, but was very slow! I finished it a couple of days ago ...
I immediately started on the next one, which is a pretty simple knit pattern.
CO 19 (probably should have done just a couple of more, it's a bit narrow than it should be.)
Knit 5 rows
Purl 1 row (or knit left to right - backwards).
I added blue in the middle for a small section.

Here is the result .. took me about 3 days and is number 12 !  Finished it yesterday.

 Then of course I had to start another, because I'm still not out of yarn, and so I decided to do a Crochet Lemonade Stitch and alternate blue and red .. and it ended up a bit narrow so I added a simple chain border all the way around.....

Here is Scarf Number 13 ! .. a Baker's Dozen! :) It was made between 3 and 10 pm last night.

 I have started #14 as well.  It's crochet as well, and is chains held together by sc every 4th stitch.  I didn't get a picture of it yet, but it's about 1/3 of the way done .. worked on it a bit last night.  It won't be as heavy as the others, but I think it will be a neat effect.

We had the Knit & Crochet group meeting yesterday afternoon, and FH presented this scarf.  It's the second she's made.  She's doing a great job! :)

I've started bagging the scarves that I've made and collected, and we are filling a box! :)  I'm starting to wonder how much it's going to cost to mail!  I'll have to weigh and measure it soon so that I can suggest to the group the possibility of them helping to pay for postage.  I don't mind paying myself, but since it is a group project, then perhaps they would like to contribute a dollar or two towards postage.

Any thoughts?

Special Olympic Scarves

Just a couple quick pictures for you as I need to run out the door! :)

A Crochet project I finished on the road this weekend ... for the animal shelter or for a baby or something .. not sure yet.

The following picture is scarves my mom made.  She's made a total of 4 now.

This is the start of my Number 11 scarf.  It's slow going with the split / cable in the middle.

And here is a scarf from my homeschool group - a girl FH made this one.

She made up this pattern by herself .. I think she did a great job on it! :)

Special Olympic Scarf 9 & 10

Well, I'm about to update you on my latest scarves I've made.  #10 was finished just last night.

Here is scarf #9.

 Scarf #9 is knit mostly in red, with two bands of blue. Every 10 rows of knitting I would insert a row of k2, *k2tog, yo* until the last two k2.

Scarf #10 is below and is crocheted lengthwise.  I did a wavy pattern of dc's and instead of trying to figure out how to make the ends straight, I let them angle off and increase a dc each time I turned.  I like the way it turned out.

How are you coming along with your Special Olympic Scarves?

Special Olympics Scarves #7 & #8

I've been a little lax in sharing the photos of my completed scarves, but I do have two more finished, and one more nearly finished.

Here's #7:  It's Crochet.

 Here's #8 - It's knit mostly in red stockinette Stitch, but I added the 2012 chart at both ends.

I'll try to post the chart for you soon.
My mom has also done a scarf (two actually, I only have a photo of the one .. )

This is mom's scarf. I think she did a great job!

Any guesses on how many scarves I'll have completed before the January 1st deadline?

Special Olympics Scarf #6

I finished my 6th scarf last night.  It's red granny squares edged in blue.

I am not sure what pattern I may try next, but a few of the ones over at bestfreecrochet are pretty neat and could easily be adapted to the guidelines for the scarves.

Are you making any scarves for this project?

Special Olympics Scarf #5

Wow .. I can't believe I've finished scarf #5 already !  I'm really on a roll .. I figure I'm half done with 6 as well, but let's show you #5 first.

This one is co 18 ...  .. a slightly lacy look :)  I kind of like it :) I really like it actually.

I then started making some crochet granny squares for Scarf #6.  I will edge and join them in blue.  The yarn skein & ball that is next to the squares are what's left of Skeins 3 & 4.  I think I'm getting my money's worth! *grin*

Well, it's raining, and I'm caught up with work for the moment .. so I may go and see what I can do with my sewing area.  Perhaps I'll have a sewing show and tell for you soon.

Special Olympics Scarf #4

I so like the Lemonade Stitch!  It's so fast! :)

I've finished Scarf #4 and started on #5 ...

Scarf #4 is a Lemonade Stitch with a simple chained double border.

Scarf Number 5 is knit ... and I'm still on skeins 3 & 4 .. so I choose a bit of a lacey pattern, although I don't know how much that's going save on yarn .. .

I'm doing a k2tog, yo across .. with k2 borders for the red .. and the blue is just knit across ... alternating every other row again so I don't have to weave in so many ends.  I think I may try to make up a pattern for 2012 in colorwork of some sort .. I may have to play with that now that I have a few simpler scarfs finished .. maybe something more of a challenge .. I like the easy fast patterns, but sometimes it's nice to challenge yourself as well ...

Special Olympics Scarf # 3

Hey .. I finally finished Scarf # 3!!!   It's a garter stitch scarf much like the basic dishcloth pattern. I like how both sides are equally attractive.  I alternated the colors every 2 rows with both yarns carrying on one edge.  Since the carry is so small, it blends right into the pattern.

 The pattern for this one is: (Size 11 needles - Red Heart yarn)

CO 4

k2, yo, k to the end, turn   (repeat this row until you have 19 stitches or the width that you want)

(measure the triangle at the end - this is you "X" inches)

k2, yo, k2tog, k to the end, turn  (repeat this row until you are need only "X" inches more)

k2, yo, k2tog, k until 5 from the end, k2tog, k3, turn  (repeat this row until you have 9 stitches on your needles)

k2, yo, k2tog, k2tog, k3, turn (8 st on needle)

k2, yo, k2tog, k2tog, k2, turn (7 st on needle)

k2, k3tog, k2, turn (5 st on needle)
k2, k2tog, k2, turn
bind off and weave in loose ends.

when I k3tog for this, I will slip 1, k2tog, then pass the slipped stitch over.  This makes a more centered k3tog instead of a slanting one.

Following is a picture of the start of scarf #4.  I will edge this in Red but the body will be in blue.  We'll see how far the blue goes .. ....

This one is in a "lemonade stitch" which is a crochet stitch that I've used in several items before.  I know I'll have enough yarn in my 3rd & 4th skeins for this scarf even if I have to be creative with tassels or something.

Will I have enough for yet another scarf?  Maybe a knit one that's more lacey?   We will see! :)  Any pattern suggestions for my next scarf?

Special Olympic Scarf #2

I finished my 2nd Special Olympic Scarf.

 This 2nd scarf was a simple stockinette in blue - 19 stitches across on size 11 needles .. and then I added a red single crochet border to help it not curl so much, and of course tassles at the ends. :)  This went really fast because I didn't turn at all during knitting, I would knit right to left like normal, and then instead of turning and purling, I just knit left to right ! :)  I love how the knit-backwards technique I learned at Charity's in Altoona IA came in so handy for this one .. made the project must faster!

This is the 3rd scarf started ... I had to break out the 2nd skein of blue for this one. But still working on the first skein of red.  I'm using a variation of Grandma's favorite Dishcloth pattern  .. I co 4 stiches and then each row is "k2, yo, k across" at the beginning, until 19 stitches across, and then it's "k2 yo k2tog, k across".  Alternating blue and red every other row .. so all of my carries are on one edge and I will only have a couple of ends to weave in, and not tons !  I just have to remember to pick up the other color every other turn!  It's a little slower going then my 2nd scarf.

Here's a birdie I saw this morning in my front yard :)

Special Olympic Scarf #1

Hey ! I finished a scarf last night .. it's crochet based off of the Winter Royal Set pattern.  I cast on 171 stitches with a K hook, and that was something like 70 inches, which is too long.  So to solve the problem and not have to start over from the beginning, I folded each end over to make a pocket.  Now it measures 60 inches like it's supposed to.

 I have also started a second scarf .. of my own pattern, although it will be a very simple pattern.  I'm using the navy and I cast on 19 stiches onto size 11 needles.  I'm just doing a stockinette stitch, slipping the first stitch in each row.  At the very least it will have red tassels on the ends .. but I may put more red in the stitches as well .... we'll just have to see! :)

I'm sure the knit scarf will take longer then the crochet scarf, but knitting doesn't take up as much yarn for the same size item either .. so we'll just have to see .. I may just alternate .. do a quick crochet scarf, then a knit scarf ... It's possible I'll try to put "2012" on the scarf somewhere .. duplicate stitch would work .. or could work it into the stitches themselves .. we'll see.

I'm not good at making the same thing over and over again, so I'll also be doing different patterns for each one.  Got any suggestions?

Special Olympics Scarf Project

I've been inspired to participate in the Special Olympics Scarf Project.  I've purchased my yarn and have a pattern to start with, and I'm trying to connect with other knitters & crocheters in the area ... I'll try to keep you updated with how many scarvess I make! :)

Also .. Here's an update on the baby birds in the tree in the front of our house... they are growing fast!

And, my father-in-law and his wife sent us this beautiful orchid as a house warming gift ... I love it! :)