Purple Chair Crochet

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas (Charity)

In the beginning of this long and crazy (and oft tedious) summer, I wrote a little post entitled: Give Love. At the time I needed to work out how to incorporate charity, giving, and love into my crochet work. I stay at home with my two beautiful sons (a young-2 and an old-3) and while I believe this work is deeply important and is shaping a future generation, there is a drive and desire in me to help others outside my core family now.

I struggled with how to give through crocheting. My charming husband suggested I crochet hats and scarves for the homeless or hats for preemies. A noble idea, and one that I do love, but I know myself and that's not something I can see doing long term. Perhaps that would be a great way to introduce crocheting to others, but I get too bored making the same thing. Plus, this may be due to an unhealthy emotional attachment to the things I make, but I want whoever receives something from my hands to be a thing that person *loves*.

And so, enter Meal-a-Day.

Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas was an easy charity choice for me. I know the chairman, secretary, treasurer and director. Several of my good friends have gone on missions trips with Meal-a-Day. I wanted to help with the work somehow, even in a small way, to make me feel like my days were dedicated to my husband, my kids and others. Plus, in their "Ideas for Giving" section of the website, #1 is: "Use your talent to make a handicraft or paint a picture or ??, sell it and donate the money".

On a whim, I dedicated a week or two to crocheting items to sell. Most were smallish: $20-$30 items. Garlands, bunting, pins, earrings. Little things, easily transported from hither to yon. There were a few decorative pillow covers in the mix. I decided that my time and materials were free. I priced the items and sent them to a bible school (after a brief attempt at Etsy, but there's way too much competition on Etsy for this sort of thing) to be sold as a donation for Meal a Day. And ooo-de-lolli! About half of the items I made sold for a donation somewhere in the realm of $500. Not a ton of money, but more than I could have just given otherwise. Those buying the crochet support a good cause and get a beautiful item to tell the story ("Oh, where'd you get your earrings?"). Meal-a-Day gets money to go towards projects. The people on the receiving end of Meal-a-Day's efforts get education, food, shelter, hygiene, essentials. I get joy knowing that I'm helping a bigger picture. It's win-win-win-win.

The summer bible school is over, so now I'm focusing on a winter gathering. Winter and crochet = very ideal!

I narrowed it down to scarves (ruffle!), hats (lacy slouch!) and more earrings & pins.

I went to KnitPicks. They are absolutely my favoritesterest place to buy yarn! I got over excited at the "Free Shipping On Orders Over $50!" option and took advantage. This is, after all, for Charity. ;)
I ordered.
I waited.

And then: New Yarn!

Oh, and a book. Whaaat, I needed free shipping-- and those flowers will make gorgeous pins and embellishments to hats! It was 40% off. I'm not gonna explain myself anymore- quit judging me. =P

I'm so-so delighted I looked for an opportunity to help. The plan is to do this as long as I can (or as long as it works, I guess) and hope others (like you, you crafty crocheter!) will consider giving some of your love to Meal-a-Day!

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Summer....

Muggy days, visiting relatives, play dates galore, tomato harvesting, fields of sunflowers round every corner: summer has hit hard in these parts.
I'm exhausted. In a good way. I think.
I haven't forgotten my little blog. I just haven't had many consecutive moments to dedicate to the updating part of it. It will happen. It will. Maybe in September. :)

Little Boy Blue's FINISHED blanket!

Some upcoming posts include...
~ detailed information on the Meal-a-Day Charity, what I'm doing to be involved and what YOU can do to be involved too!
~ excessive happy dancing and a post all about the yarn (YARN!) that is en route to my house as I type this. It's from KnitPicks. Swoon!
~ plentiful pictures of my works-in-progress. Maybe a finished post too (those are always nice!)
~ and whatever else is on my mind.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Monday, July 9, 2012

A Visual Update (WIP)

This is not a true blog post. This is just a little visual update for Little Boy Blue's Turning of Two birthday blanket. And so, without further blathering from me....

Hope you enjoyed that and I hope this prompts me to pick it up again and *finish the thing*!!!! :)

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Just Wow (Sunburst Granny is Finished!)

What better way to spend a day of 105*F (the third out of four) than cozied up in your purple chair, crocheting the border around a throw blanket? I couldn't think of anything I'd rather be doing in the midst of this thick, oppressive heat than putting the finishing touches on the marvelous Sunburst Granny Blanket.

I traded my usual mug of coffee for a glass of cool white wine (Pinot Grigio, I highly recommend it) and got to work. I sipped and yarned over and pulled through and frogged and began again two- three times before I felt the border to be to my liking. The voices of NPR murmured in the background and, mixed with the heat, lulled me into a rhythm. Suddenly, I joined and fastened off.

I was done. It was done.

Immediately, I snagged my camera and took a picture of Sunburst just as it lay in a crumpled heap. Fresh from the finishing.

I keep looking and looking at this picture, trying to figure out what's off about it. And now I see it. I didn't rotate. Ha!

A favorite square.

The center-most square. The blanket is 7 rows wide and 9 rows deep.

The perfect size for a toddler bed, or for one person to curl up with a glass of wine and some NPR.

Wow. Just wow.

Sunburst will be packed up and shipped off to the lovely Stephanie early this week as a housewarming/you're-such-a-good-friend/just-because/your-daughter's-turning-2-on-Saturday kind of gift. These reasons for gift giving don't come around every day, ya know. ;)

And as thrilled as I am about sending it off, I do have a sinking, empty feeling... like when you finish a book so incredibly good your heart got wrapped up in it and it can't possibly be over?!!? Sigh. (Ahem, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Pride & Prejudice, The Harry Potter Series, The Lord of the Rings, The Time Traveler's Wife.... just to name a few). Rereads are never quite as epic. What will I do without Sunburst in my life anymore? =\

To answer my own rhetorical question, I guess it's time to focus on Little Boy Blue's 2 Year Old Blanket. Check back for updates! Hopefully it'll be done by the end of the week!

((((Want to make it your own? Follow this link for the *FREE* Sunburst Granny Square Pattern!))))

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Thursday, July 5, 2012

Pick a Winner! (Work in Progress)

The Sunburst Granny Blanket is nearly d-o-n-e!

I don't have pictures just yet, but they're coming. Promise.

In the mean time, it's time for some visual inspiration for the final touch: the border. And where else does one turn for visual inspiration, in this year two thousand and twelve, than the wonderful world of Pinterest? I should note that a winner has already been picked by the Sunburst Granny's recipient - the lovely Stephanie. Still, it doesn't hurt to show the crochet enthusiasts some crochet eye candy with their original sources. It's for the good of the people, really.

Image courtesy: Muita Ihania

First up we have some lovely, basic scallopy borders. Fuss free, yet fantastically finished. (I wholeheartedly recommend visiting Muita Ihania to see the full blanket. What a wonderful way to arrange basic granny squares! It's on my to-do list.... one day!)

Image courtesy of: Ellen Bloom

This beauty is very pineapple-y fabulous. It's got more pizzazz and visual interest than the scallops, for sure, but may not be what the Sunburst Granny needs. Sunburst is awfully pizzazzy all on her own.

Image courtesy of Attic24

And of course, where would we be without Lucy? I'm sure a great many people have learned their methods from Lucy's tutorials. And here's one, for the Granny Blanket Edging. It's very similar to the scallops (first picture), but there's an extra round of chains in between to give it a ruffled, lacier look. Mhm, lovely indeed!!

Of course, these are just the first 3 that caught my eye. The possibilities are endless (or at least include 150 more options).

If you know of some nice 'n simple borders (perhaps that you've used for your own blankets?) leave me a link in the comment section! I'm all about hoarding inspiration, specifically on my pinterest page: Crochet ♥

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Monday, July 2, 2012

My Stash Bustin' Quilt

As a child my mother taught me how to sew. I took to it well enough and I can competently follow a pattern from start to finish (with only a few phone calls to Mom, for verification purposes, you understand).

But I never *loved* it. I only really loved picking out the fabric and the pattern. Cutting and pinning and sewing and tweaking the sewing machine and hemming and finishing and trying on and alterations were a necessary evil if I wanted that hand-made garment in the very beautiful fabric. It wasn't long before I stopped sewing altogether.

I may have stopped sewing, but I did not stop fabric shopping. Often, when I would go into Joann's for some yarny goodness, I'd pick up a smidge of fabric here and there. Or if Mom came out for a visit, I'd beg her to make me some pillows or curtains or even a crochet hook carrier (which I really need to start using again.... another blog post, perhaps). As a result of these maternal exploitations, my fabric stash grew.

Enter Good Intentions. "I will make this a quilt! A picnic quilt! Super simple, just squares, very random, stash bustin' quilt." My little family picnics here and there throughout the year, whenever the day begs for it. But, oh, how much I hate sewing. And my mother isn't a quilter. And my mother in law (who *is* a quilter-- you should see what she can do!) is a few states over and has already made us 3 quilts-- no machine involved.

Enter Sharon.

Sharon is The Awesome. If you say, "Hey, Sharon, can you make _____ for me?" she can and she will - quickly, and precisely, and with a smile on her face (I don't think I've ever smiled at a finished sewing project. Scowled, yes, but smiled... not that I recall.)

This is how my story played out....
Me: "Hey, Sharon, can you make me a quilt? I have the fabric; I can get it to you. I just want it for picnics, so 60" x 60" and I was thinking just squares- nothing crazy."
Sharon: "Yep! Sounds good!"

And then POOF! From a bag of fabric, she produced this:

Most of this fabric was actually used for projects around my house, gifts for friends (hand sewn only, as me and the Singer don't actually get along) and other bits were cut down from baby shirts and even a pair of boxers (Whaaaat! they glowed in the dark. How do you throw something like that away? The answer is you don't: you make it a quilt). So it's 90% sentimental fabric (even the backing was a top sheet from my teenage years. I promise I'm not a hoarder) and 10% I-really-loved-this fabric. My boys love pointing out the familiar squares -- "Look! A PILLOW FROM MY ROOM!!!" yells my oldest son -- and selecting their favorite colors -- "Blue! Blue! Blue! Blue!" my youngest points to all the blues, equally delighted with each.

I am so delighted with this quilt!

And I love having crafty friends. Thank you, Sharon!

Have a Lovely Day!
***