HATS GALORE - 1ST GROUP BY LINDA

This is the first set of hats for our commitment to a Shelter for Abused Women in Washington, DC. One of our members committed us to making 30 hats and we are all hard at work on the project. Linda, our retired member, was able to finish first and probably will 'win' the prize for the most hats made but hey, she's retired. What else has she got to do? Anyway, here is a slide show of her hats. More will follow.

Weeee're Back!

Yes, the Crochet Collaborative has reconvened after almost a year. We have new members (Jasmin, Rosi, Cristina, Suzi, Arati, Toni, and Danny's oldest daughter). Jasmin and Rosi are old pros, as are our returning members (Linda, Sheila, Victoria). Of course, there's Lisa who is our gracious Transportation Coordinator.

Our new project: Hats for women living in a local Women's Shelter. We hope to make 50 hats by December 14. Jasmin deserves the credit for finding the center and setting this up. In addition, gratitude goes out to Nicholas, a former co-worker, who had donated some of the yarn. Linda and Victoria are looking at this as an opportunity to bust some stash. Photos will be posted in a slideshow.

Next week: A description of the patterns we will be making.

No New Projects in Crochet Collaborative

Well, it has been a while since the group has met. We continue to crochet individually and you can read these blogs by going to either vicjorob or lindayarncloset from this blog. Both blogs are highlighted and are kept active. As for this one, well, we just aren't ready to shut it down. Who knows we might get inspired again. In the meantime we will take turns showing new activities. I had lunch yesterday in Old Towne Alexandria at Il Porto. That brought back lots of old memories from when I worked at EPA at Waterside Mall, 4th & M Streets S.W. Eons ago. That was before we even had the opportunity to move to 12th and Pennsylvania Avenue. EPA felt like it had really moved up in the world when it went 'uptown' and we are able to walk a few blocks to Macy's. Anyway, in case you haven't been to Il Port, I recommend it. It is a tasty Italian place with red/white checkerboard table cloths and it is authentic. The building which houses it was built by an old sea captain before the Civil War.

BABY CHRISTENING SET COMPLETE

HOOKERS AT WORK!!!

Well, we finished the baby christening set. It is beautiful. See the picture of us hard at work and of the finished product. The set on top is the new one with the original below. The stitches are a perfect match. The yarn has the same silver thread but is a slightly different texture even though it is the same brand—Lion’s Baby Pompadour. We both learned a lot doing the project. We recognized the 5 double crochet shell stitch as the stitch used and found a pattern which had the instructions for the two rows of the shell pattern. It was for a potholder but we adapted it to the number of shells each item required. The afghan was no problem. I learned how to make booties. I must have downloaded at least 100 patterns before I found the one that can be made in one piece and that matched the original ones. The pattern for the booties was from the vintage pattern site and was dated in 1920 era. The cap was made using a pattern from an old baby pattern. The gown turned out to be a real challenge. At first we thought the yoke was separate but then a friend looked at the original one more closely and determined that the yoke is made as part of the back and two fronts with reductions in the last row of the gown back and fronts to make the puckers, marking the beginning of the yoke. The result is a perfect match right down to the elbow space you don’t find in modern patterns. We have since found out that there is a boy and girl so we figure that the older set, which is a creamy color, will be for the boy and the new one, which is bright white, will be for the girl. We washed it and dried it and it came out much softer. Before washing it, I had my poodle, Lexe, model it. We are pleased and hope the mother will be as well. We couldn’t have done the set without collaboration with other crocheters. Another example of why women formed quilting bees—it is much easier to identify stitches and match them when discussing with another. Thanks everyone for your help. We are now ready to rest a bit before tackling anymore items

CATCHING UP

Things with the collaborative are slow right now. Most are busy with their work days and have not had time to meet to crochet BUT we will catch up one of these days. Now that April is here, the tug of warmer weather and the desire to reconnect with old friends will move us to try new yarns and to once again 'collaborate' on new projects. Blocks for charity 'Warm Up America' will be replaced with lighter weight items such as shawls and throws for nursing homes residents. Here's a picture of a shawl that I sent to my aunt who just moved into an assisted living facility and found it to be a bit drafty. I'm sure her neighbors will appreciate a similar shawl. We don't have to wait to be invited to give the gift of crochet.

SHAKE YOUR BOOTIES - ALL DONE

Whew! Finally I finished an acceptable pair of booties which match the original pair. You can see in the image, the original bootie is on top--the new pair are on the bottom. They are slightly larger but not by much. The pom poms had their own pattern. I visited every web page that google identified as having anything to do with booties. I found a pattern on a vintage web site that used single crochets for the entire sole and instep so ........ I bought the pattern and voila the booties--well it wasn't that easy because I had to add the shell pattern to match the original but that was easy compared to finding a single crochet pattern. I now have at least 100 patterns for booties--all very similar but slightly different so if I get in the mood or get asked in the future I will be ready. For now I will work on larger projects.

Bootie Hunt (For Baby Feet)

Thought I'd bring you up to date with our efforts for duplicating the baby set. The blanket and cap are complete. The gown is underway and expected to be finished by mid-March. The bootie making is going a bit slower but it will be done on time. I swear it would be easier to crochet a "bootie" cover for the 'shake your bootie' variety than to make these baby booties. I have spent hours on the web looking for patterns. I tried out a pattern which looked exactly like the original in picture only--you can see here that the hook I used is w-a-a-a-a-a-a-y too big so I'm still working. But, thanks to my crochet collegue who sketched me a picture of what it should look like I'm pretty sure I will accomplish making 2 booties in the near future. She is very experienced in socks and hats so understands the nuances of finagling stitches to make them fit a certain dimension. I, on the other hand, like making shawls, ponchos, and blankets where you don't need to make them fit--they just do. Plus working with a Size B hook is very different than with a Size H, I, J, K, or N--my personal favorite is H. And now I have to use an even smaller Hook #1. Oh well, I feel better now that I have vented my frustration. Check out the attempt. The little bootie on the right is the one I am duplicating. The one on the left is what turned out when using a Size D. Next time you hear from me or see anything, it will be to show the new booties to match. The saying, 'no pain, no gain' is apt for my level of frustration. I don't like to have to struggle to get it right so this is good for the soul--we are never too old to learn new patterns.
Happy Hooking! L