Knitting Vs. Crochet

Here we go again, I don't know why but there is a little bit of a rivalry going between crochet and knit. Only a bit and it depends where you are if you have ever seen this or not. But everyone wonders, especially when you are first getting into this, which one is worth learning?

The biggest thing is a 'which takes more yarn'? I've heard everything between there is no difference, up to 'oh crochet uses 42% more yarn' how they got that number I don't know. I've looked it over as I did so and I think I found how and why crochet does 'use up more' yarn then knitting.

It doesn't if you are just stockinette and single or double crochet. Some stitches are a yarn eater in crochet, like the popcorn stitch it uses a lot of yarn.

When it comes to crochet there are a lot of different possible stitches, single, half double crochet, double crochet, treble crochet, bauble versions of all of those, just a lot. When it comes to knitting you have knit, purl, and at best yarn over and decrease. What changes patterns is how you match up those different ways will make patterns. While crochet patterns can go from lacy to bulky it isn't the same as knitting, even when solid like just straight stockinette, has a lacy vibe.

Yarn has a S twist, the way it is twisted is meant for knitters. Some places like Lion Brand will make Z twist yarns which is perfect for crochet.

Right handed.

I'm a leftie so for me S twist is perfect for crochet and Z twist is perfect for knitting. Which may be why yarn splits more when I knit then when I crochet, but there is no real way to know. However most of the population is right handed and so everything really is meant for knitters.

Pretty much every store I went into has all different kinds of knitting needles with only a few crochet hooks. Crochet doesn't really have any notions that are fully crochet other then stitch markers as the lobster clawed ones are meant for crochet while the just circular one is for knitting. The thing that knitting needles have that crochet hooks don't need is point protectors, this you put on your needle points and it keeps your project from sliding off the needles.

I only ever went into one store where there was more crochet hooks then knitting needles and it was shocking but a pleasant surprise to me. The fact is there are just so many kinds of knitting needles, straight needles, circular needles, double pointed needles DPN, interchangeable needles. There are just crochet hooks, different brands sure but a Susan Bates hook and a Boye hook are the same kind just different things like a tapered or inline hook but they are still just simple crochet hooks. Same with aluminum, plastic or wooden hooks.

I take this as a plus for crochet, because you only need it to make a circle, to have all of your hooks in one place is easy. Plus you have fewer hooks to buy. In the end if you just have straight needles you aren't going to make a hat or a circular pillow. With just one crochet hook you can.

There are more patterns with knitting. Just is. Plus whenever someone sees you they think you are knitting, which is easy mistake to make especially since not very many people even know what crochet is. However it does get tiring and annoying to constantly have to explain to people 'oh no I'm not knitting, I'm crocheting. It's kind of like knitting but it's just one and instead of fully straight it is hooked.'

But the question of which is better? Knitting or crocheting?

Yes.

Now me being a bit wishy-washy, both are good. Just let me explain.

I think that they both have their place. Think of it like yarn, a lace weight yarn would be horrible to make a full blanket it, it would be forever and be expensive to make out of lace yarn. However to make a shawl it will be beautiful.

It is easier to explain it in the term of knitting, you can't do everything with DPN but when it comes to making a small circle it is good to have, while having straight for a scarf is perfect.

So I think knitting and crochet can both be wonderful depending on your project. To me both have a place with a fiber artist just like loom knitting. I think that no one should turn their nose up at either, if one doesn't jive with you then of course don't force yourself to knit or crochet if it doesn't work for you, but for me I go about making things in whichever way seems to work best for that particular project.

Also I tried to learn to knit for years, I am a graduate from the University of Youtube, but I couldn't knit until after I learned to crochet.

Baby Patterns

Making baby things are fun. They are small so it doesn't take a lot of time, and is so cute! Problem is, lots of people like doing it. However so many babies are born a day, so really it can help.

First things first, my favorite crochet baby booties.

https://jaydainstitches.com/resources/Baby_Slippers_Classic_Wrap.pdf

These I have found the recommended hook size is 5.5mm, I can not for the life of me a 5.5mm hook. I have searched. I have a 5.25mm hook  which for me makes a premie size baby booties which actually is perfect for me. I use a 5.75mm hook and it makes a slightly big baby booties but that's perfect for a big baby and a smaller one, will grow.

I don't put the pompom on the booties, I like how they look better without the pom and also I would worry about being a little girly for baby boys as well as just the practicality of washing.

Also if you go to Jayda Institches on Youtube you can find a video tutorial as well

Here is baby booties that are knit, they actually look extremely similar to the crochet ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BK4OxBZEyM

I don't know if there is a written pattern here, but it is by Studio Knits so I think there may be.

Now to a baby hat and sweater set. I have to admit I haven't found 'the one' for my set. I tend to find one kind of pattern for everything and it becomes my go-to for every time. Which means I do not have any idea to turn any of the baby hats or sweaters for a premie. If I figure it out I will come and edit this post. Or maybe make a new post. I don't know yet.

http://www.lionbrand.com/knitting-pattern-playground-sweater-hat-1.html

This is a pattern from LionBrand. It is a free download and you have to have an account but you don't have to worry about it because it is all free. This is knit and I do like it, it does take a bit of sewing and buttons as well. I'm looking for any patterns for a knit or crochet baby sweater and hat set if anyone has it.

Now a crochet hat and sweater pattern

Hat: https://thecrochetcrowd.com/crochet-baby-hat-pattern-tutorial/

Sweater (actually a jacket): https://thecrochetcrowd.com/crochet-baby-jacket-pattern-tutorial/

Now my favorite part; baby blanket. I have to admit that there are a million and one patterns for baby blanket. But here is my absolute favorite. It is a crochet pattern.

http://littlemonkeyscrochet.com/call-the-midwife-inspired-baby-blanket-free-pattern/

Like I said there is a million of patterns for baby blankets but I love this one, it is sweet and cute and can work well for a baby boy or baby girl. It gives some interest and also since each 'block' is a repeating pattern but every row is the different. So after like the second block you'll always know what you should do just by looking at the blanket and since every row is different you won't get bored but it isn't so different that you'll have to constantly look at the pattern.

Here is a knit pattern, this one is a pay for pattern but I do think it looks pretty so I'll put it here.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/snuggle-time-baby-blanket-2

But here is a free pattern for anyone who can't or won't buy it. I couldn't find any pattern that was free so instead I will just point out something simple.

Pick whatever stitch pattern you want, cast on whatever you need to make the size baby blanket. Here is a basic tutorial.

https://www.wikihow.com/Knit-a-Baby-Blanket

Finally a pattern for the baby to have something to cuddle and hold, a cute little toy.

The first thing is for a premature baby. This is kind of what got me into charity crafting in the first place. This is only for crochet and I don't know of any knitting patterns but I hope there is or if anyone is good enough to make your own pattern please do.

This is a charity in its own right and I think it deserves its own post so instead I will just give a link and cover this later.

https://octopusforapreemie.com/

Okay toys for the average baby first crochet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK-E5wCTM2s&t=16s

Now while the crochet here looks like an egg the knit is the same only in a more square shape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QckaebMwhPw

The last thing isn't an actual baby thing as opposed to mom. A nursing shawl. Unfortunately a woman can not feed her baby without everyone losing their mind. So instead a shawl to hide it a bit, also gives mom a bit of privacy. For me a crescent shawl should work best for this.

For this it is just a tutorial on how to make a crescent shawl but this is basically my idea for a nursing shawl. I will add my own pattern when I figure it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWPN2g_Crk

I have to admit I like the bit I've figured out for knitting the crescent shawl. But here is a crochet patter if you want as well.

https://marlybird.com/free-crochet-patterns/rainbow-sprinkles-crescent-shawl/

Making A Diffrence; Lattes and Llamas

Okay this is just going to be a post of me praising Lattes & Llamas. If you don't want to hear me geek out about them then please just go check them out and leave here; https://lattesandllamas.com/

L&L (which I will now call Lattes & Llamas because it's faster) is home of the Geek-Along. The Geek-Along is a knit and crochet along (they have patterns for both crochet and knit, how awesome is that?!) that does geeky blanket squares. Everything from scientist like Tesla and Mandela, TV shows like Supernatural and Dexter's Laboratory, even molecules like DNA or the molecular for caffeine.

 Every year L&L makes their Geek-Along and then send the finished blanket to the Child's Play charity's winter gala to be auctioned off. http://childsplaycharity.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjw-7LrBRB6EiwAhh1yX3NAGvt0EMc1R3m0vbcOIhNlV4QonO3KPwkHK_PofSYo0Myfy8GS0hoCiRUQAvD_BwE

I do have to talk about Child's Play for just a second, Child's Play is a charity giving gaming systems and games to children in hospitals and domestic abuse shelters and such. I never think of that, true I have plans to make little stuffed toys for children in hospitals and shelters and such but in the end video games are very good for kids. I know the media wants to say that video games turn kids into violent psychopaths, it isn't true. (The fact that in the past the media claimed the same for TV, movies, music, and even plays and operas! But that is a rant for another day.) Gaming helps hand-eye coordination, helps with thinking on your feet and even have games that are meant for education. Is too much gaming bad? Of course. But answer this, what exists that too much isn't bad? I'll wait.

So Child's Play is a great charity, but how can I craft to help?

L&L figured it out!

Not only do they make their blanket that they send to the charity gala every year, but they also sell yarn and certain yarns they will donate to this charity for every skein they sell. But what really got me, what made me smile and fall in love with this as a place instead of just as a fun Geek-Along.

Every one of their blanket squares are a free pattern, what they ask you to do if you can is instead donate to Child's Play. That just warms my heart. I want to make a blanket and I plan to make it with luxury yarns so I have to wait to save up for them, (this blanket I plan will be a geeky heirloom) but I will once I do donate some amount. I am thinking somewhere between three and five dollars. I have over 100 squares I want to do so will be doing that one at a time as I make them.

There are so many charities and this is a nice reminder that even ones that don't seem like they can be part of the fiber artist world, it can. I just really love this.

Yarn Review; Caron Simply Soft

This used to be my very favorite of all favorite yarns. Not anymore but when I was first learning to crochet I went with Red Heart, which I will review later, and Caron Simply Soft feels so soft and silky to Red Heart.

Caron Simply Soft is a size 4 (worsted) weight yarn, that is 100% acrylic, the recommended crochet hook is 5 mm, and the knitting needles is 5 mm as well. Now the yardage is different, depending on if you get a solid (6 oz or 170 grams with 315 yards or 288 meters) or ombre (4 oz or 114 grams with 208 yards or 190.2 meters) both solids and ombres are the same price so you do get a bit more bang for your buck with solids but not by that much. It is machine wash and tumble dry, which I have used it and can tell you that I only ever put it in normal dryer and it comes out fine. Do not iron it or bleach it, again since it is completely acrylic I would guess that bleach would just bleed out the color, which yes wouldn't be as pretty but a bleached blanket will still be a blanket.

So technically normally if a label says something like that I wouldn't recommend it for charity knitting/crochet but I've noticed absolutely nothing changing throwing it in the dryer and would have no problem giving a gift to a love one and telling them 'oh yeah, just throw it in the washer or dryer' I try to always give people machine and dry yarns when I gift someone something unless they knew going in that I was going to make them something that is not able to be machine washed or dry, but that is a story for another day.

Just a quick note I've never heard of ombre referring to yarn until the last year or so. Basically an ombre is a self striping yarn but all in one color. So if you want some fun colors together; like purples, blues and greens or whatever you won't find it in a ready made yarn skein.

When it comes to how the yarn is used it lives somewhere between size 3 and size 4, it's too big to be a size 3 but a little too small to be size 4, but is closer to size 4. I honestly think it would be better to consider it an Arayen weight, which is the weight they made that exists between sport/baby (size 3) and worsted (size 4).

I have to say I love working with this yarn, it is soft and silky so glides along your hand, it does have a nice drape, it is not the most beautiful drape I've ever seen but for big box store I have to say it is up there. Even against some of the luxury yarns it can hold its own in drape.

It is not prone to split, maybe every now and then it might split a little bit but it isn't often, and since even the best of the best yarn can split every now and then I would say that it is good. I highly recommend it, I do have to say that when you make something it will not be as shiny as it is in the skein but not by much.

It is a tad slippery so if someone were just learning to knit or crochet it might be hard to keep the yarn on the hook or needle (for me I would not recommend touching this yarn as a knitter until you are at least easily comfortable with everything you are doing. But it was much harder for me to learn to knit then to crochet, and whenever a stitch falls of my needle I try to catch it but if I don't I have to pull the entire thing undone.

Now when it comes to pilling that is hard to answer. Some colors like a dark red (I lost the label long ago) can pill pretty badly, others like Country Blue and Lilac don't pill at all, Honestly I've got seven different colors of this yarn and only that dark red yarn pilled badly. But to be fair that it gets much better if you throw it into the wash. It will pill like any acrylic yarn but it isn't that bad.

So would I recommend this yarn? Yes. Unequivocally yes. It is a lovely yarn with some lovely drape, is enjoyable to work with, still having expanded my horizons with yarn I have to say it is one of the most enjoyable yarns to work with.

I might say if someone was just learning to crochet or knit that day hold off until they get the very basics. Just because it is the slightest bit slippery, not super slippery but it is a bit. Like if you can chain and single crochet and double crochet or cast on, knit and bind off then I would so recommend it.

The one bad thing is there aren't many colors and so I tend to use other yarns (like Red Heart) that have more colors. But when it is able to be used it is a joy to work with.

Charity Directory

This is all about charity crafting and now that I've got a lot of finished objects to be donated but now we need to know where to put them! Since it all depends where you live, me here in the middle of nowhere, Florida, is different then someone in New York City, or Seattle, Washington, Iowa, California, Texas, Alabama, wherever.

This is not to mention other countries as well, but I will wait for a while to try to find charities for other countries.

First animals, the ASPCA is where you donate money, which isn't so much for what you've made but I will still give the link. https://secure.aspca.org/donate/ps-gn-p2?ms=MP_PMK_Googlebrand-T4&initialms=MP_PMK_Googlebrand-T4&pcode=WPSE9XXGOGN2PK00014&lpcode=WPSE9XXGOGN1PK00014&test&ds_rl=1066461&gclid=CjwKCAjw-vjqBRA6EiwAe8TCk_NESfm9DgwKMLaaqPnGgUN76RhbTF7dnUK-0uMZT5K07TydM4qLjRoCQe4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Comfort for Critters; https://comfortforcritters.org/

For families in all toghtehr for men, women and children.

Family Promise; familypromise.org

For women's shelter, which is one of the easiest to find, there is many and it is easy to find.

Impact Matters: www.impactmatters.org

Men's shelter, this is very hard to find but you can and I think it is best to make more of them. Women and men both need help but I think that it is important to make for men as well. I try to make things for men and women evenly.

https://www.americanhoperesources.com/splash?type=b&keyword=men%20shelter&group=Hotel_Vouchers_2&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=110666562&utm_group=70061619740&utm_content=344471939480&utm_device=c&utm_term=men%20shelter&gclid=CjwKCAjw-vjqBRA6EiwAe8TCk5txRvCxq9WeG8Qv-HbSwJC3a8l49A5QQxVNUg0KtNnwDtlRiJgNrBoC3aUQAvD_BwE

Washcloths Patterns

There are a million and one necessities that people may need when in shelters, and one of the biggest would be washcloths to me. To clean, to wash, just there is no end to the use and need of ways to clean.

You can make pretty much any kind of wash cloth or way to clean but I have a few kind that I make my own kinds. Standard washcloths that are three different sizes I make, then a scrubby corner one, then I also make two soap sacks as well. So technically that is six patterns.

Small Washcloth

Size 4 cotton yarn
4.25 mm crochet hook

Chain 21

Single crochet 20 rows

Single crochet all around the end

Chain 15 stitches and slip stitch to make a loop. Knot off and weave in your tails.

Medium Washcloth

Size 4 cotton yarn
4.25 mm crochet hook

Chain 26

Single crochet 25 rows

Single crochet all around the end

Chain 15 stitches and slip stitch to make a loop. Knot off and weave in your tails.

Large Washcloth

Size 4 cotton yarn
4.25 mm crochet hook

Chain 31

Single crochet 30 rows

Single crochet all around the end

Chain 15 stitches and slip stitch to make a loop. Knot off and weave in your tails.

If you notice, yes all these are basically the same pattern but add five stitches to the base chaining and five rows as you go from small to medium and then again when you go medium to large. I don't mind when I am making these making a 'frankencloth' which is a Frankenstein Washcloth where when I run out of one colorway of cotton yarn I just tie in a new one. I love making utilitarian things like this because it doesn't matter what it looks like as much as it matters how it works. I love making wearables and things that do matter how it looks to but sometimes it's nice to be purely practical.

Soap Saver Scrubbie

This is not my own pattern, this is from the youtuber JaydaInStitches. I highly recommend her, she has many crochet tutorials and I don't have anyone I know personally who crochets so it was her who taught me through her videos.

A lot of her videos also come with a free or paid for written pattern. This in particular is free so this is the written pattern; https://jaydainstitches.com/resources/Soap_Saver_Scrubbie.pdf and this is the video; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1idUePBlju0&t=7s

I do very much recommend her so this is the youtube channel; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgW3J4eHwnrgutZKNKGqj0Q and for her own website; https://jaydainstitches.com/ Please go give her some love, she does amazing with all of this and is a great teacher for anyone who wants to learn to crochet.

Soap Sack Crochet

Size 4 Eyelash Yarn
4.25 mm crochet hook

Chain 25

Single crochet until it is big enough that when folding it up 2/3 of the way up it makes a big enough sack to hold a bar of soap. knot off.

Folding it once again use the yarn to whip stitch up the two sides. Then you can, if you want, add a button on the lip of the sack. It isn't needed but I like it.

Soap Sack Knit

Size 4 Eyelash Yarn
5mm knitting needles

Cast on 25

Knit until it is big enough that when folding it up 2/3 of the way up it makes a big enough sack to hold a bar of soap. With eyelash yarn you will not be able to see your stitches so knit, pearl, whatever you want it won't matter. Bind off.

Folding it once again use the yarn to whip stitch up the two sides. Then you can, if you want, add a button on the lip of the sack. It isn't needed but I like it.

So there we go, I give you the same thing in both crochet and knit for whichever you want to do, I think these and the soap saver scrubbies would be lovely to donate with a bar of soap which is very important and in almost constant need. Just don't take the soap out of the packaging, just give them separately so it will be fresh whenever whoever gets it has it.

The last pattern is the only knit one (not counting the soap sack which is one knit and one crochet version). I pretty much have taken it from the pattern Grandma's favorite dishcloth https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grandmothers-favorite but I changed it up a little bit. Mostly just a version of this pattern.

Scrubbie Corner Dishcloth

Size 4 Cotton Yarn
Size 4 Eyelash Yarn
4.5 mm knitting needles

Using the cotton yarn cast on 4 stitches

Knit 2, yarn over, and knit the rest of the row. Continue on till you have 44 stitches on your needles.

Knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, and knit 2 together. Knit the rest of the row, continue on till you have 16 stitches remaining on your needles and tie in the eyelash yarn.

Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit the rest of the row. Continue until only 4 stitches remain on your needles. Bind off.

Some quick notes, the Scrubbie Corner Dishcloth I don't think is transformative enough to call it my own pattern, but it is changed up enough to call it my own modified pattern. I would use these with the leftover yarn, especially the eyelash yarn. That yarn in particular I bought when they first started coming out, in particular all of my eyelash yarn is Red Heart Scrubby Cotton but there are some that are made of polyester, I think they will be fine to be a washcloth one.

These patterns can be donated to any local homeless shelter or anything meant to help people. Heck even your favorite animal shelter might need them, animals are messy after all.

Yarn Review: Peaches and Cream

I have been using Peaches and Cream any time I use cotton yarn, I actually didn't move onto any other cotton yarn for a long while. I have moved onto trying out others like Bernat Handicrafter Yarn and Lily's Sugar and Cream yarn. But this is a review about Peaches and Cream, which is still my favorite cotton yarn.

It is a size 4 (worsted) weight yarn, it is made of 100% cotton. It is actually kind of interesting as I live in the cotton line of the USA and this yarn is made with cotton from America and goes to Canada to make it yarn and then is shipped back to the cotton line to buy. Just something a little silly that makes me smile when I buy it. You can machine wash and dry it but it says do not bleach, dry clean or iron. But to be real, you can do all of that but it will bleed out the colors. The recommended needle size is 4.5 mm and the recommended crochet hook is 5 mm. (However I use a 5 mm needle and a 4.25 mm hook.)

When it comes to yardage that is hard to say since there is two possibilities. I've only ever found this at Walmart so I'll go by there. The smaller skein is $1.77 and is 2.5 ounces or 70.9 grams giving 120 yards or 109 meters. The bigger skein comes in an actual cone that is $8.44 and is 400 grams or 14 ounces. What confuses me in the small skein it lists the ounces first then grams but the cone lists the grams first then the ounces. I never noticed until I was writing this but still. It gives you 645 meters or 706 yards. So if it is a color you like and want to keep using it 5.92 times meters (rounded), which means you would have to buy 4.77 skeins of the smaller skein to spend the entire amount you'd pay for the cone. So basically the cone is 1.15 of the smaller skeins for free. Of course if you are buying something just small you want to do go with the smaller skein but if you like a particular color I'd say go with the cone if you can.

I will say one of my favorites is a colorway called Strawberry Stripes, as it is a set of stripes yarn that are making stripes, it is in white, light pink and dark pink, this in particular while I was working with it it comes out looking like hand painted yarn, how it slowly goes from one color to the next in a casual gradient, most of the other multicolored ones just suddenly go from one color to the next.

I will also say that while Peaches and Cream are sold at Walmart and online Lily's Sugar and Cream is sold only at Michael's and Jo-Ann's, a lot of the colorways for both are named the same, such as seafoam and psychedelic. If you want to go from one to the other I would be careful, for insistence the two names I used; seafoam is a teal color that it is very obviously two different colors when you hold them side by side, but psychedelic you have to really look to see them to tell the difference. On average Peaches and Cream's colors  are more vibrant.

I have worked a lot with this yarn, I've used up several cones and normal skeins so I think I've got a good basis to review this.

Now when it comes to cotton it is going to feel stiff, because cotton is stiff, but when it comes to Peaches and Cream I would recommend winding it into a ball before you start working on it. For me that is what I kind of have to do. First for the skein because it isn't really a center pull and I hate how it fights around to unwind so I try to just wind the skein into a ball, and for the cone it rolls around since there is a real cone underneath and my cat loves to mess with it so I let her have the cone and she leaves my yarn alone. And also rolling it into a ball does make it the slightest bit softer.

When it comes to softness when compared to Sugar and Cream and Bernat Handicrafter Cotton it is softer then Handicrafter but not as soft as Sugar and Cream.

The biggest issue is splitting yarn. I will say that this will split. It is something that happens with cotton yarn, there is no changing it. At least no way I know. It doesn't split a lot honestly, it will sometimes but it isn't as bad as other yarns I've dealt with. I notice it really will happen when I knit, but other yarns it will split more when I crochet. I don't know if that is how I do it, how the yarn is spun or a combination of both.

I am left handed, which means the normal twisting of the yarn is an S twist which is better for right handed knitting and crochet. So if you are right handed you may find it even better then I do when it compared to splitting.

The only last things are how it is used, I used this mostly for making wash cloths and everyone I've given them to have fallen in love with them. So they have been used within an inch of their fiber lives.

I make the dish clothes, making small, medium, and large wash clothes. I use them for cleaning as well as for hot pads. It is so easy to have a two-in-one situation. I love especially using the hot pad and then being able to use that rag to wash up the dishes after dinner.

It protects very well as a hot pad, it washes amazingly well (how much that has to do with the pattern as opposed to the yarn itself is not to be ignored because single crochet basically makes a grid which helps to clean but the holding of the moisture helps) but still they do what you expect them to do.

I will say when it comes to washing every color I've used (and I've used about eleven different colors so far) that the only one I have a problem with is white. If it is a pure white it will hold any stains a bit, which will give it a used look even when it is washed. It doesn't matter when I make a wash rag, but when it comes to something like a top you might want to worry about it.

If it is a multicolored skein that has white in it, it doesn't matter as much. It isn't even like "oh there is other colors so they help cover up for the white in the skein." No. Even if it is right on the white, it won't show as much. How? I don't know, and honestly I don't care. It works. But still I'd be careful about making clothing with white Peaches and Cream yarn.

The other two things about washing is that some colors do fade a bit in washing. Only the very first time you wash it then it remains pretty much the same color. Some don't, for instance Strawberry Stripes does not fade in my experience nor does Black Current. Others like Seafoam do, but it isn't much, just a little bit.

The last thing is something that will be true of any 100% cotton yarn, as it is used and worn it will start to grow, getting bigger, but once you throw it into the washer and dryer it will be back to how it originally looked, basically being brand new again. I'd suggest finding a cotton blend of some kind for clothing.

This is by far my favorite cotton yarn. It is affordable and works great. I would highly recommend it, if you've never used it before I say get the smaller skein, which I've seen for sell down to even a dollar sometimes, to get a feel for it but if it is a color you love get the cone as most of my wash clothes and things meant for the kitchen or bathroom are made from this yarn.

Pet Charity and Patterns

Our furry friends are the sweetest things ever. They love and support us and all they want is to be loved in return. Unfortunately too many are left without homes, no one to give them their love, to be able to claim as their human.

I do not want to even think about the ones who are abused. I will cry. Besides a quick link to the ASPCA, who save animals. Please, if you can, donate. Even one time donation of a dollar is better then nothing. https://secure.aspca.org/donate/ps-gn-p2?ms=MP_PMK_Googlebrand-T4&initialms=MP_PMK_Googlebrand-T4&pcode=WPSE9XXGOGN2PK00014&lpcode=WPSE9XXGOGN1PK00014&test&ds_rl=1066461&gclid=CjwKCAjw1_PqBRBIEiwA71rmtd2_bk_eX3bfZzzXSniD3nrGlnnFmNUYJM-zniuzlB-_R4EfT4DcIxoCiBEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Now onto what this blog is about, crafting for charity, this in particular one is for animal charities.

For me, my favorite charity for this is Comfort for Critters. https://comfortforcritters.org/

The entire idea is to make a blanket that will be given to an animal in a shelter, when they are adopted it will follow them to their forever home giving them something familiar as well. The charity accepts any size blanket, but as a general rule a blanket for a kitten or small dog will be 12x12, for a medium dog 24x24 and for a big dog 36x36 blanket, but like previously stated they will accept any blanket.

If you like to sew or quilt more that is accepted as well, not just knit or crochet, but I'm not a quilter and though I sew it is mostly just mending instead of creating, I do like to embroider but that doesn't really match much into what this blog is about so it doesn't matter for here.

There is a list of shelters that if you live close to a shelter you can drop it off of, I have one on the way to my job so I can always stop when I head home from work. If not you can send it to their offices and they will send it out to shelters, if you have extra supplies like yarn that you no longer want they will bring them to nursing homes and other knit or crochet circles and give it to them to make the blankets.

I did make some of my own patterns for blankets but I will tell you they are very simple and don't really count as new patterns but I will tell you my go to projects for it. But first here is the patterns from Comfort for Critters themselves.

https://comfortforcritters.org/easy-patterns

Now what I do is very easy but makes very cute blankets in my opinion. I use the yarn Bernat Pet Blanket yarn, this is a size 5 if you don't want to or can't use that particular yarn you can find something that will match this.. For me one skein will make one small blanket-for a cat or small dog-and almost be enough left over to make a blanket for a medium size dog.

For the cat/small dog blanket it is only knitting pattern and for the medium and large dog pattern will both be in crochet. But go ahead hit the link above, as they have amazing patterns for knitting and crochet and other crafts that are much more creative then mine, but there is something to be said for easy, simple ones. For the knitting if you've ever made Grandma's Favorite ( https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grandmothers-favorite) it is similar and the same basic idea.

Cat/Small Dog Blanket

Size 5 Yarn
8 mm Knitting Needles

Cast on 4 stitches

Knit 2, yarn over, and knit the rest of the stitches. Repeat until you have 58 stitches on the needle.

Knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, and knit the rest of the stitches. Repeat until you have 4 stitches on the needle.

Bind off and weave in the ends.

I made this blanket all in one color, and while I like the look of this I think it would also look nice in stockinette stitch (which would be knit one row then the next row pearl, and repeat switching each row) but would be too much a hassle for me on average, same for changing the colors along the blanket.

Medium Dog Blanket

Size 5 Yarn
6.5 mm Crochet Hook

Make a granny square up to 14 rows.

I made this blanket all in one color but you can use less yarn switching out every row or two into a different color. Using math I'd suggest either 1, 2 or 7 rows (which would just be the middle and last row) to make it feel more planned out.

Large Dog Blanket

Size 5 Yarn
6.5 mm Crochet Hook

Make a granny square up to 20 rows.

Yes, I did the exact same pattern for the medium and large dog blanket only doing six extra rows for the large dog blanket. For this in particular I like to do two rows in the main color and a single row in a secondary color, so I can count my rows by threes up to 18 and then finish off with the main color. I have three colors in the Bernat Pet Blanket Teal, Rose, and Denim Jean. I like the idea of matching all three together. Like for instance the Rose being the main color and then Teal being the secondary color, for Denim Jean being the main color Rose being the secondary color and finally when Teal is the main color, Denim Jean be the secondary color. But you can do anything and have fun with it.

I know my patterns aren't that nice but hopefully there is enough information here for everyone. Happy crafting!

One more announcement. This is in memory of my one kitten, Cleopatra. I had two but I lost my lovely Cleo. She's been very sickely having a heart murmur and extreme allergies. Our vet prescribed medicine, but did tell us that we'd only have about four or five years for her. We ended up with four and a half after he said that.

She got a blood clot and had to be put down, she was in so much pain and there was no saving her. Our pets are precious, they have our hearts from the moment we hold them and long after they leave this world.

Yarn Review: Bernat Pet Blanket

I just found out about a yarn at my local Michael's a bit ago and it is called Bernat Pet Blanket yarn from Bernat yarn company. It claims on the label it has natural odor control.

It is a size 5 Bulky yarn, that is made one hundred percent of polyester, it is machine wash and dry, but do not bleach, iron, nor dry clean. It is 8 oz or 225 grams being 269 yards or 246 meters. The suggested hook and needle size are the same being 6 mm, but for me the hook I use is 6.5 mm and the needles 5 mm.

I bought the yarn on sale and do not remember what I payed for it anymore. I thought maybe the yarn was on its way out but it is still being sold last I checked. I bought six skeins, two of each in the color ways Teal, Denim Jeans, and Rose. As far as I can see the colors are all just one color.

If you have used pretty much any size 5 Bernat yarn you have felt this yarn. That chenille like yarn, I had a Bernat Blanket in white and it feels much thicker then this but if you like working with normal Bernat blanket yarn or chenille yarn you will like it.

I have so far used all of one of the six skeins, rolled all of one skein and have gotten through maybe a quarter of another skein.

I used up all of one of the rose skeins, got into a quarter one was the other skein and I wrapped around one of the teal ones. I had no trouble with the rose skeins but the teal skein ripped and broke three times and I don't know yet if that is just the teal skein, if that particular one has a problem or what.

That skein was wrapped strangely and I think it is possible it was just the skein itself or maybe it was just the teal colorway since the entirety of the one rose and so far into the other rose skein it is just fine. I will come back when I have gone through all six skeins and can tell you more when I have made things out of all six skeins how it all turned out.

I was able to make a small pet blanket, knitting, made for cats or small dogs and a medium dog blanket, crochet, I wasn't able to do all of the medium dog blanket but I only had to do two last rows (the blanket was made with basically making a big granny square continuously.

Looking it up, it is $9.94 per skein at Michael's, for me it is hard to say if it is worth that, I know I didn't spend nearly that much for me to have chosen to buy six skeins for the sole purpose of charity work. I do not have that kind of money, and I do not know if it is really worth that.

I would like to reuse this yarn when I run out, especially since it is perfect for animal charity and I would make one for my own kitten but I know she won't use it. I do love working with this yarn, I love the feel of Bernat blanket yarns and I think it feels even better then the normal blanket yarn Bernat makes. So compared to the normal Bernat blanket yarn which is $9.99 at Michael's as well, so it isn't that bad. So I think it is worth it, just you are paying for a blanket yarn.

If you enjoy working with the chenille yarn and the blanket yarn like I do, I would highly recommend it. Only thing is that it does feel very different then the normal blanket yarn so if you wish to mix this yarn with normal Bernat blanket yarn, be prepared and plan for the difference.

Hello

I know this is a simple thing but I more just want to keep track on my charity works and also maybe, just maybe, get someone else to do to if anyone ever found this.

Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy but one thing most don't know about her, unless they are really into mythology, is that she is also the goddess of crafts. Not battle strategy/crafts, as many think when they hear she is the goddess of wisdom, battle strategy and crafts they think it is 'battle strategy/crafts' instead of realizing it is wisdom, battle strategy, and crafts. That comma is important. She is the goddess of crafts. For her it was mostly weaving which makes sense as that is what most Greek women made.

Athena was very intriguing to me from the time I was a child, she is the goddess of battle strategy which was very male dominant, but at the same time she is a virgin goddess of crafts, as well as being a goddess of wisdom who came from Zeus's head full grown and in battle armor.

My favorite story of her was the story of her and Arachne. Basically Arachne was a woman who was very, very, very good at weaving. So good she began to brag, claiming even Athena couldn't weave as well as her. Now if you do not know a lot of Greek mythology then let me tell you that claiming you are better then the gods is a one way ticket to pain, suffering, and death. The only ones who ever end up with a happy ending in these stories are Psyche and Andromeda; neither compared themselves to the gods but others around them claimed them more beautiful then Aphrodite, since they didn't do it they got a happy ending, but they did suffer horribly first. But that is off on a tangent.

So Athena, obviously angered at someone claiming that, challenged her to have a weaving competition. She wins, and in punishment she turns Arachne into a spider, so she and her children will forever have to spin and weave.

I was also inspired by the movie Letters to Juliet where the women in Verona call themselves Juliet's secretaries and I liked that, so my online name will be Athena's Secretary since I'm very paranoid of people finding me in real life.

So I like to go over some things I do and if anyone is reading this and wants to give any ideas or suggestions I'd be really appreciative. One day I want to be able to find my own crafting circle but until then this little corner of the internet will be my crafting circle.

Just a quick thing about what I can do and want to learn how to do.

I can crochet, I picked it up very quickly and I still remember when I was doing it just for a month and my mom said that I looked like I had been doing it for years; to be fair she never has been able to crochet or knit but her aunt did crochet so she's seen it before. I learned to knit later and was much harder for me to do it, but I can still do it moderately well and I think it is pretty well done, I've managed to knit several things well, even if I've never knit in the round nor used DPNs but I am okay with what I've done so far.

I still want to learn how to weave and spin, but I probably won't do that for charity unless I can work it out to be done well enough for charity and match.