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.