Skater Beanie

I've crocheted several items for girls during the course of this Odyssey project, so I figured it was about time for me to crochet a guy item. Using some Red Heart worsted weight stash yarn and an I hook, I made this Skater Beanie from Ravelry. The pattern is written for DK weight yarn, so I stopped the increase rows at round 6 since I used worsted weight. Overall, I liked this pattern. It was simple, quick, and the final project looks nice.

Time on this project: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Time total: 80 hours

Cozy Flowered Headband

Along with slouchy hats, headbands are a popular item right now. Especially with the couple of freezing cold weeks we've had this winter in Arkansas! I used this Cozy Flowered Headband pattern on Ravelry, an I hook, and some Caron Simply Soft yarn from my stash. The yarn skeins were the passion and lavender colorways from Caron. The headband pattern itself was mediocre, but I adore the flower pattern! I've used it on a few other projects as well. Instead of using a button to close the headband, I free-handed a seam.

Time on this project: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Time total: 78 hours, 55 minutes

Kisses Slouchy Beanie

It seems like slouchy hats are all the rage right now. I found this Kisses Slouchy Beanie pattern on Ravelry (of course!) as a free download. This is the first slouchy hat I've ever crocheted, and I have to say it was a really fun project! The crossed stitches pattern was also new to me. I found it interesting and enjoyable, and I'd like to use it for a cowl or something in the future. I used some stash Red Heart Super Saver Solids yarn and an H hook.

Time on this project: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Time total: 76 hours, 10 minutes

Effortless Cowl

I went to Michael's to browse for more yarn and found some gorgeous Loops and Threads Charisma yarn on sale for half off. Each skein was only $1.25! I had never crocheted with bulky yarn before, so I got a few skeins to try it out. I chose this Effortless Cowl pattern. Based on Ravelry user comments, I chained 130 for the foundation instead of the pattern's recommended 87. I'm glad I did this, since it's just long enough to loop twice around my neck. 87 chains would have been far too short.

Overall, I decided that bulky yarn is sometimes difficult to work with. However, the difficulty could be due to the pattern - half double crochet (hdc) stitches can be tricky with the best yarn. The yarn itself is incredibly soft and a much nicer color than the photo represents. 

Time on this project: 4 hours, 10 minutes

Time total: 71 hours, 40 minutes

Ruffled Blankie

I really enjoyed making this ruffled blankie. The ruffled border was lots of fun to crochet and definitely spruced up the simple base pattern. I used worsted weight lavender yarn from Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn! brand, since it tends to be softer than Red Heart yarn.

Time on this project: 9 hours, 40 minutes
Time total: 67 hours, 30 minutes

Donation day!

Yesterday I took most of my items to the Safe Harbor resale shop to donate! The resale shop is very similar to Goodwill in terms of merchandise for sale and prices, although the shop lets Safe Harbor clients and their children shop for free. Furthermore, most of the employees are volunteers and all of the shop profits go to benefit the Safe Harbor organization. If you're interested, more information can be found at their website. 

I packed a box with two baby blankets, five child hats, three dishcloths, a scarf, a cowl, and a pair of baby booties. Since all donations to Safe Harbor are tax-deductible, they gave me a receipt for my donation. I have several items still sitting at school that I didn't have room to bring home, and I'm planning to donate those over spring break or during the summer. I really enjoyed bringing my donations to the store; the employee I talked to was very happy to get them. It feels like I'm really making a difference to this organization. 

Martha Cowl

I found the pattern for this Martha Cowl scarf on Ravelry. I crocheted it using navy blue yarn from Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn brand. The pattern was wonderful - very simple and elegant, especially with the eyelet stitches - although I followed users' comments from Ravelry to make a few changes. I chained 201 stitches for the first round instead of 150 to account for using a thinner weight yarn. In addition, the flower in the pattern was difficult for me to work out, so I used the flower from this Cozy Flowered Headband instead. Overall, I really loved this pattern and definitely plan on making it again!

Time on this project: 5 hours, 30 minutes
Time total: 57 hours, 50 minutes