Love the Russian Join for Invisibly Joining Two Yarn Strands

One of our earliest charity crafting members, Ingrid, passed away about a year after our group began. At that time, she tried to teach us the weaver’s knot. When Ingrid did it, it looked easy. The rest of us felt all fumble-fingered with it. We were looking for a way to join one strand of yarn with another.

In crochet, there are times you can crochet right over the ends of the two strands. Other times, the pattern will easily disguise a knot if it is tight enough. Still other patterns force you to just wait and use a yarn needle and weave in the ends.

Finally, I have fallen in love with the Russian Join.

I have seen this mentioned many times online. None of the instructions made it very plain to this old broad.

THEN I found this tutorial at Lion Brand a this link. I pinned it, too, so I wouldn’t lose it.

Enjoy! 

My All-Time Fave Crochet Stitch Marker

I recently worked in a pattern that required me to mark the end (or beginning?) of each round. I grabbed my all-time fave stitch marker - the simple but effective rubber-tipped bobby pin!

For crochet work, it is great. The ridges inside the pin grip the stitch tightly, whether worsted weight, fingering or thread.

I’ve tried paper clips - they slide off at times.

I used to have a ton of those little plastic circles that are split and slide onto the stitch. Those are good, too. 

However, I think I’ve lost them all and I keep forgetting to buy more.

For now, though, I still have a ton of bobby pins in a container. I’m a happy camper - I mean, a happy crocheter!  

Beginning Row Chains in Crochet

Closeup of Beginning Rows in Crochet

A few days ago, a friend called with a crochet question. We always get in touch by email, so when I heard her voice on the incoming call, I grabbed it. I knew it had to be important.

It was - to her - very important.

Normally, she works from patterns, really cute afghans and such. But this time she was in a hurry to whip up a baby blanket. She decided on plain and simple, and chose yarn texture, weight, and hook that worked. She also decided to just work a simple square.

The only problem she had was trying to recall how many stitches to begin each row if she was working this in rows of double crochet. My answer to her was to ch 3 to begin each row of double crochet.

For any of you who need a quick refresher, here's the usual setup for beginning each crochet row if a pattern does not specify, or if you are not using a pattern.

single crochet - ch 1

half double crochet - ch 2

double crochet - ch 3

 
Even the most experienced of crocheters occasionally has a mental block. For me, it happens, as it did with my friend, when I am in a hurry.      

Craft Tip - Stiffening Continued

Last night I mentioned how I deal with troublesome spray stiffener products for small crocheted projects.

I remembered today another tip someone gave me through the years.

For things that are larger, like doilies, pour the stiffener liquid into an appropriately sized zippered plastic bag. Place the doily (or whatever) into the bag, seal it, and squish it around until it looks as though the item is well-soaked.

I should have put this in yesterday's post, but my 72-year-old brain cells have slowed down somewhat.

Craft Tip - Stiffening Small Projects

I absolutely hate how those squishy spray bottles of craft project stiffeners eventually either clog or stop spraying for some other reason. Mostly I need to stiffen crocheted items.

Tonight I was stiffening a batch of small (2"x3") crocheted angel ornaments and I realized that the method I was using was something that I should pass along.

I still buy those bottles of products like Stiffen Stuff, but I apply it differently. I take a bottle cap lid (at least 1/4" or 1/2" high) or a little medicine cup (the kind that comes with cough syrup), and I pour some of the liquid into that. Then I apply it with a paint brush, the kind you get at the dollar stores in a five-pack, near the crayons and pencils and pens.

It goes on easily, it is not messy, and I can get it in the desired areas. I also do not have to cup my hands around the project while I am spraying (the old way of doing it) to keep everything around the project-in-progress from getting sticky.

Of course, you probably already do this, but if you don't, maybe this method will work for you, too.

Scrap Yarn Ideas

I love this page, at this link, for scrap yarn ideas. Lisa's site, CrochetNMore, is one of my faves and I have received her bi-monthly email newsletter for years. She is always adding more ideas to the scrap yarn idea-list. Right now, she is up to 89 of them!

Number 89, for example, says: "I braid lengths of scrap yarn into toys for my cats. I make braids of different lengths and knot four or five together, my cats love to chase and chew on these and the braids don't tangle. - Dori krone"

Some tips are from Lisa and many are from people like you and me.

Lisa also has lots of free crochet patterns, a blog, crochet tips, and so much more. It takes a month-of-Sundays to enjoy all of what she has available here.

Have fun!

How to Select Portable Crochet Projects

Summer is here big time. The days are long. That means most of us are on the go. We're busy. We're running around. Making our rounds, we might drive, someone else might drive us, we might take a bus or we may even walk or bike. Once we get to where we are going, we often have down-time. Waiting in a lobby, a waiting room, or anywhere else, can be annoying.

That's when we crocheters (and knitters) are blessed. We can pull out a small project and pass the time while doing something we enjoy. I remember last year waiting in line to get inside our local office to renew my driver's license. It opened at 8. The line forms at 7. I did take a folding stool which fit neatly in my one tote bag. I unfolded the stool and began to crochet. During that time, several folks told of their family members who either used to crochet or who do it now. And I even had a chance to answer a fascinated little girl's questions about the craft.

Picking a project is the hardest part. We don't want tons of hooks and half a dozen skeins of yarn or balls of thread. It's best to take something you can do almost with your eyes shut, something you've done time and time again. It's also smart to pick something that won't drag on the ground, something small.

For me, that often means beverage cozies, or little angels. Dishcloths, slippers, fingerless gloves for the homeless, stand-alone towel toppers, all these work well.

Have fun while you're waiting this summer, wherever the wait may be. We have the best of both worlds, we who have been blessed with the love of crochet.

Easy Crocheted Afghan or Blanket Edging - Free Pattern

Our weekly charity crafters make a lot of small lapghans and baby blankies. We tend to look for quick and easy patterns so that we can produce enough items to donate on a regular basis.

Along the way, I developed an edging of my own that works well with any pattern in which the final round or row has groups or clusters or other clumps of stitches.

I simply do 3 SC in the corners, then CH 2 (or CH 3 depending on whether it seems to need that number) and SC between the next two clusters, then CH 2 (or 3) and SC between the next two clusters, and so on.
The result looks a lot like a sewn blanket stitch. I will try to post a better photo with a real close-up but hopefully, you can see it in these.

Using What's on Hand

I haven't picked up a hook in two days, until an hour ago. After my usual Friday morning charity crafting session, I left the ladies, came home, and finished edging a baby blanket for the needy moms we supply. I wasn't sure what I wanted to start next.

Meanwhile, I had begun to get tied up with some work I've just begun doing - writing brief online articles for a service who supplies people who order them for web content. I've been a writer half my 70 years, and then some. This is a new type of writing and I've been on a slight learning curve. I've also been enjoying it. So, my time is being absorbed by yet another task. This one is a little different because I desperately need the income from it, no matter that it is very small.

So, tonight, I needed to clear my head before tackling my next web-content article-for-hire. I noticed a little container where I had been tossing scraps of cotton worsted from a while back when I worked up several sets of my beverage cozies. I have them in my Etsy shop, plus I have the free pattern here.

I gathered the smallest of the scraps, anywhere from 6" to a foot or more, and started tying them together, and winding the strand into a ball. Then I began a corner-to-corner square that I will use for a dishcloth, just for me. I love using scrap cotton worsted for dishcloths and little dish scrubbies. I purposely tie them with about 1/4" to 1/2" showing. These knots give the piece a shaggy look, plus they are great for scrubbing. When I've finished this one, I'll post a photo. I have to find a few more scraps. If I don't find any small ones, I'll take some that are still too small for major projects and I'll cut them to 12" lengths, and use those to tie, just so I have more scrubby bumps in the cloth.

A Tip on Tips (Crochet and Knit)

One site that I visit often is CrochetnMore. I especially love their Tips. This site has plenty of tips, all from people like you and me. Don't let the site name fool you. They cover knitting, too.

The tip that made me post about them tonight is one that caught my eye in a recent email newsletter. You can sign up for it when you visit their site.

Anyhow, this tip works for both crocheters and knitters. It is for anyone who has WIPs scattered all over the place, some without their hooks or needles. These are the WIPs that will probably never get finished because we have no clue which size, hooks or needles, we are supposed to use. Click here for the tip. It is great!

To see the rest of their tips, too many to even count, go to their Home Page (click here), and scroll down the right side, way to the bottom of the list, for Tips (or click here).

One other thing I love is their page with tips for uses for Scrap Yarn (click here). They list 73 ways to use it up!

They even have some crochet-related products on CafePress (mugs, tee shirts, totes, more) with crochet themes and sayings - very cute.

It's worth a visit for the Scrap Yarn ideas alone.