Crochet Maven
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My name is Daphne, I live in Chicago near the lake. I learned to crochet when I was 8 and enjoyed it. Crocheting fell by the wayside until I picked it up again my senior year of college. That's when started giving things away, because there are only so many things you can make for your family members!
Crochet Maven
1M ago
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The weather may have been gray in January but the crochet projects were not. I dabbled a bit with interweave crochet and a bit of mosaic. There are a few other patterns I want to try out. Also, I have been using the yarn that I have… other than one great sale on yarn that I like. I haven’t added any yarn to the stash, and have been using up what I have. This maker year has been freeing, if I want to make a hat because I don’t have enough yarn to make a set, so be it. If I want to try something new that takes longer than a pattern I’m already familiar with… So be it. Th ..read more
Crochet Maven
3M ago
After purging yarn I don’t like, and wouldn’t use from my working stash, I decided that in 2024 I’m going to use up the yarn I have and make 2024 a free form creative crochet year. The only goal that I am making for myself is to make 12 red scarves for Foster Care to Success. Whatever I make will likely be for donations to different organizations, but I’m just going to go with the flow, use what I have, and experiment with new techniques to improve my skills.
The final tally for 2023 was:
100 hat and scarf sets
20 hats
12 red scarves
While I didn’t meet my 20 ..read more
Crochet Maven
3M ago
Ninety hat and scarfs sets in three bags of thirty each.
When people say to me, you crochet fast. I say, it’s not a race or a competition, it’s a craft. I’m proud of what I made this year, thought it’s likely that I won’t meet my goals and that’s ok. I made two baby blankets and experimented with a few new techniques. I bit off more than I could chew by starting later than I should have for a few Christmas gifts. One was already mailed, another finished tag sewn on and ready to wrap and I’m in the homestretch for a third..
Having goals may seem like too much pressure, it’s not pressure but acc ..read more
Crochet Maven
8M ago
Some people don’t like to crochet or knit during the summer months when it’s hot, or will switch to lighter weight yarns. What I’ve noticed just from looking at pictures of sets that I’ve made from the past few years, certain patterns or motifs are seasonal. Or, at times I become fixated on a pattern and try it out in different yarns.
I make a few specific patterns during the summer months because I want to try something different and generally I will have reached the halfway point of my goal and don’t want to get bored. I’ll make something I’d like to try in a particular yarn. Maybe it’s the ..read more
Crochet Maven
9M ago
I haven’t posted in a while, but that does not mean I haven’t been crocheting.
I have been working with a lot of different yarns, I bought some, and was gifted some on a trip (used some of that up already). I’ve been using some that I already had by creating new color combinations with different colorways of one of my favorite yarns with oddballs and making fun color combos. I had to take a little break because I needed to make a shower gift in a hurry. It’s the end of June and most excitingly… I have passed the halfway point of my hat and scarf goal, made a single hat and also made two ..read more
Crochet Maven
1y ago
So many ends to weave in!!!
About a week or so ago I saw the crochet houndstooth pattern on YouTube and thought I’d give it a whirl. Traditionally houndstooth is with black and white but that didn’t stop me. Instead I used a couple of colors from my stash, pumpkin and slate. The houndstooth pattern is simple, one single crochet, one double crochet, alternating to the end or the row or round. Then, alternate the colors and stitches. A double in the single in the row below, a single in the double…
I like the pattern and the look, so I made a hat and it worked up well. Then for the scarf, I worke ..read more
Crochet Maven
1y ago
Highlights of my February 2023 dyeing experiment
Every year or so I have the urge to dye some yarn. Usually, I will buy some Easter Egg dye kits at the end of the season and make some interesting creations. I have a large bag of expired food coloring that was being tossed out from an office move, as well as specifically purchased drink mix packages for dyeing. I still had a couple of hanks of yarn that I had purchased to dye as well as several undyed hanks that I received as part of a mystery box. The goal was to dye at least enough for a couple of scarves to donate to one of my special groups ..read more
Crochet Maven
1y ago
I like using openwork stitches that work up fast. My favorite is the Granny Stitch. The term loosely lumps many fan or shell stitches together when they are worked in a square or other multi-sided work. The Granny Stitch isn’t the warmest to use for hats or scarves, because of the spaces but is wonderful for blankets.
Bulky yarn isn’t my favorite but I was gifted two giant balls and figured why not make a lapghan in a granny rectangle? It’s working up nicely and bulky yarn gives an almost immediate sense of accomplishment. A lady asked me about blanket yarn when I was buying yarn in a large st ..read more
Crochet Maven
1y ago
Before we get too far into the New Year, I need to share my totals for 2022:
115 hat and scarf sets
12 red scarves
36 hats
plus… a few things made for family and friends.!
My crochet goals for the 2022 were 25 hats, 100 hat and scarf sets, and 12 red scarves. It may seem like I’m bragging but I’m proud of myself for what I made in 2022.
Maybe my 2023 crochet goals will remain the same?
12 Red scarves
100 sets
25 hats
There are a few other non-crocheting projects that I want to work on, so to give me some breathing room… And a chance to live, experiment and play, I ..read more
Crochet Maven
1y ago
Nineteen more days until Christmas. This is just a little pep talk for people who are stressing about making a gift or not making a gift. If you’ve decided to make a gift and you don’t have time to finish it, what about wrapping a promissory note? “I’m making you something but I will finish it by (future date)” and wrap the partially finished product. Unless you have to mail it off. Don’t stress, the holidays don’t need additional stress. Take time to enjoy the holidays. If you have made something or you still have someone else you need to make something for… Relax. I’ve been there – making th ..read more