Bernat Crochet & Knit-Along for Charity

Yippee! The Bernat CAL & KAL for Project Linus begins tomorrow!
http://bernatcares.com/make/blankets_for_project_linus.html

I hope that some of my friends will be joining in the fun. There is a discussion forum for us to talk about our blankets, and there are videos to help with making your blanket.

Can you tell I'm excited?!

So far, there are over 200 people signed up in the discussion forum, and the pattern hasn't even been released yet! I think the sound of our collective knitting needles and crochet hooks are gonna set off a sonic boom tomorrow! Ha!

CUTIE PIE!! Monster for Your Love

OMG! I'm in love with the cute little "Monster for Your Love" knitted toy on the Bernat website!



I really want to make one of these for my hubby for Valentine's Day. (and one for me too!)

I also like the sweet little "Comfort Pillow", covered with hearts.

Practicing Crochet Basics Again

This weekend, my hubby and I took a trip to our local library. We haven't been there in quite a while, so I had to update my library card. Little did I know, but I had a balance on account for late books! Ack! So, I paid all those pesky fees, and got everything right.

While browsing through the DVDs and books at the library, I noticed the stand of CDs to check out. In the stand, I found "Crochet Made Easy" by Coats and Clark, so I decided to check it out.


I'm SO glad I decided to use this CD. It has encouraged me to re-learn the basics of crochet. I've always had trouble at the end and beginning of rows. Sometimes, my projects get a little wonky, because I did a row wrong. So frustrating! :(

I was also unsure about how to work in the foundation chain. I didn't know if I should work under 1 or 2 strands of yarn on that row. Now, I know that I work under ONE strand on the foundation chain, then under TWO strands on every row after the first row is done.

The lessons on the CD are very easy to follow. You can pause the video when you want to think about something, then click "play" again when you're ready to move on. After just a couple hours, I had re-learned basic stitches, and learned some new ones as well!

Now, I know how to do SC, HDC, DC, TC, DTC, and TTC. Before today, I didn't even KNOW about Double Treble Crochet or Treble Treble Crochet.

While following the lessons, I took some notes about each stitch. I knew that I would never be able to remember everything later, so I decided to put my notes in spreadsheet form for easy reference later. Maybe it will help some of you also!



Now, I feel MUCH more confident about my stitches in crochet. And I think I will remember where to start and end each row better now.

My next lesson on the CD will be about increasing and decreasing. I've made these two little swatches to use for the lessons. The one on the left is all single crochet, and the one on the right is double crochet. Each swatch is 11 stitches wide:


I'll try to post some photos of my increasing & decreasing projects tomorrow. Wish me luck in remembering to do it! Ha!

Bernat KAL/CAL - Baby Blankets for Charity!

I'm a proud Bernat blogger now. I have been blogging on Bernat's website for over a year now. You can see all my posts here: Shandeh's Posts on Bernat Blog

At the end of this month (Feb 28th), Bernat will be hosting a new KAL/CAL, where we will all be knitting and crocheting baby blankets for charity. AWESOME! The blankets will be donated to Project Linus, to keep some needy babies warm. I always enjoy knitting for charity, so this KAL/CAL is very close to my heart.

As part of this particular KAL/CAL, Bernat will be adding a discussion forum, so it will be easier for us all to talk about our blankets. Stay tuned for more details on that!