I’m working on some baby hats and booties for a local charity, and I need just a few more skeins to finish up some booties. Though I cringe at the thought of going to Walmart, it really has had the best prices on yarn in general and definitely Bernat baby yarn, which is my first choice for making crochet baby items. So today, I figured I’d stop by and just get a few skeins and be on my way home after school.

Low and behold, what do I find? Bernat Baby Softee in pink, yellow, and blue on clearance, $2 a skein. These are normally $3.28 at Walmart. For some reason the same type in purple and mint were $2.50. The Bernat Baby Jacquards were marked down to $3.

I quickly checked my wallet to see how much cash I had, and filled my arms up! However, I had the nagging feeling. Does this yarn clearance mean the end of Bernat yarn at Walmart? I posted the sale on a Yahoo crochet list, and ga-zing, I received a number of emails back that yes, indeed, other yarn crafters had heard that Walmart was planning on axing its yarn products!

So the good news is, more than likely you can score some great yarn deals at your local Walmart. The bad news is, this may be the beginning of the end of yarn at Walmart.

My latest crafting for charity project is a set of hand towels for the Global Knit Haiti Earthquake Relief Project. While this felt like it took me forever because most of it I did in single crochet stitch, the basic idea is simple enough that anyone with very basic crochet skills could handle. Using cotton yarn, you make a small 10×10 inch wash cloth and a larger 12×18 inch towel, put them in a zip lock bag together, add a bar of non-scented soap, and send them off to Global Relief’s office in Ohio. I’ve made two sets using Lily brand yarn (very inexpensive and nice to work with), and now I just need to pack them up and mail them out.

For more information about this program, go to the Global Knit site.

After getting an email that Heartmade Blessings was in need of afghan squares, I pulled out my cherry red and soft navy yarn and got back to work. This is one of about a half dozen squares I whipped up over a week’s time. For me, a 6 squares in a week is fast since I mainly crochet in the evenings while watching TV, so that’s only a few hours a day.

As I started in on the project, I realized that my yarn stash was very low on the needed colors and type of yarn. They prefer acrylic, since it washable, and have certain colors from the Red Heart Super Saver brand designated for specific types of afghans. About 6 or so months ago, I could have just gone over to my then favorite yarn source, Crafts Etc., but no longer.

The old Crafts Etc. URL directs you to Hobby Lobby’s web site now, and they do not have the same yarn deals in any way shape or form. Back in the day, they had yarn sales anywhere from 25% to 30% off and free shipping on orders of $25 or more. Hobby Lobby never has anything near to this as far as sales and free shipping together, so I put a call out to my fellow yarn people via forums and emails. While I did find some interesting yarn sources, still none had the same deals.

This means the dreaded trip to Walmart, ugh! And I have to admit that the prices there were - not surprisingly - pretty awesome. I scored 7oz Super Saver skeins for $2.48 each and Bernat baby yarn for 3.28 (solid) and 3.97 (variegated). Of course, when I check out at Walmart, I always have to be careful that my yarn doesn’t get dirty. Once I was behind someone buying raw chicken, yikes! Usually the cashiers are pretty understanding when I tell them I’d rather not set my yarn down on their dirty counter and to please scan and set them directly in the bag, thank you.

I have no local yarn store at all, and though Michael’s is up the road, its sales are so-so at best when it comes to yarn. Since many of the items I make I give away, obviously it’s kind of important that I keep to a yarn budget as best I can, which is so hard so who doesn’t love lots and lots of yarn? I’m just going to have to get my nerve up every so many months and go to Walmart and buy a ton at each visit so I can keep my trips to a minimum.

It’s cool to be square or at least make squares in the form of crochet squares that are then turned into afghans for those dealing with loss. Become part of a great group called Heartmade Blessings and volunteer to make crochet squares. Most of the members of the group make squares, and then a smaller group of members assemble them into afghans. These are then given to those who may have lost a family member due to illness or, unfortunately more the case these days, to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Pictured are a few squares and made and sent a long time ago, but right now, they are really in need to red, white, and blue squares. Many lives were lost in Afghanistan during the month of June, and the group is working diligently to bring some comfort to those families who are dealing with tragedy of losing a loved one.

You don’t have to be an expert crochet person to participate. While the group does have lots of great free patterns you can use, simple granny squares or double or single crochet squares work fine as well as long at they are 12×12 and you leave the tails hanging. You also don’t need any fancy yarn. In fact, acrylic is preferred because it is washable.

What’s great about this group is that even if you only have time to donate one square here and there, with all the members they have doing this, it adds up. You can find more information when you join, and they will hook you up with someone from the group to help answer any questions you may have as well.

For some reason, I have gotten out of tune with one of my on-line crochet groups who does a monthly charity challenge. I some how don’t see  the messages that announce when they start until it’s too late to join in, and I think they now require that you pledge a certain number before you can get any real info on what’s going on. Because I’m usually so busy, I don’t like pledging. I make what I can make and send what I can.

As a result, I have not been doing much charity crochet lately and have been trying to find other options (other than the squares I still make for Handmade Blessings). Then I saw Global Knits mentioned in a recent Lion Brand Yarn newsletter. One focus of this group is to make wash clothes and send them along with soap to help the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. You can find more information about it here, but basically you use 100% cotton yard (which I happen to have a lot of right now for some reason) and use that to make a few wash clothes, put them along with some soap in a zip log bag, and mail it to the organization in Ohio. They then send them onto Haiti.

I love this idea because it is so practical as far as meeting a need and doable for most knitters or crocheters. As far as crochet goes, while there are all kinds of wonderful wash cloth patterns out there, you can also just simply double crochet pieces to the required dimensions (1 - 10″ x 10″ washcloth, 1 - 12″ x 18″ hand towel). It is one of those no-brainer type projects you can do while watching television or waiting in a doctor’s office or whatever.

Once I get my current crochet projects just about done, I think I’m going to start in on some wash clothes and hand towels.

My husband and I have a special place in our hearts for our local Humane Society because two of our “boys” came from there, Jasper and Rocky.

We provide a membership donation every year, and in addition, we donate hand-craft jewelry items for the group’s annual Fur Ball, which has a silent auction. This year, though we’ve been really busy with the book, we managed to put a few special jewelry pieces together for the auction.

I made the attached charms on these earrings using silver metal clay, and then just added some hematite heart beads and Swarovski crystals.

My husband made the jump rings using sterling silver round wire and then assembled it into a bracelet. He added a lobster claw clasp and one of my metal clay silver  heart charms.

Hopefully, both of these jewelry pieces will bring in a little money for the cause.

I don’t get much time to crochet these says. Mainly, I crochet a little in the evenings when I’m chilling out and watching a TV. (And, yes, I do watch TV, horrors! I read so much for work, that I really need some down time ya know.)

Well, here is my latest project. It’s for the next charity challenge of one of my crochet groups which is making red scarves for a group called Heart Sisters. I’m doing a simple combination of regular single crochet and single crochet going in the back loop. This creates a kind of ridge affect. I’m not 100% sure of how I like it so far, but hopefully, once I put an edge around it and block it, the final product will look good enough to donate.

EDIT: Carolyn Thomas who runs the site mentioned above was nice enough to correct me that while her site does offer educational assistants related to women’s heart issues, it is not the same group I am making these scarves for. That group is actually called Women Heart, and you can find out more about donating red scarves on here.

I’m using Vanna’s Choice in cranberry, so it is a really deep, dark red color. Yummy! I’m still a huge fan of this yarn I have to say. While it is acrylic, it is so much softer than many of the other brands I’ve tried in the past. Hopefully, I’ll have this finished to show you the completed scarf next week.

I know I am not alone when I say that the nightmare happening in Haiti is mind-blowing and horrific. Watching the news makes me feel even more helpless and hopeless. Like many Americans, I have donated cash here and there, and since there is already a fairly large Haitian community where I live, there were already networks set up to donate additional items such as food. But, is that enough? Isn’t there a way to do more? Of course there is, and crafting groups are starting to pop up around the blogosphere to do just that. As I learn about them, I plan to post here so that other crafters can perhaps find additional outlets to help.

This first group I am writing about is called Craft Hope for Haiti. Made up of 7 crafters, they have set up an Etsy shop where you can donate goods or shop for some amazing items, anything from beads to pillows to purses. Even if you don’t have time to make an item and donate it, you can purchase hand-crafted work from other craft artists and still help out. According to the Etsy shop they set up, all the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders in Haiti.

As posted recently on the groups’ blog, they have already raised $7,000 in the first two days. I have to admit that it took me awhile to find it, but I finally located the specific instructions for those who would like to donate items to the shop here. One issue to be aware of is that you will be required to ship the item, and they ask that you add the shipping cost into the final price of the item. I don’t think this is a huge deal, but this means that you aren’t just going to ship off your stuff to them and be done with it. You will be responsible for finishing off the sale.

I would love to blog about more groups like this, so if you know of any, please let me know (tammypowley at yahoo.com).

We’ve had some major cold weather down here in Florida, actually down to 32 degrees! When I left for school this morning, I saw frost covering the roof of our house as I drove away. We southerners are just not used to anything much below 50, so I was bundled up with layers and layers of clothing, and of course, some items I had crocheted previously, fingerless gloves, scarf, and more recently, a new pink hat. My gloves and scarf are blue and the hat is pink. Obviously, I need to create a pink set and a blue set I guess so I can be a little more color coordinated, but at 32 degrees, I didn’t care about that so much!

The hat pattern is a new one I recently tried from the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Crochet Today. It’s called the “Two-Hour Hat,” designed by Linda Permann. I haven’t timed myself, but I’m sure it is taking me longer than two hours. Still, it works up pretty darn quickly.

I’ve made a few for a charity group and have started another for a friend. Is is very refreshing to find a pattern in a magazine that I actually felt capable of doing. Crochet Today doesn’t seem to have overly difficult projects, but it doesn’t normally have that many projects at the level #1 either. In fact, there are a number of awesome crochet magazines I’ve looked at on newstands that are gorgeous, but so many of the patterns are way out of my beginner’s level league that I couldn’t even dream of making any of them.

Warming Families is a non-profit group that coordinates volunteers who give hand-made or newly purchased warm items, such as hats, scarves, and blankets, to organizations in need. These organizations include nursing homes, domestic violence shelters, and homeless shelters. There are area chapters around the United States as well as Canada.

The Warming Families site lists volunteer groups that are already set up, so check that first. Otherwise, you can apply to start your own chapter that would be coordinated through Warming Families.

Lands End has also joined forces with Vicki Howell for what it calls the Feel Good Initiative. For every Feel Good sweater purchased, the company will donate yarn to Warming Families. Even if you don’t knit or crochet, heck, you can buy a sweater and still help out.