Creative Mom Cafe

The Special Olympics put out a call for handmade scarves made with delft blue and white to give to each Olympian. Their goal was 5,000 scarves. The tally is in and they well succeeded that number.

The count so far is around 50,000 scarves! From Ravelry, it seems there are some people in the same boat as I am who didn’t get their scarves mailed off in time. I knew they would exceed their goal. I just didn’t know by how many as it seems the knitting/crocheting community has been all abuzz about this project for a while.

The extra scarves will go out to families, friends, volunteers, and anyone wishing one who attends the games in Boise, Idaho. It should be a sea of blue and white for sure. The scarves have also been spotted in other places like the Inaugural parade and at Wal-Mart in Idaho.

Apparently an Idaho Wal-Mart has the scarves on sale for $2 with all proceeds going to the Special Olympics. It’s a move receiving mixed reviews from those who donated these scarves. Personally I’m not sure how I feel about this. I think all the scarves should be donated if not for the game in Idaho then send them out to state and local chapters. Secondly, $2 doesn’t even cover the cost of the scarf. Some knitters even bought their yarn online - costing them more - to make the scarves. Also these are handmade. Is that not worth more than $2?

I am glad that they received way beyond the number of scarves they were needing. At least the Special Olympics volunteers and athletes will either wear them or benefit from their sale.

This week I’m learning how to do filet crochet.  I’m taking a class through Crochetville.org. Since I started crocheting again, I have stayed away from working with thread. I had a lot of trouble using very thin yarn, so I thought it best not to try tread until I was more skilled.

So the class has two samplers. I was surprised that I was able to finish one in a few hours. I’ve started working on the other one. While they do look correct, it just doesn’t seem right. This is where apparently blocking comes into play. Once I have it blocked - which we learn next week - my sampler should look a lot better.

I have also learned that filet crochet doesn’t necessarily have to be with thread. You can use whatever thread or yarn you like with the appropriate hook. Basically there are two stitches used in filet crochet - double crochet and chain. You have meshes and blocks. Blocks are made up of four double crochets. If you have two blocks side by side, the you have 7 double crochets since they both share one side. Once you get down the basics, it’s really quite simple and addicting. I’ve now been searching for even more filet crochet patterns to try.

But really if you have down the double crochet and chain stitch, then you basically know how to to it. There is a little work to figure out your foundation chain as you have to have three chains for each mesh and block. Then you must figure in your turning chain that will be different depending on if you begin with a mesh or block.

If I can do it, then anyone can. I recommend learning with someone. The online class I’m in is great because there is some comfort in knowing there are others doing the same thing I am this week.

Most of my crafting supplies are crammed into a drawer. They used to be in a box but since it seemed nearly impossible to find anything in it. So I moved it all to a fairly large drawer. It stayed neat for about a week.

Now I have another organizing idea that I’m working on this weekend. It involves using a bookshelf and losts of smaller boxes. Each box will hold one element of crafting - like markers, glue, rulers, etc. This way everything will have its own, neat place.

The best part is that I’m reusing some boxes that we already have. I’ve cleaned them out and now get to use them again instead of just having them in storage.

I should be done tomorrow and hopefully I will have all crafty items in one place.  How nice it will be to easily  find a pair of scissors.

I’m in love with the Nick Jr. website. Everyday we watch some really cute craft ideas and then I’m thrilled to learn that we have access to them.

I especially like the coloring pages as the little one loves to color. It’s so neat for her to have her favorite characters to color since it would be nearly impossible to find it in the store.

It’s a fun website that offers some cute craft ideas. Perfect for us now that I’m home more. We definitely need some creative, learning projects.