Autism Awareness Month

Autism Awareness Month is April.  According to the Autism Speaks website:

I'll be working this up again
and taking a better picture!

"Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. We now know that there is not one autism but many types, caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences."

I made this tote several years ago for my cousin who has a daughter diagnosed with Autism. I liked it so much I decided to write up the pattern and share it on Ravelry!  It was the first pattern I ever wrote to sell and it had mistakes in it. It was too wordy. It didn't have pictures (it still doesn't, to tell the truth, but I added a graph!). I rewrote it to abbreviate the instructions and now I am sharing the link to buy the pattern here. For the month of April, if you buy the tote pattern, I'll include an Autism Awareness Scarf pattern for free! You have to put both items in your cart to get them both.  As always, I am here to answer any questions about the pattern. Leave your thoughts below in the comments, and feel free to share using the buttons below, or share the link to this post.

I also make the finished items if you'd like to purchase one.  Email me for pricing at kendrascrochet@gmail.com

Spring Crochet roundup

Happy first day of spring!

It's still very cold here in the mid west.  I had to defrost my car this morning before I could drive anywhere!  But spring is officially here by the calendar and Easter is right around the corner. 

Spring, to me, means longer hours of daylight, flowers, baby animals and spring cleaning.  But we'll put the cleaning off for another day.

I'm "celebrating" the first day of spring by making up a list of things to do until I run out of time to do them (does anyone else have this problem?). I went shopping this morning, then sat down to have breakfast. I picked up my computer and read a bit of computer coding lessons online then picked up my paper to make some notes, coming up with an idea for this blog post in the midst of it.  I put down the notes, and opened my blog only to start writing and realize I never put my groceries away. I was putting my groceries away when I remembered I hadn't done laundry yet...  One of those days, you know what I mean? So I am going to finish something (this post) first before going on to the next thing (laundry) today. Just forget the list, Kendra, it does you no good!

This post is about spring. Spring crochet, to be exact.  There are a couple ways to celebrate spring with yarn.  Spring animal amigurumi and spring apparel are my favorites.  Here are a few links I enjoy:

• These free hatching chicks from Toma Creations
• This bunny bottom garland from Love the Blue Bird
• This amazing crocheted flowers wreath for £3.50 (Great Britain Pound) from Mandy O'Sullivan (that would be about $4.91 USD)
• This lacy poncho on yourcrochet.com
• This lacy lightweight scarf found on Yarn Obsession-this one has a video tutorial too!

There are hundreds of other patterns to be found, do you have a favorite?  Share your links in the comments below and let the rest of us see them.  Have fun with your spring crochet!

Scarf

I'm looking forward to coming to a repeat in this pattern. Counting stitches and typing the pattern up line by line is very time consuming! when completed the pattern will be listed in ravelry.

hooded scarf

I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the finished product, but the fabric would look a lot like the photo here.  This is a photo of a mobius scarf made with the same stitch pattern.

Hood:

ch 34.
1.  sc in 2nd ch from hook. (ch 1, skip 1, sc in next) to end, ch 1, turn.
2. sc in ch 1 sp. (ch 1, sk sc, sc in ch sp) to end. End with sc in turning ch.
repeat row 2 to desired length. Fasten off.( I crocheted 60 rows before fastening off; when folded in half this should form a square)

Fold in half and sew up one edge.

Scarf:

ch 20 (or desired width for scarf, using multiples of 2) make scarf same way as hood, repeating row 2 to desired length.

fold scarf in half and line up crease with midpoint on hood. Sew together.

Kaylara's moebius scarf

Warm and fashionable infinity scarf  commissioned by a friend's daughter.  I don't know if there's a name for this stitch, so I named the scarf after the girl!  This is the Kaylara scarf.

Using N Hook and ww yarn (I used red heart grey Heather):
Ch 24 sc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. (23 sc)
2. Ch 1, turn. (Sc in next st, ch 1, SK 1) 11 x. Sc in last 2 Sc.
Repeat row 2, placing Sc over Sc and ch over ch, to desired length. *see notes
Twist one end one time before whipstitching edges together.

*Sc through both loops, splitting the vertical bars on both sides of scarf.

x-stitch scarf

skip one before dc in next

It's autumn time in Michigan and it puts me in mind of hats, scarves, and warm, cozy afghans. I decided to make another scarf. This is a simple repeat and a simple stitch using only dc and chains(at the beginning of the row) Using Teal WW yarn and an I hook, 21 FDC(If you prefer a thinner scarf, use less fdc, but make sure there is an odd number of stitches. The "x"s will be staggered, not stacked on top of each other. If you use an even number of base stitches, they will be stacked and have a different look) To do this, watch the youTube video or see text with pictures. *Alternatively, you could Ch 23, dc in 3rd ch from hook and in each across (21 dc)
Row 2: Ch3, sk 1st dc, dc in next dc, dc in 1st dc skipped (working over top of dc just made) 10 times, turn.  Repeat Row 2 till scarf is desired length.

*One issue I have with this stitch is the tendency of the yarn to misbehave during the second part of the dc. As I complete a row I notice extra stitches in the previous row due to the tendency of the yarn to pull off. Instead of having a dc, I end up with a "hdc, ch1" in places. Please watch your yarn carefully. Of course, If I watched my yarn at all instead of watching tv, this wouldn't be a problem! It's only an issue when I do this x stitch so I believe it's the pull of the yarn during the crossing stage.

Now what I'm going to do is give it a twist and sew the ends together to make an infinity scarf! I hate to say it, but I'm not going to post a pic of the final product here because I've had so many issues posting pics from my phone and rearranging them on the computer to make sense. If you have any questions about the pattern, please contact me and I'll try my best to clarify.