Exciting! My last ramble, Let’s Crochet Along, elicited a big response. The question was, “Do you want a quick & easy crochet along?” The answer was a resounding, “Yes!” Hooray!!

I am happy to administrate this fun and fabulous CAL, and here are all of the details!

How will it work?

The CAL will have a theme – Quick and Easy Holiday Gifts. That way, it can help us reach our holiday crafting goals.

Did you know that on Sept. 1, there will only be 114 crafting days until Christmas, and only 87 crafting days until the first night of Haunukkah?

LET’S MOTIVATE, PEOPLE! 😀

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For this week’s tutorial, I’d like to riff on my last tutorial, How to Crochet Over Single Crochets in Rows by taking the same idea and working it in a circle. For the purpose of practicing this skill, we’ll make a small swatch in this tutorial. Yarn and hook size don’t matter for this practice swatch.

You may mouse over images for left-handed views.

Round 1: Beginning with a magic ring, ch 1, 6 sc into ring, tighten loop, sl st in first sc: 6 sc

Round 2: ch 1, 2 sc in each sc around, sl st in first sc: 12 sc

Round 3: ch 1, working over the stitches of the last round, work 3 sc into each space below around: 18 sc

The photo below shows this in progress. The “i” symbol indicates round one, “ii” indicates round 2, and “iii” indicates round 3. The arrow is pointing to the space where the next stitches will be worked.

Note: In round 3, you are always working 3 sc over each set of 2 sc.
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I wanted to write this week’s ramble about a recent experience I had with a crochet along. In case you are not familiar with the concept, a “crochet along,” abbreviated CAL, is an event where a group of people decide to crochet the same item, similar items, or an item of their choice at the same time. There are also “knit alongs” (KALs) which are -you guessed it- the same thing, but with knitting. Finally there are CAL/KALs, where people crochet and knit along.
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Sometimes we can create different textures and effects by crocheting into unexpected places on our crochet fabric. This week we’ll focus upon how to crochet over single crochets in rows. For the purpose of practicing this skill, we’ll make a small swatch in this tutorial. Yarn and hook size don’t matter for this practice swatch.

You may mouse over images for left-handed views.

Row 1: ch 11, sc into second ch from hook and into each ch across: 10 sc

The photo below shows this done.

Hello, Crochet Spot Readers! I’ve been blogging here at Crochet Spot since October 2012, but I haven’t yet taken a moment to introduce myself and let you know what I am all about. I hope that this post will open a conversation so that we all can share a bit about who we are!

Although I have been a crafter for my entire life, I started crocheting in 2008. It has become my main hobby since then and I’ve had the opportunity to branch out into designing both here on Crochet Spot and in a new book called Crochet One Skein Wonders. I am the founding President of the first Mexican Chapter of the Crochet Guild of America. We’re called “Ganchitos,” which means “little hookies.”

I have a Master’s Degree in education, but lately I’ve been exploring the world of business in order to learn a different industry. One project that I’ve been working on for a long time is my personal blog, Art, Like Bread.
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I interrupt my regularly scheduled ramble to bring you this breaking news story that I literally just heard on the local nightly news! I was tickled to learn that a local hospital has a very dedicated volunteer. Mazie Ford, the aforementioned “coolest person ever,” has been volunteering at her local hospital in Hollywood, FL for some seven years. She crochets (and knits) hats for newborn babies!

Although the newscasters referred to her work as “knitting,” we can plainly see that most of it is crochet!

The inspiration for this week’s tutorial happened at my weekly crafts group meeting. A new friend of mine, Barbara, is an experienced knitter but recently learned to crochet. She told me that she is working on a continual granny square blanket, which would end up being one big square. She said she would like to make it into a rectangle without adding more squares to the end. I told her that it could be done and then figured out this pattern.

For the purpose of practicing this skill, we’ll make a small rectangular swatch. Yarn and hook size don’t matter for this practice swatch.

This is what your swatch will look like if you use only one color.

On July 25, there will only be 153 crafting days before Christmas! Does that number make your crafty fingers itch? If not, try this: on the same day, there will only be 125 days before Hanukkah! How did 2013 become a year when Haunukah comes so early?

When it’s broken down that way, by days, I do feel a little panicked. I am old enough to know that we bring magic to the holiday season, and furthermore, that magic takes planning! I hate to admit this, but I usually intend to make many more gifts than I ever get around to making! Especially last year, I actually ended up buying a bunch of gifts. There’s nothing wrong with buying gifts, but as a crocheter, I LOVE making gifts, and I want to spread the handmade love to everyone I care about.

I had to come up with a solution for myself, so maybe you’d like to join me and make this a Crochet Spot community effort! Let’s start our holiday crafting now by following these steps!
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Have you ever noticed that while double crocheting in rows, you need to “chain 3” before starting the next row? Have you ever wondered what this is called and why you need to do this?

Well, the chains at the end of the rows are called “turning chains,” abbreviated tch. They exist because they allow your crochet room to grow evenly. Later we are going to see what it looks like and feels like if you try to work back and forth without turning chains. As you can imagine, it gets pretty cramped and a little wonky!

Photo below shows a double crochet swatch with no turning chains!

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Cotton is a summer staple because of its breathability, absorbency, softness, and durability. A crochet powerhouse, cotton is used for everything from dishcloths to fine wearables. Threadies know the joys of crocheting in fine cotton thread with tiny hooks, but cotton comes in bulky weights as well.

Think of all of the cotton garments in your closet. Cotton fabric can range from the virtually indestructible denim of blue jeans to the delicate crepe of a summer blouse. Similarly, cotton yarn has many varieties – from the affordable workhorse dishcloth cotton to the finer (and pricier) Pima and Egyptian cottons. Mercerized cotton has undergone a chemical process to increase the yarn’s strength, durability, and luster. On the other hand, organic cotton is free of all chemical processes in growing the plant and processing the yarn.

Because cotton paradoxically might shrink in the wash but stretch when worn, it is best to choose a blend when crocheting fitted garments so the yarn will give you the look you desire. Generally, washing and reblocking the garment will restore shape to your cotton creations.

Cool cotton’s fiber structure pulls heat and absorbs moisture, making it a must in warmer climates. Vegans and animal activists might like cotton’s animal-free quality, as might those who have animal allergies.

What do you like to crochet with cotton? Please share your cotton adventures in the comments below!