Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Crochet Away

Today I want to share with you a quote, a photo and...a new pattern!

This, from a kind knitter in California:
"I just want you to know what a blessing this has been to me, on many different levels: a connection to Eretz Israel, the landscape of my heart; a way to serve the brave men and women who defend her; and the comforting meditation of knitting something so simple and humble, yet so important."
Thank you, T.M.!

This photo is from a Givati brigade called Retem that spent their winter in Har Dov and then the Golan Heights, wearing your hats:



It came with a note that said, "Thank you for the wonderful hats. They keep us warm night & day." Just so you should know, we've given out about 3500 hats so far this year and are still going strong.

And, last but not least, a member of the Jerusalem Knit 'n Nosh group who would modestly prefer to be known only by her initials -- ESW -- was intrigued by the challenge of creating a crochet pattern that would mimic the texture and stretchiness of the knit hats. She came up with a terrific pattern (and hat) that's been approved by the army and I'm delighted to be able to share it with you. Please check out the all-new crochet pattern here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29835818
I'll post a link to it in the side bar, as well. Please spread the news to all your crocheting friends.

And, as always, my thanks to all you knitters for your warmth and dedication -- keep 'em coming!

Love,
Channah

p.s. I'll be appearing soon on the One Hundred Hats blog, would be happy to get your feedback on my interview there.

2 comments:

Alison said...

I just finished knitting my first hat and am very eager to start crocheting a hat.
Question about your crochet instructions:
Line 1 has 46 stitches. In Line 2 you say to "Skip 1st stitch, then sc in 2nd stitch and in each of the next 45 stitches across." (making a total of 46 stitches in Line 2 ??? Should Line 2 instructions be "Skip 1st stitch, then sc in 2nd stitch and in each of the next 44 stitches across"?
I hope this makes sense..
If Line 1 has 46 (1+45)stitches and for Line 2 you skip one, shouldn't Line 2 have only 45 (1+44) stitches?
Thank you so much.

CHANNAH said...

Alison,

I owe you a BIG apology. I was just reviewing the blog and see that your comment never got posted and your question was never answered. I'm so sorry. I just consulted a local crochet expert, and she said:

If you have 46 sts, and then
chain one and turn, you still have 46 stitches. If you skip
one stitch, #46, and single crochet into the next one, #45,
then finish the row, you should have 45 stitches. The confusion is because normally, you wouldn't crochet into the
first stitch (#46)--most patterns skip this stitch. However,
when you are using a single crochet stitch, the patterns may
not skip the first stitch.

I hope this helps, please let me know. If not, you can also contact me at channahk@gmail.com and I'll try to make sure you get a much speedier response. Again, my apologies.