A little of yourself goes into every handmade gift.

But I’m also thinking about those in less fortunate circumstances who could also use some holiday cheer. To me, nothing says you care like a handmade gift. That’s why during this season, and periodically through the year as well, I love to knit and crochet items for charity. Not only is it a nice thing to do for your heart, and your soul, but it’s also a practical way to use up some of that yarn that’s been accumulating in your stash over the year.

I just plain like to knit and crochet, but not everyone in my circle of friends can use all the items I make. I like knowing my handcrafted can go to someone who can use them, even if we’ve never met. Many charities recognize the special feeling a handmade item brings and look to knitters and crocheters for help. They need baby items, hats, scarves, blankets and other everyday items that will make another person’s life a little easier.

So how do you find these charities? You may find some spotlighted in knit or crochet pattern magazines, but Bernat Yarns has an online database of charitable organizations called Bernat Cares where you can search by type of item you would like to donate or search by location to find a charity near you.

Here are a few organizations I’ve donated to in the past and plan to do so again:

• Handmade Especially For You (http://www.handmadeespecially.org/home.html)
  This organization distributes handmade scarves to family crisis centers and shelters for abused women. I received a personalized “thank you” note from the program director that really touched my heart.

• Red Scarf Project (http://orphan.org/what-we-do/programs/red-scarf-project/)
  Sponsored by the Orphan Foundation of America, this program distributes red scarves as part of a Valentine’s Day package to OFA students enrolled in college and trade schools. Due to the timing of the care packages, they only accept scarves between Sept 1 and Dec 15. Free patterns are available for inspiration.

• Special Olympics Scarf Project (http://www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org/)
  This program collects knit and crochet scarves made with the official dual blue colors of the Special Olympics games, and distributes them to participants and their supporters as a symbol of “unity, support, compassion and empowerment.” The official colors are available in Red Heart Supersaver skeins, which you can find in most craft and yarn shops, or purchase online. The 2011 website for this program allows you to choose which state you would like to donate to and includes all the detail about the donation process, including the specific yarn color numbers and free patterns.

And here are a few cute ideas that I’ve tried over the years. We still hang “Mr. Bones” on the banister every year. He’s lasted about 10 years now!

Crochet Skeleton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de_XwXS2oJ0

Silver Thread Crochet Hoop Earrings

One of my favorite things to crochet is jewelry. Combining beads with crochet or just forming crochet stitches into necklaces, bracelets or earrings really allows your creativity to soar.

You don’t need to know any fancy stitches or techniques to try this. The basic crochet stitches like chain, slip stitch, and single crochet can get you a long way.

This article I wrote for eHow.com a few months ago shows how to create Crochet Hoop Earrings. The first design features a loop formed from crochet stitches. The second project shows you how to take an existing earring wire hoop and add crochet to it. I think the silver design is my favorite and perfect for a holiday party.

LINK: http://www.ehow.com/how_4854243_crochet-hoop-earrings.html

Bead crochet necklaces or bracelets don’t need to be difficult either. Try stringing a bunch of large seed beads on size 10, 20 or 30 crochet thread, then simply pull up a bead each time you make a chain stitch. One strand alone makes a simple piece of jewelry or you could combine several strands into one necklace or bracelet for a different look.

The pictures below are examples of what you can do by simply stringing beads on thread and using the chain stitch. Give it a try and see what you can create! If you feel more comfortable following a visual guide with project ideas, try Bead Crochet Basics by Mary Libby Neiman or Bead Crochet (Easy-Does-It) by the Bead & Buttons Editors.

Simple Crochet Bead Chain Necklace with Charms

Simple Bead Chain Crochet with Square Glass Beads

Two Strands, Crochet Necklace Using Stone "Chip" Beads

Multi-Strand Bead Crochet Necklace with Glass Beads, Uses Only the Chain Stitch

Bead Crochet Bracelet, Chain Stitch with Seed Beads, Bugle Beads and Lamé Thread

The key to interesting crochet jewelry isn’t always the stitches. You can create unique jewelry by simply varying the combinations of beads and thread. Experiment with different colors, sizes and textures of beads and don’t be afraid to try different types of fiber for the crochet stitches. The examples show above all use this wonderful shimmery thread called Lion Brand Lamé. It gives the piece just a hint of sparkle to complement the beads. You can also try novelty yarn such a eyelash or ribbon to create different textures in your jewelry.

It is also possible to crochet with wire, but that’s a topic for another day (which I will write about, I promise!).

Happy crocheting!!!!

Cathy

Look what I found! Cruising around looking for something new in embroidery, I stumbled upon this site announcing a new magazine coming in Fall 2010. According to their website they will have nationally know writers and designers, but are also looking for new designers.

“Any use of needle(s) and fiber with either an updated traditional look or an edgy twist is of interest.“

The magazine is in tabloid format, newspaper style sized at 11″ x 17″ and will be mailed quarterly. I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes. We can always use a new, slightly edgier publication in the needlework and crafts world.

So click on the Spool Quarterly logo and take a look. Subscription information is available and orders are being taken on the site.

What are your favorite crafting magazines?

Fuschia and Silver Ice Cream Cone Earrings

Summer may be almost over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a little of it with you in your next beading project. Try these crystal ice cream cone earrings. They’re very easy to make and only require a few materials.

Earlier this year I wrote a step-by-step article for this craft over at eHow.com featuring Swarovski crystal beads, which are super-duper sparkly and wonderful to work with, but other brands of crystal beads, or even glass and acrylic beads, will work as well.

Enjoy this beading treat!

Link: How to Make Beaded Swarovski Crystal Ice-Cream-Cone Earrings

The format on the eHow materials list is a little wonky, so here are the basics of what you need:

Beading materials:

2 earring wires
2 two-inch head pins
2 12mmx7mm (approx) cone shaped beads
2 10mm crystal or glass faceted round beads
2 4mm crystal or glass faceted bicone beads
A beading board or towel (to keep your materials from rolling away — this is optional)

Tools:
Needle or chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Small wire cutters

Origami Dress Card

Card made with dress design from a Klutz Origami kit and general card stock.

Origami Shirt Card

Rather than spending oodles of dinero to purchase three-dimensional embellishments for your card crafts, consider making your own with a few simple origami folds. You can use thin scrapbook paper and find instructions online to begin, or create origami shapes using a kit. Whatever you choose, the results will be one-of-a-kind fabulous!

The shirt pictured is made using a Klutz Origami kit, Mrs. Grossman’s stickers, card stock, and sequins.

What you will need:

Tools – Crimp pliers, Needle or chain nose pliers, Small wire cutters
Flexible beading wire such as Soft Flex, Accu Flex, or Tigertail
Findings- Crimp beads, Jewelry clasps, Jump rings (for hanging pendants)
Beads – any colors, any shapes, but large enough to fit over the wire you’ve chosen
Work surface – a beading board or cloth will help your beads not roll away.

All these supplies can be found at a general crafts store such as Michael’s Craft or JoAnn’s Fabrics, or online at bead retailers like Firemountain Gems and Beads and Fusion Beads.

One of the most enjoyable parts of stringing is picking out the beads. When you enter a bead shop or a craft store, you may be overwhelmed by all the varieties and tempted to buy them all. Who can resist? But you need to try or your wallet will be left with lint. Try to focus on one project at a time and buy beads that seem to coordinate with one another in color or shape. That way you’ll be more likely to use them, Many beads are sold in 16-inch strands, and one or two strands should be enough for a necklace when you are mixing them with other miscellaneous beads.

Consider including some metal beads to act as spacers between your other beads and break up the color, or try mixing some smaller beads like 4mm ones with larger ones (such as 12mm) to act as spacers and give your design some breathing room.

The basic process for stringing a necklace is to start with a crimp bead on your wire, then add your clasp and bend the wire so it forms a loop by putting it back through the crimp bead. Then use your crimp pliers to close the crimp and hold the loop and the clasp in place. Firemountain Gems and Beads has a great online guide for using crimp pliers. The important thing to remember with crimps it to buy pliers and crimps that go together. Some crimps are smaller than others and require a smaller (micro) set of pliers to bend them properly.

After you have the clasp on one end of your wire, measure out about 24 inches of wire if you are planning a 16 to 20-inch necklace and cut the other end of the wire with your wire cutters. Now you’re ready to string.

A beading board can be very useful at this stage because you can lay out all your beads in the order you want to string them and adjust the pattern if you need to. Some beading boards, such as the model shown below, also have measurements on them to help you see how many beads you need to make a certain length necklace.

Once you know the order of the beads, start from one end of your design and string them on your wire. When your necklace is the length you need it, string another crimp bead, then your clasp and create the loop to hold the clasp and crimp as you did to start. Trim any excess wire from the edge of the crimp bead with your wire cutters. If you don’t like the look of crimp beads, bead covers are available that you can place over the crimp bead to hide it. The covers looks like small metal beads after you close them.

The links provide additional information you may find helpful and I’ve also listed some books about stringing that you may enjoy.

JEMLibrary.com: Beading Wire and Tigertail for Jewelry Making

Bella Online: Jewelry Making Techniques – Bead Stringing & Beadwork

How to Make Beaded Jewelry: How to String Beads

Yet something still drew me to knitting and it became like a yearning. Something I had to learn how to do. I liked the smooth texture of the knitted fabric; I loved all the beautiful sweaters I saw in magazines and wanted to make them. Crochet creates beautiful things too, but I found very few crochet sweaters that I liked.

So once again I picked up the knitting needles and my trusty copy of The All New Teach Yourself To Knit by Evie Rosen (Leisure Arts) and forced myself to learn. Third time’s a charm they say and this time more of the craft stuck with me. My determination to conquer it after all these years probably had a lot to do with it. After all, I was using the same instruction book, the same needles. Not much else had changed. I even managed to knit a few things that looked okay. Yay for me.

But the problem was that compared to crochet, where I could just grab a skein of yarn and a hook and casually make magic while watching TV, barely even paying attention to what my hands were doing, knitting stressed the heck out of me. I was a complete ball of tension every time I sat down to knit. Every muscle felt clenched; my palms were practically sweating. Why? Because of my fear of screwing it up.

You see, I learned how to make the knit stitches following the diagrams in the instruction book, but I didn’t really “understand” what I was doing. I couldn’t recognize and identify the stitches I was making the way I could with crochet. I didn’t know anything about why the stitches were on the needle in a certain direction, and I completely panicked if a stitch slipped off the needle.

But that was then.

A few years later, I have conquered my knitting fears (well, most of them!) and found a calmness, a confidence, a sense of “this is fun!” that I’m sure experienced knitters must feel when they work on a project. The secret? Learning to understand what knitting is (how it works physically on the needle), learning to interpret what I see on the needles (and allowing the stitches tell me what comes next), and exposing myself to enough new techniques that unfamiliar patterns no longer seem like a foreign language.

And I did it with the help of Fearless Knitting Workbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to Knitting Confidence by Jennifer E. Seiffert. This book builds your confidence and your skills in small increments from the very first page. It shows you how to knit, but then continues the instruction so you understand what you’re doing beyond making a knit stitch or a purl stitch. You learn to see a larger picture through studying what the needles and yarn are doing and how the stitches combine to form fabric.

The lessons in the book start with something very simple (but versatile), like ribbing, and slowly build on that, teaching you how to read chart, work cables and more. A whole new world of possibilities has opened up to me now that I can “read my knitting.” I feel more in control of my knitting and and more confident that I won’t lose my place or screw it up. And I enjoy it. It is a relaxing craft once you know what you’re doing. And dropping a stitch? While not exactly something I look forward to, it’s no longer a reason for a minor heart attack. And if I do drop a stitch, I get to use my favorite tool to rescue it–my crochet hook!

Don’t let your fears hold you back. You can do this!

Happy knitting, everyone!

Photo credit: ©iStockphoto.com/felinda