Still here!

Hi everyone, I know it's been ages since I last posted and I promise I'll post properly this next week. Until then here are a few of my FO's to show you what has been keeping me busy lately! 

Our Patch

 A few weeks ago I posted about Mettiamoci una pezza. A special project for the city of L'Aquila which was destroyed during the 2009 earthquake.  Tomorrow is the three year anniversay and the cultural association Annimamersa is covering the broken and gray city with color........ beautiful "patches" to patch up what is broken.  I have been teaching crochet in the elementary school here and we decided to take this on as a project, so I feel very proud to show you all our FO. Each child made a 10x10 cm square (some made more than one!) and then I embroidered their initals and class, and crocheted them together. They really worked hard and showed incredible enthusiasm for this project, with true spirit for helping others. Hats off to the kids and tomorrow our hearts will be in L'aquila, along with our "patch"

Congratulations ravelry!!!

Since I hadn't started blogging when ravelry reached it's 1,000,000th member, now that they've reached 2 million, I just have to say CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Ravelry is my absolute favorite website. It is the best, most organized resource for crocheters and knitters around the world. There you will find; an incredible pattern library ( so many free ones too!), Help from experts, groups of interest, swaps, CALs and KALs, translations of patterns into many languages, the chance to see what other people have made ( you could spend hours just looking at beautiful FO's!), and much, much more.................Just in case you didn't already know!

Best of all, it gives you a chance to make new friends who share your love of the fiber arts. Even though I never thought I'd be the type to make friends over the internet, I have, thanks to ravelry. It really means a lot because, where I live, I don't know anyone who crochets, and it's so nice to be able to share what I've made with someone who really appreciates it, and to see the beautiful things they are making too!

So thank you Jess, Casey, Mary-Heather, and Sarah for creating and maintaining this incredible place that each and every  two million of us love♥ and congratulations on a job well done!

Keep calm and ravel on......................................................................................................

Patching things up

Today I wanted to share a project that I am participating in, in hopes that, if you crochet or knit, you might too. It's called "Let's Patch it" in Italian "Mettiamoci una pezza". In April of 2009 the city of l'Aquila in the Abruzzo region in Italy was destoyed by a terrible earthquake. Today, almost three years later, it still has not been re-built. Every year Animammersa, a local organization, does something to call people's attention to this city in hopes that something will be done. This year, they are organizing a giant yarn bomb/ urban knitting(and crochet) event on April 6th to commemorate.  They are asking anyone who wants to participate (even from far away) to make a "patch" and send it to them. Then they will put them together and display them in the city's center. The pieces should measure either 40x40 cms or 20x20 cms, or 50x50 cms. or 25x25cms. You may use any yarn,stisch, color  or method of your choice. Even a loom! They are also accepting flowers (crochet or knit of course) the link to the site is here. Please scroll down for English. If you do participate, don't forget to attatch a tag with your name and the city you live in. Please send them, by March 24th to:

Associazione Culturale Animammersa
c/o Patrizia Bernardi via Strada Statale 17 Bis SNC
67100 Paganica L’AQUILA
ITALY

I'll be participating with the crochet group I am in on facebook, but have decided to make this our class project in the two fifth grade classes I am teaching crochet to. The kids are really excited!

If you can, please spread the word. The more we are, the more beautiful l'Aquila will be! Hopefully not just for one day :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, today is Valentine's Day and although in Italy it's a couples' holiday, I much prefer the U.S. version, or rather, a day to tell people that you love and care about just how you feel! I know many people think that Valentine's day is a bunch of comercial hype, but I don't, because I think that any holiday is what you make it. So if you are worried about flowers, candy, what to buy etc.... then it will be a commercial holiday, but if you use it as a day to tell someone just how you feel, which is something that most people don't do every day, then it wil be a special, heart-felt holiday.

As I've said before, I like to decorate seasonally and for holidays too, so there's always something nice hanging somewhere in the house. I also have a love for wreaths, so my latest project is a Valentine's day wreath. The crocheted heart was made as a Social Crochet  project. But you can get the original pattern in English here. The other hearts are made with felt. If you want to make one, you can add as many hearts as you like. I only wanted three, because I like to keep things simple.

Unfortunately, my naughty kitten got ahold of the heart and pulled a couple of stitches, so it's not perfect : /

Also, as a special gift, the wonderful people over at ravelry created some fantastic valentines that you can send to your friends. Just like when you were a kid in school. Gotta love it! Peace and Love

sisal crochet

If you read my last post, you must think I'm really crazy now, because after I bought all that gorgeous yarn, here I am crocheting with sisal cord! One of the things I LOVE about crochet is it's absolute versatility. You can completely alter  a pattern by using a different size hook or a different type of material. You can crochet with wire, old t-shirts, paracord, string, plastic bags, raphia or anything your heart desires. I like to change sometimes, so I decided to use sisal cord, which I love, and is great for household items.It can be used to make trivets, placemats, table runners, picture frames, you can even make a doormat with it! I decided to use it for a planter in this case. I hope you like how it turned out! Imagination is the key♥

Sales

Well, it's that time of year again, the sales are on all over Italy and while most normal people are out buying clothes and shoes, I am buying yarn! Yes, that's right I'd rather have some delicious yarn than shoes! Call me crazy, but chances are, if you're reading this, you won't because you'd rather buy yarn too!  I headed over to filmarket this morning and got some good deals. This place is huge and it's better to go with some things in mind or it can be overwhelming! Most of what I bought I'll ust to make items to sell but this  I am keeping all for myself!

Isn't it gorgeous??!! 75% kid mohair 25% silk and it was a steal! Now I just have to find a project that suits. Any ideas??