I want the final afghan to be washable and durable so I am using acrylic yarn. I don’t want to go the store and buy a bunch of acrylic so I am just using up what I have. Unfortunately I don’t have a wide color selection. That got me to thinking… Why not swap granny squares through swapbot?!

In this swap you make 3 granny squares, and send one to three different partners (so you will send and receive 3 squares). The squares should be made out of a durable, washable acrylic yarn. Just use some scraps that you have lying around. The finished square should measure 6 inches on each side. No need to add an additional edging, the new owner can edge as they like to incorporate it into their own afghan. Make sure to use at least two colors of yarn in each individual square. Sign up by March 15th, as partners will be assigned then. You will then have two weeks to complete your squares and swap them out on April 1. I will be filtering out partipants with ratings of less than 4, but will allow newbies with completed profiles to participate. Sign up now!

Granny squares use only basic crochet skills. I have compiled a few resources to help you if you need a pattern.

Martha Stewart has an illustrated granny square tutorial (i think these are “reversible” granny squares).
Crochet Cabana has an excellent tutorial with photographs.

I also completed a couple of swaps through Swap-bot. For the Cupcake swap, you had to send two cupcake related items to your partner. Mine went above and beyond!

Look at the cupcake-topped knitting needles that she made for me!!

Thanks Diane!

I also got some beautiful stitch markers in a ‘Unique stitch markers‘ swap.

I really enjoy the swap-bot style swaps. Unlike secret pal programs I have participated in in the past, these are for a one-time swap only. This i bebficial if you don’t like the person you are sending to/receiving from, or your partner flakes out on you. There is also an incredible variety of swap themes to choose from. Swap-bot maintains a rating system that attempts to filter out some more non-participatory members, and make it more pleasant for everyone. Yay swapbot!

If you want to try out swap-bot, there are many swaps set up for newbies… There is also an entire category for knitting swaps (check out Moirae’s Earth day Yarn Swap). I’ve already decided to try an organize my own swap!

Pincushions

I was lucky enough to have Monique send me a package for this month’s pincushion challenge swap.

The pincushion has an elastic strap so it can be worn on my wrist. I love the pink and white matching pins! I put the pincushion to work immediately.

I was trying to not spoil the surprise in case my package has not reached its destination, but I can’t resist. I used the swap as an opportunity to try out an idea that i have had for a while. I put a fluffy top on an altoids tin so pins can go in the top and notions can be stored in the tin. I also added some fishy shrinky pins.

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Hair clips
I hit the SF Craft Mafia sale at Craft Gym last month. Wow were there some good looking goodies there. I got a T-bone steak from Sweetmeats and some hair clips from Sprout Studio. The steak is at its new home, and I am loving the barrettes.

Yarn
Did you know you can get cones of dishcloth cotton yarn from Elmore-Pisgah (Peaches and Cream) for a really great price? Abby found this out and made a big order for all of us. then we divided it up. It is a lot of cotton yarn, and the colors are beautiful.

photo from abmatic