National Crochet Week
March 16 - 22

Treat yourself
and help others.

These are things that you can do any day of any week; we're just taking special notice in celebration of National Crochet Week.

Here are some ways to make the most of National Crochet Week, declared by Crochet Guild of America to be March 16 - 22, in keeping with March as National Craft Month.

Do something for others.

Crochet Something For Charity

Caps For Kids: Caps are distributed to the needy.
www.geocities.com/Heartland Hills/3272/
Info also at http://craftyarncouncil.com/caps.html

Project Linus:
Blankets sized about 40" x 60" are given as handmade security blankets to terminally ill children nationwide.
Local chapters across the US:
http://members.aol.com/blankets/index.htm

Warm Up America:
Donated squares are made into afghans for the homeless and for disaster survivors.
More info at http://craftyarncouncil.com

Charities By State
To find a charity closer to home, refer to Wool Work's list of Charities By State:
www.woolworks.org/charity.html

Teach Someone To Crochet

Craft Yarn Council of America's Certified Instructors Program:
http://craftyarncouncil.com/teach.html
Crochet Guild of America has lessons for right-handers and left-handers:
www.crochet.com

Do something for yourself.

Learn A New Technique
Links to many free tutorials for crochet stitches and techniques are listed at: crochet.about.com/library/weekly/aa052398.htm

Experiment With A New Fiber

Angora, Cashmere:
So Susie Spins - Designer yarns created from exotic fibers.
http://www.sosusiespins.8m.com
Cotton Silk:
Yarn Forward - www.yarnfwd.com

A Blending of hand-dyed luxury yarns:
Prism Yarn
WILD STUFF by Prism ... varying lengths of hand-dyed luxury yarns, color coordinated and tied together end to end. They say "the magic happens as you knit". Just change that to "as you crochet" and let the magic happen.
Velona Needlecraft - http://velona.com

More inspiration to experiment ...

Mixed Media Uses of Crochet

Crocheted Wire - Bonnie Meltzer is an artist who makes mixed media constructions made of crocheted wire, recycled computer parts, prints and painted surfaces.
http://www.bonniemeltzer.com

Inspiration ...

Empress Cindy's Crochet - Her excitement about color, texture and the fibers in her crocheting may inspire you. Take a look at her net-book Playing With Fiber. Don't miss the chapters Color & Crayons on experimenting with color and How I Fell In Love With Yarn. Her enthusiasm is catching.
http://members.toast.net/crymer/cindy2/homepage.htm

More Ways To Celebrate

Take a look at the Crochet Guild of America's list of ways that you can celebrate National Crochet Week, at www.crochet.com

Previous Features - Free Patterns and Crochet Info

The URL of this page is http://crochet.about.com/library/weekly/aa031498.htm