Bernet has announced a new line of yarn to support the fight against breast cancer! The line includes an assortment of pink, pink and more pink. A portion of the proceeds ($10,000) will be given to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. These yarns are encouraged to be used for making chemo caps, scarves and shawls for breast cancer fighters. You can find the new yarn line in stores such as Joann, etc. I can’t wait till the next time I go yarn shopping!

Need help finding a place to donate your crochet items? Visit the Crochet Spot Charity Page!

You may have seen this awesome rug, since it was made about a year ago, but I just came across it today and had to share! This lady (not sure what her name is) hand crocheted (no hook, just hands) the giant doily rug with what looks like rope.

Who ever said that doilies had to be cute little dainty things for dinning room tables. Now I dare someone to take a doily pattern and make a giant rug with it! Find more about the designer here, (thanks Erin Lea for the link).

Is public crochet decorations the new fad? I keep reading more and more about people crocheting objects to hang around the city. Remember the video I posted about decorating the city with crochet? Well, this time it’s in Cleveland, Ohio and volunteers are making covers to put around the poles of parking meters.

The reasoning behind it is that it’s pretty and cheers people up when they have to feed the dreaded meter. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to decorate, but in my opinion, there are much better things to do with your crochet talents then decorate parking meters. Come on, find a nice crochet charity and make a blanket or a toy for a baby who needs it. Or use the man who hangs crocheted hats as an inspiration. I’m just saying that the parking meter isn’t going to die if it gets cold, but a human might. Plus, do you really need to decorate a parking meter? Is there anyone suffering from ugly-parking-meter-syndrome? If so, that would be a different story.

A large part of the crochet community is founded on charity work, as you may already know. The Hat Box Foundation is a cancer/chemo cap organization that was founded in 2007. Their motto is that, “something made from the heart can help heal the human spirit.” Hat Box Foundation hats are created by everyday people like you and me, and then distributed to children, women and men all across the United States.

The Hat Box Foundation is also a volunteer-based, non-profit that has 501(c)3 charity status. Feel free to find out more about the Hat Box Foundation and donate hats to a great cause! You may also use my various hat patterns to create Hat Box Foundation hats. Learn more about charities by visiting the Crochet Spot Charity Page.

I read somewhere on the web that 12 artist will be selected to make art work for the 2012 Olympics in London. One of the top artist that is being considered proposed to make three 30 feet tall crocheted lions that will be posed into athletic positions. 30 feet tall lions, that’s a lot of yarn!!!

I wonder how long it would take to make a lion that big, but at least the artist has until 2012 if selected. I can’t imagine crocheting anything that huge. I do hope that this artist is selected so that I can see giant crocheted lions. It would be awesome and great publicity for the art of crochet.

What do you think?

I added a new feature for when you comment on post! It allows you to receive e-mail notifications when someone else leaves comments on the post. It’s totally optional and the good thing about it is that if you’re really interested in knowing what other people write, you’ll be notified when someone else leaves a comment. Or if you happen to leave a question for me and then I go and answer your question, you can be notified that I did.

If you would like to receive these comment updates for a particular post all you have to do is click the box at the end of the post that says “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail”. The box is right underneath the “Submit comment” button.

Again, it’s absolutely optional. I just think it’ll be a great way to keep up with conversations and I noticed that lots of other blogs had this feature too!

Let me know what you think!

Alright I gave in. I finally made my Etsy store! If you visit Etsy.com often, feel free to stop by my shop and take a look: rachelscrochet.etsy.com

It has the same things that are in the Crochet Spot Store. The only difference is that in the Crochet Spot store you can immediately download patterns or sign up for a Premium Pattern Membership. In the Etsy store, you have to wait for me to send the pattern to you in an email. Oh ya, the Crochet Spot store also saves your purchased patterns so you can download them again if you accidentally loose it.

I must admit the better store is the one on this site, but hey, I still love the Etsy store too!

You can visit the Crochet Spot Store at: http://www.crochetspot.com/store/

Here is how to get started:

1. Create a Store Account
This is really important! By creating an account it will save all of the patterns you purchased so that you can download them whenever you want. If you accidentally loose your pdf file, you can just log in and download it again!
Please note that if you are a newsletter subscriber, the store account is different. So you will still need to create a store account. Creating the account is free and fast! Just fill out the big blue box at the upper right hand corner of the store page.

2. Buy Patterns, there are two options!

Premium Pattern Membership
You may decide to upgrade your account to a Premium Pattern Membership for $10/month. This will allow you to download all the patterns in the store, including all newly added patterns each month for as long as you are subscribed. Yes, there will be plenty of patterns added each month. To join the membership simply click the “Subscribe” button in the yellow box at the top of the store page when you log into your account.

One of the great things about the store is that everything works automatically! Once you pay you can automatically download patterns. You do NOT have to wait for me to email them to you like other stores do! Also be aware that the payment processing for the membership is automatic. If you sign up on the 1st of the month, the next payment will automatically be on the 1st of the next month.

There is no monthly obligation for being a member. You can cancel your membership at anytime by logging into your Paypal or other payment account. Note that upon canceling, you membership account will be closed automatically the same day and you will no long have access to all the patterns in the store.

Pay Per Pattern
If you are not apart of the Premium Pattern Membership you may pay the price listed for each pattern in the store. After logging into your newly created account you can add patterns to your shopping cart on the right hand side of your screen. Upon purchasing them you will be able to automatically download them! In addition, these patterns will be saved in your account in the “My Purchased Patterns” tab, so that you can re-download them later if you lose them.

General Information

• The goal of the store is to support Crochet Spot and any support is greatly appreciated.
• Payments are extremely secure since Paypal is used to process all payments. Paypal is the #1 most trusted payment processing service on the internet!
• You can pay using PayPal, credit card or bank account. You do NOT need a Paypal account to make payments.
• All patterns in the store are my original designs and are written in U.S. terminology, just like all the patterns on this site. If you ever need help with a pattern, let me know!

Visit the Crochet Spot Store to start shopping!
If you need help or have any questions about the store, feel free to let me know and I’ll be more than glad to help!

It’s been way too long and too much procrastination on my side, but finally it’s here!!! If you just stumbled upon my blog you might not know what I’m talking about, but in a nut shell, 3 months ago I said that I was going to open a store to help support funding all the supplies I need to keep making patterns for Crochet Spot and to get a new video camera so that I can start making video tutorials. So here I am today, so happy to finally have a Crochet Spot Store!!!

But don’t be scared!!! I still intend on making free patterns and tutorials. I just need a means to support doing it. The more money I can raise, the more I can make and share for free!

Any support that you can provide will be greatly appreciated! The store contains patterns that go above and beyond my previous patterns in quality. If you find some that you like, feel free to make a purchase knowing that your money will be used to support this site.

Also, if you like multiple patterns you may choose to opt-in on the “Premium Pattern Membership” to save you some money. The membership is $10 for all the patterns in the store. In addition, lots of new patterns will be added each month so you will also receive all the new patterns each month for $10 each month (or the equivalent in other currencies). Hopefully this membership option will make it easier to share patterns with you all without having you sell a kidney.

As I know from experience there is always someone that needs help more than I do. So to kick off the Grand Opening of the store, 50% of all Premium Pattern Memberships made during June 29th – July 31, 2009 will be donated to Project H.O.M.E. who’s goal is to end homelessness in Philadelphia (the city I’m from)! Feel free to check out their site. They do amazing work!!!

I love being able to share new and exciting things on this site with you all!!! All the money raised in the store will be a great help for me to continue to share what I love most: crochet!

So go on and check out the new store and let me know what you think!

When I was in high school, I would wake up at 5AM to get ready for school. It would take me 2 hours to get there, waiting for the bus at the corner that would take me through some of the not so pleasant parts of Philly and then into center city. There I would catch glimpses of a couple people sleeping under a ledge of a building to keep dry and a man that slept on top of a vent to keep warm. Walking into the subway at 15th and Market street there was always a bind man with a cup standing at the end of the stairway asking for money.

When I was in high school, I didn’t realize that I could actually help the homeless. At least now I know that there are wonderful organizations such as Project H.O.M.E. (Housing, Opportunity for Employment, Medical Care, Education). Their goal is to end homelessness in Philadelphia. What I love about them most is that they don’t just give people food and shelter, but they give everything a person needs to succeed, such as education and employment opportunities. What they do is truly amazing!

This is why I am choosing to donate 50% of all my store profits made from Premium Pattern Memberships to Project H.O.M.E. during the Grand Opening until July 31st.

If you have not heard of the Premium Pattern Membership option already, it is an opportunity to receive all the patterns in the store for just $10. Since lots of new patterns will be added to the store each month, you will receive all the new patterns as well for $10 each month.

I can’t wait to start raising money for such a deserving cause!