A few weeks ago I wrote about the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project. Here is a video with Margaret Wertheim, one of the creators of the project.

This video is awesome (in my opinion)! It’s about science, mathematics and crochet working together! How awesome is that? There is a bunch of geeky talk in the video, so if you’re into that you’ll love it as much as I did. Margaret Wertheim is such a great speaker. See for yourself!

This week (May 2 – May 10) Michaels is having FREE workshops for kids to make their mother presents. I thought this was a neat idea, even thought there wasn’t any crochet. I’m not sure if these workshops are at every Micheals store, so you may want to check with the one closest to you. Here are the different workshops that was on the flyer I found.

Saturday, May 2: Create a personalized keepsake plate
Sunday, May 3: Make a one of a kind t-shirt for Mom to wear
Monday, May 4: Create a corsage
Tuesday May 5: Using colorful papers you can create a unique bouquet of flowers
Wednesday, May 6: Make a personalized coupon book that Mom can redeem for chores, nights out, a massage, etc.
Thursday, May 7: Card making using a template to color
Friday, May 8: Decorate a wooden picture frame
Saturday, May 9:Make beaded jewelry and learn the latest trends and techniques
Sunday, May 10: Decorate cookies with Mom

These events sound like fun! Anyone going?

Yes, you read the title right! Yours truly is making a store. I’m so excited I can’t put my hook down! I’ll be filling the store with my very own patterns. I still plan to have my free patterns, if you’re worrying about that. The store will give me the chance to earn some extra bucks so I can make even more patterns and tutorials to share. Feel free to visit the Crochet Spot Store tab to learn more about what’s going on!

I was surfing the crochet forums and found this video that I thought you all would like to watch. They focus more on knitting but the results correspond to crocheting as well. In fact all needlework related to knitting and crocheting is found to be good for your health. This probably isn’t a huge surprise for any of us, but at least now there is scientific evidence to support what we all knew. The repetitive action of crocheting helps manage stress, pain, and depression. It can also strengthen the body’s immune system and decrease the chances of memory loss by 50%. For more details, here is the video from CBS news!

After writing the post about the young women decorating the city with crochet, Patrice (a Crochet Spot reader) sent me a related article about a man who hangs his crocheted hats around the city.

Ernie (not really his real name) taught himself to crochet four months ago. Three times a week he crochets wool hats and hangs them up in the poorest neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is even said that his hats get disbursed to some of Grand Rapids’ “most unapproachable residents”.

Here is a hat hanging on a tree waiting for someone to take it!

Each hat is hung with a friendly tag, which says something like:
“Take me, I’m free!”
“Free to a good head.”
“You deserve this.”
“Enjoy!”
“Smile!”

So far Ernie has hung 30 to 35 hats and counting. He doesn’t want credit or publicity from his actions. All he wants is to help people keep warm, no matter who they are.

Here is a picture of Ernie hanging a hat.

I believe that Ernie’s actions is something that everyday people can do. In fact, Ernie is an everyday person that takes an extra step to help others. In Ernie’s words, “I just think everybody should be treated as a human being. And if everybody did just one little thing, it would improve the lives of so many people.”

I agree!

Source: The Grand Rapids Press

I recently read about the “Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project” that has just opened to the public for viewing at The Gallery at Scottsdale Civic Center Library. It is a fabulous collection of crocheted coral reefs from thousands of volunteers around the world! Not only is a great accomplishment, huge attraction and super stunning to look at, it has a serious message behind it that we are losing natural coral reefs. This project is inspired by Margaret and Christine Werthheim, who are also co-creators of the “Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project.”

Here are some photos of the exhibit, which I think are just stunning!

Photos by Kathleen Vanesian

I can definitely see that they were crocheted, but the way they resemble coral reefs so much is just amazing. This work isn’t just beautiful but it also has meaning. I wish I had the chance to see it in person!

Here is something eye catching and interesting that I came across the other day. There is a group of women in Denver that are crocheting things and hanging them in public places. Here is the video for more details!

At first I thought that crochet everywhere would be the most pretty thing ever just thinking about walking around town and seeing crochet. But them I realized, it probably isn’t legal, and not fair for people who aren’t big crochet fans. Right now I don’t know what to think.

What do you think?

Maria D’Antuono is a 98 year old women who survived the recent L’Aquila earthquake in Italy. She was trapped for 30 hours under her bed when her house collapsed. After being rescued, reporters asked her how she passed her time. Her answer was that she was doing crochet! Even at the worst of times, us crocheters don’t put down our hooks! Better yet, it is the worst of times that makes us pick them up. Many believe that crocheting is a stress reliever and that crocheting is what helped this women survive.

My aunt asked me to crochet a few things for my cousins a while ago and I just got around to doing it this morning! The youngest one requested a rainbow hat with a pom pom and a pink flower. Here is a picture of what I came up with!

I really like this one! It is the ultimate little girl’s hat! It’s so bright and colorful…I might just make one for myself!

Here is the beanie that the older sister requested. It’s more sophisticated and made with red-ish, multi-colored yarn. It also has a rose on it that is sort of hard to see in the picture, since it is made with the same yarn as the beanie.

The patterns for both of these beanies can be found right here on my blog! I used the easy crochet beanie pattern for both of the beanies. I did alter it a bit by take out some of the increases so that the beanies would fit young girls. I also changed the colors on each row for the rainbow hat. The pom pom was made using the “How to Make Pom Poms” tutorial. The rose on the red-ish hat was made using the crochet rose pattern.

I also made them some crocheted flower hair ties!

The same hair tie crochet pattern can be found here on my blog. I also used the flower part of that pattern for the pink flower that is on the rainbow hat.

Now I just hope that the beanies fit!!!

Finally! I finished my first “exclusive” crochet pattern. Due to a reader’s request for amigurumi crochet patterns, I decided to make my first exclusive pattern an amigurumi robot. I call it exclusive because this pattern will only be available to people who are signed up for the Crochet Spot Newsletter. The newsletter is free, so of course there is no harm in signing up! You can do so by filling out the orange box in the upper right hand corner of this page. I will be sending out this pattern with Crochet Spot’s Monday newsletter, so after you sign up, be on the look out! But before then, this adorable robot needs a name! If you have a suggestion for a great name, just leave it as a comment. Don’t forget to check back to see if your name is chosen!