What is Crochet

 This afghan, titled Blue Sky

And this afghan titled Purple Iris are crocheted and on their way to our friend Sarah S to be assembled.  This won't be the easiest of jobs, as you can see the squares aren't the same size, in fact a few in Blue Sky are rectangles and not squares; but she has graciously agreed to lend me a helping hand by putting these together.  Thrilled to have some help on that score.  Many thanks Sarah, we're all looking forward to seeing the end products.

 Today's A-Z challenge is C.  C=crochet.  The two afghan above will be assembled then donated as part of our project for "Welcome Home".  Crocheted and knitted afghans are donated to Homeless Families Foundation discussed in the A post Here

**For new readers, I always name the afghans, based on what they look like.  And when I get stumped some of the good folks who donate to Bridge and Beyond turn their creative juices on and help with the naming as well.

So what is crochet...well wiki says:

Crochet (English pronunciation: /kroʊˈʃeɪ/;^[1] French: [kʁɔʃɛ]^[2]) is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook.^[3] The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods, or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by artisans. 

Some folks get confused about crochet vs knitting.  Crochet is as stated above a hook...knitting is 2 needles.

I learned to crochet when I was very young, about 7 I think from a friends Grandmother.  My friend Pam's Grandmother made magical things from string...that's what it seemed like to me.  I'd sit beside her and watch, and probably drove the poor woman nuts with all kinds of questions.  Then one day...she handed me a red plastic crochet hook and a ball of mint green yarn and proceeded to show me how to make a dollie.  I'm sure it was lovely, lol.  Anyway, it's a fond memory and I was very proud of that green dollie....no clue what happened to it though.  Mom probably, being a good Mother used it until I lost interest, lol

I didn't crochet anything else until years later when my husband was working and going to college.  I had a lot of alone time, time on my hands and decided I needed a hobby.  I think the next thing I made was 

a green vest, very similar to the blue one in this old hippie pattern.  In fact, I think I had this pattern book, or at very least I actually remember looking at it.  Thankfully my skills have improved and what you can make with crocheting has improved.  The yarn now available is 100% better then what used to be available.  AND, it's very popular again, it's not just for Grandma's.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted


All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Bridge and Beyond, Behind the Scenes

Bridge and Beyond Behind the Scenes.  Lots of B's in the title, after all today is April 2, the day for a B post for the A-Z Challenge.

As of the writing of this scheduled post, there have been 1448 published posts here on Bridge and Beyond.  The blogs mission is caring for the homeless through knitting and crocheting.  The first blog post was written on December 2, 2008.  A few days later, one of our original participants, sunniefairy (Andrea), made our logo for us.  The logo has remained these 9 years later and will continue to be our blog badge.

Originally I titled the blog as The Bridge Project, homeless living under the bridge was the first focus.  As donations grew, which they did quickly...we were able to care for a shelter.  As time went on, we continued to grow and added other shelters in need, schools in need and more.  The name was change to Bridge and Beyond.  We were helping those beyond the bridge, so it seemed appropriate.

We supplied knitted, and crocheted items such as hats, scarves, mittens, and slippers.  Again with growth we added the personal care items, cotton washcloths, rain poncho's, afghans, and socks to our our donation list.

This is the first scarf I made and donated back in 2008, using up odds and ends of yarn in my stash.

Bunny (Lynda G) was the first person to donate.  Her donation was received on December 9th, 2008.  So, in a matter of 1 wk, we were on our way to being a "group".  The power of one is truly awesome, and when people join ranks, great things can be accomplished.  Bridge and Beyond has been a grass roots charity now for 8 years.  If you knit or crochet, please help us.  If you don't, tell a friend about us.  AND, you can help without knitting or crocheting by donating personal care items and store bought socks.  Each item we collect has a tab across the top of the blog with necessary information.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted


All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Afghans, Family Heirlooms

 Meet Great Aunt Viola and her husband Harry.  They were married back in 1932, 83 years ago.  Notice the afghan to Viola's right...the left side of my old picture.

 This is Great Aunt Viola's Mother, Mary Florence, my Great-Great Grandmother who was born 4 days before the start of The Civil War in 1861.  Mary Florence crocheted that afghan.  Likely 83 years ago as a wedding present for her daughter, Viola.  Though it's possible, she made it before or after that; that's a logical conclusion given family history.

That afghan was made by my Great-Great Grandmother, used by her daughter, my Great-Aunt, given to my Dad and used alot!  And now I have the honor of owning it.

Though it's in need of some repair, it's still around and is probably at least 83 years old!  Afghans, knitted or crocheted are family heirlooms and carry a-lot of sentiment and meaning.  We here on Bridge and Beyond knit and crochet afghans to bring meaning, and hope to those less fortunate.  We donate our Afghans to Homeless Families Foundation as a way to say congratulations and best of luck.  Congratulations because they have moved forward, they are transitioning from shelter living to their permanent living situation.  That's certainly something to celebrate and commemorate.  We also hope these afghans we make and donate give them hope for a brighter future, to know someone cares for them, and made something special for them.  We hope the afghans we donate carry a special meaning to those who receive them, must like this special afghan does for me and my family.

Today is the first day of the annual A-Z Challenge for the month of April A=Afghan.  Welcome to those in the challenge who may be seeing this blog for the first time.  The blog is dedicated to helping the homeless through knitting and crocheting.

**We call this project, "Welcome Home", you can use those words and or afghans in the search box to see some of the afghans that have been donated in the past.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted

This is the starting portion of the 2nd square to "Learning Logs", my regular readers will remember the fits this ghan has given me, but.....I can say things are improving with the various changes I've made to the pattern.  Comparison to square #1 is HERE

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Blue Horizon

When last I posted an update of Blue Horizon it was 21 inches, it's now 26...seems like it's growing slowly, but it is growing and it is now officially over the half way point.  The brown stripe is the middle and so we've moved onto the large aqua section, followed by the small salmon stripe and are now on the light blue band.  It's folded over as there are too many stitches on the needles to stretch it out without fear of losing stitches off the ends of the needles.

Nothing fancy in this all garter stitch afghan, but I love the colors and it's quite soft.  Am using donated yard that is Bernat Satin.

For any new folks to blog (possibly a-z challenge folks), these afghans are all donated as a welcome home gift to families leaving shelter living and moving into a permanent housing situation.  The project is called Project Welcome Home.  If you'd like to see some of the afghans (ghans) donated in the past, simply type the word afghans in the blogs search window and you'll see some blog posts and pictures.

**Tomorrow will be the first official A-Z challenge post, see you then.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Welcoming More Helping Hands for Ohio's Homeless

Thank you Lizzy S for this sweet and thoughtful donation.  Knitted hats in a variety of sizes and colors, a cute springy scarf (flowers), and 2 gorgeous peacock blue scarves.  I love that color.  When I was a kid and had a fountain pen!!!! I know giving away my age again, lol.  Used to love to buy peacock blue ink, thought I was soooooo cool to have it, instead of regular blue or black.  Oh my, true story.

Lizzy is our newest pair of helping hands.  Always thrilled to have more helping hands.  Welcome to the group Lizzy, hope to see you here often on Bridge and Beyond and please keep up the good work!

Just 2 more days until the April A-Z Challenge begins, hope all my regular readers will enjoy the slight change of blog posts and welcome to all new readers.  Please leave comments so we know you visited.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 174+5=179
Scarves 64+3=67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.