Zombie and Woolly Hugs. ALL very welcome to join us, come and find out about her legacy of Candy’s Hugs.

[KnottyAndPistey]

We knew her time left with us was short, but the news of Zombie’s death on January 30th was still a sad shock, we send so much love to her family and her many, many friends who love and will miss her greatly, we hold our happy memories of her very dear. Bless her.

Just before Christmas, Zombie donated funds to Woolly Hugs and together we hatched a plan to develop an ongoing project with her, which she loved, to make comforting cosy blankets with love in every stitch for women going through treatment for breast and other cancers, and at times these may form part of palliative care.

So glad we could establish Candy's Hugs with her and thanks to you wonderful people achieve her ambition of seeing it all well underway before her death. Her legacy of Candy's Hugs will be one of love and strength, of friendship, learning and developing crafting skills, of creativity, of coming together to show compassion, support and give and receive comfort, Such a beautiful inspirational woman. How lucky we were to know her. X

Raising a glass or two to the fabulous Zombie, we go on together

Anyone seeing this project for the first time, wondering about joining in, make this the day you do! This project is ongoing, and a friendlier more supportive bunch of folk you couldn’t wish to meet. We would love to have you on board, from someone who is keen to learn crochet or knitting to the more experienced, ALL are welcome here. And a lack of funds is no barrier, we have wonderful donors who want to take part and need a crafter, so we can send you yarn, needles and hooks if necessary. It is all about being inclusive and team work.

Our previous threads are the first one here and the second one here..

[[https://www.facebook.com/pg/Woolly-Hugs-349028448480855/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1339798112737212
We are keeping a photo album on our Facebook page.]] All welcome to join us over there too.

Zombie was a bright and beautiful woman so we chose a palette to reflect this which we call Vibrant Riot; it is inspired too by a blanket that was made for her as she went through treatment. She had it with her at the end, we were so glad to know it still gave her love, big woolly hugs and comfort.

If you would like to be involved in any way, we’d love to have you on board. Please post on this thread and PM with your offers: crafting, donating, need wool, etc, we can help you with all of it.

The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK. Just this please for consistency, and in these colours...

Vibrant Riot Palette
Boysenberry
Claret
Empire
Fuchsia
Grass
Kelly green
Lavender
Lime
Lipstick
Magenta
Meadow
Petrol
Plum
Pomegranate
Saffron
Sherbet
Shrimp
Spice
Turquoise
Tomato
Violet

Squares to be 12 inch or 6 inch, crochet or knitted equally welcome, please use 4mm hook or needles. No blocking necessary and please sew in ends, and make sure any colour changes are firmly knotted.

All crafting abilities genuinely welcome, squares made by beginner or expert will be equally cherished. Simple, complex, single colour, mixed colour. It really is the love and thought that counts.

If you would like to learn how to knit or crochet in 2017, let's do it! We have help for the complete beginner here…. And all on this thread are on hand to help talk you through as well. YouTube has lots of tutorials, you WILL find one that suits! :)

If you feel ambitious and would like to make a whole blanket, then that is wonderful, we are aiming for blankets approx 48 inches by 60 inches, certainly no smaller.

Candy’s Hugs will be an ongoing project, our next collection date is March 11th, then April 22nd. Do message for posting info when ready.

We are on Facebook - Woolly Hugs and Twitter too @Woolly_Hugs both are good ways to keep in touch. All welcome over there.

Thank you so much xx

Could one of you knitters weigh a square for me? Or tell me how many of what size you get from one ball? I'm trying to work out if I have enough tomato to do a whole square or not.

Dropzoneone, I love violet, empire and turquoise.

Although I bought them, I'm not keen on the lime or spice, in fact I'm trying to use them up to get rid of them.

There's a pattern called Candy in '100 Bright and Colourful Granny Squares' by Leonie Morgan 😀
Tried photographing it..... ☹️

P1nk. That's nice, like the rock with a flower through it.

Hi Spindelina - I'm a loose-ish knitter - 30 stitches for 6" and 60 stitches for 12" -
Non compilcated ( ie not loads of cables etc)
6" square - 11 gms
12" square -44 gms
I haven't actually just gone and used one ball completely yet. My lovely donation was every colour in the palette, so have been trying to use each colour at least once /twice :)

It was this pattern:

Honey and Roses Square

But with a bit of loose interpretation of it on my part! I think I must have quite tight tension - I added another round before going to bed last night and it was still only about 5.5 inches. Oh well.

Have a few books on order from the library so looking forward to trying some different patterns (not least because I now have masses of wool!).

Spindelina a couple of us weighed some 6" earlier and got between about 10g and 15g. Really depends how "dense" a pattern!

Thanks. I'm trying to work out what colour to do the backing knit for my lace, so it'll be 12" of plain stst. Expecting more yarn today, then I'll start contemplating.

Any thoughts on what would go well with Kelly green, grass green and saffron? Needs to contrast well with the saffron in particular, to show through the holes in the lace. I will, as of this afternoon, have everything except meadow. I've got 48g of tomato in the ball, but I've also got lots of ends from my first piece of lace so I could use them if I run out right near the end. I do 62 stitches for 12".

How about Petrol?

Spindelina - I trawled back to find your picture - the one with all the pins in? Its lovely - personally I would go for a darkish blue, which would contrast and show the lace work. - Petrol as MrsH suggests or Empire at a guess- whichever looks best against them

how does everyone crochet? looking at the diagrams it appears i am doing it completely wrong - i hold the hook in my right hand and yarn iver with my right hand too.Only using my left to hold the hook/ when im doing the stitch

Hook in right hand like a knife. Mainly manipulate with thumb and forefinger as may be using the other fingers to hold work out of the way.

Yarn in left hand. Wrap around baby finger and then adjust tension with forefinger.

Will attach photos if I can work out how. Need someone else but am alone!

Excuse terrible photos.

I am still yarning over with my right hand because I'm using my right hand to flip the hook round the yarn - do you see what I mean? The left hand just holds stuff ready. Forefinger is for tension, thumb and middle finger hold work ready.

Spindelina I'm using Empire with Saffron at the moment (the green next to it is Lime not the green you're using), here's a pic of what it looks like next to each other.

LEM.

I'm posting this more as a 'What not to do' I think 😂

I hold the hook in my right hand (I think of it like a violin bow' free to glide about).

Left hand - for 'easy/normal' bits I hold the already crocheted bit between my thumb & finger next to it creating some tension between that and the needle. Then the working wool between the next two fingers creating a length of tension on the working wool, using my little finger to help.

Anything more complicated (like a magic circle) and all bets are off -
anything anywhere, as long as it means I can create the required stitch 😂

I have tried to hold it the same way they do in the tutorials (i.e. Draped over the top of the finger next to my thumb, but I can't get any tension and it's just a droopy mess. However, I knit and crochet 'tight' - very tight. Maybe if you crochet loose this works better.

Afternoon all! I'm close to finishing a 12" solid granny square in Tomato, Spice and Saffron. Really love these colours and might have to do a blanket for myself in them.

LEM - ditto I am a knitter, and with old fingers which cannot learn, so I hold the hook in my right hand, like a knife, hold the work between thumb and forefinger of left hand. Wool is wrapped around the hook via right forefinger - like knitting....it seems to work

That's an interesting method bookbook I have had to slow down because my left hand is hurting from holding my fingers apart. I'm going to give it a try to see if I can rest my left hand. I'm finding it much easier with my lovely Clover Amour hook so my right hand is very comfortable.

I ordered lots more wool at the weekend. The doorbell went while I was in the shower yesterday. I was so desperate to get my wool immediately and not to wait another day I dashed out sopping wet in a towel to get it. The postie must have had a right fright!

I hold like this. The loop round the little finger keeps the tension and the hand just tips backwards and forwards to
lift the wool over the hook. I hold the hook like a knife in my right hand very loosely (ergonomic hook) and it twists and moves back and forth. Very little movement overall. My forearms are always at rest on my lap or a table. Or a cat.

that is probably why i crochet so loose. I don't really use my left hand other than to hold the hook/work when ive let ho of the hook to yarn over. Im also an ex-knitter maybe thats why.

My new tarn has arrived! its sitting there unopened and i can't remember what colours i ordered. Its a bit like Christmas

Just ordered six balls some yarn

I'm rubbish at colour . I haven't had my delivery yet, but here are three contenders (violet, tomato, petrol) from what I already own... Your reactions, please?

For Candy's, has to be tomato!

Hmm, hold on, you said you had 48 g and will be doing stocking stitch reasonably loose.

I've got 48g in a ball, and another 20g that were wound on bobbins. So I've got enough - just might have a few ends to sew in. But I have so many end from the lace that a few more won't hurt!