True, I Haven't Been Posting Much

Have you noticed that I haven't posted much? It's ironic that until a couple of years ago I posted daily on both my blogs. Now I can skip a week or two and not even realize it.

What have I been doing?

I've been crocheting as much as I can. I've discovered something fantastic. People will buy my crocheted hats when I offer to donate the money to a charity, tzedakah. I'm going to try that with some of the bags I've crocheted.

I've also crocheted a few "bowls" to use for mishloach manot for Purim. On the Purim holiday we give food gifts, so my bags and bowls are very useful. I've been packing them in my crafts for the past few years.

A friend had suggested hats for tzedakah, and that's another reason I crochet a lot. I've bought some yarn for winter hats on sale recently. You can see me in the picture below wearing one of the hats. I bought more of the same yarn, because a friend wants one just like it.

To be honest I've found it easier to find topics for Shiloh Musings. That's because the politics here is so upsetting, I've had to write about it. Not that post all that frequently there either.

Don't get me wrong. I do stay busy besides crocheting and Facebook etc. I study Tanach/Bible and do mosaics once a week in the program here for senior citizens. 

My Tanach/Bible studies are online, Google Meet and also in Jerusalem. I've been in a study group for about ten years. We used to meet once a week, and now, ever since the COVID lockdown we've been meeting almost every day, though not in person. We used to use Zoom, but now it's Google Meet. I'm also in a monthly Book Club. And I take a short walk at least once a day.

What keeps you busy? Have you missed my blog posts?

How Would I Survive Without Crocheting?

 

I've been having so much fun crocheting. I've discovered a whole new world of creativity. Besides the potholders, hotplates and bags, I've made a  bunch of  "mask holders," too. I have two packages, of 50 masks each, tied into this one. Our disposable mask supply had needed some organizing. I bought myself two pretty colors for the same price as the pale blue. My husband is sticking with the blue and doesn't want a crocheted holder. 

Crocheting is just mindless enough not to interfere with my concentration when listening to classes. By keeping my hands busy, it actually helps me concentrate. I'd also be happy crocheting while watching tv or movies on DVD/tv. The only thing that stops me is the expense of the yarn. I'd finish of a batch too quickly. And then there's the other problem. Not all that many people are really interested in my creations. Recently I gave one to a young woman who volunteers as an emergency medic and needed a nice special bag to carry her phone on Shabbat.

No doubt that I'll find more people who appreciate them, Gd willing. In the meantime, I'm having fun.

Crocheted Bags, My Latest Hobby, Update

I've been having great fun crocheting. These are my latest bags. 

The bag with the yellow and pink, lower right even has a crocheted button. It wasn't hard to do, but now I can't find the youtube I got the instructions from. 

Crocheting the bags is amazingly, yes, surprisingly easy. No, I don't use a pattern. I crochet, but I know nothing about the theory, the technique or names of stitches. I crochet by intuition aka guess-work.

I really enjoy crocheting with jersey yarn, about 95% cotton. Before I made the bags, I crocheted potholders and small rugs. The bags are much easier. Many times I had to rip out lots of stitches when making the potholders and rugs. Round crocheting is much more complicated. Too much increase and it's floppy, worse than pizza dough badly tossed. And if you don't increase enough you're stuck with a bowl rather than a plate.

The base of the bag is sort of an oval, and after that just crochet without ever needing to increase or decrease the stitches. You just have to be careful to switch colors in the same basic spot on a side. 

Finally I found an easy solution to the "button problem." A couple of years ago, when I bough all sorts of beads to bead necklaces with my granddaughters, I bought some large beads. I sewed one onto the bag and then added a "hook."

Crocheting is so relaxing. And it keeps me from eating.