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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Wow! Want to be more "Green" in your everyday life?

Check out this idea from Mother Earth News telling us how to make our own plastic wrap from 100% cotton fabric and bees wax! Beeswax Fabric

I would never have thought of this, but love the idea.  Can't use it for hubby's daily work lunch due to his job.  Everything he carries through the gates must be in clear, see-through bags or containers.  But for anyone on a "normal" job, this is a great idea!

There are a ton of other great ideas on MEN as well.  Ways to go Green, as well as ways to simply live Life easier and better.

Check them out, I don't think you'd be disappointed at all.

Happy Summer!

beeswax bag

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Spiderman Fan's Afghan

If you have gotten the pattern more than just a few days ago, but have not yet begun to make the afghan, please go back to the pattern here on my blog to see if there are updates you should have.

Due to so many questions from people about certain aspects of the pattern, I have altered some of the wording to help make it easier to understand, and have added a few "notes" for things that are not the same on a round ripple as on a square/rectangular ripple afghan.

And as always, if you have any problems or questions about it, you can reach me at
Stitch_n_Frog  at  mchsi  dot  com

Happy Hooking!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Healthy Hands for Crocheters, taken from Crochet World's Talking Crochet Newsletter

This is not my smarts showing, rather it is from Talking Crochet, the newsletter by Crochet World magazine.  And is excellent advice.

You can read it here or at Healthy Hands at Talking Crochet Newsletter

I receive their newsletter and it always has good advice, great ideas, and even give-aways.  It's free, no cost to us, and very enjoyable to get in your In Box.  There's a link at the bottom that will take you to their home page, where you can look around and sign up to receive it too if you want.

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Healthy Hands


Many of you are such ardent crocheters that you spend several hours a day working the hook. That's wonderful, but it also raises some concerns about maintaining good hand health. Activities that require small, repetitive movements can cause muscle disorders; therefore, it's important for crafters to be aware of the risks and to do what they can to minimize them.

Of course, if you feel pain when you crochet, the best thing to do is consult your doctor. The medical community has been trying to tackle the issue of repetitive muscle disorders for several decades and has made progress in understanding its causes and cures. From my own experience, as someone who crochets many hours a day and has a bit of arthritis, I have learned to follow certain guidelines. Let me share them.

  1. Maintain good posture while working.
  2. Avoid a tight grip on the hook or yarn; keep hands relaxed.
  3. Take breaks.
  4. Stretch the hands, fingers, wrists and other parts of the upper arm regularly.
  5. Use ergonomic hooks.

By being attentive to these factors, I have been able to continue to crochet for long periods without causing additional discomfort.

If you'd like to learn more about this topic, there is some interesting information at the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration at this link. The focus here is on workers who do commercial sewing, but there is much that relates to crochet.

Talking Crochet Newsletter