Red Heart’s Oversized Glam Cowl

Published: March 7, 2017  ~   0

Hello again! So to get things started for this week’s blog post, we’d like to extend a special thanks to everyone who has been sharing our posts, as well as a thanks to our crafters! Also, we’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new crafters! Thank you all for your dedication.

In keeping with the theme of crocheted goods, we’ve got another awesome free pattern that is perfect for any skill level! This is Red Heart’s Oversized Glam Cowl! To find the pattern, please follow the link(s) below. As usual, the pattern will also be available on our Ravelry page.

Red Heart’s Oversized Glam Cowl pattern

T.H.R.I.V.E. Association’s Ravelry patterns page

Now, we would like to take a moment here to say that we did take a bit of artistic license with the pattern. We substituted the Red Heart Boutique Glam yarn that the pattern calls for with an alternative soft medium weight yarn. Despite this minor adjustment, the cowl came out beautifully! It is thick, luxurious, and, as the title suggests, very glamorous. It is also a very versatile item and will be amazing for the Fall and Winter months to come!

Continuing the Celebration with a Free Hat Pattern!

Published: February 24, 2017  ~   0

This week, as promised, we present to you a fantastic granny square hat pattern, compliments of Yarnspirations. It is unique, colorful, and at first glance perhaps intimidating, but we promise that it is wonderfully easy to complete. The Bernat Granny Stripes Hat is worked in multiple colors, so it is an excellent opportunity to practice your color work!

The pattern can be found here.

Additionally, there is a free corresponding video tutorial on the pattern’s page to aid you. The video even goes into how to alter the pattern if the hat is too big, or how to account for looser crocheting. We encourage our crafters to download the pattern and crochet along with the video!

As a side note to our crafters, if you find a pattern that you like, please feel free to make as many as you want. There is no requirement to make each donated item different. Who knows, we may have many veterans who want or need the same item.

* Footnote: although this week’s pattern calls for five colors, we decided to make a hat that would match with last week’s cowl which was two colors. These patterns are flexible, so be creative!

It’s Official, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is a 501(c)(3)!

Published: February 17, 2017  ~   0

Hey, fellow crafters and supporters! Yes, you read the headline right: after lots of hard work, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is now a federally recognized nonprofit organization! This status is retroactive, so remember to include your contributions on your taxes this year.

To celebrate our good news, we will be posting more free patterns over the next few weeks. Our last couple of free patterns were knit, so we’ll be switching gears and posting some crochet patterns. This week’s free crochet pattern is for all the granny square lovers out there. This pattern, compliments of Knit Picks, is called the Chromatic Granny Stripe Cowl.

Click here for the link to the Chromatic Granny Stripe Cowl pattern.

It is a simple and elegant piece that worked up in just a couple of evenings! It is very soft and versatile which makes it a perfect gift for those in need. We will be posting a matching hat in a later blog, so stay with us!

As the Winter months were particularly harsh in many of the areas that we serve, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is hoping to be able to provide a scarf/cowl for every hat that we hand out this year. So, please feel free to make as many as you’d like. Trust us, we can never have too many! Don’t forget to send us your finished wet-blocked projects so that they can be counted and you can receive tax credit!

If you are interested in learning to craft for our homeless military veterans and those whom they support, please come out and join us for our Friday Night Craft-a-thon if you are in the DFW area. We look forward to seeing you! If you can’t make it, or don’t live in the Metroplex – no problem! Instead, you can check out our friends at Very Pink Knits and KnittingHelp.com. Both offer fantastic free tutorials and have amazing teachers!

Seasons’ Greetings from T.H.R.I.V.E. Association!

Published: December 25, 2016  ~   0

As we enjoy the comforts of hearth and home this holiday season (many of us also surrounded by loved ones), please keep our Nation’s underprivileged ex-service men and women in your thoughts- especially those who reside in the states most affected by this year’s Winter weather.

T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is expanding to meet the needs of our homeless veterans across the country. With this, we’re aiming for at least 500 items this year to be distributed fairly among the Homeless Veterans’ Stand Downs that we have partnered with. Due to increased demand for our handmade goods, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is working on holding additional crafting sessions during the week so please stay tuned for more details. In the interim, please continue to check our weekly blog for more free patterns and come craft with us at our Craft-a-thons, which will resume this Friday. Also, please remember that it is not too late to make an end-of-the-year donation; we still need yarn, your skills, and your time!

Free Mitten Pattern!

Published: November 30, 2016  ~   0

Before getting started, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association would like to send out our most sincere thanks to Fox 4 and to CBS 11 for their wonderful coverage! Thank you both for helping to spread T.H.R.I.V.E.’s message to the Metroplex; We are so grateful! We would also like to offer a special thanks to Ms. Amy Hunt for all of her wonderful efforts.

We’d like to recognize our devoted volunteers whose tireless efforts have allowed T.H.R.I.V.E. Association to continue to expand and meet the needs of more homeless veterans across the country! We are so proud of each and every one of you! Let’s keep the momentum going!

With that in mind, we’ve added more free patterns to our Ravelry page! Be sure to join the group, as we will be adding more in the near future. Showcased this week is a simple, yet precious pattern for super bulky mittens. This pattern is available free of charge on T.H.R.I.V.E. Association’s Ravelry page. (If you have not done so already, please sign up for a free account.) As usual, rather than using a wool or wool blend, we used Lion Brand Thick and Quick. For our speed knitters our there, these mittens were able to be made in a single day! Just a quick side note about the size: these mittens are admittedly pretty small, but are perfect for a petite adult or a child.

Please be sure to check out this pattern and others at:

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/thrive-dba-thrive-association

As an added bonus, we’ll be crafting to a live band, the Pretty Good Singers, at this week’s Friday Night Craft-a-thon at the Flagship Half Price Books on Northwest Highway! Please be sure to sign up for the event on Facebook here – http://www.facebook.com/events/1797365963812360/ , to let us know that you’re coming. We look forward to seeing you!

Ready for the Stand Down!

Published: November 14, 2016  ~   0

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers and donors for making this a very successful year so far! We certainly met our goal thanks to everyone’s hard work! But, we’re not done yet! Not by a mile. In fact, we’re just getting started! We’re going to get a head start on next year- starting this Friday. So with that, we’ll be meeting this Friday as usual for our Craft-a-thon!

Half Price Books at 5803 Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75231 on 11/18/16 from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Check out our event on Facebook or reply in the comment section below if you’d like to come craft with our T.H.R.I.V.E. volunteers. We look forward to seeing everyone out there!

A Reminder to Send In Your Donations

Published: October 27, 2016  ~   0

As a gentle reminder, the Homeless Veteran’s Stand Down is just around the corner. So, we are starting to get our donations ready for distribution to the veterans. For our wonderful volunteers, please continue to send in your completed items so that they can be counted, and so that we can make sure to get your receipts to you in a timely manner. If you would still like to make a donation this season, there is still time! (Yes, we love in-kind donations.) And, don’t worry if you don’t know how to craft; We’ll be happy to teach you, just come to one of our Craft-a-thons!

We’ll be meeting this coming Friday at Half Price Books for our Friday Night Craft-a-thon:

Half Price Books at 5803 Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75231 on 10/28/16 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The Vika Capelet

Published: October 21, 2016  ~   0

This week’s pattern is a simple yet elegant caplet that was designed by T.H.R.I.V.E.’s Chief Officer. Just like last week’s pattern, this week’s was also made using Lion Brand’s Homespun Thick and Quick yarn. (Just as a side note, the color is called Purple Haze.) It is a simple 2×2 rib worked on size 13 (9 mm), circular needles. And, it is perfect for any beginner knitter.

Since we have a habit of posting free patterns, this week we’ll be posting ours. With that, on to the directions.

 

Initial notes:

This project is worked as one piece in the round.

This pattern is made to be a one size fits all, but if you’d like to make it larger or smaller, you can easily alter the pattern. Just add or subtract in multiples of 4.

Gauge:

9 stitches is approximately 4 in. (10 cm)

If you knit looser, you’ll need more than one skein of yarn.

Capelet:

Loosely cast on 78 stitches. Place a marker to indicate the beginning of the round. Join by working the first stitch on the left needle with the working yarn from the right needle. Be careful not to twist the stitches.

Round 1: *K2, p2; repeat from * around.

Subsequent Rounds: Repeat Round 1 until the piece measures about 14 in. (35.6 cm) from beginning.

Bind off: Cut about a six inch tail and make a square knot.

Finish:

Weave in the ends.

Key:

K= Knit

P= Purl

 

If you have made this project, please remember to wet block it. And, send us a picture in the comment section below! We’d love to see how it looks.

If you have any questions on this, or other patterns, please contact us.

We will be working on this and similar patterns over the next few weeks at our Friday Night Craft-a-thons. So, if you are interested in learning how to make this, please come out and see us. This Friday, we’ll be at Half Price Books.

The Violetta Cowl

Published: October 13, 2016  ~   0

Firstly, we’d like to thank our donors for contributing several skeins of yarn to our cause! We couldn’t continue our work without your support. We are also grateful to all of our volunteers for their compassion, hard work, and dedication. A very special thanks goes out to those who come out to our Craft-a-thons as well!

Next up this week is an awesome new project that is a sure keep our brave veterans warm during the long, chilly Fall and Winter months. Yes, it is very warm and soft! This glamorous cowl was made using Lion Brand’s Violetta Cowl pattern number #L40511 – it is available as a free download on their website. (The link is provided below.) It is a perfect beginner level project, and is a fantastic way to practice your stitches!

The Violetta Cowl pattern is available here:

http://www.lionbrand.com/knitting-pattern-violetta-cowl.html

As usual, we will have a Friday night Craft-a-thon this Friday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m. We will be meeting at Half Price Books.

Half Price Books at 5803 Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75231 on 10/14/16 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Come out and join us; even if it is to sit and chat for a few minutes!

A Colorwork Hat Pattern for Both Him and Her

Published: October 6, 2016  ~   0

And now for one of our favorite hat patterns! This weeks free pattern is from Yarnspirations. It is a perfect intermediate level project. It knits up quite quickly, and provides a perfect opportunity for any knitter to practice his/her colorwork skills! This pattern provides options for both him and her, and so is ideal for anyone! So, with that, on to the links! The pattern can be found here:

http://www.yarnspirations.com/patterns/a-good-ribbing-his-hers-hats.html

and, alternatively, on our Ravelry page here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/a-good-ribbing—his–hers-hats

As always, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association will be meeting for our Friday Night Craft-a-thon at 6:00 pm at Half Price Books! We look forward to seeing you there! As usual, please convo us to let us know you’re coming so that we can make arrangements.

Half Price Books at 5803 Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75231 on 10/07/16 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Happy crafting!