Warm climate crochet

[caroline192]

Just curious!!

 

I always wonder what kinds of things people make who live in very warm climates, like the southern US and such. Do you crochet more with cotton yarns, make afghans alot or what???

 

Here in the northern US it is easy to know cuz its so cold most of the time.

[wiz3283]

I live in AZ and I just make whatever I feel like. If I like it I am going to make it. I do have to admit if it is the summer I would rather work on thread projects than wool or acrylic but since my DH cranks the AC in the summer it feels like winter sometimes in the house so I will work on Christmas gifts for my family in the north east like Afghans and scarves.

[LaurieE]

I live in north Florida (an hour south of the Georgia border). Although we don't get cold and stay cold like up north, we do get our fair share of cold temperatures. Particularly in January and February. Three years go the temperature got down to 15 with a high of 35. I remember that weekend so well since that's the weekend my heater died. I was so grateful for my fireplace that weekend.

 

I make the same things in the same yarns as people up north. And during the really hot summer, it's very easy to work on warm things when you're sitting in air conditioning.

[HomekeepingGran]

Texas here: I make many of the same things but at my particular age I don't like to sit under an afghan ANY time of the year. In the summer it's worse, so I deliberately choose smallish projects which don't drape over my lap. But yes, we do get reasonably cold weather in the winter and the humidity can make it pierce to your bones even if the temperature isn't so low.

[MrsD]

There's a little bit of my habits in every one of the posts so far! I'm in NJ, but some of the most hot and humid summer days can be brutal. I still crochet, smaller things and often cotton, because my DH also likes to have the AC running way too high (can't blame him, though; he works outside all day even if it's in the 90's). Crochet will always find a way!

[Cherokee2]

I live in East Texas, but it does get cold here, so I make a lot of afghans. In the summer, the A/C is on, so my feet get cold, and draping that afghan over them feels good. And I just finished a long sweater jacket, but it was still cool when I was working on it, so didn't bother me.

[Empress Busy Bee]

I live near Atlanta and yes I crochet whatever I want whenever I want.

Our winters usually get cold enough and our summers demand the AC be on. My husband is another one that likes it cold so being under a project is nice.

[Angora]

i'm in Bangalore and it rarely goes below 12*C here... in the winters i work on shawls and wintery stuff.. in the summer i work with thread!

[mama_crochet]

I live in Louisiana and it just depends what is going on! I make alot of baby afghans and little dresses for babies and toddlers!

I do crochet some afghans in the summer...(hubby keeps the house cold so I cover up as I go!)

[happy stitcher]

South East TX here - I used to only make afghans and a few baby items, but since I found the 'ville, I've gotten more adventurous!

 

It really can be difficult to work on an afghan in the summer months. If I need to do that, I try not to drape it over me and turn down the thermostat! Cranking up the AC helps, but it can still be very uncomfortable. We have a very hot and humid climate, so when it gets too hot to do afghans, I find other things to do - purses, for example.

 

Right now I'm working on an afghan that takes motifs, so that's not so bad. I just do a motif and put it aside. When the weather cools down I'll collect all my motifs and stitch them together. I figure I've got at least until mid October or early November to finish the motifs!

 

I've also got a purse started, and just finished a plastic tote bag. Soon I need to start some baby items for a friend who is expecting. Small things that don't have to drape over me are what the hot months call for!

[amdm]

Where I live ( Calcutta, India) it is almost always very, very hot. Even the thought of touching wool makes me shudder. I make doilies and bags, once in a while I crochet a garment, but not often, because even thin cotton thread crochets up into a hot and heavy fabric.

[vonnie]

I live in OR but spend time in AZ in the winter, I usually just do whatever I want, but if it is really hot (and the air can't keep up) I do doilies and smaller thread projects so I don't have the weight of the thread/yarn on me...or I crochet the heavyer stuff in the evening when it is cooler...

[DoubleTreble]

When I read the title I thought, "She really should ask those of us in the North as we are most likely the ones who don't have AC". I always loved going south in the summer (GA relatives) as they had air. I slept well, could get aways from the humidity and heat so that when I was outside it wasn't so unbearable.

 

I do have a window AC in my bedroom and on really bad days I will sit up there. I still do afghans, I guess I'm weird, but last year that's all I did. Afghans.

[Tampa Doll]

Down here in Central Florida, actually west of Tampa, so close to the beach and the water, when the humidity hits, it is thread only.

It gets to hot to crochet with 4 ply and 2 ply is pushing it, I crochet with a lot of cotton, and even that gets to hot to crochet with.

Luckly I like making dresses and such for dolls, so it is nothing big. Afghans and such I leave for when the humidity goes away.

[misteph]

I usually switch to thread in the summer. In fact I just drug out my thread tablecloth that I've been working on forever. This will make my 3rd summer working on it. I need a larger tote to carry it in. Maybe I'll manage to finish it this year.

 

Like many others my DH keeps the house pretty cool with the ac so it's not unbearable to work on heavier projects. I don't think I could work on a wool afghan though, that would be too much. Especially during monsoon when everything feels so wet.

 

Now I do keep a light sweater for restaurants and movie theaters. This town really believes in keeping their customers cold. So if you move to AZ to bake your bones in the summer, bring a sweater for the shops. They'll freeze you to death.

 

Michelle in Southern AZ

[Ellie 13]

Here in Mass. (north of Boston) we get all kinds of weather. When it's hot, I make small things. Stuffed toys: dolls, teddies, etc. I also love designing motifs for afghans. When it's cold I make scarves and afghans. I've tried hats, but they never seem to fit anyone I know. They are great for charities though . I've given many blankets to Project Linus.

Ellie 13

[That Yarny Guy]

I live in Southern California by the ocean. So it's mild here most of the year. There are few days where it would be comfortable to wear a wool sweater.

 

This has made me experiment with producing thin crocheted fabric. I've done Tunisian crochet (love it!), but my current choice for projects is slip stitch crochet. I can make a slip stitch sweater with worsted weight yarn that is about as thin as a knit sweater. So it's much more appropriate for my climate. It's a slow as knitting sometimes, but the results are superior for drape and thinness than regular crochet.

 

Even still, my favorate projects are scarves. They're easy and mostly mindless. I can zone out and enjoy.

[woomba]

When I lived in the tropics I made mostly accessories or house decor, stuffed boxes of all kinds (great as gifts) and small rugs and mats (very popular especially when decorating baths and such).

[caroline192]

Thanks, everyone! I will be moving to NC during the next 8-12 months and was wondering what kinds of things I could do that wouldn't make me melt.

Unfortunately I can't do well with thread anymore due to arthritic hands. I used to love thread too. I actually won a first place ribbon in a county fair for a placemat set I made many years ago.

 

It was very interesting to get input from those of you in warmer places.

[Lisaizme]

I love to make afghans.. in the winter I make one piece ones.. in the summer I make the ones that are made up of various squares/rectangles, motifs.. whathaveyou.

[dianejerry]

delete

[Stitchinpick]

Where at in NC? I live on the border of North and South Carolin in the Charlotte area. We still get cold enough here to crochet afghans, wear hats, scarves, sweaters. I have wondered the same thing though because two of my sons and their families have moved to California where it is sooo warm. It is hard to make things for them like I used to.

 

During the summer I try to control my impulse to work on afghans and work on smaller projects, or squares to make a larger project with (afghan compulsions...) Also, I crochet with thread around burp cloths and receiving blankets... I also make super cotton pot holders (usable ones) that I manage to stain up or give away (sister loves them and wants them as well) and need to make more by summer.

 

I am always cold in air conditioning, so I take shawls to church as a little blanket to protect me, so I crochet thin shawls for summer.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Linda

[adagio]

I'm in East Texas. If it weren't for the AC, my answer might be different, but basically, I'm making the same things in the summer as the winter: afghans. usually for project linus, or gifts, or for my prayer group.

[ReniC]

Hi Caroline-

Summertime gets pretty hot here in the high desert of Arizona. Especially during monsoon season so I reserve my crochet time to doilies, toys, hats, scarves, purses/ totes, lots of kitchen stuff, etc. My motto for summer time is, "If it can cover my lap, fagedaboudit".

 

FYI: If you have not tried them already, and can get your hands on some, fat handled crochet hooks work wonders with arthritic hands. My next request to my DH is to make me some wood handles for my small thread hooks.

[Gran]

Nice to know I'm not the only one who switches projects with the weather.

 

Warm weather projects are small: bookmarks, place mats, doilies, tissue cases.

 

The winter ones aren't that much bigger due to the weight: lapghans, scarves, table runners.

 

Both seasons include experimental projects, too.