Crocheting afgans in this heat

[SlowCrocheter]

I am making some pieces to piece together when it cools down but I really prefer one piece afgans (hate putting those pieces together way to boring) and I have this afghan pattern that is just calling my name. But I keep putting it off cause of the heat.

 

Any tips on how to work on large one peice afghan in this heat and not crank up the air? My husband would yell his head off about money if I did that.

 

I know the AC is more then likely all I can do but maybe you all have a tip I haven't thought of.

[dizzy]

I have fan that I turn on directly on me when I am doing a large afghan.

Then I get a little cold and have the afghan keeping me warm.

[hockeymomcrochets]

I prefer to make baby afghans in the summer.

[Lady_of_Roses]

Fan with a bowl of ice in front of it pointing at you.

 

Tho I really just stick to small patterns in the summer. No AC makes it too hard to work on the big heavy stuff for me.

[SlowCrocheter]

Baby afghans is a good idea. Although there are no babies in the family right not or any of my friends have them.

But I have 3 neices 18, 19 and 21. One just got married one has a live in and the other is devorced so guess I can make them and put them up for later cause I am sure it wont be long.

And I could use up some of that 2 ply yarn. The fan is a good idea. Ill have to go buy one and find somewhere to plug it in.

Those are both really good ideas. thank you

[crazycrochet]

No AC in this house, no big projects during the summer.

[PBLKNP]

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm trying to finish an Aran afghan for a friend's wedding in August and am having a tough time of it. I'd say try the fan idea. I know for me, even with the air conditioning, it's still tough (we don't want to crank it up too much because of the $$$). Either that, or cart it over to a friend's house where they DO crank up their AC!

[goodie2shoes]

I saw a post once here and it suggested working at a table on large items like afghans so they don't end up all in your lap covering you. Haven't tried it but it makes good sense to me.

[Priszm]

Scrunch up the parts you're not working on so only one section of your lap is covered.

 

I was making one a few summers ago and had it covering my legs. I was feeling a bit warm and it wasn't until I got up to take the dog out that I realized it wasn't all the afghan. The temp had snuck up to 90!

[appy_lover]

For some strange and unknown reason I started a round ripple 2 days ago, so far not to bad. I'd guess that it is just over 2 ft across, and I have just been working on it at night after it cools off. I try to keep the afghan itself shoved off to the side now that it is getting bigger. No ac in the house I am staying in right now, but the fans do a good job of cooling it off in the evening.

[hockeymomcrochets]

Baby afghans is a good idea. Although there are no babies in the family right not or any of my friends have them.

But I have 3 neices 18, 19 and 21. One just got married one has a live in and the other is devorced so guess I can make them and put them up for later cause I am sure it wont be long.

And I could use up some of that 2 ply yarn. The fan is a good idea. Ill have to go buy one and find somewhere to plug it in.

Those are both really good ideas. thank you

 

You can always make the baby afghans for charity or make them as lapghans for charity too.

[sandra2469]

Do you live in a town where the community offers a place where you can go during the day to escape the heat? In Houston they have places where ordinarily they have other programs, but during the summer they convert a large room into Cooling Centers. Anyone is welcome to go & stay as long as you like. You could take a project there & work on it & then go home after you decide to call it a day. That way you can work on an afghan and still beat the heat.

 

A public library might allow you to come in & crochet since it's a quiet project that doesn't take up too much space. Or, you could volunteer to teach/facilitate a crochet class at a senior center & then bring along your own project to work on during the same time.

[dianejerry]

delete

[cgd]

I'm in Mississippi too (Clinton), so I can relate! I'm cold-natured, so I can work on them all year round. However, this laptop sometimes gets too hot even for me!

[wgjret]

OMG, so hot here in Texas,,,air conditioner humming,,,the reason I came to the study was to get out from under the lapghan I'm working on,,,I put the majority of the work on the arm of the chair, but it's like the yarn exudes heat! The problem we have in Texas is that it won't cool off until late fall, and I want to get some things done for Christmas...Tough time of the year for us crocheters!

[mellybelly]

I'm in TN, and the heat IS an issue for me and afghans. I'm making one now as a Christmas present, but have put it on hold. DH is cold natured and fusses that I'm trying to freeze him out I'm with Wgjret...the yarn seems to act as a furnace, especially since the one I'm doing (or, was doing) is a double-strander. I live in a tiny place with few outlets. So rather than play musical plug-ins, I just say FORGET IT! and work on smaller projects. I like the idea of the chair, though...may give it a shot!

[Island Girl]

I saw a post once here and it suggested working at a table on large items like afghans so they don't end up all in your lap covering you. Haven't tried it but it makes good sense to me.

 

I live here on the Island of Guam where it's hot most of the time. I don't always have aircon in the house so one day the afghan I was working on was getting too hot to hold in my lap so I went to my table and put it on top and crocheted there. It worked so good. I was able to rest my arms on the table so it didn't get tired. I wasn't getting hot anymore and I got my fan to blow at me so it was so nice. Try it and see if it works for you. Worked for me.

[Elle]

South Texas has four seasons - early summer, summer, late summer, and summer-light. It's hot here , SUMMER-hot, nine months out of the year, so if I didn't crochet afghans in the heat I'd never get any done. I do, however, confine my afghan work to indoors-only during the REALLY hot months (June, July, August and Sept) and when I'm sitting out at the pool or at the beach I do either small pieces in yarn or work on something out of thread. Sometimes I find myself getting jealous of people who live where it gets cold, because I remember how much fun it was to cuddle up under an afghan while I was crocheting it in winter back when I used to live in New Jersey, but I've been in Texas 25 years now and I've only seen snow once since we moved to Texas, and that was four years ago on Christmas Eve when we had ONE FOOT of snow! It was gone two days later because the temps went back up into the 70s again the day after Christmas.

[luckybmr]

I am making several - probably at least four round ripple afghans for Christmas gifts and I plan on starting them and when they get to the size that is too hot for working on in the summer, I will put them in a tote with the yarn and hooks sizes, etc. Bring them back out in the fall and they should be finished in no time. Figure I can get about half of the size done before it becomes to hot to handle.

[SlowCrocheter]

Wow so what do you do with all your crochet projects? lol Afghans are to keep warm and if it is never cool when can you use them?

I lived in Dallas for 3 months from August to October. I seem to recall wearing a coat and lots of rain. lol

Briana that also sounds like a great idea. I am almost temped to put away the one I am working on and start my ripple today. lol

[judianne]

Has anyone tried making ghans from "saltines"? That's what we call the the 2 round grannies that make up some awesome designs Cara has come up with on the Happy House site (a CAL is here on the ville, too). You make a batch and join them together in sections.

 

Just a thought:hook

[catsncrochet]

On the warmer days here, I usually go to a store that's air-conditioned...either Barnes & Noble or Starbucks. Come to think of it, you could probably go to a mall and crochet there. The malls here have chairs and couches for people and there's plenty of A/C, so that'd probably work too.

 

I haven't tried setting my afghan on a table before...but I bet that'd work too...and having a fan directly on you wouldn't hurt either.

 

As for me, I haven't been crocheting that much lately....the days are really warm and humid and it'll sometimes cool off around 7ish. So, in the evenings I'll sometimes crochet in bed....but make sure that the afghan's not on me while I'm working on it...I just keep it on the bed. lol.

 

Aimee

[CrochetDad]

I usually either keep the afghan folded or otherwise scrunched up so it doesn't cover my legs. It's hot here in this area of Southern California (at least 90 and sometimes over 100) in the summer, but luckily, not all year round.

[Katie G]

I place a tray table in front of my chair and rest my afghan on that. Also sprinkle baby powder on my hands, seems to make the yarn flow smoother and keeps my hands feeling smooth.

[RoseRed]

I remember finishing one while it was pretty hot even with the ac on. I sat indian style on the floor and had the afghan in front of me instead of on me.