Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America 2018 Details | Podcast Episode #47

Episode Transcript

Brittany: 0:00
You’re listening to the B Hooked Podcast, session number 47 with Brittany. Are you ready to take the challenge with me? Come on. Well, hey there. Thank you so much for joining me in episode number 47 in the B Hooked podcast. As always, I’m your host, Brittany, and I’m very, very excited that you’re joining me today because I have… special episode planned for you.

We’re going to do something a little bit different than we normally do, and that’s because I am celebrating the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America 2018. This event, I heard a little bit about it in last week’s episode, but I’m going to go really in depth on what the challenge is, what you need to do to participate, who it’s going to benefit, when it’s going to occur, and basically, I’m taking this time to answer as many questions as I think you might have because I want as many people to participate in this challenge as we possibly can.

Because, of course, the more people who participate, the more people who are going to receive blankets, and the more lives we can touch in the long run. There’s really nothing in it for me other than I just want to get people together and use whatever influence I have. I want to help as many people as I possibly can. But you know what? I can’t do it without your help.

So if you’ve been on the fence about joining in with this challenge, I hope this episode touches your heart. I hope it gives you the knowledge and the confidence that you’ll need to work through this challenge. As always, I will have an organized show notes page for this episode. That is BeHookedCrochet.com slash session 047.

And I will basically give you an at a glance look at what we’re going to talk about in this episode. But the main thing I want you to take away from the show notes page, if you’re going to refer to it for the resources, is the post that is now available that gives you everything you need to know about crocheting the challenge. So I’m pretty much cliff noting that post here, but going a little bit more in depth with the questions I know you guys have right now.

But that is your central hub for all things Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America 2018. So you will find that post in big bold print on the show notes page. And if you don’t find the answer you’re looking for on the show notes, just check out that page. I can almost guarantee you you’ll find your answer there.

And if you don’t, please feel free to send me a personal email. You can access that at brittany at behookedcrochet dot com. brittany at behookedcrochet dot com is my email address. It comes right to me personally. Ask me your question. Or if you don’t want to do that, you can always leave a comment on the show notes page.

I will be monitoring that as well. And I will answer as many questions as I possibly can before the challenge begins. Now, for those of you who are completely new to this crochet challenge for Warm Up America thing, I want to spend a couple of minutes just explaining exactly what it is so you have a full understanding of what you’re getting involved with when you decide to join in with this challenge.

Well, a crochet challenge is definitely nothing that I came up with personally. Crochet challenges are available across the web and it usually involves some kind of organized crochet activity or pattern is usually the focus. And there’s a specific goal in mind. It’s not just like a crochet along where there’s a pattern available and you get together a big group of people and they’re working on the same pattern.

Usually, when you have a challenge, there’s some kind of thing that you need to accomplish. And that thing that we’re accomplishing for the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America is a deadline. So what we’re going to do is work through this pattern together, crochet along style, but there is a deadline to finish it and mail it in.

Well, this is the third annual Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America. The first one we did back in 2016. There were hundreds of people who participated. We sent collectively over 100 full-sized Afghans to Warm Up America as a result of that challenge, which is amazing because that was more than 100 lives that were touched by your efforts. And that is really something to celebrate.

We had a great time with that challenge. It was really simple yet fun to do. You could play a lot with colors. The stitch pattern was very simple. We worked with just a solid granny square. We played a lot with color and you guys just loved it so much. You requested another one.

So in 2017, we had our second annual crochet challenge for Warm Up America. And that one, I’m going to be honest, those are some large shoes to fill with that design because the yarn that we used was gorgeous. The stitch pattern that we used was gorgeous. And together, you guys were so ecstatic about that design that I feel like I have some big shoes to fill now with this third one to hope that this challenge is as exciting as that second one was.

Well, the second annual Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America was an even bigger success than the first one. We sent, and I don’t have the exact numbers right off the top of my head, it was over 300 baby blankets that we shipped to Warm Up America as a result of last year’s challenge. I could not have asked for better results than that, and I’m so excited about this year. I hope we can send even more blankets to Warm Up America this year.

So the big question that’s probably on your mind right now is how much does it cost to participate or is there a cost to participate? I’m going to say right off the bat that there is zero cost except for your supplies. You don’t have to pay anything at all to participate in this challenge. All you have to do is buy your yarn. You probably already have crochet hooks on hand and that’s it. Just buy your yarn and ship it in.

There will be a shipping cost, of course, because we are sending our Afghans to Warm Up America in Texas. So there are two costs, your yarn and your shipping. Charitable donations are all 100% tax deductible, so you don’t have anything to worry about there.

And I can say that you’ll probably have less than $35. If I had to guess, depending on your shipping, if you live out of the country, of course, it’s going to be a lot more. Depending on your location, your shipping costs are going to vary depending on the size of the box you use. Of course, obviously, you guys know you’re not going to hold me to that price, but it’s a relatively low, low barrier to entry to get in with this.

Just buy your yarn. Pay for your shipping to send it in. And that’s it. There’s no additional cost to actually take part in the challenge. That’s not what the challenge part is about. Remember, the challenge is just because we’re trying to meet that deadline.

And that actually works out quite well for Warm Up America because they’re going to be sending our Afghans in as a big group to this organization. So that’s why we really need to have a deadline for the shipment date so we can estimate the time or the date that we’re gonna receive those blankets and they can do a lot more planning on their part.

All right, so who can participate? Well, the simple answer to that is anyone. I encourage anyone and everyone to participate in this challenge. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what state or what country you live in. Absolutely anybody can participate in this challenge.

The one thing I encourage of you is to find a challenge buddy. Somebody who’s a friend or a co-worker or a family member. Could be your daughter if you’re trying to get your kids involved with crocheting. Find somebody that you can share this with. That’s going to help keep you motivated. You’re going to obviously keep each other motivated. And then we’re sending even more blankets to Warm Up America that way, right?

If every one person who’s interested in taking this challenge recruits a buddy, we are literally doubling the number of Afghans that we’re going to send up to Warm Up America this year.

There are a couple things to keep in mind. Warm Up America is a charity that is based in the United States. They’re actually out of Texas. And you’ll keep that in mind when you’re deciding whether or not you want to participate and factoring that in when you’re going to ship it.

I’ve had a lot of questions in the past from audience members who are outside of the U.S., might be in Canada, might be in Europe, wherever it may be. Yes, you absolutely can participate. Just know that if you’re shipping it to Warm Up America, it is going to be a larger shipping cost associated with that because you’re shipping outside of the country. Really no way to get around that.

But another question that stems from that is, well, Brittany, I want to participate in the challenge. I want to work this Afghan. I want to try out the pattern, but I just can’t ship it to the US. Is it possible for me to participate in the challenge, but donate it to a local charity where I live?

And the answer to that is yes. If you want to participate in any kind of charity event, you’re not limited whatsoever to sending it here to the States. Obviously, it is the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America. So I encourage you, if you can, to send it to Warm Up America. But if you can’t, then definitely find a local organization that you can donate your blanket to and celebrate that because you took the same amount of time that everybody else did.

You put in the same effort and love and somebody deserves to have that blanket that you created. So if you’re outside of the US, you can’t ship here to the US, then find a local organization that you can donate to and celebrate it because it’s a win no matter what.

Now, you might also be wondering, Brittany, I’m a beginner. Is there any way that I can possibly make this blanket and do this challenge? My answer to you is yes.

Now, keeping in mind that the patterns that are created for the crochet challenges are usually, I would say, easy, sometimes on the verge of intermediate level, just from a pattern standpoint. But I don’t want that to scare you off because if you have watched any of my tutorials in the past, you know that I cater 100% to beginner crocheters because I strongly believe that anybody can crochet anything with the right instruction.

Basic tension, you understand how to hold the yarn and how to keep your stitches consistent, then you can absolutely follow along with my video tutorial that’s going to be available for this challenge. And you’re going to be successful. I know it.

If you’re hesitant to commit to the crochet challenge because you fear that maybe you can’t work the pattern, if you’ve seen the photos so you know what it looks like and if it just looks intimidating to you, then what I would recommend doing is just holding off purchasing your yarn and your supplies.

Just wait for that video to come out, for that to be available. Watch the tutorial. Once you figure out that you can work this pattern, because I have confidence in you. I know you can. Once you realize that you can do it, then go out and either purchase your yarn in stores, order it off of Amazon or from yarnspirations.com.

And you’ll only be a couple days behind. I’m actually extending the date, the challenge date, and I’ll get into dates in just a little bit. You’ll have more time to complete this year’s challenge than last year because it’s a larger project.

So you’ll only be a couple days behind. I’m pretty confident that you’ll be able to catch up and you’ll have the confidence that you need going into it.

As always, the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America is great for crocheters with experience who might be an intermediate level. Maybe you’ve been crocheting for a little while. You’re pretty comfortable reading patterns. You’re more comfortable with diagrams.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter what level of crochet you are, whatever level you consider yourself to be, this is going to be a fun project for you to complete and a gratifying project for you.

So again, I try to keep each one of the designs appropriate for somebody who is a beginner or a determined beginner, but also something that’s going to be interesting enough for a little bit more seasoned crocheters.

So you can expect that this pattern is going to be suitable for as many people as possible. And of course, know that I am here for you 100% helping you through and the community is there as well. We’ll talk about the Facebook page in just a little bit, but man, the community that surrounds these challenges on Facebook are so helpful.

Everybody is so nice. If you have any questions whatsoever, please There is always somebody willing and eager to jump in and help you. So have a peace of mind that no matter what level you are, this challenge is going to be something that’s perfect or interesting for you.

Well, honestly, I couldn’t persuade you to join in with this challenge without mentioning Warm Up America. We actually had a full episode last week from Mary Colucci. She’s just a kind, kind soul. She talked a lot about Warm Up America, their mission, what they’re about. So I’m not going to go into too much detail because I know that you’ve probably already listened to that episode. If you haven’t, go back an episode.

Brittany:
If you’re finding this one first, go back to session 46 and listen to what Mary has to say about Warm Up America, how it was founded by a woman named Evie back in 1982, how it just grew and expanded to follow under the umbrella of the Craft Yarn Council.

You have to hear that episode to really understand how amazing this challenge is and why you might want to join in, right? We have to have the right motivation. And sometimes just knowing who you’re benefiting is the pull that we need to decide on taking on a project of this magnitude.

I know this is going to take a lot of time for you guys, a lot of elbow grease, as they say, but it’s going for a great cause. So listen back in to session 46 from Mary about Warm Up America Foundation, how it was started.

And also towards the end of that episode, she talks about the Build a Bed program. And that is specifically where our Afghans are going this year. So when you send a donation to Warm Up America, they find the appropriate person for that gift. So they’re sort of like a central hub.

Us as crocheters or knitters, we send things in to them and they find the right organization for that gift to go to. Now, on the other side, organizations who are looking for donations will contact Warm Up America and tell them about a specific need that they have.

Well, since Warm Up America is sort of like that central hub between us as donators and organizations who are looking for those donations, they’re going to pair your gift with the right person.

Now, Mary and I spoke quite a bit about this challenge before. Well, this has been several months ago. We started talking about this challenge and planning it out. And she was really, really excited about sending our Afghans to Morehead State University for the Build-A-Bed program.

Now, you can read about the Build-A-Bed program at Warm Up America’s website. I will link to that in the show notes as well because I really would love for you to just take a look at that and read about why this particular charity exists.

The volunteers from Morehead State University, they team up with volunteers from AmeriCorps, and they make beds, twin-sized beds that can be donated to families who might not have them.

Now, Mary was telling me about this a few months ago, and it was really difficult for me to wrap my brain around the idea that there are people out there who don’t have a bed to sleep in. That just, gosh, it really tugs on your heartstrings because something that might seem so basic, not everybody has.

And so this program is building beds for people who don’t have them. Well, with the beds, they include a care pack. They provide the full bedding for that bed. That includes pillows, blankets, and yes, that’s where our Afghans come in.

Our blanket that we’re making for this challenge is going to be given in the package with that bed. So our Afghans is one piece of an amazing gift that a family in Kentucky is going to receive.

Well, in addition to the bedding, the bed, the blanket, they also include books and a teddy bear for kids. It’s just, it’s a really, really great gift that these folks are donating to families in need.

And their goal is to promote healthy bedtime rituals that will give kids brighter dreams, happier days, and more opportunities for a lifetime success.

And when you decide to join in with the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America 2018, you are saying yes to that goal. You are helping somebody achieve that goal. You are helping a family in need, a family who has a child who doesn’t have a bed to sleep on.

Now I want to take a moment to talk about some of the details, the really fine details for the challenge. First thing I want to talk about is when is it going to occur?

The challenge begins on January 27th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. There was a little bit of confusion that circulated around this midnight release last year and I want to clear the air.

Well, first of all, it was totally my fault that there was some confusion around the time and I want to make sure that that doesn’t happen this year. So the challenge begins January 27th at midnight Eastern Standard Time.

So to put things into terms that, well, is easier for my brain to wrap around, which is and is probably easier for yours, stay up late Friday night and at midnight, the pattern and the tutorial and the diagram and everything is going to be available.

So January 27th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Okay, the challenge ends on February 24th at the end of that business day in your time zone.

So basically, we have to have the blankets postmarked by that day. So whatever time your post office closes in your area on February 24th, which is a Saturday, that’s going to be the deadline for you.

Those are the two most important dates for the challenge, and right now, obviously this is being published before the challenge begins, but as of right now, you can find all of the supplies and a whole bunch of information that you need to know before it even gets started.

I drafted up a post four days ago, and that has everything that you need to know right now. So it’s going to give you your supplies list. It’ll talk about the yarn and the color options and how you can play with colors if you want to get a little bit creative.

If you’re not one to get super creative and you just want to choose from different color options, you’ll find those on that page as well. It’ll talk a little bit about the organization once again.

But the one thing I don’t want you to miss out from this post is that there is a giveaway going on right now for the yarn that you’ll need to complete your blanket. Yarnspirations is a wonderful sponsor. I just couldn’t ask for a better sponsor in this case.

They are going to donate the yarn needed to complete the entire project to five winners. Now, the giveaway started on the 14th, which was just four days ago, but it continues until the 21st.

So when this episode is going live, this is the 18th. So you have a few more days to get your entry in for that giveaway. So don’t miss out on that. You definitely want to just try to win free yarn. I mean, who doesn’t want free yarn, right?

So I will be trusting that you will be using the yarn for the challenge, but I don’t think I have to worry about anybody. I just wanted to put that out there that the giveaway should be used for the challenge.

To get access to that giveaway, you can go one of two ways. You can just go to you can head over to the show notes page, behookedcrochet.com slash session 047, and you can find the link to the giveaway page there. So you don’t have to memorize much.

But I definitely want you to take that chance so you can potentially win the yarn. Now the finer details for this giveaway is that it’s open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

My apologies if you are located outside Canada of those two countries, but shipping overseas gets very complicated. And although I would love to be able to send the yarn to anybody in the world, unfortunately, my hands are a little strapped on this one and it’s only open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

Now you can have one entry per person. So when you sign up initially, you’ll put in your email address. You’ll give me your name because I’ll need that if you win. And that’s going to secure one entry for you.

Now I use this really cool service that allows you to earn additional entries for every person that you refer to the giveaway. So when you put in your name and your email address and you click the submit button, you’re gonna be met with a little screen that gives you a URL.

It’s gonna be a short link, something that’s easy to copy and paste, although not something that’s easy to remember. It’s gonna be a bunch of numbers and letters, but you’ll copy that.

And as you share it on your social media pages, for every person who clicks your individual link and signs up for the giveaway, you’re going to get one additional entry.

Now that could be huge. If you have a larger social media following, then obviously the more people that you drive to the giveaway, the more entries you will have as a result of that.

And of course, the more people we let know about the giveaway, the more people we can recruit for the challenge, the more families we can impact in the long run. It’s just a domino effect.

I really hope that you guys become an advocate for this event, not for my sake, but for the sake of Warm Up America and for the sake of doing something for somebody else.

Okay, so the winners will be announced. Again, there will be five winners. They will be announced on January 22nd, so just a few days away, via email.

I will reach out to each one of those five people who are selected completely at random, by the way. There’s no contest there. It’s just a matter of luck.

I will contact those five people via email. And those five people must respond within 48 hours. Now this is, it’s time sensitive. I wish I could wait around longer than that, but I really want everybody to have their supplies in hand before the challenge begins on the 27th.

So I’m only giving the winners 48 hours to reply back to my email with their shipping address. Once again, it has to be a US or Canada address to be valid.

I will then forward that information to my contact at Yarnspirations, and they will get the yarn out to you as quickly as possible.

Now, within those emails that I send to the winners, I’m going to ask you for your color choices. We’re going to be using Karen One Pound for the challenge, and you can play with the colors a little bit.

The blanket that I chose has slightly contrasting colors, and that’s one way to get a really cool look. But you can also use a solid color. If you just want to make a solid color blanket, just get one color.

You can play with colors that don’t have a lot of contrast. I mean, the sky is the limit here, but those winners will be able to pick their two colors of yarn or their one color if that’s what they choose.

And I’ll forward that to Yarnspirations. They’ll get the yarn out to you as soon as possible so you have it in time for the challenge.

Now, just to clear things up even more, what happens on the 27th? You can expect a few things to happen on the 27th.

So the major thing is that the pattern and the tutorial will be published on that day. It will be published at BeHookedCrochet.com.

So you can just go directly to my homepage. You’ll see it right there at the top of that page. You can’t miss it.

When you click on that page, you’re going to get all of the information you need to complete the challenge.

So once again, the written pattern will be there, the tutorial and a diagram will be published on that page so that you can finish the design.

Also located on that page will be the address that you need to send your afghan to. So you’ll find that towards the bottom of the page, below the pattern and all of those resources.

You’ll find the address that you need to ship it to. So when you’re finished with your Afghan, you’re going to find that address and secure that to the outside of the box.

Brittany:
The other thing you’ll find on that page is a PDF document that you can download and print that’s going to allow you a chance to write a note to the person who’s receiving your gift. Now, this is completely free. Up to you. You can write whatever you want, but I do ask that you fill out that form and put it in the box with your Afghan because that’s how Warm Up America is going to know that this Afghan is for the challenge so we can send it to the right place to Morehead State University for that Build-A-Bed program.

Now on this page, you’ll also find a lot of the information that’s currently available. You’re going to find your supplies list. I’ll go through some of the color choices again. Basically, my goal with this page is to make sure that this one page has everything that you need to participate in one convenient place. I don’t want you to have to try to memorize different links or URLs or have multiple places that you need to go for resources. I just want this page to be the only thing you have to focus on because the easier I make this for you, then the more successful you’re going to be, the more successful the challenge is going to be.

So once this page comes out, if you find that there is any information that you feel isn’t there that should be, please let me know. I will fill it in. I want to make sure I’m answering all of the questions. And sometimes I can’t think of all the questions, right? So if you see something that might need to be added, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Now, the last big question I think is probably on your mind at this point is, what do I need to do to participate? And again, my goal here is to keep things as simple and as easy as possible. But there are a couple of things that you’ll need to do in order to participate.

The first thing that you should do if you haven’t done so already, go to the Facebook event page. You can find that there. On the show notes, I’ll link to it there. And the link is BeHookedCrochet.com slash WUA2018Facebook. I know that’s a lot to remember. Don’t feel like you have to memorize that. Go to the show notes page. I’ll link to the Facebook event page. Go there and RSVP on that page.

Now, when you click the RSVP, that is telling me that you are participating and that you are going to send a blanket to Warm Up America. Now, as you heard in last week’s episode, session 46, Warm Up America is made up of a team of volunteers. And because of past successes for these challenges, they’ve had to staff a little bit heavier when they know that these blankets are coming in because sometimes it is an all-day activity for unboxing these beautiful blankets.

So please, please, go to the Facebook event page, RSVP on Facebook, and let me know that you’re participating. And then it’s also really fun to watch that count too. For participants and, of course, for me as the organizer, it’s great to be able to look at that number and watch it grow because I know that for every one of those numbers is a blanket that we’re going to send to Warm Up America to help a family in need. So find that Facebook page. RSVP is the first thing that you should do.

The second thing you need to do is decide your color palette. Now this is one of my favorite parts as an organizer is to see how creative you guys are with your blankets. This year we’re using a solid yarn and so we’re playing with a couple of different colors. We’re going to keep this very simple and very elegant.

So choose either two colors, which is sort of like the main thing, but again, if you want to choose one color, you can absolutely do that. But there are 39 colors to choose from with Karen One Pound. I don’t want to just overwhelm you with that information, but you can make a lot of different color combinations with 39 colorways.

Now the colorways that I chose, and mind you, I stood in the store for at least an hour comparing and pulling different balls of yarn together to try to find the colors that I liked best, which took me a while. But I finally decided on the rose colorway and off-white. So it’s a very simple, very classic look.

Well, the design incorporates a little bit of color and a lot of texture. So as you’re choosing your colors, keep some of this in mind. The pattern works very well for contrasting colors. So a lighter and a darker color. So in my case, the rose, I mean, really is like a medium color if we’re going to get specific, but the off-white is very light and there is a high contrast between the two.

Using that kind of combination, you’re going to see something different in the design. You’re going to notice that contrast between more so than the texture. Now on the flip side, if you want to use two colors who are closer, that there isn’t a lot of contrast between the two, then you’re most likely going to see the texture the most. And that’s something you can absolutely do if you choose, especially if you choose two colors within the same color family.

Like let’s say you want to do a dark gray and a medium gray or a dark gray and a light gray, then you’re gonna get a really cool effect. I would venture to say it’ll almost look ombre-like because you don’t have a lot of contrast between the two and you’re really getting a lot of that rich texture because your eyes aren’t competing with that color.

Now, the other option you have, of course, is to choose just one solid color. I actually really love pairing a rich texture design with a single color because when you do that, especially when it’s a lighter color, the texture is the main focus of the design.

So think about what you’re going for. Also keep in mind that we don’t know if it’s going to be a boy or a girl who receives our blanket. Obviously, they’re probably going to try to pair them appropriately. My colors being pink is probably going to be more appropriate for a female. But just keep that in mind as you’re making your color choices, that these could be going for boys or girls, and we really don’t know who it’s going to go to.

Now, if you do find yourself in a craft store to purchase your yarn, then you will notice that there are some variegated colorways to Caron One Pound. And I think that would be a really fun way for somebody to play with not only the texture and the color, but just the overall design.

You’re going to get a completely different look using one of these variegated colorways because the color transitions are very short. It’s only a couple of inches long. So when you take a short color transition and you pair it with some stitches, then it has almost like a mosaic sort of look about it. It’s not going to be very striped.

You’re going to see really short lines, color breaks within that design. So keep that in mind. Pairing one of those variegated colorways might look really great with a solid color that you maybe pull from that variegated colorway.

Now, the one thing I do want to warn you, if you choose a variegated colorway, a lot of times the yardage is different on a variegated yarn versus the solid yarn. Just keep that in mind. I will have the total number of yardage that’s required for the afghan in the pattern. So you will have that information.

But just know that if you’re choosing that variegated, look at the difference there. And if there is a difference, you’ll need to make up for that to have enough yarn to complete your blanket.

Now that leads into something else I want to share with you is purchasing options. A lot of you will find yourself in stores purchasing the yarn so you can physically see the colors and that’s a great option. If you have a local store, a lot of them carry Caron One Pound. See what they have in stock. If you find two colors that absolutely speak to you, then go ahead and get those and you’ll be prepared.

I, however, found that my local stores were pretty limited in color options and I really like to see—I mean, I really do like to see the yarn in hand, in person, rather than choosing the color online because there are always subtle differences between the colors that you see on your monitor or your phone or wherever you’re looking from versus what they look like in person.

So what I found myself doing was actually going to the store so that I could see the yarn in person and I knew what it looked like. And then I ordered online.

Now, as you know, I’m an Amazon advocate, really. It makes my life super easy. So I do a lot of my online purchasing from Amazon. And you can get Caron One Pound on Amazon, which is great.

So you can go to Amazon, find your colors. Again, you’re not limited whatsoever with the color options. They have them all as long as they’re in stock. And you can order directly from them. Prime members, of course, get free shipping, which is always great.

And I will have links to the yarn so you don’t have to go hunting for it. They’re actually already posted on that information page that’s available. And you’ll also find it linked on the pattern page as well.

Again, my main goal is to make this as easy as possible for you.

And I will say, full disclosure, I am an Amazon associate. So if you do decide to purchase through those links that are on either of those pages, I will get a very small commission for that purchase.

And I want to say just right here that my objective for adding those links is not to make money. That’s not how I work. The percentage is so small that it’s not even anything that would make a big impact.

But I do want to let you know that whenever you do decide to purchase through those Amazon links that you see on my website, I get a small commission. And when enough people do that, you add it all together, of course, it does become something.

It’s a really great way. Using somebody’s affiliate link is a great way to say thanks for a job well done—to give back in some way. And doing so is at no additional cost to you.

So if you would like to purchase from Amazon and you use my links on either of those pages, then thank you. I really, really appreciate you going through those links because that lets me know that you’re saying thank you. And I couldn’t appreciate that anymore.

Now the other option you have for purchasing is to order directly from Yarnspirations. I have also been in contact with them in preparation for this event and they know that we’re going to be sending a lot of Caron One Pound out this month for this challenge.

So they are fully stocked and ready to ship and they make everything really simple on their website. I will link directly to the Caron One Pound website page on their website. You can find that on the information page that’s currently available, and you’ll also be able to find that on the pattern page when it is available on the 27th.

Well, that covers most of the details.

There’s this one little thing that I want to mention here that we did last year. Last year, I did a midnight Facebook Live reveal of the pattern. So I had originally worked up the pattern in one colorway, and then I had worked up a second one in another colorway.

And that Facebook Live was to reveal what that colorway looked like firsthand. So you guys saw it before anybody else did.

Well, this year, I don’t currently have a Facebook Live scheduled for a launch party. But here is where I’m asking for your input.

If you would like to participate or watch a Facebook Live launch party for the challenge, leave a comment on the show notes page because I’ll be the first to admit I’m not much of a night owl, but I will absolutely stay up and party with you guys and just share in the joy of starting this challenge.

So if you would like to stay up until midnight with me, way past your bedtime, then leave a comment on the show notes page, behookedcrochet.com slash session 047 and tell me about it. And if I get enough people suading me in that direction, then I will go live on Facebook at midnight when the pattern is live.

Well, I could not possibly tell you how grateful I am that you have let me spend an entire episode devoted to the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America 2018.

This event means so much to me. It is my favorite event. It’s my favorite pattern that I publish every single year. And I hope you share in that excitement with me. I hope that you recruit a challenge buddy. And I hope we can share in this together.

Now, if you have any questions whatsoever, again, I am here to make this as easy as possible for you. So please don’t hesitate to send me an email directly, Brittany at BeHookedCrochet.com.

Or once you RSVP to that Facebook event page for the challenge, that’s a really great place to ask questions as well.

Now, you guys know that I am… I’m online, I’m offline, I’m crocheting things, I’m filming things, recording podcasts, episodes. So I am in and out all of the time.

But there are some people who are on Facebook a lot more regularly than I am. So if you have a question and you leave it on the Facebook group page or that event page, then I can almost guarantee that somebody in the community is going to answer that question for you.

I, of course, will do everything I can to spend more time on Facebook during the duration of the challenge and before it begins so I can answer as many questions as possible.

But also know that if you’re a part of that community, if you’re participating in the challenge, you see somebody’s question and you know the answer to it, I encourage you to help that person out.

If you know the answer, why not? Go ahead and answer it for them. I will be super grateful to you for doing that because that person will have been served before I could get to them.

So I am grateful for those of you who take the initiative to answer people’s questions.

Now I want to leave you today with a wonderful quote by John Bunyan. You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.

Cheers. Take care, guys. Thank you so much for those of you who have already decided to take part in the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America 2018. I’ll see you soon. Bye-bye.