Yesterday, after I had spent as much time as I cared to sorting through the myriad skeins of yarn that comprise my yarn stash, I grabbed some of the Red Heart Super Saver royal I had unearthed in the process and got started on the fifth of what will be eight crochet baskets for my Ikea cubbies.

Shortly after lunch today, I had completed work on the base and begun work on the first round of the sides.

Here is how the outside of the basket-to-be looked:

and here is a view of the interior:

While I am anxious to get the crochet baskets for my Ikea cubbies done so I can work past my current organizational stasis, I have trouble resisting the urge to crochet something for Valentine’s Day, and this year is no exception.

After reading this article about a Ms. Erika Anderson (currently of Brooklyn) and her “Army of Lovers” project, I found that her holiday spirit was infectious, and while I have no desire to pass out Valentine’s Day cards, it did occur to me that I could use the holiday as a way to evangelize crochet with a small, Valentine-themed crochet project that I could give to those who might not otherwise be included in the celebration.

So early this afternoon, after I had set the basket aside for the day, I got out my 5.0 mm hook, some worsted weight yarn, and retrieved the pattern for May Cheang’s Endless Love crochet hearts and got to work.

After finishing a string of 19 perfect pink hearts worked as described in the pattern, I decided to make an alteration which resulted in a slightly larger, cherry red heart to serve as a Valentine medallion:

Before the sun descended for the day, I made three more of these crochet confections:

What I admire about Erika Anderson’s effort is that she takes a holiday that can exclude so many and seeks to rehabilitate it by using it as an opportunity to spread joy and caring to everyone with whom she comes in contact, and that is an idea worth spreading.