[2KCBWDAY1] Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2011: Day 1

A TALE OF TWO YARNS
Today's topic is a simple one - tell readers about two yarns, perhaps one I like and one I do not. This is simple enough because yarn is the .... foundation .... (get it?) ... of crochet. I don't know if it is inherent to knitters and crocheters, but I am a very texture based person. I really enjoy touching things - and with crochet, that means I get to run my hand over so many different fibers. Simply put - texture is important.

So what yarn do I enjoy? I know there are a lot of expensive yarns out there: silk blends, cotton, bamboo - all so lovely to touch. But while texture is important, I have to consider cost. I do a fair amount of charity crochet and I go through a lot of yarn just crocheting other types of items for personal use and gifts. I like to use expensive yarns, but I'm just a regular ole person - I can't afford to put 10$ or more into a skein of yarn, and then make something that takes 5 or 6 skeins.

my cowel in ILTY oatmeal

This is why my favorite yarn is "I Love This Yarn" brand yarn. I will buy other acrylic yarns, including Red Heart, but you will find a lot of my projects use ILTY. I like that it is rather affordable and for an acrylic yarn, it is relatively soft. If I have to choose a specific color from this brand, I love the tweeds and even more specifically, "oatmeal" would be my favorite. I keep several skeins on hand for emergency use and have made several items out of it already. The price just makes it even more appealing than it is already.

There is one yarn that was deceptive. I was visiting my mother and my husband went to Walmart for some random items. He came back and had a bag of this yarn. It was absolutely gorgeous and the texture was lovely. I was actually surprised he picked out such a nice yarn. When I went to crochet a scarf out of it, it was a nightmare. The crimped nature of the yarn and the fiberous nature of it made it hard to count stitches and stay on track with the pattern. I ended up frogging as much as I could until the yarn got tangled into itself. At that point, I threw away the remaining portion.

Unfortunately - I had 3 skeins of this stuff!

Well - the story does have a happy ending. I stuck the yarn in a bag and shoved it into a drawer. Out of sight, out of mind. One day I was watching YouTube videos and came across a pattern that I wanted to try. It was a loom knitted caterpillar scarf. I started it with regular yarn (probably ILTY hehe) and didn't like it. I frogged it. I conceded I would most likely need to go buy yarn until, for some reason, a lightbulb came on and I went and got the frustrating yarn. The yarn worked into the loom beautifully and did wonders for the pattern. I was glad I had it, even if it made me angry months ago.

Scarf made with Lion Brand Homespun

So what is the yarn - the yarn was Lion Brand Homespun yarn. The color I had was called Colonial (which reminded me of peacock blue). It has a silky texture to it, it is affordable, and it is hard to work with.

This yarn was truly a lesson in buying yarn that fits the project. Not all yarns can be forced into a certain pattern.