Monday, March 28, 2011

[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.

9 comments:

Julie said...

Ugh!! I agree with you! I bought a skein of that Homespun a few years back. I've tried to crochet with it on several occasions, and it is just a nightmare. It looks pretty, but it is impossible to use!

Julie said...

Hi! Your post about yarns sounds a LOT like mine! twistedstrands.blogspot.com
And when I started to crochet a few years ago, I picked out Homespun to make my very first scarf, and had the exact same nightmare. I stuck it out and finished the scarf, and I have managed to use it since then by going WAY up on hook size. The one good thing about that yarn is that the texture hides all the mistakes lol!

I'm looking forward to reading your posts this week!

Deneen said...

I have a pattern out using Homespun and it uses a larger hook-the only way I can use Homespun. I Love this Yarn is not available here, however I have been "gifted" both the acrylic and cotton and they both feel lovely.

sylviesgarden said...

Hello, thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment. This is a great way to find other like minded bloggers.
I look forward to the rest of your posts.
x

CrochetBlogger said...

Love your post for Knit and Crochet Blog Week (which I'm also participating in this year!) Great point about how a "bad" yarn can be the perfect yarn for a specific project. I've never tried the ILTY brand (never even heard of it actually) so I'll have to keep my eye out of it.

CrochetBlogger said...

Love your post for Knit and Crochet Blog Week (which I'm also participating in this year!) Great point about how a "bad" yarn can be the perfect yarn for a specific project. I've never tried the ILTY brand (never even heard of it actually) so I'll have to keep my eye out of it.

mia said...

I can't crochet with Homespun, either. I've considered

mia said...

Considered moving the enter key, so I don't post things half-done by accident. :) Anyway. The Homespun I've considered wrapping around things, or just leaving it in skeins so I can pet it every once in a while. I had such an awful time crocheting with it, though, I'll never use it again.

Cris said...

hehehe I'm still trying to figure out if I like the "disqus" comments or if I need to find something else or go back to regular old blogger comments.

As for the homespun - I love how it feels too... suckered me right in till I had to crochet with it LOL

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