The 10th Commandment

When I was little, I remember being worried that I would break that 10 commandment accidently. I figured, at the age of four, that most of the other commandments sounded pretty simple. Well, maybe not the "Honor your father and your mother," but the rest weren't too hard. I wasn't planning on killing anyone, and I knew I wouldn't have to worry about "Adultery" until, well, I was an adult. (No one had explained what it meant, so I figured it had something to do with being a grown up and since I was a kid...) But coveting, that's a different story.

I remember having a conversation with my mother about what the word meant, and from then on I was terrified to say I wanted anything, in case I sinned. It didn't take me too much longer to further examine this commandment, and after another chat with my mom, I learned the difference between wanting to have something and thinking you would just die without it and only thinking of that thing. While I'm not sure exactly how old I was when all of this took place, I couldn't have been much older than four, since we were still in the apartment in Maryland. 

At any rate, all this is just a preface to today's post: The Top 5 Yarns I Wish I Had

I'm not coveting. I'm not even obsessing. I'm just wishing I had an excuse to purchase and use them.

(Since I don't own these yarns, I'm not sure what all of their official names are. I'll do what I can.)

1. Yarn Bee: Chinchilla
(Have I mentioned that this may very well be my favorite brand?)

My biggest issue with this is what it would be used for besides a scarf. Way too much material needed to make a sweater, far to chunky to make socks or even slippers. A hat would come out looking awkward. But someday I will find the right pattern. Someday.


2. I Love This Wool!:Naturals (In striped)

Only one shot of this kind. I love love love the tight color variation. I just tend to avoid using yarns like this because it always looks better as a skein. And it's wool. The fact that it made my top five to try says a lot about my strong attraction to the color and pattern. It's not a member of my stash because, aside from the fact I haven't found a use for it, it's wool. Maybe I'll take a chance on it.


3. Red Heart Boutique: Chic

It's long and fluffy and has cotton ball like things attached. Useful, no. Bizarre, yes. Once again, what do you use it for? A scarf pattern is included, but is that its only purpose? Surely not. (Notice the clearance tags and be proud of the fact I didn't actually buy any.)


4. Red Heart Boutique: Rigoletto

It kind of looks like a partially made sweater already. And you could just pull it out of the skein, wrap it around your neck, and be good to go. But much like the chinchilla yarn, I really want to try making something different out of it. Hmm....


5. Red Heart Boutique: Ribbons

Ruffle scarves are pretty. Ruffle scarves easy to make. But with so many varieties of ribbon yarn available these days, it would be nice to find another use for ribbon yarn. It's so pretty, but I just can't bring myself to jump on the ruffle scarf wagon. (I say that...and yet I have made a few out of tulle ribbon. So maybe I'm just a hypocrite.) And this one sparkles.

So now everyone knows what to get me for Christmas...but by then I'm sure to have moved on other yarns.

Stay crafty!

CR

Humility

So after the way my post got all off-kilter last night, thanks to the pictures, I decided today I would be smart and load the images first. We'll see if it works. Saturday I was in a craft store with a 50% off coupon, with my 15% teacher discount on top of that...never a safe combination. I've been wanting to try Tunisian crochet for as long as I've known about it, but wasn't sure what that was exactly. Turns out it's kind of a hybrid between crocheting and knitting. The hook you're supposed to use looks like a knitting needle with a crochet hook on the end. It's strange. Thanks to the coupon and discount, I brought home this book, which may or may not be a good thing. The following is my first attempt. Since it was 3 dimensional, more so than most of my projects, I figured I must have done something wrong. It looked a lot like my first crocheted scarf, which was scary looking.

I tore it out, and started over. I will say I like the speed in which a row is finished. While the stitches are not very large themselves, it goes quick. That's always a plus. However, it doesn't really matter how fast or slow the work grows if I have to keep tearing it out and restarting. The one thing I knitted (a cozy for my travel mug) was torn out and restarted too many times to count. Just ask my mom. She thought it was funny until she started a knitting project later on. There is quite a bit of pulling out and trying again, especially if you want your project to look halfway decent. At any rate, this is attempt two.

I think it's an improvement over the first try...there weren't quite so many stitches sticking out every direction, but it's still a far cry from the picture in the book.

Maybe I need to go watch that interactive DVD that was included. It might help.

Beginnings

There is something so exciting about walking into a new craft store and taking in the sights and smells that greet you as you enter in the newest Mecca. Actually, I get this rush each time I walk into any craft store, whether it be the first time or the fifty-seven hundredth. I love it. The way the sale items are displayed on racks in the middle of the store, the sections that divide paper crafts from wood working, cloth from floral, and of course, the yarn department.

To be honest, I love all kinds of crafts, and have the odds and ends stored in my recently organized craft room to prove it. But there is something so reassuring about yarn. To begin with, it's pretty. And soft. Even before I do anything with the skein of yarn, it is already a work of art. All that is left for me to do is take it one more step and tun the ball of yarn into something useful...at least something pretending to be useful. And I know that no matter how horribly messy my final project may turn out and how poorly my feeble attempts at a sweater may be, at least the yarn started out looking pretty.

As much as I love just standing in the yarn aisle and admiring the varied hues and patterns, I also love buying yarn. Armed with a new pattern for something that can potentially be my new favorite accessory or a warm snuggly blanket or a super cute baby gift, I comb the racks for the perfect material. I have to consider color and texture and weight and pattern and, sadly, price. Right now I'm infatuated with sock yarn. Why, I'm not sure. Possibly because I am a die hard crochet-er and there are not very many crochet sock patterns (I've looked. I found one that uses sock yarn. ONE. I'm sure there are others out there, but good luck finding them with out digging for hours.) It's the forbidden fruit syndrome. Sure, there is no possible reason I need to buy five skeins of sock yarn, but it's on sale! And it's so pretty!

Of course, after buying the yarn and guiltily sneaking it into the house hoping my dear sweet husband won't care too much that I have bought more yarn yet again, I have to ball it all up. I'm sure there are many of you who know that this step is unneeded and just a waste of time, but to you I say oh well. I like to ball up my yarn. It gives me a chance to get to know my material, to examine the coloring, the texture, and to see if it will be the kind of yarn that likes to snag or shred. Balling the yarn is a very important ritual. Besides, then I know for certain that there won't be any surprise knots or breaks in the middle of my project.

This fascination with sock yarn lasted until about 45 minutes ago, when I decided to start a blog. I'll admit it, I'm avoiding the sock yarn that is so incredibly thin, the hook that is also microscopic and the pattern with it's annoying "extended single crochet". Who's even heard of extended single crochet? Let's just say that while it's not a difficult stitch, it's obnoxious, especially while using my lovely half-price sock yarn. It gave me a hand cramp. So the project is taking a back seat for the moment while I rediscover my love of all things yarn, even sock yarn. It does have a really nifty pink and grey striped pattern, which is the reason I bought it in the first place.

I have a problem with finishing things. I love to start a new project, a new hobby, a new blog, whatever it is, and then I get tired of it and walk off. For example, sitting on the desk next to me is the sock that I am in the middle of crocheting. So far I've been working on it pretty consistently, but the problem with socks and slippers and such is that there are two of them. I can usually make it through the first one with no problem; it's the second that gives me issues. So maybe I'm writing this as a way to remind myself that I need to stop beginning so many new things and maybe stick with something and see it through to the end. Maybe I need to stop buying so much new yarn and finally figure out what to do with the mounds of it that are stacked neatly (for now) on the shelves in my room.

But where's the fun in that?