The Shtick I Do

Been to the yarn store lately? Seen all that funky looking yarn that's just too cool to pass up, so you pick it up, play with it, put it back down, pick it up again and then it somehow magically ends up in your shopping cart? (We call those "buggys" in my neck of the woods) Well, I've done that exact same thing. Several times actually. As has my mother, who then sends said funky yarn to me and tells me that I can come up with something to make out of it. *insert confused face here* My lovely daughter Kat is here for a visit from Kentucky and we were discussing fiber flubs just like this and just what the heck we can do with them. So here's our list of what you can do with that irresistible yarn that jumped into your cart when no one was looking. ==============================   Image from The Left Side of Crochet Crochet Thread :   Bookmarks are great for those of us that still love books made of paper PLUS it's a great starter...

Written Instructions: 3 out of 5 stars I find it frustrating to have to dig through instructions looking for what I need. Video Instructions: 5 out of 5 Mikey knocks this one out of the park! Explaining and demonstrating every stitch in a fashion that anyone can understand. SO ... if you've been reading long enough you know that people all around me are having babies. Almost everywhere I turn, I run into another lady ready to have a small bundle of joy. But that isn't a complaint by any stretch of the imagination. I absolutely LOVE babies!  My youngest sister is getting ready to have her second in just a few weeks, she's due sometime around my son's high school graduation date at the end of May. I searched around a while, looked at and tried a few patterns for baby dresses (she's having another girl) but I wasn't too happy with the way they were turning out. I'm sure it's because I went and bought yarn before I decided on a pattern. Let...

Do you know what I mean when I say "center-pull"? If you've been working with yarn for even a short while, I'm sure you do. For those of you that don't it's simply pulling the yarn from the center of the skein instead of the outside ** shivers at the thought ** and not having to roll the skein into a ball. I work with Red Heart yarns a lot, the two main reasons being that the brand is readily available in a number of colors and it's pretty easy on the wallet. I have also come to love this: Is that not a great idea? Don't you wish ALL yarn companies did this? I do. Someone finally decided to make it a bit easier on us yarn-junkies and label the yarn to show us which end to pull from.  ** One quick note: I highly recommend the A side be avoided like the plague . . . just saying. ** Back to the topic at hand. If you do use the center-pull method, you've more than likely noticed how frustrating it can get once you're down to the ...

This is a fantastic way to handle the Sashay style yarns from Red Heart and other companies. Spread it out and roll it up on a cardboard tube (I used one from toilet tissue). Now all you have to do is set it up on a spindle and crochet away! A standing paper towel holder is perfect for this or a knitting needle poked through a sturdy cardboard box. What can I say - I'm a redneck! Hopefully this will help anyone that has the same issues I have with this type of yarn - it's hard as heck to handle the way it's originally packaged. Especially for me since I have arthritis and carpal tunnel.  Re-spooling the yarn this way makes it much easier to use and not get cramps, pain or tingling simply from handling the yarn. Hope this helps you! Peace and Blessings! ~~Karen~~