Pattern Review: Yes Yes Shawl by Bernat Design Studio

• Pattern Name: Yes Yes Shawl by Bernat Design Studio

• Link: http://www.yarnspirations.com/pattern/crochet/yes-yes-shawl

• Positives:

It's a fairly complicated pattern considering all things, BUT the extra support from the Yarspirations website as well as having it be one of the challenges that The Crochet Crowd was doing definitely made this pattern almost fool proof.  

• Negatives:

With as much help as there was for this project, I can't pinpoint exactly why I decided to frog my shawl other than the fact that I'm not a shawl person.  Yes, the yarn I used probably wasn't the most ideal, and the weight of it seemed too heavy with what I used, but I thought that maybe I'd put it on my etsy website and sell it, since they seem so easy to construct, but when I realized my heart wasn't in it, suddenly that yarn seemed to be destined to be in another project. 

I've never owned one myself and truthfully, no offense to anyone out there, they aren't something that my demographic usually wears.

Hopefully the next The Crochet Crowd Challenge will be something to spark my interest and I can share more insight into some great patterns. 

 

10 things I love about crochet...

1.  The crochet community is awesome. I've never met more helpful, encouraging people.  I learned crochet from The Crochet Crowd on YouTube. 

2.  In other areas I don't feel like I'm extremely creative but with yarn and hook and a pattern I can make something beautiful. 

3.  I'm great with patterns, not just reading them but looking at a picture of something and making a pattern from what I see. Crochet is the new jigsaw puzzle. 

4. It can be a fairly inexpensive hobby to have. Being a stay at home mom it helps that I'm not spending all my extra money on something just for me. 

5. I love yarn!

6. Crochet hooks, at least the metal ones I use, never go out of style or get broken or dried out or too old. 

7. There are so many patterns out there I'll never run out of things to make!!!

8. With other artsy mediums, like painting, usually once you've put paint to paper you can't take it back. Frogging sometimes makes your project so much better!

9. Crocheting is extremely relaxing for me.  

10.  Making my hobby into a small business has been extremely rewarding. 

What do you love about crochet?  Comment below!

CADD (Crochet Attention Deficit Disorder) & How To Overcome It

Let the sarcasm begin: 

We all have them, that project or projects that we start and then change our mind about and switch to a different pattern.  There's also the projects which we start and put down and never finish. And then there are the projects that sound like good ideas until there are deadlines then they become the bain of our existence and are worse than spring break and Christmas break homework that needs to be done by back to school time.  Welcome to the world of CADD!

WebMD.com defines ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder as hyperactivity, impulsiveness and inattentiveness that can cause problems at home, school, work, or in relationships.  I'm not at all making fun of this true condition, but it's comical to me as to how many people suffer from what I call CADD (Crochet Attention Deficit Disorder).  Whether it's a new pattern you find online, or a new yarn you see in a store, or getting lost on Pinterest or Ravelry.com, the amount of creative options out there leaves even the most organized crafter wondering if there is a medication that can stop them from starting yet another crochet project.

Picking a pattern/yarn:

These can be the hardest CADD symptoms to overcome and depending on your creative process they go hand in hand.  Sometimes you have yarn and you find a pattern and sometimes you have a pattern and find the yarn. 

With online stores and websites out there like Instagram, Pinterest and Ravelry and The Crochet Crowd it's hard to avoid yarn and pattern overload.  No offense to any of those sites, but there are just too many options! 

Stop giving us so many great and easy to crochet patterns!  Stop showing us beautiful yarns in every shade and texture and weight imaginable!  We are only human and we can't decide what projects to work on! 

Overcoming Pattern/Yarn CADD Symptoms:  

If you're a new crocheter start by finding a pattern to work on and only buy the yarn that goes with that pattern.  A good suggestion is to find a CAL (Crochet-A-Long) project to work on...1) there will be small doses of crochet doled out to you in usually weekly clues so you won't feel overwhelmed 2) Most CAL projects have very detailed supply lists and instructions so you will have a strict "to do list" so you won't get distracted. When you are done, save the left over yarn and immediately start a stash-busting afghan of granny squares or hexagons.  The more random the better and think of this as a bonus project that you can donate to charity later if you can't find an owner for it.  The key is to keep your amount of left over yarn in check.  It will leave you feeling like you don't HAVE TO start another project while working on a current one.

Staying on Task:

Whether you do it on paper or electronically, keep track of your projects and how far along you are in doing them if you are working on more than one at a time.  Ravelry is great for this!  On the projects page they have tools to organize your projects and a little tool to tell you and other people just how far along you are in your project timeline.

Overcoming Stalled Projects: 

We all have projects that we start and get bored with.  Try to push through and finish the project.  If you simply can't stand the project, start a timer and work for 15 minutes on the pattern.  Most times I find that if I start a project I tell myself "one row or one more square then I'll stop and I end up finishing inches and sometimes feet of projects without paying attention to the time. 

When working on multiple projects: Check your list before you start to crochet, especially if items are sale items you are making for Etsy, trade shows or for store orders, work on paid items first.  Happy customers equal return visits and steady income of money!

 Saving Money:

Know what patterns you have and what yarn you own.  Sometimes by just knowing what you already have keeps you from starting something new!  Something new usually means a trip to the store and spending more money than you need.  I don't know anyone who goes to the craft store and comes home with just the yarn they were looking for.  If you have mastered this then I bow down to you over and over!

When dealing with CADD know that you aren't alone.  Everyone has had symptoms at one point or another but managing them will make you a happier and more productive crafter.

Product Review: Red Heart Yarn Super Saver

Brand: Red Heart Yarn  - Super Saver

Link: http://www.redheart.com/yarn/super-saver-regular

Pro's:
The best things about Red Heart Super Saver Yarn are that it's do dye lot status, it's pricing is reasonable, it's sold in a million locations and it's quality gives it a strength that leaves you worry free when you sell items made with it or give items away as gifts.

Having the status of No Dye Lot, really saves me when I'm making projects.  Just today, I ran out of a color and went to check my stash and happened to have a ball I'd purchased a few month ago.  No Dye Lot meant that I didn't have to think twice about if the color would match my current project!

As a stay at home mom, price is always something I take into consideration when making crocheted items with any brand of yarn.  With a $2.00-$3.00 price range in most retail stores, I do look for skeins when they are on sale, but even if I have to pay top dollar I know I'm not wasting the extra money on something that I won't like.  Yes, I do like to splurge a little on yarn, but most times I'm making blankets and hats and scarves that will get a lot of wear and tear and I don't have to charge a million dollars for each item if I've only paid a few dollars for my materials.

The availability of Red Heart Yarns is amazing.  From my experience, if I walk into a store that sells yarn then they have Red Heart Super Saver Yarn.  It makes my life so much easier!  I can't say that I have a 100% grade for finding the colors I need since they are so popular with crafters, but usually it only takes two stops for me to find what I need!

Why do I really use Red Heart Yarn?  Simply put, the quailty of the yarn is amazing.  I've only been crocheting since 2009, but there are items that I made when I first started crocheting that are still in excellent condition.  My favorite is my daughter's afghan.  She's had it since birth and has gotten numerous "things" on it, but they have washed out easily without destroying the yarn in the process.

Con's:
I can only find one Con to say about Red Heart Super Saver Yarn:  Some of the skeins seem to be "scratcthy" and some seem to be "smooth".  I'm not sure if I've just missed the memo as to which are softer than others, but there is definitely a difference between some colors and others.  The good thing though to fix this is that most regular fabric softeners can soften the yarn, but if fabric softeners aren't used, you can definitely tell the difference.

Final Thoughts:
All in all I give Red Heart Super Saver Yarn an A+++.  If someone is a new crocheter or knitter I would highly advise trying this yarn because of the Pro's I've brought up...and if you're a more experienced artist, do not pass up a chance to use a great yarn!

Pattern Review: Crazy Patchwork Afghan

Pattern name:

TUTORIAL: Crazy Patchwork - Klimt Blankets 

Link: http://gingerschatz.blogspot.com/2011/09/tutorial-crazy-patchwork-klimt-blankets.html

My pattern notes:

Over the last few years I've made two of these popular afghans. One was done with Red Heart Super Saver Yarn in fall colors and one with Caron Simply Soft Yarn in a rainbow pattern. The type of yarn I used didn't seem to make a difference when it came to following the pattern. The sizes were different due to the yarn size but the steps I took to get the squares the correct size to attach to the other ones didn't change.

Positives:

This is an extremely flexible pattern when it comes to arranging the squares and picking colors.

The speed in which this pattern works up is great as well up to the point of needing to attach your squares together. Solid granny squares have been my favorite for a while so I find them come to me easily. 

Negatives:

There is a section where you attach 5 (2 round squares) together to match up with a 10 round square. For some reason the way I was attaching them didn't allow me to line up 5 squares. I used 4 and the pattern still worked but if you're looking to follow the pattern step by step this might be something to spend extra time on.

Because there are a lot of color changes there are a lot of loose ends to tuck in. Not the worst thing I the world when it comes to crocheting but it does slow the process a little.

Final thoughts: 

If you can granny square give this one a try. I'd recommend only using the same size yarn throughout the blanket but other than that the sky is the limit when it comes to this pattern!

About Me: My typical day

My typical day (aka controlling the chaos that is my 4 year old and two year old) begins with an early wake up. And when I say early I'm talking about an average 5am wake up. (This morning it was 3:45 am!!!) My children don't sleep in and when they do I check to see if they are dead, no... really!

How does effect my etsy shop and the rest of my life?  

Well to begin with my early morning sometimes is the best time of day to crochet and sometimes not.  When my kids happen to sleep in I get silent uninterrupted moments that I try to work on my most complicated projects during.  There is nothing more irritating and aggravating like trying to battle my "little interrupters".  I love my kids, don't get me wrong, but I think most mothers feel like they have ADD when it comes to completing projects while being in charge of the kids.  It goes a little something like this...

Single Crochet

Single Crochet

Single Crochet

Sip of coffee

Single Crochet

Single Crochet

"What honey? Oh Doc McStuffins is still on its just a commercial."

Single Crochet

Single Crochet

"Son get off the coffee table"

Single Crochet

"Daughter your shirt is on backwards."

Single Crochet

"Stop hitting the dog with your Legos."

Single crochet

Anyway you get the picture.

So on days when I've got the silence I can speed through project like I was born to do it. I surprise myself at how fast I've become at not only doing the stitching but also understanding the language of crochet and knit and yarn.  I've only been crocheting since 2009 but I can't remember when I wasn't doing it.

So if I'm not working first thing in the day I try to crochet while my children are playing. Before school they ride bikes so I sit in a folding chair in our driveway to supervise.  When I first started sitting there I thought the neighbors would peg me as the "crazy crocheting lady" but recently a person passed by and wanted me to make them something!  I guess you can find business anywhere!

So after a morning crochet session I drop my daughter off at preschool then come home and do my motherly-wife-housekeeper duties.

Drop off and pick up times are quick 15 minute crochet session and then a park session in the afternoon where I do double duty. If you couldn't tell I carry my crochet with me everywhere. I even carried it to the SSN office when I got married and had to legally change my name.  I finished almost a whole baby blanket during a glucose test that lasted three hours when they checked to see if I had gestational diabetes.  If there is a wait time I'm filling it with hexagons or headbands or blankets. 

At night, after hubby gets home from work there isn't much time to crochet but if he does fall asleep early I get a few minutes in. Actually I've never really thought about how much time I do crochet but I guess I'm addicted!!!!

At least this addiction turns into profit!