Free Yarn (and a story of progress)

All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Check it out! I made two, crocheted washcloths! The square one was simply an exercise in practicing double crochet. I needed to work on rhythm and tension so I did one row of double then one row of single until I got sick of working on it. Then I made a little chain loop because...well... I figured that my stitches were actually nice enough that I didn't have to throw this swatch away so it could actually BE something (like a washcloth).

Washcloth number two... my very first, successful crochet-in-the-round. It's pretty sweet. My stitches look good and there are only a couple of "holes" where I think I may have missed a pick-up. Plus, it lays flat!

Previously, I mentioned that one of the inspirations for me to learn crochet were some free Lion Brand patterns that I'd gotten in their weekly newsletter. Specifically, I really wanted to make this washcloth.

I don't know what it is about this stupid thing that's so appealing to me but, for whatever reason, it was the impetus for my new crafting adventure.

So, attempt number three (attempts 1 and 2 were chronicled in an earlier post) was supposed to be "Alex follows a pattern" and, according to Lion Brand, this is an easy pattern. "Easy" is relative when you don't know anything at all.

My first challenge was with the abbreviations in the pattern. "ch 1", "sl st", and "dc" meant, literally, nothing. So, I broke out my library books and looked up the various definitions and instructions for each abbreviation. Challenge number two was with the language of the pattern. Some of the instructions were easily identified as variations on the language of knitting patterns but some was absolute Greek. "(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in each ch-1 sp around" might mean something to even the novice crocheter but, to someone who has never, ever read a pattern before, it's complete gibberish - even with the abbreviations defined.

It's in Greek - istg

I sallied forth and attempted to do the pattern with my library books as instruction but I ended up with a morass of crazy that didn't remotely look like the washcloth of my dreams.

Back up and punt. I put the pattern away and decided to try to, at least, make something round. In my mind, if I could get the "round" part mastered, the pattern would be easier. Neither of my library books had a simple round pattern in it so off to the Interwebs I went. Can I just say...thank Babyjesus for YouTube and this woman:

Bthintx1's YouTube channel may become my de facto online home. She keeps it simple and explains EVERYTHING. So, basically, I started the video, paused, did what she did, re-started the video, paused, did what she did... etc. and I ended up with that awesome round washcloth above! Amazing.

Unfortunately, the video doesn't address my inability to read the pattern. For that, I bothered my co-worker, the lovely and talented Lisa, to help me decipher it. She was, in fact, very helpful - for the first few rows. By the time I hit row 4, there was a new instruction I didn't understand. So, I'll be back at her desk this afternoon for more one-on-one guidance. Which brings me to this thought...

When I learned to knit, I took a few classes. I've decided, after this experience, that teaching oneself pattern-based crafting is really an exercise in futility and frustration. It's just better when someone (even an anonymous, online someone) can show you what you need to do.

On a final note, I'd like to talk about the yarn I'm using for these washcloths. Cassandra and I attended the Sheep In The City convention in Milwaukee last winter and found some really gorgeous yarns there. One of the more interesting yarns we saw is made from corn fiber. The company, Corny Goodness, makes yarns of pure corn fiber or a wool/corn blend in some of the most beautiful colors you've ever seen. In the booth, they had a number of items knit with this amazing, hypoallergenic, vegan, yarn - and one of the coolest was a dishcloth. There's something about the weight and texture of the yarn that makes it perfect for this use. Plus, the fiber has some weird qualities, like it's antibacterial and dries extra fast, that make it really appealing for any cloth that's going to be getting wet.

The yarn has a slight sheen that is really appealing and the colorways are incredible. My one complaint is that working with it is a bit of a chore. It's "sticky" - kind of like the way cotton feels sticky after working with wool, but 10 times mores so. And it tends to be a bit splitty, which is only really a problem because I'm still learning how to use the crochet hook properly. The skeins aren't cheap - $14 US per - but they're huge. The DK weight comes in around 100 grams or 240 yards of yarn. That's a LOT of washcloths.

So...I have two skeins of Corny Goodness DK weight in colorway Orville's Ocean Light (see above) and I'd like to give one away to you guys. If you'd like to be entered into a random drawing for this skein of yarn, simply comment below before 3pm CST Friday August 19. (Comments now closed please see here for winner.) All eligible names will be put into a hat and we'll do a random drawing to see who wins. If you enter, please remember that we need a way to contact you so, if you aren't registered with Blogspot you'll need to send us an email so we can let you know if you won.

I love giveaways!

- Alex

Sheep in the City

This past Saturday, Alex and I took a much needed break from the current craziness in Madison. We headed down to Milwaukee for some fun with yarn people at The Sheep in the City event. Last year we weren't able to attend and were pleasantly surprised at some improvements since our visit in 2009. Some of the changes we noted immediately were: the event is now held at a larger hotel with a bar and restaurant, the trade show area was much roomier and was able to accommodate more vendors and there is a lovely auditorium for listening to speakers.

Main trade show room...the center had room for spinners and knitters.

Unfortunately we weren't able to attend any of the classes...but we did what we do best, make friends and spend money! There were some really neat vendors we were able to visit, these are a couple of our favorites:

Corny Goodness
Yes, they can make yarn out of corn these days. The 100% corn yarn is quite soft. It reminds me a bit of Rowan's milk cotton, except it seems even more "splitty". This is why I chose to purchase the corn/wool blend yarn. It has really nice stitch definition. I think that is why the patterns that they sell with their yarn shows off that fact.

The crocodile hat is just one of their patterns using this technique.

The Corny Goodness yarns come in a nice variety of colors.

This is my corn yarn purchase, I have no idea what I am making yet.

Happy Hands Yarns
These generous-sized skeins of yarn are all hand-dyed in yummy colors. Soft, lofty, candy for knitters. Now, I'm not a big fan of variegated yarns, but she does have some subtle colorways that I find quite appealing. This is what her overflowing tables looked like:

Shiny happy yarns holding hands.

My Happy Hands 100% Merino purchase. I told you it was subtle.

There were so many cool things that we saw that day, but these might be my favorite:

Sheep and alpacas made from mohair. 10pts on the cute-o-meter.

It was a great day... aside from the snowy ride home! We had fun, met some fun people, and bought interesting yarns. It is getting me excited for the upcoming "Knit In" event in Madison!

–Cassandra