Giant Yarn Haul * *August 2016

This post will be updated when better weather prevails and I can take some more pictures!

From August 8th until the 20th the Spinrite factory in Listowel, Ontario is having their annual August tent sale!  This year their is a different mix and selection from previous years and I picked up some great deals and interesting yarn.  You can see what I bought here in this youtube video where I show you what I purchased:

As promised in the video here are the worsted and soft worsted weight pictures.  You can see a bit of a difference which although not huge, makes a difference to the overall finished product. 

soft worsted (top, brighter colour), & regular worsted weight (on the bottom) yarn for side by side comparison

tent sale worsted

worsted and soft worsted (brighter colour that crosses over top) yarn from the spinrite tent sale

Listowel and the spinrite outlet, is not too hard to get to if you live in the southern or south western region. Less than an hour from Kitchener-Waterloo, about an hour  from Guelph or Kincardine, 2 hours from Sarnia or Barrie, an hour and 20 minutes from London, or an hour and three quarters from the St.Thomas, Hamilton or Mississauga regions(depending on which side you live on).  It's a pleasant bucolic drive once you get on your way! 

 

 

Leave a little extra time if you are going to be passing through Mitchel as they have some construction happening on the main road through.

 

Listowel also has a great health food store in Pandora's Pantry and an awesome shoe store if you have hard to fit feet or are in the market for a nice pair of shoes. (links to both if you click on either)

I will get some more pictures up soon, it's been a grey, stormy day so not the best for pictures.  But more will be posted soon. 

Let me know if you get to the tent sale yourself!  I'd love to hear if you found any gems for yourself and what you thought of it! 

Have a great weekend!
Annie x

Crochet Project...Part 2 - My Year So Far

This is Part 2 of my post about the craft and crochet projects I have finished so far this year.  Part 1 has the blankets that I have made so far and this will include everything else.  Please take a peak at part 1 when you are done reading here.  They really don`t need to be read in order.  I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures. Let me know what your favourite is or any suggestions for what other projects I should try soon!

2 chicks egg cozies.  My first attempt at reading a written pattern and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.  I will definitely be seeking out more patterns in general and more egg cozies to make in the future!

Slytherin inspired scarf and hat.  For my brother, hopefully he likes them and remembers asking me to make them (he is a bit the absent minded professor type) Otherwise it is just going to seem like I am giving him Harry Potter themed gifts out of the blue.

Ok, so these are actually knitted (rather than crocheted) scarves.  But I made them in January before I had started crocheting and thought I would include them.  I liked both of the yarns and will definitely be looking to use both types again although next time I think I will most likely be crocheting with them!

I`m missing pictures for the slippers (but they were better from a distance anyway. Take a look at the youtube video I made below that shows them, if you are interested!).

I also don`t have pictures for the items I ended up ripping out and I kinda wish I did.  Some things worked about them, but overall I felt it wasn`t worth proceeding with them or got done and it just didn`t work so I ripped up so I could reuse the yarn. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you drop by again soon!

Have a fantastic day!
Annie

ps. here`s the youtube video where I talk a bit more about these projects and a few more.

Crochet Projects...Part 1- My Year So Far || August 2015

This is part 1 of the craft projects I have finished so far in 2015.  This post will focus on the blankets I have completed so far this year. Check out part 2 for all other types of projects I have been doing!

Scroll down if you are looking to see these projects in video form!

Crochet is a brand new hobby for me this year and I really am loving it!

My first project.  This went up so much easier and quicker than I thought it would.  I was really happy with how it turned out and the fact that it did turn out nicely really encouraged me to keep going!

A white baby blanket that is more than a little wonky was my next project.  I think this one may be improved slightly by blocking it as it should make the blocks more squared off and the join lines significantly straighter!

Cornflower blue and gold large square bedspread & pillow cover.  I imagine I am going to give this one away as a gift for sure.  I was already thinking about that when I was making it as there are several people who I think would like this colour combo!

My Fiesta or rather siesta inspired blanket.  I decided to try to see if I could use up some of the bits and pieces of yarn that were kicking around and planned to use black or white to try to tie them all together.  I ended up choosing the black as I felt like it made the colours pop that little bit extra!  I have been very happy with how it turned out! Although, I do need to get a move on and get the last third of it all joined together!

Heather green open web blanket.  This was my first time straying away from the granny square formula.  I really like how it turned out.  I think adding the border on the whole thing added a lot to the blanket looking more like a finished piece.

This fluffy white blanket is made of my favourite 'pooch' yarn in a stitch that crochets up super quick! If you ever need to make a gift in an afternoon this would be a great choice.  I think the speed and ease would hold true if you used a boucle or any other chunky weight yarn.  It really is the texture that makes this so forgiving to work on if you have small mistakes or tension problems. In my experience I think it is about finding the balance in the yarn where it will be forgiving of your errors but doesn't actually make it more difficult to do the project.  For me Pooch yarn does just that!

Watch for Part 2 which I will be posting tomorrow! It is full of all the other projects (that weren't blankets) that I have completed this year!

What is your favourite kind of yarn to crochet or knit with? or do you prefer a different kind of craft altogether? Let me know and that's for dropping by!

Watch the video of this here:

I hope you are having a fantastic day!

Annie