Valerean

This small yarn lot was one I purchased at the thrift auction using the buy-it-now option; I needed a couple of specific colors for upcoming projects and it had them all. Plus I counted fifteen, possibly sixteen skeins with a few labels that indicated good quality, so it seemed like a good risk. Since it came from a store in Jacksonville the lot arrived just two days later, which is really speedy. Let's take a look. There were actually seventeen skeins of yarn, and they're clean, odorless and in pretty good condition. The ones with labels tell me I got a bargain -- for example, the two skeins of YarnBee Effortless Super Bulky in Biscotti in the center there retail for $8.99 each. The two Bernat Baby Coordinates skeins in pink/white and blue/white are discontinued, and run about $25.00 per skein according to Google. For these reasons I'm quite happy giving the yarn a resale price of $5.00 a skein, or $85.00 for the total value. I paid $7.99 for the lot, or...

I'm going to try to make some projects with just one skein of yarn, as I don't have many multiple of color in my stash, and it'll be fun to try new patterns that won't take me two weeks to make. I am particularly interested in making patterns using blanket yarn like this one, as currently I don't have any use for it. I just did a search for free printable patterns for Bernat baby blanket yarn, and found this one on Ravelry . Upfront warning: it's written in crochet shorthand, so unless you're accustomed to reading that it may get confusing. It took a couple of hours to make the bear, which was simple enough, and used a little over half a skein, as it takes slightly more than the 100 grams as specified in the pattern. Problems: not many. There were no instructions or template for embroidering the eyes and muzzle so I winged that, and it's not the best (it's the first time I've tried embroidery for eyes. I also should have used wor...

The very delayed 10.25 lbs. fabrics & crafts lot that was offered as a $19.90 buy-it-now with one penny shipping at the thrift auction finally arrived! Let's see if I got a good deal. Everything that was listed in the auction is here, including the fabric bolt, bags and the rolls of material. The bolt is tubular lightweight knit fabric, and quite a lot of it. The other rolls turned out to be faux leather, which is quite pricey. Since it's not real leather I might try to make a purse or something out of it. I was right about the Christmas quilt top kit! Someone did finish the top, and it's beautiful. I'll guess these were laser cut appliques with the fusible glue already on them from the original kit. Still, the maker did a lovely job, and I will be finishing the top in time to use it for Christmas. There's a cross stitch runner waiting to be finished, too (and the original maker thoughtfully included the embroidery threads she ...

Sometimes a project just doesn't work out. It's rare that this happens to me, but it does now and then. All makers make mistakes. I choose a pattern that is too difficult or for some reason aggravating, the wrong yarn, the wrong type of project, and I don't realize it until I'm a day or two in. I want to show you a very good example of this so you know it happens to everyone. Here I am checking gauge (see, I'm keeping my latest self-care goals) for this free shrug pattern , which I planned to do on the side while I worked on other things. It looked light and breezy, the pattern seemed like another mindless one-row repeat, I like shrugs and I thought I had the perfect novelty yarn (and the right amount of it) to make it. This project, however, was wrong in every way. It took me two days to make this much of the shrug. I am very fast, except when I have to do specialty stitches that require my full attention. This shrug is made of single crochet stitc...

Another stop my guy and I made while in Cocoa Village was Hello Again Books . I love this shop, as it's small, cozy, and offers new and used books that are wonderfully curated. This time I splurged on a tote and a whole pile of reads. I think I might work a fictional version of the shop in a short story I'm thinking about writing inspired by this house. :)

While my guy and I were visiting Cococa Village last month we stopped in Knit and Stitch Boutique , an amazing textile art shop with the most gorgeous yarns and textile art necessities. They also offer knitting and crochet classes, which makes me want to move to their wonderful town. The ladies at the shop were so friendly and helpful; you feel like a regular the minute you walk inside. There are walls upon walls of yarn in the most beautiful colors, too. Since I finished and delivered my latest project for the day job on time, and I successfully dealt with some other very challenging situations, I gave myself permission to buy whatever I wanted that day. Here's what I came home with; two of the skeins are from Juniper Moon Farms, the wonderful sheep farm that ran the CSA I used to belong to some years back. The white bag is a crochet scarf kit, and the yarn for it is gorgeous. I highly recommend Knit and Stitches Boutique as an absolutely must stop in Cococa...