Yarnsicles

Hello World!

Hope you've all had a great Easter week-end with lots of time for family and crafting! I did. :)

What I want to show you today is a little something I had already posted on Facebook a while ago: Yarnsicles! :)

These are popsicle sticks wrapped in yarn, so the name yarnsicles seemed good to me. I had been wanting to make some samples of my Stylecraft Special DK yarn for a while, and I had seen something similar before on Lucy's Attic 24 and was also inspired by Sarah-Jayne's "Yarnspirations" on Bella Coco.

Both Lucy and Sarah-Jayne use wooden clothespins for their yarn-samples, so I wanted to do the same. But in a half-hearted search for some clothespins (already knowing that even if I found them, I wouldn't have enough for all the different colors in my stash), I found something that would do the job as well: popsicle sticks!

I had bought them a few years back for a craft project I've never even started, so I had plenty!

I've wrapped the yarn around one end of the stick in two tight layers and tied the ends to a knot. On the other end I've written the Stylecraft name for the according color. On the back (which is not shown) I've also written the color number.

Working on this fun little project made me realize two things: 1) I've gathered quite a lot of different colors over the years and 2) there are still so many colors missing in my collection, I need MORE yarn!!! (sounds familiar? *gg*)

Anyway, these yarnsicles work great when your trying to come up with a new color-combo for your next big project. And they're also nice to look at, aren't they? :)

And since I've also stocked up on my favorite cotton yarn (Catania by Schachenmayr), I thought about making some yarnsicles with Catania, too. Probably have to order some more colors first... :)

Yarns, Trials and Errors

I had lots of crochet plans for the past week-end (it's been a long one, because Monday was a national holiday in Germany), but in end... I achieved almost nothing ;)

Look what I’ve bought before the week-end:

The package on the left is a sock knitting set. They’ve got those sets once or twice a year in my favorite discounter (ALDI) and I usually buy a few packages and knit some pairs of socks for John and me. This year however, I’m afraid I’ve simply bought this yarn out of habit, because – with all those crochet ideas spinning around in my head – I don’t think I’ll be in the mood for knitting boring socks and I definitely wasn't the last week-end.

I had great plans with the variegated blue yarn in the front – I wanted to try the broomstick lace technique and make a scarf for my Mom (you can’t start with handmade Christmas presents too early, right?). It’s such a lovely yarn, very soft and I love the colors, but unfortunately it’s too thin for the pattern I had in mind. I’ve made a few rows, but it didn’t turn out right, so I had to rip it again. This was the second dead end.

The white and purple yarn in the background is a yarn I’ve been sneaking around all summer long. You can’t see it on the picture, but it’s a really extravagant yarn with tiny shimmering loops. Way too expensive actually, but guess what – it was for sale at the drugstore last week and cost only half of the usual prize! I’ve interpreted this as a sign and bought a few balls without really knowing what to do with it. I've tried a few things (mainly little ideas for Christmas decorations), but nothing worked out right - the third dead end.

What you don't see in the picture is a huge amount of colorful yarn I need for a great new project - you don't see it, because I couldn't buy it yet :( - the shop ran out of the yarn I wanted, so I have to come back at the end of this week. The next dead end.

Finally I've decided to try the broomstick lace technique with the way-too-expensive white yarn I've bought:

As far as I've read, broomstick lace is made with a regular size crochet hook and a really biiiig knitting needle for the loops. Needless to say, that I couldn't find such a big knitting needle in the shops, so I really had to use a broomstick, you can see it in the picture :)

Here's a close-up, maybe you can see the structure of the yarn a little bit better. If not, you just have to believe me, that it's an incredibly pretty yarn :) When this scarf is finished, I'll probably keep it for myself, because I don't think my Mom would like a white scarf (never mind how pretty the yarn). I have to go back to the yarn shop anyway, so I'll probably buy another yarn for my Mom's scarf.

On Sunday afternoon, John and I spontaneously joined some friends on a little two-days trip to the Czech Republic, enjoying the last hot days of the year, so that was the end of my (this time dissapointing) crochet adventures for the week-end.

See you back here soon, hopefully with more crochet the next time :)