Using smaller hooks

I bought a new hook set that has bigger handles, and so far it’s been working out well. I did this in a size 5 hook and I’m making my dress in a 3.25.  I’d still like to try those wood handles but at 35 dollars per hook that’s super expensive.

I like this Red Heart Ombre yarn though, the subtle changes work a lot better than the self striping for certain patterns.

The Yarns

As I try different brands I’m figuring out which ones I like and which ones to avoid.  For instance, Caron is pretty solid in general.  Their Simply Soft line splits easily at times but is indeed super soft and the size is uniform.  They call it a 4 but I think it’s more like a 3, but steady at a 3. Their tea cakes, big cakes, cakes, are all true to size as far as I can tell but it’s self-striping as opposed to ombre.

Red Heart Unforgettable yarn is beautiful but annoying as hell to work with.  Labeled a 4 but feels like a 2 or 3, has no twist at all and hard to frog. It also falls apart like nothing.  I don’t want to ever use that again.

Sweet Roll is also self-striping but likes to go between a 4 and a 2 or 3 in small, hard little segments.  Color changes can be abrupt like a white into a light blue or a light pink into a dark purple. Not really keen on this one but it’s ok.

Red Heart is very very consistent and they have true ombre styles.  It’s considered to be ‘scratchy’ though.  I don’t really agree with that, after working with vintage yarns, Red Heart feels pretty decent to me.

Lion Brands.  I like the Vanna’s Choice but the skeins are pretty short at around 200 yards.  It has a slightly silky feel and very nice yarn definition though.  I think that’s all I’ve used from them so far but the yarn in general seems pretty solid, and they have Landscapes which is like the Unforgettable but an actual 4.  Haven’t worked with that yet though.  Shawl in a Ball seems pretty popular though.

Hmm.  I also got several balls of Impeccable, it’s alright.  A solid size 4 a tab more sturdy feeling than regular Red Heart Super Saver.

I think so far, Caron has been my favorite.  I would die for a Simply Soft Ombre.  They have multicolors but the colors change every stitch, a true long switching ombre would be bad ass.

Bags!

Ok, I think I’m done for a bit making big blankets.  Oh I like making blankets but I need some smaller things.  I bought some satin cord for the three bags (2 pink 1 blue) I made with the sparkle yarn.  This was slow going through because the yarn was very fine and split easily.

Then I made another with some of that rainbow yarn I couldn’t figure out what else to do with and scrap of the yellow.

That pattern is easy enough, I have a pattern for the bottom and then can SC, DC, HDC, or even triangle stitch for the sides.

I also found a cute variable for a basket when you back post the bottom and front post the top ,which gives it a more defined base and opening.

Bulky!

I picked up several skeins of Caron Tea Cakes, which is the bulky 6 yarn, and oh man I really like it.  I realize we’re heading into spring and bulky is really fall and winter but hey whatever.  I sometimes can’t figure out what works good with the self striping yarn though.  I made a throw with the regular Caron Big cakes in the virus pattern and I think it came out well, but a lot of times, many patterns just don’t work well with self color changes because it makes the design look uneven. This is ESPECIALLY a problem with the color change is not subtle, like that one Sweet Roll I had that went baby blue, lavender, WHITE.   It’s better when it’s one shade that gradually fades.

That being said I practiced a new star pattern before using my better yarn, and it came out really well.  I decided to start practicing stuff after finding out a lot of patterns people do on youtube are just not even remotely viable, either coming out way too big (Yarntopia tends to do this) or causes curl or something because the stitches were wrong for the row before. This is coming along nicely however.   It also beats holding two skeins constantly to get the thicker feel.

The Swirls

I think it’s obvious that I love the self-striping yarn.  Not so much the multicolor that changes every stitch, but the kind that gradually over long lengths changes subtly to another color. I picked up some Caron Cakes and Caron Tea Cakes (the bulky stuff) at Michaels on clearance, which ended up being 50% off.  That’s as good as it’s going to get for Caron Cakes of any kind I think. I loved the “Green Tea” color so I bought 2 at the store, then ordered 3 more online.  3 because,  they make you buy in sets of 3.  Then I bought 3 more in another color.

That being said, I may stop making blankets and try some little things like bags.  I made 2 out of the shimmer yarn and another with the rainbow yarn.  I’m just waiting on the cord to post those.  I did finish a bigger version of the blanket I gave my sister by frogging the entire blue scarf I had made.

The edge came out a little wavy though, I’m not sure my alternate stitch pattern can fix the opposite problem of an inward curl.  You can’t really expect yarn to lay perfectly flat and straight all the time with arches everywhere I suppose.