Furls Whims Merino Review

So you know how I am always talking about how much I love cotton yarn? (well I still do) I thought the day would never come, but I finally found a non cotton yarn that I love just as much! The biggest shocker ladies and gentleman, IT IS WOOL BASED.

Acrylic Yarn

I think most fiber artists find that one of the first yarns a large majority of us begin experimenting with is Acrylic yarn, due to its durability, accessibility, and affordability (all of which I will go further into in just a moment). Therefore it felt quite fitting to start this series off by talking about Acrylic yarn!

Cotton Yarn

I am really excited to dive into the world of Cotton Yarn in this post! I have been obsessed with Cotton Yarn for quite some time now and there is so much more to learn about it than you would ever guess!

The Fleur Dress Crochet Pattern and Feature

It has been so hard to keep this a secret for just about 4 months now, but I can finally share that I have been working on this pattern for The Fleur Dress that is being featured HERE on The Hook Nook blog!

Gazzal Yarn Review

I have talked about this brand briefly in some of my patterns, but here is everything you need to know about it in one place! I happened upon Gazzal yarn, when I found myself wanting a light weight cotton fiber. I really love making lace like patterns that are spring and summer friendly, and in my experience the only easily accessible cotton that I could find was Lily Sugar and Cream, which is always available at Michaels and Joann. Now don’t get me wrong, a part of me will always love Lily Sugar and Cream yarn, but my only issue with it is that it is weight 4 yarn. Worsted Weight yarn is amazing for a great number of projects, but I don’t think Spring and Summer projects fall under that category.

Waistcoat Cowl and Beanie Set Crochet Pattern

As someone who primarily crochets, I don’t think I am alone when I say that I am always jealous of people who can knit. I have tried serval times to learn and while I got fairly decent at purl stitch, trying to learn anything else just completely went over my head. I don’t know if it is just me, but I think knitting is so much harder on my hands for some reason, they get tired and sore quickly and I just end up giving up. So, when I found out about the crochet waistcoat stitch I was so excited! It is a stitch that pretty sufficiently mimics a knit stitch, so you can get the knit look with crochet! Granted, it isn’t exactly the same, but it is good enough for me!

The Ariel Top Crochet Pattern

I had been wanting to make an off the shoulder top for some time but never quite got around to it till now. In fact making this top wasn’t even my first idea originally. I came up with a design that needed a lot of yarn in a lot of different colors, all of which I ordered, only to discover that the design might have been too ambitious. In general, I really don’t like giving up on things, but I am also trying to work on admitting when I am tackling a project that I’m not ready for yet and my original idea was definitely one of those projects. So there I was with a mountain of yarn and no idea what to use it for (not that that isn’t a constant state of life for us fiber artists). Then I remembered my long lost Off The Shoulder concept! Once I had finished it, it somehow made me think of Ariel from the little mermaid, this is probably due to the fact that I love Disney and will always manage to bring everything back to it haha, therefore it earned the name The Ariel Top!

The “Maker Image”

If it isn’t immediately apparent, I love crocheting, but just as with any love there usually comes a period of inevitable frustration. Since starting this website and trying to develop my presence in the Maker Community, I have been feeling that frustration quite often. This frustration has many roots, and although I have not identified all of them, I think I have a handle on a couple that I believe many Makers experience. I have had such a difficult time putting all of these difficulties and emotions into words until I woke up the other morning to this post written by Lindsay Oncken of @bundlehandmade. She dives into the topic of what makes someone a Maker and tackles the idea that for one reason or another, Makers often feel pressured to fit into a mold and I honestly couldn’t agree more. Her post really helped me organize my thoughts and find a central theme to all of the frustration and anxiety I have been feeling. For me it has come down to the idea of “Image”.

The Tiana Top Crochet Pattern

If you don’t already know, it will become very obvious very soon that I absolutely love everything Disney. Lately I have been trying out the method of finding inspiration for designs through dates (not like romantic, but on a calendar haha). So my last pattern was in honor of Valentine’s Day and I decided to focus on Mardi Gras for this one! Now to tie that back to my love of Disney, usually the second I think of Mardi Gras I think of Princess and The Frog, which is one of my favorite Disney movies. Additionally, Tiana is hands down my favorite Disney Princess so it was kind of a no brainer to me to name the design after her. As traditional Mardi Gras Colors are Green, Gold, and Purple, I decided to use a green yarn and added some hints of gold for some flare. I had intended to actually post this on or before Mardi Gras, but life happens and sometimes our schedules get derailed, so I apologize for the delay!

The Guinevere Bralette Crochet Pattern

After years of not liking the color pink because “It’s too girly”, I have finally warmed up to it, if not become slightly obsessed with the color. Therefore it has been a real struggle coming up with the will power to not create all my designs in some shade of pink. However, I figured if there was any piece where I could let it slide it would be this Valentine’s Day inspired design!

As winter feels like it is coming to an end in Southern California (although for most people it never began, but for someone like me who is perpetually cold at any temperature below 75 degrees, the situation is slightly different) I have been trying to work with some cotton yarns. Most of my local craft/yarn stores don’t carry any cotton yarn other than Lily’s Sugar and Cream and, while it is great for a lot of things, I have found that it is a little bit too thick for a lot of my designs. So on my quest for a thinner cotton yarn, I happened upon the Gazzal brand on Amazon! I learned the hard way that ordering yarn online is some serious risky business, but I decided to try my luck this time and, to be honest, I was not disappointed!