Question From Reader: A Weighted Issue of Yardage?

Dear Dee,
I've seen you answer your readers questions on your blog before and wondered if you would answer mine. 

My question is: What do you think is more important, buying yarn by the weight, or by the yardage? 

I am new to crochet and want to make sure I buy enough for my projects! 
Thanks, Angie

Hi Angie.

You have a great question there! 

I think it would be ideal to say to go with the yardage, but since yarn is not sold that way, I cannot recommend it.  I hear what you're thinking -- but Dee, my label says it's X amount of ounces and X amount of yardage!   Yes, that is what the label says.  And if you pick up another ball of yarn by the same manufacturer, of the same line, but is a darker color, and then read that label -- it will say the exact same thing! 

So I ask, if a darker color yarn weighs more due to the dye, how is it possible that you'll get the exact same yardage as that of the lighter colored yarn without having to pay more money for it?  You won't.  And that is because of the dye that makes their weight, and thus their yardage unequal!  The yarn manufacturer is using the exact same labels for that particular line, only changing the colorway/dye lot information.  

Why do they use the same labels?This is because the majority of the time yarn is sold by weight.  Else the manufacturer would be lose money that they had to lay out for the dyes!  Think of the yardage listed on the label as more of a guesstimate.  This is why, when looking at labels you will see "Approx / Approx / Aprox XX m / XX yrds" printed on the label as shown in the picture on the right.

(And if you ever swatched the same brand yarn -- light vs. dark -- you'll notice that the darker yarn is usually slightly thicker.  Again, this is due to the dye!)

So, what is one to do to ensure they purchase enough yarn?  I recommend buying extra -- a ball or two more.  Not only will doing so ensure you have enough, but you can also work up that swatch (I really recommend creating two swatches so you can beat one up with laundering and have something to compare it to prior to staring the project.  After all, why should we spend our valuable time crocheting up beautiful projects if the yarn ends up looking junky after washing?!).  Buying extra yarn will also ensure you will also have enough yarn to leave the needed long tails for beginning & ending projects, cutting out the manufacturers knots (& properly rejoining the yarn), and possibly enough to go "off roading," the act of adding a bit of individual flavoring/designing to your project.

I hope this helps, & thanks for the great question!  :)
~Dee  

Woot Woot!!

We're busy celebrating -- still -- and to add to the celebration I want to send out a few "Woot Woot's!" to my crochet pals:

First to Karen Drouin, an active member of our local CGOA Chapter.  She has, I believe to be her first, published pattern featured in "Hooked on Crochet" magazine.  It's called "Simply Shells Choker" and is featured on page 40!  Off the top of my head, I think this makes Karen our eighth published Chapter member!!  Way to go Karen!!  Woot Woot!!

Second is my CGOA Associate Professional mentee, Jennifer Cirka.  She also has a terrific pattern published this month, in the latest issue of Crochet World.  Her pattern is called, "In Her Easter Bonnet" and is pictured on the COVER!!!  You can get a sneak peek at her blog here.  Awesome Jennifer, awesome!!  Woot Woot!!

The third goes out to Mary Beth Temple, author of "The Secret Language of Knitters."  We met at the summer CGOA Conference last year where our daughters became fast friends.  Come this Monday, Mary Beth and her daughter can be seen crocheting and knitting on the Martha Stewart Show.  If you go to Martha's website, click onto TV, and then onto February 25th, you can see them in the very beginning of the clip!  How fantastic!!  Woot Woot!!

Congratulations ladies!!!  :)

Crochet Bingo anyone?

On our family schedule today is to go shopping at a mall that we haven't visited in quite some time.  I have decided that for my birthday this year I want two games: Chess and Poker.  (I'm in the process of learning both!)   And I hear you!  You're asking, "Hey Dee, how, exactly, is shopping at a mall crochet related???" (because we all know that I like to stay on topic -- most of the time -- here at CrochetingWithDee! lol)

Well, actually, we'll be headed back to the original mall, the Poughkeepsie Galleria, where I first launched the game "Crochet Bingo" for my local CGOA Chapter.  That was back in 2001, and it was incredible fun to play! Picture a bunch of grown women dashing around from store to store, laughing so hard, as we tried to locate as much crochet as possible! ((In fact, that's how I found my crocheted shower curtain!))

I thought, since it IS my Birthday Week Extravangaza, that today I would get the family to play along -- and YOU too!  Now if you don't want to play today, that's OK.  You can play another time -- like next month when it's NATIONAL CROCHET MONTH!!

For official rules, and to print out your official playing card, visit here:  http://members.aol.com/crochetwithdee/CrochetBingo.html

Santa arrived last night

This morning I feel as if I were an excited child awaking on Christmas Day to find Santa had brought lots of pretty packaged goodies.  Only my Santa was Mr. Dee, and what he brought was a brand new desktop to replace the one that died a few weeks back.

It's a HP Pavilion Desktop a6330f ... and with tons of memory and a flat screen monitor, I can't wait to start playing with it!  My only reservation is that it comes with Windows Vista, and all the programs I've come to love using all work on the XP format.  Mr. Dee said he'll look into inserting my old drive so I can choose which format I want, so I'm hoping it works -- it would mean I would have the best of both worlds (formats) -- with the ability to print!  (It's been driving me crazy not having access to the printer!)

In the meantime Mini~Dee and I have been discussing design ideas for what WE can possibly create for her to wear on the runway this summer when we attend the CGOA's summer conference.  I'm saying WE because I think it's time she unveils just how creative she can be with her crochet stitches.  For this joint project WE'll be using some of the Bernat Soy yarn I purchased a few days back.  I am so looking forward to working on this project with her.  The first thing we're going to do (while awaiting for the new desktop to be hooked up) is to create a sloper for her -- now that I know what one is! {VBG} That will make the project much more tangible for us both to work on together!  :)

Birthday Week Extravaganza

Today is the official start of my Birthday Week Extravaganza, and what better way is there to kick it off than to go yarn shopping and save over $13,000????

Back in January, when I described my elation of creating two hats with 100% crochet stitches that had the appearance of knit stitches, I mentioned that Bernat's SOY is quite yummy to work with; what I forgot to mention on that day, is that I've added this yarn to my "love" list.  So when I got a call saying it was on sale, I did what comes natural to humans: I hunted & gathered, to the tune of 36 skeins!  And, adding it up along with a few other brand skeins, I ended up purchasing some 45 skeins of yarn.  (Not that I needed it, but I am, after all, celebrating my birthday this week!)  Total bill came to about $150. Not bad I say.

Yes, I've severely broken my fiber diet. So, how to justify it.  Here are some of my thoughts:

It's yarn.  Since it doesn't have an expiration date on it, it won't go bad.

It's extra insolation to help lower the winter heating bill.

I'm doing my part in saving the world by going "green" by using natural fibers.  (Nothing like this ((yet!!)), but still ... )

I'm also doing my part to help head off the national recession by pumping cash into the economy.

And, I saved  some $13,800 by not purchasing 45 balls of THIS yarn, retailing at $310 per ball (possibly the world's most expensive!!).  Need I say more?  LOL

As I will be spending the week celebrating my birthday by hanging out with my family, I will be popping in & out of my blog from time to time. To keep with tradition here at CrochetingWithDee, I would like to invite you to join in my celebration by considering writing a blog entry for me this week. The topic: If I could afford yarn at $310 a ball, I would crochet ..."

New Parent/Child Crochet Club!

I can't begin to express my appreciation for the support you all have been providing me in the search for my "Mummy!"  Thank you!  And it's because of some suggestions provided, we may have located the very program in question; my local library is hot on the trail as I type this!

So, just mere moments ago, when the library called back, I thought it was them, ready to give me an update on their search.  Nope!  It was an invitation to come do a 3-month trial "Parent/Child Crochet Club!" 

Naturally, I can't think of a better way to celebrate my passion for crochet, especially on Valentine's Day, so I said YES!!!

So, starting next month, which also happens to be NATIONAL CROCHET MONTH, Mini~Dee and I will be assisting up to six parent/child teams with their crochet.  We're requesting participants be responsible for bringing their own materials.  This way they can come in and get beginner lessons, or get help on areas that they're stuck.

Since it's a pilot program, space is limited to just six parent/child teams.  If you're from the area and would like to participate, and your child is over 10 years old, you will need to register with the library.  We'll be gathering on Friday night, from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM on March 28th, April 25th, and May 16th.  If the Parent/Child Crochet Club does well, we'll extend it.

I'm so excited; I think this will be a great opportunity for parents & kids to bond while possibly falling in love with the art of crochet.  I think I'll need to celebrate this by taking Mini~Dee out yarn shopping later this afternoon.  LOL

  Y Happy Yarnatines Everyone!  Y

Still Searching for my Mummy

My local library has been working with me in trying to locate a PBS Nova episode about a recent mummy discovery, if memory serves me correctly, in Peru.  It was sometime in the 2001-2002 timeframe that I had clicked onto my local PBS station and found myself listening to the program; absorbed in this find as I worked on one of my projects.  They had removed the mummy from a high mountain cave and, again going by memory, they brought her to a safe location where another female scientist involved in this mummy's study, started discussing the fabric this female mummy was wrapped in -- and she said the key word that perked my ears and my head right up: CROCHET! 

By the time I was able to locate pen & paper, the program was over.  I have since written to my PBS station many times, requesting their assistance in figuring out the exact name of that Nova special, but never received an answer.

And so, it's my wonderful local library that has helping me in trying to find it.  Yesterday they called me; they received an intra~library loan of a Nova episode called "Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden."  We watched it last night.

Although it's not the one I'm looking for, it was very interesting.  What I liked was that this woman, approximately at the age of 25 upon her death, was a woman of power and wealth, which was very rare for that time period.  And, unlike any other mummies found before her, everything with her was immaculate!  Including her clothes, which were amazing to see!  I even learned a little something about silkworms, domestic verses wild, which tells the scientists a little about her life.  If you like this kind of archaeological stuff, then I recommend you visit your local library and request this show too.

In the meantime, I'll continue my search for that other mummy.  Once I find her, I'm hoping to be able to contact the scientist and see if there's more to that mummy's crochet.  If herclothing/wrap was crocheted, this will add serious credence that crochet is more than just 200+ years old.