Two scarves complete AH&NC

I did finish the ruffle scarf. If anyone knows of a charity effort these two scarves would work for, holler out. The ruffle is supposed to be about 60" and I think it is at least that, possibly a few inches longer.

I also received a reply from the Hook and Needle Club about the yarn. They do not know what brand the yarn is. Fail.

"We appreciate your interest in our kit of the month club. Unfortunately our kits come prepackaged from a vendor and we do not know the brand of yarn included in each kit. We would suggest that you go to http://www.anniescatalog.com/ and view the yarn that are offered there. Perhaps you may locate a similar yarn there."

Thanks, but no thanks. There are thousands of yarns out there. It would be a phenomenal coincidence if I happened across that exact yarn and could tell from a photo of it that they were the same. 

So one of my purposes in joining the club isn't going to happen in the way I expected it would. I will still get to try different types of yarn, but won't know what it is to find it again if I like it. That makes me sad. However, I still had fun making the scarves and I finally did an infinity and a ruffle which were both on my to-do list. I will continue with the club and see how it goes.


I did not work further on my filet afghan as I am stumped. The ghan is about 40" wide but wayyy long. I did measure it but I've forgotten what it was. I want to say possibly 80"? I need to get more width. There are several ways I can add width and I'm trying to decide which I want to go with. The problem is yarn. Yes, I know. I have lots of yarn, but it needs to be the yarns used in the afghan. This, too, will work out in time

That's all for now. 

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Ruffly scarf

Yes, I am weak. I couldn't resist trying the second scarf as well. I'm not sure how long I actually worked on it as I was up and down, doing other things as well. It's actually not quite finished as I have several tails to sew in.

I left the tails on the picture because I wanted you to see that these are all places where I had to cut out bad spots in the yarn (knots and such). It's not a big deal, but I thought there were quite a number for about half a skein of yarn.

The pattern did go quickly with it being a category 2 yarn worked with a J hook. However, there were LOTS of stitches, so even though the work went quickly, it took a while to complete.

The instructions were pretty clear for the body of the scarf. I had to think a minute on the edging, but I think it came out pretty well.

Not sure if there is enough yarn for the knitted scarf. Perhaps one without the additional edging? I have read knitting takes less yarn than crochet, so maybe so.

Not sure what I'm going to do with these two scarves, but I am glad I made them. I hope future projects are as much fun to do.

The two yarns were not bad to work with though I wouldn't run out and buy  more of them. The red was fine but I'm just not a fan of boucle due to my poor eyesight.

Now back to the afghan I was supposed to be working on ...

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

AH&NC Infinity Scarf

I couldn't resist it. I put aside the afghan I was working on and pulled out the red boucle yarn in the Annie's Hook & Needle Club kit I received yesterday. In about an hour and a half I had completed the Infinity crocheted scarf! I think there is enough left in the skein to make the knitted version as well though I can't really test that theory.

Although boucle is not my favorite type of yarn as I have trouble seeing the stitches, the yarn is very forgiving as errors are also hard to spot. I wasn't too worried about missing stitches because I figured I would just keep it and I'm pretty good at fudging. :-) However, I think it turned out pretty well!

The pattern was very simple and went quickly. You do work in a circle as infinity scarves are worked. The first rounds are worked and then you turn around and work edging on the remaining loop of the foundation chain.

An experienced beginner could, I think, work the pattern. It's listed as level 2 Easy.

I give this one a thumbs up. :-)

Now that I've got that out of my system, I'm staring at the white yarn...


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Annie's H&N Club

I've been so busy with an afghan project that I haven't done much of anything else except play around with this silly computer! LOL Facebook and Pinterest steal my hours but do give me much inspiration for my own projects.

I've been anxiously awaiting my first project kit from Annie's Hook and Needle Club and it came in yesterday. I wanted to tell you a little bit about it in case anyone is interested in joining. I'll have more to share later after I actually make the projects, but for now generalities.

First, the free gift is, as they describe, a little booklet (8 pages) with basic information on crochet and knitting. The print is a little small but I could make it out and don't really need the crochet information anyway. As free gifts go, I guess it depends on what you like. I'd have preferred this to be a standard in your first kit and a more substantial free gift - like a crochet hook, measuring tape, needle sizer or ruler or pack of needles. That would cost more, of course, and if you're buying kits of this nature you probably already have the essential tools. They did provide what they said they would so I can't fault them for that.


The pattern book was also 8 pages but much of it was pictures of the finished product. There were 4 different pictures of each  (8 total) but pretty much showed the same information as they were completed scarves being worn by a model. There were no close-ups of stitches or how tos which I would have preferred to the inside photos. To be fair, you do need to show at least 2 pictures of each, one in crochet and one in knit - which they do. Given the nature of the club, you need that. You can clearly see that, without close examination, both scarves DO look very similar so I think they are providing what you are looking for if you've joined.

This first kit is a set of scarves so you are actually getting four patterns, two in kit and two in crochet. One is a white ruffled scarf worked on both sides of the foundation chain (crochet). The red is an infinity scarf. Truthfully that has been on my to-do list so perhaps I will actually make one now! And that is part of the reason I joined this club. (Note that if you hate long foundation chains, you will not enjoy these as one starts with 161 ch, and the other 227 (crochet). You could use foundation single crochet for the white but for the red scarf, the pattern is work starting in the first row so there is no foundation row of stitches.

In the kit itself was 2 skeins of yarn. One was 5 ounces, category #5,  acrylic/nylon, red boucle yarn and the other was 6 ounces, category #2, acrylic, white yarn. 

No hooks are provided and they don't say that they are so you should have a set of different sized hooks on hand. This particular kit uses a J crochet hook and a #10 knitting needle.

One thing I found disappointing is that the yarn labels say Hook & Needle Club and do not give a brand so if you like the yarn, you can't go out and get more of it without more investigating.

However, one thing I love about this club is the flexibility. Do you want a kit every month? You can choose any number up to 6 months. You can set that up at your account. If you're going on vacation and want to skip a month, you can do that. I imagine you have to plan in advance, but it's easy enough to make the changes. I have mine set for 1 month presently as I'm anxious to see a few kits to determine if it is worth the cost. (The "more options" appears to be for leaving the club.)

And what about the cost? You get a discount on your first kit. Mine was $7.99 + shipping and handling which came to just under $13. Future shipments will be $16.99 + s/h which I estimate will be about $25. Will it be worth it? We'll see. If I knitted also, I think it definitely would. I'll see how much yarn I have leftover after making the scarves. It looks to me like you would have to choose one or the other, but I'll have to see how it works out. Looking at the gallery, I think kits must contain different yarn amounts as some of the projects look like they might take more than two skeins, but again, I'll see over time.

I did notice one comment from a customer who is on a fixed income and she was very happy. I can't find the comment again, of course, but as I recall she thought it was great for someone in her financial situation.

All your Annie accounts can be accessed in one place at http://anniescustomercare.com/. That is a very nice perk. Also, it shows you all the neat things you COULD order if you wanted to though it is set up as customer care, not a selling page. Did you know all these things were associated with Annie's? I didn't though I did know they had a good bit going on over there.

You can manage everything online. You can check for errata, find out about shipments, payments and pretty much anything you need to know regarding your account. Well done!

I have to finish my current project, which is a filet name afghan, but will soon be working on at least one of these scarves.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie