Bulky Yarn Shortcomings

Since I have a lot of bulky weight yarn in my stash now I thought I'd try to make a few projects with the limited quantities of some of it, which led me to start with one full and a partial skein of Baby Bee Sugar Pom Pom yarn in My Fairytale that I thrifted. This yarn line has been discontinued, and was also sold exclusively by Hobby Lobby (the only craft store at which I never shop for personal reasons.)

I picked a little toiletries basket pattern and hoped I had enough to make it.

It was a slog, frankly. Bulky yarn can be a bit unwieldy for someone with dexterity issues like me, and the tight single crochet produced by the stitches and small hook the pattern required added to that problem. I'm gradually learning that if I want to work with bulky yarn, I need to use patterns with looser stitches and relax my tension more.

About halfway through the project I realized I didn't have enough yarn to complete the entire pattern, so I tweaked it by eliminating seven rows and ended up with this basket for lotions and colognes for my favorite person's bathroom. It's pretty, and used almost all of both skeins, with just this little scrap ball leftover.

Final thoughts: it's not a horrible yarn, but it's not a great one, either. The insipid color and unpleasant texture were definitely not my cup of tea. It works up incredibly stiff for what I assume was meant to be a baby yarn. For those reasons I can see why they probably had to discontinue it. If you want to thrift a small quantity of it, don't pay too much -- not worth it.

Comments

On the Beach

Last week my guy and I went to walk Daytona Beach, which was mostly (and eerily) deserted. This is what our beaches used to look like when I was a kid. It was a beautiful day, cold and breezy but calm. It feels like 2026 is getting off to the right start.

Eight Plus Numbers

When I was looking up the retail on the small lot of yarn plus a tapestry kit I got a lot of surprises. This Red Heart Roll with It Sparkle skein in "Diamonds" was actually a cake that sells $10.99 on Yarnspirations. The lot included two Red Heart Super Saver Jumbo skeins, which retail for $8.99 each, and stuck in the center of the buff color I found a 5.5 mm crochet hook. This is a skein of 100% Icelandic wool, which can be really expensive. It's marked with a price tag of $7.00, and I found it selling for $8.00 online. The needlepoint kit is the biggest surprise of all. It makes a pillow, and hails from the UK, where it sells for £45.00 ($60.76 US). Since it's flamingos I definitely have to finish it if I can. Altogether my eight plus lot retails for $125.04; I paid $21.30 total for the lot with the buy-it-now option and one penny shipping. I indeed got a very nice bargain.

Halfway Month Blues

Last week I realized on the 14th that two weeks of 2026 flew right by me, and right now I'm writing during the third week. I wanted to be finished with more projects by now, but life and work have to come first. I think this might be when most crocheters start a new shiny project to boost their spirits. Not me. I kept working away at my first project for the year, and here's why: I don't like being surrounded by unfinished things. I also tend to get fatigued and abandon projects more easily if I've left them by the wayside to do something else. Finally, the payoff of the finished project gives me a much better spirit boost than messing around with several projects at the same time. I have a couple of strategies for sticking to working on one project at a time, which I can use to keep myself focused on reaching the finish line. Planning my next project is probably what I do most often by pulling the yarn from my stash, getting out the printed pattern for the...

Thrifty Crochet

Search This Blog