free yarn in the end zone--go team go!

As promised, here are my goodies from yesterday.

From Lion Brand, a very large tote bag, three skeins of Vanna's Choice (I love this color, which is called Eggplant), a very nice book about bags to make, a tiny (in my world) crochet hook, and other assorted small things.


From Coats & Clark, Red Heart Soft, Designer Sport, Luster Sheen, and Creme de la Creme yarns. I had never heard of any of these except Red Heart Soft, but apparently Luster Sheen is a big fave among crocheters who have been around awhile. The Creme de la Creme is a very nice, very soft cotton. They also gave me a tunisian crochet hook, some size 13 knitting needles, and many small pattern leaflets and things.


This was my door prize: a whole collection of booklets. To my surprise, I think Throws to warm you is my favorite--I'm usually not a fan of the crocheted afghan patterns that you see published in most books and magazines, but these look very nice. Four of the patterns are basically variations on the ripple, which normally I despise wholeheartedly, but I like three of the four. The other two patterns are granny square variations, which I'm also not a fan of in its stereotypical execution, but in this case, one has such garish colors that it's just this side of the order between compelling and godawful, and the other has a cool pinwheel motif going. There is some use of novelty yarns that even as one of the few remaining fans of novelty yarns I can't wholeheartedly endorse. Still, some nice stuff.
Another surprise is Beautiful Borders Baby Blankets, also not my usual cup of tea, but these baby blankets really do exhibit some unusual attention to detail, use of color, and beauty. (The one on the cover is not representative--the others are all way more interesting and colorful.) I just realized what sets these apart from most baby blankets: every last one of them is for skill level "Experienced." No wonder they're so visually appealing--they really are unusually complex, especially for baby blankets.
Also in the collection are:

• Cute Little Animals, which, as advertised, are very cute. I should try this some day, although I don't see it happening any time soon.
  
• Classic Bookmarks, nice but not my thing.
  
• iCrochet, a book of sweaters. I was very surprised when this one turned out not to be my favorite of the bunch. I like sweaters, and I like the ideas behind these sweaters, but somehow the execution just misses me. They all seem really bulky and heavy. They all use worsted or heavier weight yarns, and I think that's why. One of the instructors I had today emphasized very strongly that garments, especially for larger sizes, are best made of sport weight or finer yarn, and these patterns definitely support that statement.
  

Overall, it's an interesting collection of things I would not have picked out for myself. It will be interesting to see how they expand my horizons.