Knitters out there will understand my hesitation in entering a yarn store. The wall of beautiful wool kind of calls my name, and touching the goods feels sinful in itself.
I’m sure I’m not the only knitter out there with unfinished projects in the closet. Sometimes I see a beautiful ball and I’m sure I can create something equally as beautiful.
Last winter I found this beautiful alpaca wool in my friend’s shop. I knew it would make a gorgeous blanket to curl up with on a cold winters night. What I didn’t count on was how many balls this blanket would require, or how much it would shed!
After knitting up a few balls, then unraveling it a few times, I couldn’t seem to come up with a pattern that was producing what I had envisioned. So the yarn sat in my knitting basket for a number of months. Recently I was browsing through Pinterest and came across this pattern of a crocheted pillow on The Craft Patch Blog.
I pulled out my knitting basket in an attempt to turn this wool into something I could enjoy for a long time, and not remain hostage in my cupboard. I don’t have a lot of crochet experience, so it took a few attempts and a few online video tutorials to get me on the right track.
The yarn I used is quite chunky, so it crocheted up quickly. I can’t say for sure how many skeins I used, but it was probably at least eight 100g balls. The pillow I covered is 18 inches square, so a good size pillow. I used the pattern as a guide, and I simply continued in pattern until the piece was the correct size.
After completing two squares, I used a whip stitch to finish the pillow. I’m so pleased with the results! It’s this kind of satisfaction that draws me back to the yarn store.
I would love to hear what kind of project excites you. Are you a yarn nut? What comes first in your world? The yarn or the pattern?
Nesting Nut 