Vintage Yarn Baskets (Fantastic Friday Finds)

Today's Fantastic Friday Find: Vintage Yarn Baskets! 

Photo courtesy AMradio

Photo courtesy of  AMradio

Photo courtesy of gallivants

Photo courtesy of rhan

One of my earlier memories is sitting on the couch watching my grandmother, legs curled up under her, crocheting a baby blanket for some cousin-to-be. She sat in her blue cozy chair with her yarn basket just next to her on the pink carpet (it was 1990-something and the carpet was brand new and the epitome of style). I can't remember the print of it (the basket, not the carpet), but it must have been vintage even then because I remember not liking that it didn't match her living room. I was a tad fussy as a child. I think I've outgrown that... I think.

It's not a very strong memory, more a blip than anything else. I may even be merging memories together. Maybe that's why I love looking at the above baskets- strengthens my memories and aids in some nostalgia. I love the print on rhan's, the colors of gallivants' and the details on AMradio's basket. How to choose? 

Fantastic Friday Find!

Removable Stitch Markers (Fantastic Friday Finds)

I love having more than one thing to work on. I can pick up whatever strikes my fancy. I can work on a simple chevron blanket while I watch my babies play and laugh together. Or I can work on something elaborate when they've gone to bed and I'm having some "me" time. Bringing things in the car is always a great way to pass the time if you're driving from Richmond to, say, Virginia Beach and have 2 hours to kill (well, if you're the passenger) but a conversation to keep up. So, this past winter I had 5 projects on-the-hook.

And then one morning, as my 6 month old son was learning to pull up, he reached his pudgy little hand up and grabbed some of my work I had left on a low coffee table. Big brother came along and joined in on the fun and between the two of them they unravelled a cowl I'd been working on.

I walked back in the room, 2 full sippy cups in hand, to discover a skein of yarn lying in a loose pile on the floor and a cowl down to it's foundation row.

The cowl pattern is now available at: PurpleChairCrochet!

*sigh*

I didn't think crochet stitch markers were made. I had only seen them for knitting (in my meandering through various craft stores, or on brief schmoozes through yarn shops- but they're so often catered towards knitters). So that night, after recounting the tale to my husband (with a tad more drama thrown in, you know, for fun) I hopped on to Etsy. And I searched. And searched. And search--(okay, it *didn't* take that much searching) until I found THESE! 

Photo courtesy JeanetteJed

Photo courtesy of JeanetteJed

Photo courtesy JeanetteJed

Photo courtesy JeanetteJed

Removable stitch markers for crochet! Woohoo, and they're pretty too! Way better than those little safety pins (you know you've used them, blech).

So fun, so perfect, and after a quick encounter with PayPal, soooo mine! Okay, not all of them. I purchased the citrus ones above (you may notice them in my website's banner). And they are delightful! My only twinge of sadness if that, so far, I have only needed 6 and have no excuse to buy myself more. But now that I say that and consider a bit, does one *need* an excuse for a $5 purchase? No, one does not.

Today's FABULOUSLY Fantastic Friday Find is Jeanette Jed's Removable Crochet Stitch Markers!

Yarn Bowls (Fantastic Friday Finds)

Today I'm celebrating: Yarn Bowls!

Photo courtesy of cedarpocket

Photo courtesy of JulieKnowlesPottery

Photo courtesy of littlepigpottery

Photo courtesy of maidofclay

Photo courtesy of newmoonstudio

Photo courtesy of aspeerstudio

I just can't pick: they're all fantastic (and such an upgrade from my current method of coercing the yarn away from the drooly toddler)! Which is YOUR favorite?

Roar. (Fantastic Friday Finds)

 I love Lion Brand. Great price, great yarn, great choice of colors. Perfect for a fuss free look. So, today's Fantastic Friday Find is Lion Brand's Cotton-Ease! It's so soft and the colors are quite delicious, so I completely changed my initial plan from a silky merino blanket for my niece-to-be and bought 5 skeins of the Cotton-Ease because I'm impulsive like that.

 Went for the giant, never ending Granny Square (classic) and was thrilled with the results!

 The colors above (from ruffle edging inward) are Almond, Seaspray, Blossom, Terracotta, Maize, and back to Almond. (I want my next job to involve naming new yarns.)

 Ahem.

 Baby Girl's not made her debut yet, and won't for a couple more months, so for now the blanket is in my clutches-- I mean, safe keeping.

 Starbursty.

 Mmm, okay, enough of that. More about the glorious Cotton-Ease!

 I was so inspired by that yarn that I wrote a pattern for it! Kind of. You see, there are granny circles all over google's search engine. The trouble is, no matter what I tried, it didn't *work*. Simply refused. So I took a little from this one, a little from that one, and combined some of my own brain-power and...

 ...voila! A rug. This "Ruffled Granny Rug" pattern will also be available in my Etsy shop (if I ever get around to it, lazy me.)

Thank you, Cotton-Ease, for all your yummy crochet goodness! What a fantastic find!