Note to self

[lydy]

Do not buy yarn that you do not like the feel of, even if it's a very pretty color. Part of the fun of crocheting is tactile, and yarn which feels nice makes you happy, while yarn that does not feel nice depresses you. Worse, if you don't like the feel of the yarn, you end up not liking the afghan, even if it looks nice, and that's not fun, either.

tl;dr: do not buy Red Heart Super Saver yarn ever again.

In other news, the Simply Soft Caron yarn is very nice indeed. The new afghan looks to be rather longer than it should be (I never do swatches to check gauge) so that's interesting. However, since I'm planning on not doing the fringe, maybe it'll all work out.) Still liking the colors, as well, so we'll see.

Comments

[susandennis]

Totally good advice to yourself on the yarn. I hate that beautiful colors come in such unsoft yarn. And yeah, super saver is just not fun.

I love the feel of Simply Soft but it's a little too small for my every day stuff.

Other yarn that feels wonderful - a little bigger but not much:

Red Heart Soft
Red Heart Soft Baby Steps
Deborah Norville Everyday

I've also discovered that different colors of the same yarn may feel nearly but not exactly as good as other colors. Weird but true.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I mostly won't buy synthetic fiber yarns, but Simply Soft is an exception. I really like the sheen as well as the hand.

[lydy.livejournal.com]

I rarely use natural fibers. While they are nicer in a bunch of ways, they are also more expensive, usually, and require additional care and feeding. Afghans are most useful, I think, if they can tolerate a certain amount of coffee spillage and cat puke. Now, when I make doilies, I use mercerized cotton, and am very fond of the DMC Opera brand. That has a nice hand.

Have you tried the Loops & Thread Soft & Shiny? I think it is a house brand for Michael's, and it has a very lovely hand, and a lovely sheen.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I hardly ever shop at Michael's, so no, but I'll give it a gander next time I'm in. That may be soon as I'm thinking I want to crochet a dodo for Jim Young's bench at Loncon.

If I made afghans or other very large objects I might be more tempted to use synthetics, but I knit way more than I crochet, and more socks, scarves, hats, and gloves than anything else, so the amount of yarn per FO is far less.

[riverrocks.livejournal.com]

This is a lesson I have had to learn more than once. Also, do not buy yarn that makes your hands itch even if it is beautiful and on sale.

[lydy.livejournal.com]

Eek. Yeah, itchy hands = no fun.

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

Red Heart Super Saver is the worst.

[(Anonymous)]

Amen to the Simply Soft yarn. I use it for all my baby afghans because of how soft it is. I remember when I could buy a skein of SS for .75! Now it's up to about $3