Momo

This is Momotaro (or Momo for short).  Sometimes when I'm in a creative mood, I'll sit down and make things without noticing what I'm doing.  Momo is one of those things.  xoNICxo

Blue Ice Snowflakes Afghan

Alright, I'm still catching up trying to post patterns I've finished recently, so here's one I finished this summer.  I used this pattern from the book "Heirloom Afghans" and as far as I can tell, the pattern isn't online.  I bought this book at JoAnns and it's pretty great (except a few patterns that make you cringe and go "Oh no" you know the sort... the afghans your Aunt Maude had in her house...  The ones that smelled of prunes and aspercreme).  This particular pattern is called "Blue Ice" by Judy Teague Treece, although in the book it's brown and blue, I made Mum's out of:

Lion Brand Wool-Ease - #301White Multi (Lovely white with aurora borealis-like strand running through)
Red Heart Super Saver - #0376 Burgundy
                                       #0389 Hunter Green

It's a perfect Christmas afghan, very warm and super easy! 

xo -nic

Semper Fi Cpl Blanket

My Marine brother loves blankets.  Always has.  When I asked him if he'd like an afghan he was excited, so I had to find a pattern that didn't look all lacy and feminine.  A few things to consider when making a blanket for a Marine:

1. They don't do girly
2. Holes within the pattern just means they can get fingers and toes caught, eventually they'll get annoyed and destroy the blanket
3. You MUST reinforce it to make it as strong as possible
4. It won't get washed often

Now, here in this picture, it looks like it's circus colors.  But he picked out Marine Corps colors (and when it's in natural light (i.e. not camera flash) it's much more masculine than it looks here.  I didn't have an actual pattern, I think the closest pattern you'll find is Lion Brand's Applegarth Afghan. 

I ended up using Lion Brand's Wool Ease yarn, 6 skeins of Ranch Red and Gold and 7 skeins of Navy (one extra skein was for the border).  The blocks were made up of Half Double Crochet and the border was 3 rows of Double Crochet. 

Here it is, the Semper Fi Corporal Blanket.  He calls it his motivated blanket, and no, he doesn't let anyone else use it.

xonicxo

Hate It. WINTUK Yarn

Caron International Yarns may have some great products, but this isn't one of them.  They boast that Wintuk has been used for decades; it's washable and dryable also touted as "premium yarn at a value price". 

That's right.  Caron International has the audacity to call this wretched evil step sister of barbed wire "yarn".  It is without a doubt the most heinous material I've ever used for any crochet project and since I unwittingly bought this 'yarn' to make a blanket for a friend…  It was quickly given up.  Sure it may seem okay on the outside but as soon as you try working with it, you’ll regret it.  Some words I’d use to describe this monstrosity of a product: rough, scratchy and unworkable. 

Not to worry though, if you’ve bought it, and are now panicking… I’ve thought of some alternative uses for your Wintuk.

1. Police Line.  I’ll bet that it you strung this stuff up at a crime scene, no one would cross it, in fact if people see how awful it is, they’ll probably avoid even coming near.

2. Lasso.  Cowboys rejoice!  You can now rope your steer in 11 crazy colors like “Holiday Green” and “Soft Lilac”.

3. Rock Climbers, you can now coordinate harness, shoes, carabiner, chalk bag and rope.  Just replace your current ropes with Wintuk yarn and you’re set! 

***Of course these are all jokes, I don’t actually recommend you climb or try to catch cattle with this yarn, it’s just not safe for anything.  Take my advice, if you want to enjoy crocheting, don’t buy this stuff.***

xo
nic