So the life of a blogger isn't always on topic. Did I crochet this weekend? Yes, of course! Not as much as I would have liked to but I did work a bit on a cute hat order for a good friend in North Dakota, a little aviator hat and 2 knight helmet hats! I will be posting about both these fun patterns as I finish them up!
In order to crochet of course I must buy yarn (ok and sometimes I buy yarn just because its pretty and it needs me) but this last Friday I needed specific yarn which always brings up the question...where to buy, my options

1. Michaels  - Which I think is a pretty common craft store for most.
2. Joann's - Another common (and my favorite) craft and fabric store.
3. Walmart - Our Walmart really has an ok selection of yarn, they seem to always have a sale on some kind of yarn and they have had a good stock of Mandala yarn lately.

So faced with my choices I decided on Joann's because I needed a big cut of fabric as well! I really love that they carry fabric and such a great selection!! I could spend hours shopping the aisles! Which leads to some fun to be had by the bored teens who were in tow with me Friday....

Yes that is craft foam battle gear! The charged me from around the corner and I nearly died laughing!! (NO craft foam was harmed) Thankfully they are good kids and survived a lot more shopping.

Some things I consider before I choose where to shop are

• Yardage needed to complete pattern
• Yarn weight
• Yarn structure - I am not sure if this is the right thing to call it really, but different yarns crochet up differently. If for example I am making a Knight Helmet hat I will want a yarn that will crochet up to hold shape well, not something that will be soft and drapey. 
• recipient - If its for a baby I will want something softer, for a toddler or child I always get machine wash and dryable, for adults I always ask if they want it washable or if they prefer natural fibers like wool or cotton. 
• PRICE! I am sure you all guessed this one! I would love to make every hat or scarf out of a luxury yarn of course, but that really isn't feasible now is it? And I don't think its feasible for most crafters. So I always check online to see who is having sales before I go shopping. 

So I got my yarn; Red Heart Super Saver for the Knight hats and Red Heart with Love for the baby aviator hat, and 3 skeins of Caron One Pound for an afghan for my sweet Nephew and his new bride!! Oh and I got the fabric I needed; 2 full yards of white cotton 120 inches wide!! 

I know that's a lot of fabric...you might ask "what are you sewing?" but the truth is I didn't sew it. We used it to make a HUGE screen in our back yard!! My husband and I really love UFC and there was a big pay per view fight we had planned to rent and watch with friends, I was able to borrow a projector from work and we turned the whole thing into a big yard party!

I made a quadruple batch of fresh cucumber salsa, a double batch of homemade meatballs and about 4 dozen rolls and a gallon of sun tea!! Our friends and some family came over and we had a blast! Its really hard for me to do so much in one day, see I have Fibromyalgia, so being able to get it all together and still enjoy the night was just wonderful. 

There was a bit of yarn in the evening, when my sister decided to knit and her cake of yarn had a bit of a snag....

Ok it was a big snag and it took 3 of us to sort it out and rewind it!

Next post I will be talking about the yarn brands I use the most and hopefully reviewing the baby aviator hat from Red Heart! Its adorable so far and super easy!!