I thought it might be fun/useful/interesting if I blogged about new yarn brands/lines I buy and try. I don’t branch out that often, and I have my old stand-bys, so we might as well share info and thoughts together!

I recently purchased some Brava (worsted and bulky) from Knit Picks. I’ve been on the lookout lately for a good replacement for the LionBrand Homespun in pastel colors that have been discontinued, as it was my favorite for the cupcake scarf. For now, I’m pretty mentally committed to Cascade 128 Superwash as a replacement, which is merino wool and chunky, but I’m bummed the pink isn’t QUITE perfect, and there isn’t really a mint green, just a lime green. I also want to see if I can find something cheaper, as Cascade 128 is about $14/skein.

Brava Bulky comes in a nice array of cheery, saturated colors and is 100% acrylic. Brava also comes in worsted and sport weight, for a wide range of projects.

Here are the balls I bought:

Colors: Tranquil, Rouge, Canary, Sienna.

Tranquil and Rouge are beautiful, but I think a couple shades darker than I would prefer for cupcake frosting colors. Canary is rich and beautiful, more yolky than neon, and Sienna is nice and chocolatey.

These are beautiful, soft yarns, at $2.99/ball. For projects where you want rich color, I really recommend Brava!

p.s. if you have any more suggestions for what to call these yarn posts…let me know! 😉

“Please join us for evening of companionship and good conversation, with the finest crisp poultry catered by the famous Chef sanders… I believe he is a also Colonel.

A night to be savored!”

When Manda was interning at my house on Wednesday, we were discussing eating dinner with some friends, but since I am house-sitting/dog-sitting, it seemed easier to just convene at the house for dinner. Suddenly, we found ourselves googling pictures of Colonel Sanders and fancy dinner settings. Suddenly, we were throwing a KFC party, and I wanted to make everyone a Colonel Sanders tie.

Here’s Manda chugging the MegaJug which also had its own handle.

The Gravy Hand-Off.

Portraits with The Colonel.

While we were eating, I remarked that this blog entry was going to be My Most Shameful. So while I don’t condone stuffing your face with horrible junk food, I do condone having fun, themed dinners, and DIY’ing little matching accessories.

I popped out two of these little guys in a little over 24 hours. My parents are visiting family, so my mom asked me to make two cupcake scarves for two of my little girl cousins (my cousins’ kids… 1st cousins? I have no idea) before she left for her trip. I made each scarf 10 cupcakes long (vs. 16-17 cupcakes long which is the usual length for an adult scarf). Kelly-Anne graciously helped me out with finding a good scarf length for a 3 year old, since she has one!

They turned out super small and cute!

On Monday, I was the Featured Entrepreneur at Launch.Grow.Joy , a cool website for entrepreneurs who want to read other business-owners’ stories and learn neat tips about how to improve your product-based business. Honestly, at first I thought the site was going to be stuffy and business-y and not for me, but I really like the site and already learned a thing or two! Please do check it out!

Happy Monday!

It’s Crochet Month over at U.K. crafty blog The Making Spot who kindly asked me to offer some stories and inspiration. I try to think of new and different anecdotes for you guys in various interviews, so check out The Making Spot to find out what an Onion Head is 😛

P.S. to complete your visual while reading, Boxburg was made out of a bunch of recycled refrigerator boxes that all the kids painted and decorated by themselves. I believe mine was sky blue with painted grass on the bottom and a white fence! I don’t remember what all the boxes/businesses looked like, but I do remember that one of the most popular ones was a video arcade, where one boy brought in some sort of video game system (this was the 80s) and all the boys huddled in this tiny box! I also remember my friend Jeanette’s business, which was a beauty salon. She painted my nails and we gossiped! It was super fun but was also meant to be educational, as we also learned about capital, taxes, gross profit, net profit. Pretty cool, right? Wish I had a picture!