Tools, Storage, and Buttons

Lots and lots of buttons....so much so you will probably think I'm a bit strange. Before that lets look at my yarn stash and where I keep it.

This cedar chest, which makes my yarn smell nice, was picked up at an auction and stuck in my room and left unused for a wile. It was a few months ago that I made up my mind that it would be the perfect spot for my projects. It is a bit too full with yarn to put everything in but that can just be motivation to work more.

This is my everything small tray that goes inside the cedar chest. It is a perfectly handy thing to have and I feel it fits everything nicely. You can see a pair of knitting needles but don't ask me about them I barely know anything about knitting. I will tell you they are size 4 if you are curious. The blue and orange things in the middle are stitch markers. More then likely the best investment I made for crochet. Down a little to the left is the tapestry needles I use. I must admit they waste a good bit of string but they are SO much easier to use then standard sewing needles. The teal thing is a sewing touch up kit for loose buttons and things. My mother gave it to me a very long time ago.

This also reminds me yesterday I talked about my hooks but I forgot to say something. My aunt was the one to give me my first for an H hook but my mom also gave me her F hook. She didn't do too well picking up crochet. I later learned she was using a hook 4 sizes too small for the yarn she was using. XP

I recently picked up another mini sewing kit just to get a few more things on the cheaper side.

And finally my piles and piles of buttons.

I love those little canisters. Kinda wish I had a place to hang them.

Materials

I'm very cheap when it comes to materials in most cases. A large amount of my yarn comes from my Aunts or places like Big Lots that sells small, special type yarns for a dollar. I also use acrylic, man made fibers, to keep the cost down. Brands like Red Heart use these types of fibers and cost around $2.33. I consider this a pretty good price for the amount of stuffed animals you can make with it. By far the most common type of yarn that I adore is Pound of Love from Lion Brand. As the name suggests it really is a pound. For $7.97 this yarn just keeps going and going to the point sometimes I want it to go away. Slowpoke, as well as these projects:

 have been made using this pound of love yarn. As you can see by the last picture I more then likely still have half the skein. You can also see a tan lump of Satin Bernat yarn. It is a very nice feeling yarn with a bit of a shine to it that the others just don't have. The fuzzy cat had the pound of love paired with Phentex Fashion Eight yarn. It took one skein of the Fashion Eight yarn and came from Big Lots. One last type of yarn I use regularly was a gift from my Aunt when she was cleaning out her stash. It is called Luster Sheen and is a very small type of yarn.

Here are my crochet hooks:

Starting with the purple they are K/101/2-6.50mm, a standard size H, a G/6-4.25mm, a F/5-3.75mm, a E/4-3.50mm, and finally a 5/1.90mm. K is used for doubling up on yarn or for special fuzzy yarn. Both kittens at the start of the page where made using this hook. The second is what I use for Red Heart yarn or others like it. G and F can both be used for baby thread but more often then not I will use F. E is what I use for Luster Sheen. 5 is good for thread. I do not use my 5 hook often but it is a handy little one to have around.

And finally my top 5 yarns I currently have in stock:

1) Move over baby animals, snuggly ducklings, or anything else cute and associated with snuggles this is by far the softest thing I've found in a very, very long time.
2) Still very soft with deeper colors I don't often see with this type of yarn.
3) I'll admit it is a really weird set of colors that should be a crime to use for carpet, I'm looking at you my elementary school, yet I am deeply attracted to it in this skein.
4) I just realized this one looks like my bed spread....not too sure how I feel about that.
5) So far these rolls have been found at Big Lots but this final one came from my Aunt N and is a Red Heart Holiday yarn. I don't know if it was a limited time offer or if I'm lucky I can find it now. I'll just have to keep a look out.

Keep an eye out tomorrow there is more to come.