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Thursday, March 30, 2017

The Great Yarn Search

I decided to crochet two baby blankets for a couple of my cousins. One had her first baby last year and the other just had her first. I found a pattern that was simple enough for this beginner to do and it even had a video tutorial. Woot!

The first problem arose when I researched the yarn the pattern called for. People mentioned that it was scratchy and rough. Well, I didn't want to give these babies a blanket that wasn't soft. I researched, chose two new yarns (both were patterned/ombre/variegated yarns), and priced them out. With coupons, the local store was actually cheaper than online, so I scheduled a Saturday shopping excursion in my planner.

It was a day of abject frustration. The store hardly had any yarn in little boy colors let alone the specific colors I was looking for. I went up and down the aisles, trying to find something else. I even checked out the yarn the pattern called for and it was as rough as I'd read. Nada.

Off to another craft store that wasn't too far from the first. They didn't have the colors I was looking for either. I nearly bought a couple of soft, one-pound skeins, but they were a solid color and I really wanted the patterned yarn. I ultimately went and returned them to the bins where I found them. Instead of buying a yarn I didn't really want, I'd just go online and order them. No problem.

Famous last words. The patterned yarn I wanted was either sold out entirely or the stores had one or two skeins left. Even the manufacturer's website was sold out of all the colors I was interested in. I tried and tried store after store. I even changed to a different yarn brand, but no, I couldn't get the colors I wanted there either.

I ended up with two bright green patterned yarns when I was really hoping for blues. My one guess for my extremely frustrating day was that the manufacturer is discontinuing these two varieties of yarn. It's the only thing that makes sense.

All I have to say is the selection in patterned baby yarn is slim. I hope my two cousins appreciate this gift after everything I've been through. I haven't even started crocheting yet.