A "Crafty Mojo" Post !

I have always loved creating handmade items. 😊

Crafting in a variety of mediums has been a part of my life since I was in the single digits, age-wise LOL.

Knitting, painting, jewelry, sewing, embroidery,  eco-crafts....the list goes on and on.

My dear mom, Helen was a very talented seamstress and painter and I think a lot of my creative abilities and interest are thanks to her.
                                                                                                       

We spent many a long day together, creating beautiful things over the years, especially when I was writing a weekly craft column for over 5 years, in one of Canada's major newspapers, The Regina Leader Post. Such good memories that still bring a smile to my face, thinking about those precious hours spent together, creating something unique and beautiful.
                                                                                                                 

With crafts and hobbies on my mind, I thought you might enjoy checking out a few of the craft and hobby books/products/ sites that I have shared here, over the years at My Real Life Reviews. 
                                                                                  

Hopefully, one or more of these will inspire you to create something new and special, in the days ahead. We all need a boost at times to get our "crafty mojo" back. I know I do!
                                                                                     

Right now, I am happily working on my new haiku book but also hope to get back to another knit project, before the end of this week.
                                                                                           

What are you working on right now? 

What is your favorite craft(s)?

                                                                                                              

I have so many fav crafts and hobbies, I wouldn't know how to begin to answer that question!😊

Here goes:

Crafting with Cat Hair (a fun craft book and lots of Mr. Cheddar photos too!)
                                                                       

Homemade (a unique and extensive craft book, filled with all kinds of beautiful ideas)
                                                                                                  

One Yard Wonders (a fun book and sew kit, with all kinds of 1 yard or less, sewing ideas)
                                                                                                             

Knitting Warehouse (my fav online shop for knit and many other types of craft needs)
                                                                         





Lion Brand Recycled Cotton Yarn (one of my fav summer cotton yarns)
                                                    



Down & Dirty (gardening is apparently, the most popular hobby in the world!

Happy Crafting and Creating!!!

Lion Brand Yarn company vs Knitting Warehouse

As I blogged about recently here and here; I've been on a bit of a knitting binge lately and lovin' it!

As we have no LYS (local yarn store) in our oh so small city; I usually order yarn online when I need some.

I've ordered from the  Lion Brand Yarn company several times in the past few years and planned to do so this time. The yarns I required were all Lion Brand. Well, I did place the items I wanted in a shopping cart at the Lion Brand site. But when it came time to check-out, I was shocked to see what my order ended up costing!

I then went over to Goggle and did a search for Jiffy Yarn. I found a link to the  Knitting Warehouse site  and was pleasantly surprised by their much lower prices and yes, they did ship to Canada too. Several yarn sites based in the U.S. do not offer this service.

Please see the two comparison orders at the end of this review.

Wowsa, that's some difference in total price!
                                        

And even more surprising was the fact that this was Lion Brand yarn I was ordering! Is it not usually the case that the company that makes a particular product is also the company that can sell it at the best possible price? I always thought so but not this time.

Lion Brand Yarn also annoyed me (big time) by not allowing me to request/receive one of their catalogues with my order, due to the fact that I live in Canada!

Come on...I'm placing a sizable order with a company and they can't even throw in one of their catalogues? No extra postage required. Just a good way to tick-off this potential customer.

And a customer who went elsewhere and probably won't order from them again.

Knitting Warehouse provided a order notification immediately after placing my order, via email. They also let me know when the order shipped, which was prompt too.

They also provide excellent prices on many other brand name yarns, tools, books. A very good selection of free patterns too.

The only complaint I did have with Knitting Warehouse was the fact that the tracking number link they supplied for my order, did not work when I clicked it. I then emailed their customer service department and they replied saying the link hadn't worked for them either (words to that effect) and that I should phone DHL to follow up on my order.

I thought they should have been the ones to "follow-up" not me. After that, I did visit the DHL site and finally found the correct page for DHL Global Mail to track my order; which arrived a few days after that.

I won't be ordering from the Lion Brand Yarn again, any time soon. I still like browsing their selection of free patterns but I was NOT impressed by this recent experience with their company.

I WILL be ordering from Knitting Warehouse again and probably many times in the future.

It really does pay to do your homework when it comes to buying online and at retail stores too. And don't assume that a company brand  name item is being offered by that company, at the best possible price. As was the case with this order, it isn't always the reality.

My actual order with Knitting Warehouse:

Items: Qty Each Price Line Total DUSTY PINK-YARN JIFFY 6 $2.89 $17.34 APPLE GREE-YARN JIFFY 1 $2.89 $2.89 AVOCADO -YARN JIFFY 1 $2.89 $2.89 LIGHT PINK-YARN JIFFY 1 $2.89 $2.89 FIESTA -YARN HOMESPUN 1 $4.79 $4.79 EGGPLANT -YARN WOOL-EASE CHUNK 1 $5.99 $5.99 CLIP STRIP-YARN CUTTER 1 $4.99 $4.99 Retail Subtotal 41.78 (Via DHL)Shipping 9.75 Tax 5.00  Total 56.53

Additional info. re: Knitting Warehouse order: I was not charged any additional charges for duty. The cutter is a bit different but I liked it better than the one from Lion Brand.


The same items IF I had ordered from Lion Brand Yarn:

Items:	Qty	Each Price	Line Total
DUSTY PINK-YARN JIFFY	6	$4.17	$25.02
APPLE GREE-YARN JIFFY	1	$4.17	$4.17
AVOCADO -YARN JIFFY	1	$4.17	$4.17
LIGHT PINK-YARN JIFFY	1	$4.17	$4.17
FIESTA -YARN HOMESPUN	1	$7.83	$7.83
EGGPLANT -YARN WOOL-EASE CHUNK	1	$9.19	$9.19
CLIP STRIP-YARN CUTTER	1	$7.84	$7.84
		Retail Subtotal	62.39
		(Via DHL)Shipping	28.58
		Duty and Tax	11.23
		Total	102.20

Overall rating for Lion Brand Yarn: Unsatisfactory. 1 out of 5.
Overall rating for Knitting Warehouse: Very Good. 4 out of 5.

Jiffy Yarn from Lion Brand Yarns

              

I've been on a knitting binge lately, after a long hiatus from the craft. I have 3 projects on the go right now: My first Fair Isle project (a cardigan), a patchwork throw and a cable headband. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed knitting and how relaxing and de-stressing it can be.

It's good to be clicking again! :<)

I have also been trying to transition away from animal fibers like wool and silk due to the cruelty aspect of some production of these types of yarns. I recently went on a search to find a substitute for the mohair-wool blend, chunky weight yarn suggested for this cardigan I'm making (click to read more about this fun pattern) and found Jiffy Yarn from Lion Brand Yarns.  It sounded like a good option and I liked the extensive color choices that were available.

Well, it's been great! I've never been a real fan of any synthetic yarns but Jiffy is changing my mind about how they can look and how nice they can be to work with. This is one viable option if you are looking for a yarn with the look and feel of wool but without any guilt attached. And a much lower price point too.

Jiffy Yarn is currently on sale at Knitting Warehouse for only $ 2.89 for a 3 oz. ball. The yardage is great too. Solid shades: 135 yards. Multi-colors: 115 yards.

This yarn has the look of mohair. It is soft and smooth and has a nice sheen. And no problems with splitting that can happen with wool fibers.
                                      

I love the colors I got for my cardigan. The (flash) photos don't do them justice:

                                     

The main color is Dusty Pink and it's a gorgeous dusty rose shade that blends perfectly with the accent greens and pale pink in the pattern work section of this sweater.

The yarn costs for the complete project was just over $25 plus tax and shipping from Knitting Warehouse! The same cardigan made in a comparable wool yarn would have cost at least $ 50. or more. And I am really happy with how the cardigan looks so far. I've got 2 sleeves completed and am now working on the body of the sweater.

Speaking of Knitting Warehouse, I will be writing more about this company in the future here. Suffice to say, I was impressed by the very good prices they offer on many brands of popular yarns in addition to offering a full range of yarn-crafting supplies and resources.

Jiffy Yarn comes in a very good range of colors. Check out all the choices at Knitting Warehouse. I plan to make another one of these cardigans in winter colors too.

                   

Fair Isle can be addictive! LOL. ;<)

If you have been looking for a good alternative to mohair-type (chunky weight) wool yarns  Jiffy Yarn is definitely one to try.  

Overall rating for this product: Excellent. 5 out of 5.