All Reviews Written by "Crochetnanigans"

Just received my Foldover Bag this weekend, and I can't say enough about how much I love it. It's roomy and there are so many compartments and pockets both inside and out. It's exactly what I was looking for in a bag. It actually came packed in a canvas tote, so that was a nice little bonus in addition to the other little notions. I can fit my laptop, all my stuff for work and play hello, knitting project, and the vegan leather is beautiful. I actually bought two bags, Plum and Black. One for me, and one as a gift. I'm super-pleased.

These are just the right size for knitting with smaller sized needles. I like my stitch markers to be “out of the way” without a lot of fuss. These are smooth and snagless, gliding easily over my needles along with my work. The colors make it easy to mark different areas in my project, as well.

I used my Winderfull for the first time today. I’ll give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Let me first say that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the Winderfull. It does exactly what it says it will do, and for that I could potentially give it a full 5 stars. But, it is at the core an attachment and not “the whole tool”. It depends entirely on another tool that can have a significant impact on the user’s experience of the Winderfull. Things that make this a 3.5, but are not the Winderfull’s fault: Electric Screwdriver Speed compared to what my crank arm can churn out on a traditional yarn ball winder, it took longer to wind a 437yd/100g skein. I didn’t time it, but I could definitely see that my swift was spinning more slowly than if I were using a yarn ball winder. But, again, this isn’t the Winderfull’s fault. It is a limitation of my battery-powered screwdriver. Although, this factor could be a plus with more tender or delicate yarns, to limit breakage. Having to Hold the Electric Screwdriver given the extended length of time necessary to wind the yarn, I have to include a comment about holding the screwdriver and the spool of yarn as it was winding. My screwdriver doesn’t that I know of have an “always on” button. I have to press and hold the power button down for however long it takes, and that’s pretty hard on the hand. These little guys are generally meant for short bursts of use. So, a good stretch of uninterrupted use can wear you down a little. Some possible minuses that I did not take into consideration in my rating: Once the yarn is on the spool, the spool is spoken for and you can’t use it again until you’re done with that yarn- I purposely purchased the kit version of the Winderfull, so that I would have two spools. No center pull because the yarn is on the spool If you don’t mind always working from the outer part of your yarn cake, this won’t be an issue. Hope this info is helpful.

I am actually reviewing the Evergreen colorway, but that option wasn't available to review. I loved my kit. Many people on the Ravelry discussion boards seemed dissuaded by the $150 price tag but the fun I had with it, not just the yarn and toys, but also the shawl-making and sharing daily pics with friends, was worth every penny. One reviewer here was disappointed in the kit, and thought the price should have been closer to $50 or $60, but when you add up the retail price for everything included, plus the pattern, and labor to manually prepare each box by hand, I calculated approximately $140. I'll give JBW the extra $10 for the fun factor. Good job guys.

Love these needles for use with chunky yarn, but I find that the yarn too easily comes out of the loop as I sew or weave in, so I keep having to rethread. Otherwise, they are wonderful.

I knit a cowl with Noro Rainbow Roll, but I also crochet, so I can give some general feedback on both arts. The fiber is fragile in its un-worked state, so I’d recommend working with a loose stitch, and possibly a larger hook or needle than you’d normally use for a bulky yarn, maybe a size bigger, so you have some room to pull the fiber through each loop and avoid breakage. Also, work slowly. I found that knitting the fiber slowly and deliberately helped me see the thinner/weaker points in the fiber in order to be careful with it. I experienced no breakage as I worked. On the finished side, my cowl is incredibly soft, and the resulting fabric is light and airy. Hope this helps.

The set might be a tad pricey at $9 for 60 safety pins, but I use non-coil safety pin stitch markers in my garment and sock knitting. These are nice in that the set comes in a variety of bright colors, so I can categorize certain areas or rows, when needed and the pins themselves are of decent quality. The cardboard storage box is also cute and very sturdy, and will withstand some use.

I was in the market for some ergonomic hooks and really love the Kollage Square brand, so I purchased one of these to give it a try. I crochet with the pencil hold and found it a bit difficult and uncomfortable with the way the handle is designed, particularly the orientation of the actual hook head when I was holding the handle. Since it is square, I ended up on one of the edges vs. the indentations in the handle. I switched to a knife hold, and found it much more comfortable, but since I do not normally crochet this way, I just decided not to use the hook. Otherwise, the head of the hook was smooth and and I was able to catch the yarn perfectly. I would recommend these hooks for that reason, and if you are comfortable with the knife hold method.

I have always loved Kollage Square Fixed Circular Needles, and have several sets, so I was pretty excited to learn that Kollage had put out an interchangeable set. I definitely prefer square needles, and love that the cables on these spin. There are also two cable options included with the set, in three lengths each. There is the Firm cable and the K-cable, which is way more flexible than your typical circular. The K-cable doesn't kink up, and there is no stiffness at all to it. I have found the longer Firm cables easier to use and more functional than the K-cables, which can get a little too floppy in the longer lengths. The shorter K-cables are great, though. The square needle shape takes a little getting used to, but with the smaller needle sizes, I definitely notice the famous Kollage easier on the hands feature. Also, the cables are click on vs screw on, so you don't run into any issues with them loosening during knitting. I think Kollage could have put a little more thought into the case, it's pretty bland. But, otherwise, I am very happy with this set and it will get a lot of use.