Michaels is having a popularity contest "handmade holidays" contest.

If you've got

• A creative idea for a handmade holiday craft - crochet or otherwise, and
• Lots of friends / family members / acquaintances you can harrass beg ask for contest votes, and
• Your residence is in the USA or Canada (excluding Quebec, Hawaii and Puerto Rico,)

Why am I calling it a popularity contest? Well, I'll give you a direct quote from their contest web site:

How do I win?

Upload a photo of your best, most creative do-it-yourself project, add a description and project supplies. Then send to your friends, your co-workers, your family and whoever can help you increase your rating score. Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges led by Michaels Creative Expert, Jo Pearson based on project creativity, uniqueness and overall ratings.

I'll refer you to the contest web site for more information if you're interested:

• Contest rules
• Contest gallery - there isn't a separate category for crochet, but you can do a search for the crochet entries if you like. There are some really nice crocheted projects!

• Find free crochet patterns for these (and other) dishcloths
• See more "Wordless Wednesday" blog posts on other topics at About.com
• Discover more "Wordless Wednesday" posts from all over the Internet

Photo © 2009 Amy Solovay, Licensed to About.com, Inc.

I just found this page on the Caron web site. It has information about how you can receive a free full-sized skein of NaturallyCaron.com Country yarn. They also have some free crochet patterns available for you as well.

I know some of you love Caron yarns, so I wanted to be sure to pass the info along in case you want to try it out.

This giveaway is open to people who have already used Caron Simply Soft yarns, or at least are willing to buy some and give them a try; you'll need to send them 3 Caron Simply Soft yarn labels, along with some information, in order to receive your free skein of yarn. Please refer to their web site for all the specifics of their offer.

I was not able to find an end date for this promotion; their web site says "This offer is available while supplies last."

Personally, I am not planning on taking them up on the giveaway. For starters, I am not that excited about the yarn. It's a blend of wool and microdenier acrylic, which doesn't particularly appeal to me. Don't let my lack of enthusiasm hinder you if it sounds like something you'd enjoy using - I am sure it's probably a perfectly nice yarn.

Those of you who decide to try it out, I hope you will come back and comment to let us know how you like the yarn.