I crocheted all day yesterday. My hands were tired last night. So, I asked my husband if he wouldn't mind washing the dishes. He said, "Sure, no problem." But when I handed him a pastel version of my lacy dishcloth, he gave me a look that suggested I'd somehow insulted his masculinity.

Note to Self: Self, when asking your husband to wash the dishes, don't push your luck.

Dishcloths My Husband Might Have Liked Better:

Crocheted Dishcloths in Masculine Colors - Photo © Amy Solovay.

• Earthtone ombre dishcloth



• Camel and blue dishcloth

Next time, I'll be sure to give him one of those instead.

See more resources for washing the dishes.

Several days ago, I posted a yarn bargain alert letting you guys know about a deal I found on yarn. This post prompted a couple of interesting comments that I think are worth sharing.

Susan says:

I find oodles of yarn at second hand stores -- often bundled with someone's project -- usually a couple of inches long-I also find fine thread (20, 30, 50) that is in great condition. The harder the yarn/thread is to work with, the more likely it will get donated to a local thrift shop

Thread-lovers, take note! Perhaps you haven't thought of checking your local thrift store for threads and yarns. It's a bit hit or miss, but I've found some good yarn bargains at thrift stores too.

Morgen says:

Walmart closed all the local yarn shops and now is getting ready to stop carrying yarn. I don't shop there - haven't for many years because of this very behavior.

Hi Morgen, Thanks so much for the comment.

I can appreciate what you are saying. I never once in my life bought yarn from Walmart until I started designing crochet projects for About.com.

My own yarn stash mostly consists of vintage, luxury and handspun yarns. I would love to use them more often, but it poses problems. Most handspun yarns are made in small batches, and many are one-of-a-kind. If I were to use my handspun to create the projects for the free patterns I post, you guys would never be able to re-create the projects. (Or at least, not without some difficulty.)

Same with vintage yarns - some of them are really hard to find, and I don't think any of you would want to have to chase them down just to make a project.

Same with the luxury yarns I have in my stash. I have yarns collected from a lot of really fabulous places, and a lot of them I couldn't find again even if I wanted to buy more. So I know you wouldn't be able to find them, either.

So, when I design projects for you guys, I decided to do my yarn shopping at the places most people shop for supplies. Otherwise, I wouldn't be buying yarn at Walmart, either.

I am curious - where do you shop for yarn now? This question isn't just for Morgen - it's for all of you. I'd really like to do my best to design projects using supplies that all of you can find! Even those of you who do shop at Walmart - what will you do if they stop stocking it at your location?