In response to my Christmas poll, John posted the following comment:

John Hablinski says: I find it a very disappointing when there is a presumption by a company, or organization, that only women crochet. You know, in today's world this might be construed and litigated as gender discrimination.

Hi John, thanks for dropping by, and thanks for the comment. I appreciate the feedback, although it would have been helpful and constructive if you could have been more specific about what exactly it is that has you so offended. At any rate, you took offense where none was intended, and I apologize for whatever it was I wrote that has disappointed you so deeply.

For the record, you aren't dealing with a "company," nor an "organization." You're dealing with me - Amy Solovay - freelance writer, textile designer, mixed-media artist, and avid crocheter. I'm a real person.

Also for the record, I don't presume that "only women crochet." If you're assuming that I've assumed that, you're way off base.

Male Crocheters Who Inspire Me

• The crochet book that has most influenced me creatively is The Crochet Workbook by James Walters and the late Sylvia Cosh. In hindsight, perhaps the book might seem a bit dated. There are certainly trendier books available nowadays. Nevertheless, if you were to ask me to pick a single crochet book that has most inspired me, that would be the one.



• It would be difficult to pick a favorite crochet blog. Somewhere at the top of my list would definitely have to be Howie Woo's crochet blog - crochet creations for the playful at heart. You all simply must check it out! It's one of the most creative blogs I've ever seen. Howie is skilled at both crochet and storytelling. His graphics are outstanding, as is the photography he features in the blog. His posts usually make me smile, and sometimes even laugh out loud. I'm delighted to recommend his blog to you all, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.



• I'm also completely wowed by Nacinimod's crochet work. Before You Click, Be Warned: Some of his clothing designs are very revealing. Depending on who you ask, some people might consider the photographs on that page "not safe for work."



• Drew Emborsky, AKA "The Crochet Dude," has plenty of fans here at About.com.



• Gene Saunders, AKA CrochetDad, is another talented crocheter who does inspiring work.

So no, I definitely do not think that "only women crochet."

Now you've got me curious about the numbers, though. How 'bout a new poll?

Real Men Do...

People have all sorts of intriguing ideas about what men "should" or "shouldn't" do. That isn't a topic I'd ordinarily be writing about - personally, I'm a believer in the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" approach for both men and women. I discovered that other About.com Guides have explored some of these ideas in depth, and have written some interesting material on the topic. Here's a small sampling:

• Real men do wear pink: About men's fashion
• Real men wear skirts kilts: About men's fashion
• Real men eat quiche! Busy Cooks
• Real men do love cats: About cats

As always, you're invited to share your thoughts in the comments section.

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.

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?

Coned Cotton Yarn - Photo © Amy Solovay.

I went yarn shopping at Walmart last week, and found a few colors of worsted weight cotton coned yarn on sale for only $3.50 each. I got 3 14 oz. cones of variegated yarn at that price. Not bad. I would have bought even more if they'd had it. (They didn't.)

I can't guarantee that your local Walmart will have coned yarns on sale, or that it will even have coned yarns at all. If you're planning on making a trip there anyway, it might be worth checking the yarn aisle to see if you can find any, although I wouldn't recommend making a special trip just for that. By now, it is possible that all the bargain yarns have found happy homes.

Have you found any good yarn bargains in your neighborhood recently? If so, please give us the scoop on what you found and where you found it!

Colorful Cotton Yarns - Photo © Amy Solovay.

Think back to your childhood for a moment. Did you ever play with paints, or finger paints? You probably remember that mixing red with yellow makes orange, and mixing blue and yellow equals green. You might think that information doesn't help you much when it comes to crochet, though - you can't mix yarns in the same way that you can mix paints.

Potholder - Photo © Amy Solovay.

What you can do instead is use yarns together in a way that fools the eye into seeing color blends. For example, in these colorful potholders, there are rows in which you use two different colors, and it gives the illusion that the colors have been mixed together.

There are all kinds of amazing effects you can achieve using this simple idea. We'll be exploring that idea more in depth in future projects, but these potholders are fantastic introduction to the concept if it is new to you.

• See more close-up photos of this potholder
• Find a whole bunch more free crocheted potholder patterns