catelina yarn

[mythunderbird]

hi has anyone tried this yarn. it is a joanns exclusive. and i have to tell you. i am in crazy love it with this yarn. its like a ribbon yarn with a bit of chennile in it. i am making a shawl for mays class with it and will post it when i get it done.ya got to check this stuff out, is awesome: vicki

[Suebee42]

Actually, it's called "Catalina."

 

The Jo-Ann Crochet II class for summer uses it, so I have 7 balls of it in a bag, waiting for me to dive in and make my sample (I'm working on an afghan right now). It does look really nifty! I'm interested to see how my shawl looks when it's done.

 

I picked up Rain Forest, which is blues and greens, with some golden yellow mixed in. Fiesta was a close contender, too... but I figured if I was going to wear it when the class was over, I wanted blues.

 

www.joann.com/catalog.jht...DID=101903

[mythunderbird]

hi suebee, i know i realized it after i typed it lol, i am making it in water. sooooooo pretty i love that yarn hehehehehe can't wait to see your shawl. mine is going pretty good!!!! vicki

[Suebee42]

Are you getting through this pattern OK? Because I think it's written HORRENDOUSLY. The woman who wrote this pattern, frankly, doesn't know how to write patterns. I have had to rewrite every pattern I have been sent to teach these classes, and this one is probably the worst! I hate when I have to teach a project that is such a chore to figure out in the first place. Doesn't do much for my confidence.

 

"At the end of this row make a slip knot." Um... the proper term for this is "Finish Off."

 

Plus she's talking about, "instead of knotting the yarns together when I needed to add another ball of yarn..." You're not supposed to knot yarn at all!

 

Gah.

 

Sorry, had to vent.

[knotyourgrandma]

I started making a scarf with this, but it's turning out too stiff. I didn't follow any pattern...I think I used double crochet, chain 1 etc.

I'd love to know what stitch you're using for the shawl, I'll try that out on my scarf and see if it works better for me!

[Suebee42]

It's pretty much ch-5, sc in the ch-5 space. Since it's a gradual decrease, I'm not sure how that stitch would work for a scarf... you'd have to play. I still don't think it would be that comfortable as a scarf, unless it was used as a fashion accent over a turtleneck or something.

 

Since it's an exclusive pattern (poorly) written by someone at HQ, I can't share it.

 

I wish I could, though... collectively, we could rewrite it! LOL!

[knotyourgrandma]

I was thinking of it being more of an accessory scarf then a functional one. I'll try it with lots of chains, I think that will work out better! Thanks!

[Suebee42]

And now I ran out of yarn. The supply list called for 7 balls, and here I am with three rows to go, plus edging, plus fringe, and I am out.

 

I'm going to buy two more balls... luckily I have two different Jo-Ann coupons to use (flyer, e-mail)... not that I wanted to "waste" them on a class sample.

 

*grumble*

[mythunderbird]

hi suebee, yup having the same problem you are. i have torn it apart and redid it at least 3 times. i got 8 balls right at the start cause i knew that 7 might not be enough and i told them if i didn't need it would bring it back and my manager is fine with that, but there isn't going to be any extra though, cause your right who ever wrote this DID NOT know what they were doing. hmmmm maybe we chould complain to corporate. good luck hon, vicki

[Suebee42]

Oh thank goodness! I'm glad I am not alone. I'm thinking, "Sweet Jebus, I have been doing this for almost five years... what's WRONG with me?!" But I have frantic scribbled notes all over the thing, for when I rewrite it. Of course, the most frantic scribbled note is "NEVER TIE KNOTS!!!!!!!" Gah.

 

I need to fax some stuff along to corporate tonight, so I am going to also include our feelings on the shawl pattern. I think I will also make a call to the Ed. Coordinator of the Syracuse store (Fayetteville), who also teaches crochet, and see how she's doing. She's written patterns for Lion Brand in the past, so I -know- she knows what she is doing. She may already have altered it. LOL!

 

I wonder what it would look like if you just repeated row 6 over and over, instead of switching between row 7 and 6. Row 7 makes NO sense to me. It makes the decrease weird and chunky. And if the decrease is more even, then you don't have to do that extra row of Ch-5, sc around the outside. It may end up decreasing more rapidly, but I'm thinking that may not be such a bad thing... I may try it with regular yarn, then start over with balls 8 and 9 of the catalina I am buying later this week (thank goodness I have those two coupons! ).

 

The idea of ripping apart the whole thing and starting over makes me want to cry. But I may have to. Thankfully Class Preview is not until April 23rd. I have time. LOL!

[mythunderbird]

hi suebee, oh i agree completely. this pattern is the pits, how are we suppose to teach our students this, if we are having a hard time ourselves. i asked my boss and she said yea, change it and see what it looks like and then we can jkust retype the pattern up. let me know what ya do, i think i might call them too, sheesh. does this person even know how to write a pattern? the other thing is this yarn is wonderful yarn, don't get me wrong, but do you think it is a bit heavy for the pattern. i do. well anyways, yea aks her and see what she says and also what you do about corporate. hmmmm maybe WE should be the pattern writers!!!!! :devil vicki

[Suebee42]

Heh, we can collaborate to rewrite it.

 

(in my store, I'm the boss. LOL! )

 

I was thinking doing the first few rows as listed, because I like that foundation, up to row 6, and just repeating row 6. It'll decrease faster, but I think it will look OK. I'm going to skip that weird outer row, and just put the fringe on. I need to buy my extra balls of yarn tomorrow. Any extra yarn I have, I'll make a belt or something. LOL

 

(I wonder if I should practice my idea with regular yarn and an H hook or something...)

 

As I am making it, I'm thinking it IS a little heavy, but I am also thinking once the quarter is over, and we move on to another project for fall, I'm going to take this thing with me on vacation (we often go in September) and use it as a bathing suit cover up for around my waist. It'll go great with the black one I have, and the weight will make it hang nicely. LOL!

[mythunderbird]

hi suebee, sounds like a plan. i think i will do that too if ya don't mind me copying ya. LOL my boss lady does mostly knitting but she can also croceht, her name is sue too!!!!!! sounds like a good idea for a bathing suit coverup type thing, well let me know how is comes out, vicki

[Suebee42]

I don't mind you copying at all... I just want the students to have a pattern they can actually follow! LOL!

 

I'll post a pic whenever I get it done... I have until April 13 (the night of my quarterly instructor meeting),

 

Good luck!