Project Linus Blanket #13:

“Branch”

I actually named this after the troll, Branch, on the movie Trolls. Justin Timberlake is the voice of Branch and throughout much of the movie he’s a grayish-blue troll. As I was crocheting this he’s what I thought of the most. If you haven’t seen the movie, you should. I enjoy it very much.

This was the blanket that I took with me to work on when I went on vacation. So it’s a very well-traveled blanket. Hopefully the little boy who receives it will love it.

One thing that I noticed when I was washing and bagging this blanket and #12 was the feel of the yarn. I typically use Red Heart because there are a bazillion colors to choose from and it’s relatively inexpensive. Considering I give these blankets away I really don’t want to pay $5 per 5 oz skein of yarn.

This blanket was made with Red Heart:

And this one was made with A.C. Moore’s brand of yarn:

Both of them are 100% acrylic, but there’s such a difference in the feel of these yarns! The red one was so much softer. The blue one was a bit scratchy.

This direct comparison made me really think. I LOVE the A.C. Moore brand (Nicole brand) and Hobby Lobby’s brand (I Love This Yarn!). Both of these yarns are soft and 100% acrylic. They each are about $1 more per skein than Red Heart, and the Nicole is not offered in the same color range as Red Heart. I Love This Yarn! has a much larger color pallet, but it’s still a bit pricier. I use anywhere from 5 – 8 skeins of yarn per blanket. That starts to add up quickly. Is it worth spending an extra $5-8 per blanket? Food for thought…