hooks & needles Crochet Box Unboxing | November 2024

[@KenyaddaCrochet]

Looking forward to seeing your project with that yarn. Let us know how you like the rings. Been curious about them.

[@susanowen1709]

Good morning & happy Monday. I've got my coffee, I've got some hot dogs (yes, hot dogs for breakfast, don't judge me, you get to do what you like when you're old LOL), and I'm ready to spend an hour watching your 18 minute video :-) The "limited time" marketing plan has been around for years. When I was a kid there'd often be "buy now while supplies last!" advertisements on TV, and much more recently the cell phone games I play have ads for keto gummies that proclaim, "Last day to get your free bottle!" It's been the so-called last day for about 18 months now. Humans tend to have a fear of missing out, of wanting to "be the first on your block to have this amazing product!", to want to be the cool kid, the trendsetter; this type of advertising is aimed directly at that tendency. Hmmm. The projects as *projects* aren't very exciting, however the projects as *learn to make this new-to-you stitch* are excellent, if that makes any sense. You can get the practice in without committing to a huge item or ripping it out after because it's just nothing. Although, I saw "71" in the number count of the flower mat, so maybe that's a bigger item than it appears to be from the pictures. Bamboo yarn is so soft & smooth; I bought a few skeins of it some years back when I still knit, and probably still have it somewhere in the stash since I never made anything with it. I've seen tension rings used by people doing knitted colorwork, winding one strand over their finger as normal & the second strand through the ring, and it seemed to work really well. It will be interesting to see how it works out for you. (I wonder if one would help me to knit again? If I wore it on my left hand instead of tensioning with the right, it might help with the carpal tunnel issues since I'd be moving the right hand less....hmmmm. But I digress...) The ones in the box are very pretty, elegant even; and it's nice that you get three of them. Those pinwheels look yummy! They'd be great for a holiday party or potluck. As a learning box, I think this is a good one. New stitches to learn, a nice yarn with which to learn it, and tensioning rings are definitely a thumbs up. It's a shame that they always send the short-handle hooks; I get it, it's their signature line, but surely they'd have a variety of handle lengths? It would be nice if they sent different sizes so that beginners could better decide which tools work best for them. PS - I skipped over to take a peek at a suggested video of someone opening box #2 in July, and it was identical to the one you received in September so it does appear to be a set series of boxes rather than "here's what we've got for June" or whatever month it happens to be.

[@fredmakesthings]

Good day! Eat what you want, when you want. My breakfast is often whatever dip and cracker I have on hand. This morning was spinach dip and garlic herb pita crackers. I have always hated the limited time thing. It usually turns me off enough that I don't buy it. Same goes for any high pressure tactic. When I was working retail, I always got into trouble for not selling that way, but I preferred to provide the necessary information, answers questions and be ready for future inquiry. The greatest pressure I did was to let them know how long a sale ran for or whether stock would be unavailable. I always had the highest and most consistent sales numbers with the greatest amount of return and loyal customers, even when I was only working part time. So, to me, it's one of the most annoying things I can encounter. I'm excited to work the tension ring too, my neighbour inspected my work (she's 80 and has been crocheting longer than I've been alive) and said that my stitches are very tight and that the ring might help. She hasn't used it but is curious. When I'm finished with the review I'll probably give her one. I've experimented with it on my right hand as I'm left handed and it's a bit awkward, but I'm sure I'll watch a video or 2 and figure it out. It does seem like a good learning box, not an exciting one, but a good basics one. Something I think I could use. Thanks for being my research assistant 😁I'm glad my suspicions are confirmed but knowing it's not monthly is a little disconcerting. On the one hand, yay! I'm not going to miss anything and boo! if I looked too far into the future, i'll spoil it for myself.

[@susanowen1709]

@@fredmakesthings I've always been an "eat what sounds good" person, too. I only have the vaguest of memories about this but my sister can confirm: when I was about four, we went on a camping trip at a national park that took hours to drive to, so we left very late at night to arrive there in the morning. We stopped at 3-ish am for breakfast, and I ordered a hamburger because I wanted the dill pickle that came with it. Which is odd, because I hate dill pickles now, LOL. Yeah, I learned to resist the urge to BUY NOW!!!! when I bought a Jack Skellington bracelet at a convention at the very first booth we stopped at, fearful that they'd sell out before the end of the day. 5 minutes later I saw the exact same thing for less at another booth. Also once I got it home I realized I didn't really like it all that much. Never wore it & I have no idea what happened to it. I've gotten very good at stopping & thinking before spending money, unless of course it's gorgeous fabric LOL. I was pretty sure you were a lefty :-) I'm not, but when I was in middle school I was absolutely obsessed with left-handedness. My best friend at the time was one of eight kids in her family, seven of whom were lefties, and that's what sparked it. Even now I can rattle off a list of famous southpaws with barely a thought: Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Marx, Charlie Chaplin, Barack Obama, Marilyn Monroe, Michaelangelo, Ryan o'Neal, Tim Allen, Julia Roberts, Leonardo da Vinci, the Boston Strangler, and one of the Greats but I can never remember if it's Peter or Alexander. How wonderful that you have an experienced crocheter to talk to! Eighty, my goodness. She must have a wealth of knowledge. Maybe you can use the recipes in the crochet magazine to bring her cinnamon cookies & cocoa as a thank you for her help.

[@stardustindy70]

Thank you for this unboxing video. I have been looking at this subscription box since the one I had been subscribed to his year stopped abruptly with little notice. I really like what I see and the cost is not bad. I think I might give it a try. I am looking forward to seeing your makes with the yarn. Happy Crocheting!!

[@fredmakesthings]

The cost is pretty good and the projects seem alright too. A word of warning, you’ll most likely get the same starter box as everyone else and then the same second and third boxes too. They don’t have specific monthly boxes but have a predetermined numbered system instead. This unboxing is box 4. If you do get them though, let me know what you think, I’m always happy to see other people’s opinions

[@snailworkscrochet]

Watching this video and looking through your other videos makes me realize that hooks and needles sends different boxes to different people each month. I was surprised to see your box this month was different from mine.

[@fredmakesthings]

Yeah, I’m pretty sure they send out the boxes in a predetermined order rather than on a curated monthly basis, if that makes sense. I’m currently on box 4 rather than a more traditional November box. Which box are you on?

[@snailworkscrochet]

@ I just received box 2. I’m skipping next month for personal reasons so I’ll maybe get box 3 in January. I’m doing my own set of reviews right now (I’m probably a lot more negative than you are), but it’s so interesting to hear this.

[@fredmakesthings]

I’ll have to check your channel out. I think because I’m so new to crochet I don’t have a firm opinion on the box yet. I try to avoid being negative when I don’t quite understand something. If you’ve seen any of my SewWhat reviews, you’ll know that I don’t hold back when I’m truly annoyed with something 😁 so I may change my tune going forward.