Red Heart Granny Square Yarn REVIEW! (Is it worth braving Walmart on a Saturday?)

[@MaireColclough]

Holy Cats...it finally hit Amazon! Going fast, but apparently waiting for restock on certain colour patterns (it wasn't listed on Amazon, at least not in Canada, when I started filming). I'll leave an affiliate link - if you decide to go for the yarn via the link, it supports my channel at no extra expense to you. Cheers! amzn.to/3vPD5A2

[@kaytiej8311]

"Yarn snob...high on merino fumes"! Oh I just love your fabulously thought out scripting. I look forward to your unique dose of tongue in cheek cynicism very much. You seem to cut through the fantasies to evoke real memories we can all associate with. Love your work!

[@MaireColclough]

I get a regular dose of humble pie...the Husbeast has been putting up with my bullroar for over 20 years 😁

[@kaytiej8311]

@@MaireColclough I'm sure its reciprocal!

[@rebeccacuthbertson1271]

The level of snark in this perfection. I have never crocheted and I tend to avoid Walmart like the plague, but couldn't agree more with this assessment. All the best hun 💖

[@MaireColclough]

D'aww... ☺

[@stevezytveld6585]

This is me smiling and nodding while you talk yarn ball talk... genetically, it's chancy enough for me to be dabbling in sewing. My Mum was a high-finisher in the fabric and yarn stash competition. Plus? I'm a pastor's wife (the Husbeast is a Vocational Deacon with the Anglicans) - I refuse to knit and I refuse to volunteer full-time for free (I need a medical/dental plan to prove organizational love). Not much in the way of boundaries, but one must draw them somewhere... That being said, it's nice to know why the yarn balls change colour. Very cool. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

[@MaireColclough]

lol! There's a phrase I use liberally with folks who want me to do things for them, whether because they feel it's my duty or because they think I'm nice. That phrase...it's just one word..is "No." I'm nice enough when I say it, but there's a boundary 😉 And yes. There's a reason why the yarn changes colours. Otherwise it kinda looks like clown barf. I know this from experience. A bad, bad experience 🤣

[@stevezytveld6585]

Mm. Church folk. Love them, but I'm not a two-for-one "bonus" worker. Ya want me, pay me. So far I've avoided library duty, lol... "Nice" Sigh...@@MaireColclough Clown Barf sounds... concerning...

[@mscscottage1277]

I like your sarcasm... and always enjoy your podcasts.

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you! 😃

[@crystilmurch5659]

I think planned pooling is nifty but have doubts about my personal patience level. Yay for tatting! :)

[@sandidew3033]

Oooo Nine is my favorite Doctor! He was the first one I met and I still like him the best! Was just so excited to hear you mention him, I had to say something.😃🤪 And thank you for trying this yarn. Now I don’t have to.😂

[@MaireColclough]

He's a very underappreciated Doctor. And definitely give the yarn a try and make up your own mind! Just...wait for an Amazon or Yarnspiratiins site restock... 😁

[@RockyMountainHoosier]

*hands noise cancelling headphones to Maire* The trick to dealing with Walmart. our local Joann's has it. I'm intrigued.

[@MaireColclough]

...the only way to deal with Walmart is not to go... 🤣 Hey...if you can get it at Joanne's? There you go! 😁

[@kjtherrick4031]

Really well thought out and presented review of this yarn, which I had not heard of. Your neon with black afghan is looking AMAZING and so are your granny squares.

[@Dianestitchcraftrelax]

i like this style of video. Very informative. I have the same feelings about WalMart! It was nice to hear somebody else say it.

[@patriciakellyadams134]

I love crocheting. Alas, I live in the deep southern US where the weather is hot, hotter and holy crap, the road is melting. It's simply too hot for my belived crochet and knitted items. You're so lucky to have cold weather! And so much other lovely Canadian stuff.

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

I don’t know it sounds annoying. I think I would rather weave in ends. Not that I’m planning to do granny squares anytime soon. You love the kittens! Even when they are rearranging your plants! Thanks for the kitten fix and the reminder of just how much stuff they can get into!

[@MaireColclough]

Because I still have the two skeins of yarn, I'm still making granny squares when I'm doing things like watching TV or talking with friends online and...it's growing on me. Yes, it's finicky, but weaving in the bare minimum of ends is nice. And substituting black yarn for that final round of white makes a big difference. So I may get a lap blanket or stole out of it, at least 😁

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

@@MaireColclough I’m sure it will be beautiful when it’s done! And I get it I make some things are better when talking with friends!

[@rw8873]

Thanks for your humor and honesty. I've given myself the goal/hope of making myself a granny square cardigan for 2024 and not a fan of tying in (who is?). Not sure if this is the way to go as switching hooks is also annoying but you have given me food for thought. Thanks for your hard work!

[@MaireColclough]

I'd grab a ball or two and give it a try. It grows on you once you start playing with it. 😃

[@lenabreijer1311]

I did granny squares in the past. Including a dress. It was turquoise and the very open work granny squares were between the boobs and hips, bikini line. The other parts were double crochet to cover the "selling parts" as a friend called it. It looked great with my fishnet stockings and white gogo boots. I also made a baby blanket at some point. If you do it right you work in the ends as you go along .

[@MaireColclough]

That's quite the jump from Crocheted dress and gogo boots to a baby blanket....or possibly....not.... 😁😉😉

[@lenabreijer1311]

@@MaireColclough lol there was about 20 years between. And a lot of other crochet and knitting and sewing and even macrame.

[@TruFlyFox]

LOL. My closest Walmart is 100 miles...one way. I really do live in the middle of nowhere.

[@christenagervais7303]

I think I'll stick to the old, close my eyes and grab a ball of yarn, style of making granny squares. Thanks for the review Maire😊

[@MaireColclough]

The yarn does grow on you...but it's not good enough to cause a Stampede to the tills 😁

[@jeannegreeneyes1319]

Thank you for reviewing this yarn! Always love your videos and appreciate your candor and snark. 😘

[@Dean12346]

BTW... The sweater you're wearing, the color is perfect on you! Love it!

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you! 😃

[@alteredreality8767]

Fun experiment! Thanks for doing this so we don't have to 😁 I'm not the crocheter in this house and they've already made a granny square cardigan with colour changing yarn, so I don't think I need to point out this yarn. And as far as I'm concerned nothing is worth a trip to Walmart on a Saturday. Of course for us a trip to Walmart also includes highway driving, so definitely not worth it.

[@MaireColclough]

Highway driving! Yikes!

[@canucknancy4257]

Other than the occasional granny square dishcloth, the most ambitious projects that I have done with granny squares (260 in each) were the Mario 8-bit afghan for my son and the TARDIS afghan for a geeky friend of mine. Both single bed size, they took a LOT of time, yarn, and joining. They were appreciated completely, so it was worth it. The colours in your skeins are lovely. I can definitely see the appeal of the automatic change happening on each round.

[@MaireColclough]

260 in EACH, Nancy???!! That's a lot of granny squares 😮 Your patience far exceeds mine. I bow to your tenacity!

[@lornadavis476]

I have never made a granny square in my life! I did see a crochet belt for festivals with pockets made of granny squares, so I may give it a try. I'm leaning towards a stained glass look, though. Right now, I'm learning about mosaic crochet. With skulls and flames and stars, etc. I also need to make a mushroom shaped bag for my daughter in law. I love your aesthetic, btw. It's the closest to mine I can find 😊

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you! As much as I make fun of Granny Squares, they're a nice small project that's easy to take along with you. And with different colours, or different granny patterns, you get a lot of variety, so it's not bad for teaching yourself stitches, etc. 😀

[@michellecornum5856]

Tatting! I love tatting, and I hate tatting. I can never get more than four stitches before I put in a knot that I can't get out. Recently, I was practicing with different holds, which looked promising, then I got a few split finger tips, so everything, including typing, (I know, and yes, it hurts) has been put on hold. I'm trying to finish excavating my sewing room. Last year was an unproductive mess. I lost four projects in there, and I still can't find them. I love the idea of this yarn, though I'm tempted to not use it for granny squares. I have some of Red Hearts stripes I want to play with. That might have to wait until the fingers heal, as well. LOVE YA!!! Always informative and just the vibe I need.

[@MaireColclough]

Split fingertips? I hope you're OK! There are a couple of folks in the Planned Pooling subreddit who have theorized you could get a planned pooling project from the yarn, since it has a definite repeating pattern of a certain length. I think it would be a matter of figuring out what the "magic number" of granny clusters would be per colour? Something to think on, though! Hope your fingers heal up soon!! 💕

[@michellecornum5856]

@@MaireColclough Thank you. I will have to check out the Planned Pooling subreddit!

[@tetchedistress]

I haven't seen it at my local Walmart. While I use redheart, I don't want to buy yarn for one project only. I use my scraps from projects for other projects. Thank You for another video.

[@MaireColclough]

If it's any consolation...there are very few scraps from this yarn (unless you're me, in which case you ditch the final white round and substitute black yarn 🤣)

[@paulaj7682]

Forty years ago I croched a fishermans style afghan. It turned out beautifully, but I swore to never make another. After the umpteenth skein of beigh yarn I was sick to death of beigh. 😵‍💫 I dont recall where I purchased the yarn, but it was probably Walmart. 😅

[@MaireColclough]

That sounds like a lot of beige. 😳

[@kathrynjames8770]

I so appreciate your honesty :D I'm not sure if I could stand trying to make all the colors line up right, so I'm wondering if it's worth it to do something like...I dunno...a melting granny? Everything starts out nice and neat and little by little all the colors go a bit off. Or maybe do a single crochet granny square or a granny circle or other shape. Anything worked from the inside out. Or knit triangles. I mean, that's nice that they want to make it easier for me to make granny squares, but it doesn't mean that's what I've gotta do....

[@MaireColclough]

There are folks figuring out lots of other squares they can make with the same yarn so I guess the blanket response to your comment is...yes. 😁

[@susanpilling8849]

I have tried many times, but I just cannot crochet. I always end up with my fingers in a knot. I'm very interested in tatting, though. My great-grandmother was good at tatting. She was born in the 1870s, and I've always thought of it as very Victorian. As someone who is now into historical costume I might give it a try. That is, once I've finished the lace shawl I have to get done before April, and got the hang of my new embroidery machine. I always love your videos your dry sense of humour invariably cheers me up. 😅

[@MaireColclough]

I found that a project with how-to-make videos added. On really helped my ability to crochet (Phoenix Blanket by Hooked on Sunshine, I THINK?) And tatting has a rather steep learning curve...but it does look very cool 😁

[@MaryIannacone]

This yarn has worked fantastic for me. I only use a size 4mm hook. I have gotten 15 squares out of a single skein. I only paid 5.00 dollars at Joann s for it.

[@MaireColclough]

I'm so glad it's working for you! 😃

[@susaniacuone5758]

The one and only time that I went into a walmart was over thirty years ago, and back then I was in a yarn hiatus

[@MaireColclough]

That's fantastic! Unfortunately, with the grocery prices we're experiencing right now in Canada, I'm not as choosy as I'd normally be 🙂

[@AModNamedMel]

I'm very fascinated by this entire concept. We don't get the brand in stores and since I'm far along in my crochet journey to no longer mind sewing in the ends, I dont think I'll go out of my way to purchase it online. That planned pooling one, thats been tempting me for a while, possibly since I saw you mention it in an earlier video.

[@MaireColclough]

You can get the planned pooling yarn from Amazon in 3-packs. Brings down the price. Just saying 😉

[@AModNamedMel]

@@MaireColclough now thats tempting...

[@MaireColclough]

@@AModNamedMel I think I put an affiliate link in the video description if that's up your alley. 😉

[@Nanenna]

Honestly, it sounds like it'd be better for just a general planned pooling project rather than specifically granny squares (especially when there's so much variety on what can be inside a granny square that's way more interesting).

[@MaireColclough]

There are folks on Reddit who've been trying to plot out the repeating pattern for pooling, apparently!

[@nataliestanchevski4628]

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday for some black acrylic for a granny square project (and also cat food). I hadn't heard of the self striping granny square yarn so I didn't notice if there was any available but I wouldn't have bought it. Choosing my own colours is half the fun of granny squares and I like a tight stitch so I refuse to match gauge. I can't think of anything that makes the trip to Wal-Mart actually feel "worth it" ever tbh.

[@MaireColclough]

I risk Walmart so the Husbeast generally doesn't have to...there's a grocery price issue here in Canada, and sometimes Walmart (unfortunately) has the best price 🙄

[@nataliestanchevski4628]

@@MaireColclough yeah no, I know. I'm in Scarborough Ontario and Wal-Mart is one of my regular grocery store choices because of my need to carefully budget. It's just always such an unpleasant shopping experience that I feel like whatever money I've saved, I've paid in mental health instead.

[@MaireColclough]

@@nataliestanchevski4628 Agreed! Particularly in an urban centre like Scarborough! 😳

[@debbiel7736]

I picked up a hook and tried planned pooling and after an afternoon I got the hang of it. Only issue for me is it takes so much dang yarn. I finished a square and made it the front of a pillow. Knitting is more my speed. And speaking of speed, I upped my hand knitting to machine knitting.....zoom zoom

[@MaireColclough]

Nice! I've gone from knitting vs crochet to "Why not both?" and now "ALL the Crafts!" (except maybe quilting, we'll see. I get to keep the occasional bias....) 🤣

[@theoriginalnik]

I recently picked up a blanket project and i saw this at the store and was curious, so curiosity satisfied 😂 i ALMOST got the neon stripes yarn but ended up getting an ombre, so I’d like to see what you’re doing with the neon as well ❤

[@MaireColclough]

The neon looks absolutely fantastic...I'm only about a foot in length on the blanket, but the pattern is *VERY* satisfying!😃

[@theoriginalnik]

@@MaireColclough dang, I might have to go back when I’m done with this one, I’ve been curious about color pooling for a while and honestly I love variegated yarns in general, so black and neon just hits a lot of my inner emo craft child buttons

[@la1163]

I got some at Joann's for my daughter....but it was on sale. There was no way I was going to pay $9-11 for Red Heart. I paid $5-6 for a skein. It's okay, but like you said I wouldn't go out of my way looking for it. I found it by chance when Joann's was having it's yarnmorous sale event. Happy crocheting/ knitting/ tunisian everyone.

[@MaireColclough]

$5-$6/skein? Good catch! 😃

[@la1163]

Yes it was right.@@MaireColclough

[@Dean12346]

Not a fan of the granny square lol. Appreciate your articulate and humourous review 🤗 Thanks💗

[@MaireColclough]

Granny squares are insidious and will grow on you if you're not careful... 😁

[@linr8260]

Ooooooh, my disinterest in granny squares aside (why have they become synonymous with crochet), this looks like a nightmare lol I don't think I would have it in me. At least your other pooling blanket is a lot more interesting visually and in terms of planned pooling. This is just "and then the next row is a different colour" lol.

[@MaireColclough]

Very true...though they do grow on you, especially if you switch out the last round for black yarn... 😉

[@sewingforyourlife]

That is an interesting concept for granny squares! Red Heart (nor Walmart) doesn´t exists here, so i guess it is the equivalent of the standard acrylic big ball of yarn? In this case with a special feature.. Another question that has me surprised/shocked, Walmart opens on Sundays?

[@MaireColclough]

Many stores operate 365 days of the year in Canada, as long as they're not running afoul of the labour board :)

[@sewingforyourlife]

@@MaireColclough wow..here they are closed on Sundays and most holidays. And on Saturdays they close earlier.

[@MaireColclough]

@@sewingforyourlife sometimes they don't close at all here... We have a few 24-hour stores!

[@sewingforyourlife]

@@MaireColclough Maybe i´m weird in that aspect , but that is, for me, an excrescence of consumerism that is not really necessary. Especially for workers... But well, every country is different.

[@MaireColclough]

@@sewingforyourlife Many smaller businesses with limited employees close for 1-2 days of the week. Often they'll close on a Monday instead of Sunday because that's a day when 9-5 workers have off and can shop. Larger companies have a large enough staff to be able to schedule people to work on weekends and have time off during the week. This is why we have a labour board - to make sure employees are treated fairly. The economy in North America is such that there are businesses that operate 24/7, and those people who work weird hours often can't shop for necessities during "standard business hours" when they might be sleeping in preparation for a night shift.

[@omaeve]

I see the cat is in timeout in the corner

[@MaireColclough]

The cats are pretty much everywhere you need to be 😁

[@Ephemyra]

From one eyebrow jewelry wearer over 40.. I'm very concerned. On the last two videos I've watched from you, it looks like you're rejecting the jewelry. Mine did the same thing around year one or two. You can go get it repeirced, they put the second hole behind the first so the scar tissue already there halts the rejection. I've got one entry but two exits and it hasn't rejected in the 20 years since I had it redone.

[@MaireColclough]

Thank you! I've had this piercing for almost 20 years in (mostly) the same place...not surprised it's reaching the end of its life. Might be time to decide whether to repierce or just let it close 🙂

[@sandygrogg1203]

No, thanks. Way too much work for me. I made Granny’s to relax, not to induce stress. Thanks for the review.

[@armedvsokord]

I'm not sure anything is ever worth a visit to the hole that is Walmart. I avoid it at all costs. We do curbside pick up for anything we must have from there. The extra fee is worth avoiding the nasty that's contained inside. I hope your forays into the wilds of Wally world are less harrowing than mine have been and you don't need to make such precautions.😅 I hope you had fun with this project anyways.

[@MaireColclough]

Curbside is such a nice thing to have these days 😁

[@armedvsokord]

@@MaireColclough It is! It helps my disabled body continue to have supplies for all sorts of things. I hope everyone realizes how helpful it is.

[@Leslie_ann_h]

Nope. I like the feel of red heart but I hate granny squares. Now if someone dares to knit a sampling from this color pooling yarn, it just may peak my interest of this madness of yarn.

[@MaireColclough]

They do look rather cool...just better with a black final round than the white they build in 😁