The results are in! The winner of the pillow yarn off, using Red Heart Sweet yarn is.....

My Sweet Sahara Throw Pillow design! I am so excited! Thank you all so much for your votes!
​Both patterns are now available for 40% off in our Ravelry shops, using the code YARNOFF2 at checkout. Please be sure the discount has been taken off before proceeding to checkout. Refunds WILL NOT be given for codes that were not redeemed properly. Get the Sweet Sahara Throw Pillow pattern here.
Get the Sweet Mesa Pillow Cover pattern here.

Now for my review of the Red Heart Sweet Yarn that we used!

The Sweet yarn is labeled as a Jumbo #7 yarn! It is a super thick, soft and plush chenille. It is 100% polyester fiber that comes is 7 oz., 89 yard balls. There are currently 8 beautiful colors to choose from. This yarn was a great choice for pillows! HOWEVER.... I found it to be very awkward to work with. Being so thick, I expected that my project would work up really quickly. That was not the case for me. It took some time for me to get used to the big hook and thick yarn. Below is a photo of the yarn compared to Caron Simply Soft, a light #4 weight yarn.

​Another con is that when the yarn is cut, the chenille starts to fall off and you are left with just a thread.  I found that knotting the end of the thread help to prevent more chenille from falling off.

Because the yarn is so thick, I used my crochet hook to hide my ends under a few stitches.
Overall, I did not enjoy working with this yarn for the first time. It was extremely awkward, slow-going and caused a lot of pain in my wrist. After getting used to it, things got less awkward and moved much faster, without pain. So if you have a little patience and like big, soft and squishy things, this yarn is for you! It really was a great choice for these pillows!

Congratulations to Glenda Irvin, the winner of the 4 skeins of Red Heart Sweet yarn and a copy of each pattern! 

Have you tried Sweet yarn? If so, I would love to hear what you think of it! Share your thoughts in the comments. 

 Yarn Off Round 2!

AllieCat's Hats and Crafts vs. Blackstone Designs

For this round, we both used Red Heart Sweet yarn in Bark, Rust, Teal and Ivory to design 16" throw pillows! Now you get the opportunity to vote for your favorite design AND enter to win the yarn needed to make your own!

My Sweet Sahara Throw Pillow design uses a combination of simple stitches to create a beautiful texture, and features an envelope back with a button closure, so the pillow form can be easily removed.

Click here to learn about Sonya's design and then vote for your favorite using the widget below!

Check back next Thursday, September 29, when we will post our yarn reviews, reveal the winning design and release the patterns! We will also be announcing the winner of 4 skeins of Red Heart Sweet Yarn!
After you have voted, use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win the yarn package!

Good luck and thank you for voting and supporting our fun little challenge! I hope you love our designs! 

Are you getting excited to see what Sonya and I have up our sleeves for our second Yarn Off?! Perhaps knowing the yarn that we are using will excite you even more. Let me just start by saying, I had never seen this yarn before. We were looking at it online and I was quite shocked to see the size of the skeins and couldn't wait to jump in and start designing with it!

The yarn we are using for this round is Red Heart Sweet in Ivory, Rust, Teal and Bark!

Sweet is a jumbo 7 weight, 100% polyester yarn. Each skein weighs 7 oz and contains 89 yds. The recommended hook size is a P- 11.5mm! So what do you think? Can you guess what we will be designing with this gorgeous stuff?! Be sure to come back next Thursday to find out! 

Click here to learn more about our "yarn off" competitions.