why does my wool hate me?

[guggenheim]

Ok,it hates me because I have no talent and am a beginner crocheter.

I have some 'spirit yarn' from the front cover of a mag- it was lovely. i have no idea where to buy more- phone a dealer maybe?

I bought some cotton because the girl next to me in my class made beautiful granny squares with hers while I managled some wool about. I tried it at home and it was HORRIBLE to use.

I have some dk weight (have no bloody idea what that means) which is nice to use. It's a pretty colour too.

So what should I use to crochet granny squares with? I'm lost in wool shops,just spending time stroking lovely things rather than buying sensible yarn.

My crochet is bad so I suspect the answer is 'any old shit,it won't make much difference' Is there a magic crochet wool?

Im making a massive crochet blanket at the moment (among other things on the go) im using double knit wool (dk) with a 4mm hook.

I look for a smooth texture in the wool (no pretty bumps or extra fluffyness these make it harder to crochet as a beginner) a cheaper alternative to wool is acrylic or an acrylic/wool mix these can usually be bunged in wash easier if your making a blanket/something that will get dirty a lot.

The people in the wool shops often know alot about their products dont be scared to ask them if you need help when your in there I know whats like I just want everything and cant resist touching it all

ooh thank you!

I've been obsessively reading attic 24 and little tin bird blogs.
I have that hook because my teacher recommended it to me after I'd done some appalling things to wool in front of her.

I think I may need to spend more time in craft shops and build up a collection of wool,Smaug stylee.

Yes,the cotton was horrid and split into fractions precisely every 30 secs.
Not nice.

cotton is evil to the beginner crocheter, I found it easier to use with a bigger hook and with a looser hold.. lesson learnt, I'm making a continuous granny square blanket with some lovely soft acrylic. Woolywonderscrochet is good to watch on youtube for some beginner projects.

Stylecraft Special is definitely the best value for money and perfect for beginners. I use Woolwarehouse far too often a lot

Another vote for Stylecraft Special. It's a cheap wool, resilient and the finished product doesn't look like its been made with a cheap wool IMO.

I used Rico cotton, it wasn't too bad and the colours were lovely.

At the moment I am using Amy Butler Belle by Rowan which unfortunately was discontinued but it is good to work with. I think it may be a mix.

Ok- I've made my first proper granny square. It actually looks like a granny square,what with it's little hooky corners and that.

On your advice I spent some more time at the craft shop and came back with:
Some WI acrylic - sort of lots of blues and whites on the same ball
Sirdar-dk
Robin dk in green

I've used the WI stuff and it's lovely. i'd like to upload a photo but it would be very boring and I have no idea how to do that either!

Right I'd like to get involved with the wooly hugs blankets when I've had loads more practice.
Thank you all