A new year, a new set of projects

Back in November 2010 I learned how to make my first knit anything. Ironically it was a checkerboard "dust duvet". It's on top of my wicker book case, and it was made from sage green super saver yarn. Considering I was just learning I used a Boye size 8 needles at almost 12 inches long(I thought at the time that long needles meant less slippage) with youtube as my guide.

I spent hours just trying to learn, from sight, how to create the first row of stitches(after casting on of course). Some people would whip the yarn around so quickly that I got lost, or worse...frustrated! After about a dozen videos, and looking into webpages "how to" I stumbled onto a man in a nice chair.
It took a bit of doing but here he is!

There was no fancy music, no text. Just the man, his needles, and his yarn. His instructions were so clear and easy to understand that I got it first try. He spoke softly, but his patience with the viewer was marvelous. Check it out if you have no clue what the heck is going on in 90% of the videos and you're just starting out!
For this year I set the goal of entering as 8 contests with my knitting. Considering I just opened up Sweet Yarn(that's my shop) last year, I need to get some "lookers". Today I started a scarf. I plan on using a bunch of basic stitches as well as one or two that I created.

Since I just started this bunch of project I'll give a photo of what I've got so far:

(My Review of: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Yarn)
I've got to say this lion brand yarn knits up so nice. The yarn almost has a silky texture to it...but I also realize that there is probably a price issue that prices most knitters out from using it. If you can afford to spend the extra .50$ I would strongly suggest it.

One thing I like about the Lion Brand Vanna's Choice yarn is its refusal to retain the "lock" of its previous form if you unwind it from a project or you need to do some emergency tinking(knitting in reverse haha)!

(For the rating system it will be 1-5, 1 being last resort and 5 being get it now.)
Lion Vanna's Choice Yarn:
Softness:3/5
Price:2/5(a bit pricy for so little)
Color:5/5(incredibly rich)
Ease of use:4/5(knits up nice and doesn't cause chafing on the hands)

News flash(es): if you can get to a Michael's store please do so in this week. Their whole stock of yarns are all on sale! Talk about a yarn crafter's dream! I saw a yarn that's regularly 3.49 at 2.49! One Pound Caron yarn is also amazingly cheap. At checkout I was given a 20% off coupon for next weekend. I fully plan on using it to stock up on the last bit of yarn I need for this year.

Yarn Cloud had a sale today(but I missed it) so now I'm wondering when the next sale will occur. Yarn cloud I will excitedly await the next sale(hopefully it will be longer then 3 hours next time...)

A question for you: What is your favorite brand of yarn? Why? I might go and test it out next(and give my results) here!