Hello everyone,
On the title are the theme of the yarns I recently dyed and are now available for purchase. It took me months to prepare these much and the progress continues InsyaAllah. My job is so much fun, Alhamdulillah.
Hello everyone,
On the title are the theme of the yarns I recently dyed and are now available for purchase. It took me months to prepare these much and the progress continues InsyaAllah. My job is so much fun, Alhamdulillah.
How many times have you wound the yarns and ended up spending countless hours untangling it? Well if you are like me who wind your yarns a lot before crocheting or knitting, here are some tips for you. This technique is especially useful when you work with a slippery yarns such as nylon or a certain type of silk. I would call this method making yarn donut casing. With this method you are encasing each ball and pull one end while the ball stay inside the case. It will make your yarn ball hair and dust free too.
You need a plastic pocket in the size to fit the volume of your yarn ball, not too loose and not to tight. Umbrella yarn winder and a ball winder is needed but it is not a must. If you are manually winding your yarns, just make sure to put something hollow to temporarily hold your yarns such as a bathroom tissue paper holder.
First method: Cut the base of the plastic pocket, slide it into the ball winder then tighten it with a rubber band. Wind yarns as usual. When finish, remove yarns from the winder then pull out one end of the plastic pocket gently and fold it around the yarn enveloping it inside safely.
Second method: Wind yarns as usual. When finish, remove yarns from the winder, slide in the precut plastic pocket through the hole then pull out one end gently. Fold the plastic around the yarn enveloping it inside safely.
Green Method: I have not tried this but maybe a a crumpled old magazine paper might work as well as a wrapper.
Don’t forget to reuse and recycle the plastic containers.
As soon as this yarns came I thought I must immediately make something with it or otherwise I will be buried in other WIPs which never seems to finish again for a long time and the idea soon will evaporate and I will forget about it. I know, I am making excuse again for not finishing my works on time (sigh)… But I promise myself making this purse doesn’t take much of my time .
To do this you need:
The Math Thingy
Using the stitch pattern of your choice (mine is inspired by Wheat Stitch Baby Blanket on Ravelry) and it is a free pattern (thanks to DankFiber), make a purse taking into account the width of the base as measured above. You can make it as tall as you like but at least the height must be the same length as the base to give enough room for the pocket when the frame is sewn later.
The finish pocket and the frame.
Cut and hand sew the lining. Pinch the two corners and sew.
Flip the purse inside out and slide into the lining.
Pin and baste the lining to the purse.
Arrange the opening around the frame, tuck in the fabric and lining and spread evenly.
Sew the purse into the frame starting from the corner, from outside into the inside, insert needle just about 1 mm below the edge into both fabric and lining and sew back into the same hole in the frame. Pull tight each time so the stitches are hidden inside the slot in the frame.
Sew several times into the fabric, cut off thread and burn the nylon careful not to burn your hand or the purse. Just be save with all you do.
You are done!
NOTE: You can make the bottom of your purse as wide as you like but the opening has to match the size of the frame unless your fabric is thin enough to fold inside the opening when the frame is shut, then it doesn’t matter.
Silk yarn in its natural color and after dying/painting
Testing out the result firsthand.
Next batch Silk of India insyaAllah…
Thanks Laurensia Debyana for videotaping it for us. Sorry for the video turned dark in some part in the middle because light went off. Yeah, light do went off about dozen times in our place, but we are still very lucky because in many more places in the world in fact they have no electricity at all.
Yay, my design was published in Homespun Australia. I hope I am not making you all bored with this strawberry stitches again. On the contrary I hope you will make something out of it. Ok enough said, here is the image of the printed magazine with my Strawberry Crochet Bag in it. Patten can be found in here…Strawberry Stitch Pattern
Hello all… I am back. It is hard to update blog while you are on vacation because there are too much interruption or should I say attractions going on hehe.
Here are my souvenirs to you from Bali in pictures. Some are crochet related and some are photos from the places we visited.
In search of Balinese Cotton Yarn
According to the info I have, there are only 4 national spinning industries left in Indonesia out of original 10. One of them located in Gianyar. I was told that there was one in Denpasar but the factory was closed and I could not go back to Gianyar to see the actual spinning work in progress because of time constraint.
Nevertheless I found the yarns were sold in craft shop like Toko Central in Kuta and in many places even outside Bali. The cotton yarns in the pictures below are available in many colors but only in one size (Sport/Size 2). It is not as shiny as the other Balinese Cotton Yarn but is very soft and squishy and didn’t split when crocheted and is suitable for baby apparels. Laying next to it is the label that was attached to it.
Above and below are crocheted bags and afghan for sale in the market in Ubud. There are many different type of cotton yarns produced in Indonesia. All the crocheted item you see in the pictures in this post are mostly made of Benang Katun Lokal (local cotton yarn). The name might sounds strange but that is just how the Indonesian people call their yarns and if you look for them by any other name you will not find what you are looking for. The texture of this yarn is very similar to Lily’s Sugar and Cream cotton–rough and dry.
I can’t resist not to buy one of these hats so I purchased the purple one.
My son enjoying his cup of coffee at Grand Kuta Hotel and Residence.
The picture above is Krisna gift shop selling items from aromatherapy oils and soaps to woodcrafts, batiks, sweets and famous Balinese salty peanuts. I like shopping at Krisna because of the fixed and reasonably price thus save time. Krisna has several branches so check the link above to find out the shop near you when you happen to be in Bali.
Note for Muslims travellers.
Bali is the smallest province in Indonesia with majority of the inhabitants are Hindus. Only small percentage are Muslim lives in Bali. We visited Bali from time to time and have seen some developments in the availability of halal restaurants. However, finding masjid is still difficult if you are outside Denpasar and Kuta area. A few friends decided to pray anywhere including in the local market between shops or next to her parked car, while other friends suggested they go to Padang restaurants to pray. Padang restaurants are run by Muslim people from West Sumatra province. Krisna gift shop above also provides the prayer room on its 2nd floor. Check this link for more info about the hotels with halal restaurants in Bali. Other restaurants we went were Pawon Pasundan (Sundanese), Jl. Kediri No. 2, Tuban and Ayam Taliwang Bersaudara (grilled country chicken and steam kangkung with chili and tomatoes paste). Jl. Raya Kuta 89. Balinese food are very tasty, and seafoods are also among our favorites.
More to see in Bali:
Tohpati Batiks Factory
Celuk Silver Factory
Textile Info
Making hats was our Lagos Crochet Group topic in past two weeks. Perhaps this chart is also useful for anyone making his or her own hats.
Age
|
Head Circumferences
(inch)
|
Hat
Circumferences (inch)
|
Hat Crown Diameter (inch)
|
Hat Height
(inch)
|
0-2 mth
|
10-12
|
8-10
|
2.00-2.75
|
2.5-3.0
|
0-3
|
13-14
|
11-12
|
2.75-3.50
|
04.0-4.5
|
3-6
|
15-16
|
13-14
|
3.50-4.25
|
4.5-5.0
|
6-12
|
17-19
|
15-17
|
4.25-5.00
|
5.0-5.5
|
1-2 yr
|
18-20
|
16-18
|
4.50-5.25
|
5.5-6.0
|
2-3
|
19-21
|
17-19
|
4.75-5.50
|
6.0-6.5
|
4-10
|
20-22
|
18-20
|
5.00-5.75
|
6.5-7.0
|
Teens
|
21-22
|
19-20
|
5.50-6.25
|
7.0-7.5
|
Adult Women
|
22-23
|
20-21
|
6.00-6.75
|
7.5-8.5
|
Adult Men
|
23-24 |
21-22
|
6.25-7.00
|
8.5-9.5
|