Wednesday, April 8, 2009

No sewing but other happy things...

I haven't been able to blog (or sew) much lately as I have been quite busy with work and other things. One of the nice things that made our week-end busy was attending my Dad's 75th Birthday dinner. We had a lovely seafood dinner at Morgans Seafood Restaurant with family and friends. Here is a piccie of my parents enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, even though I remembered my camera, I forget to put a card in it so there wasn't many photos... *ahem*. Looking good for 75, Papa!

Not much time to sew but I have been re-learning my love of crochet. I recently bought this book recommended by my BFF and it is great!

It has lovely modern designs and I really like the visual aspect of the patterns - it is something I can really relate to... This book is available from Can Do books in Australia if anyone is interested in their own copy. NAYY but it is great to find a great Australian book service on the Internet (and usually at most craft shows too).

As a learning exercise I made a cuff first to learn the 'visual' aspect of reading the pattern. I am a visual person - I usually get a lot more from pictures and diagrams than I can get from words so I like this method. Here is the cuff I made. ... from the front (ignore my gnarly hand)...

From the inside wrist with button closure...

and the cuff laid out flat...

This is the next item I am going to try from this book.

It was really hard to pick which design I wanted to make next as I liked so many but I love this one, plus it is not a big project and does not require a lot of yarn, so that is why it came up next on the to-do list. My main problem with the book is working out which yarn to buy as the book is American and doesn't describe yarn like I am used to... worsted????.... so anyway I have taken a punt that the yarn I have chosen is correct (another good reason not to make something which takes a lot of yarn!). I chose a lovely 100% bamboo in a Stone colour (49). It feels divine and was well-priced so wish me luck!

6 comments:

  1. Hey Hey! When did you do the cuff, it looks smashing!! Love the net project choice too.

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  2. Also - just found the translations you need! Go here:
    http://www.wendyswoolies.com/ukus-knitting-translator/

    Their "worsted" is apparently our 8 or 10 ply, does that seem right? Anyway, I know you love bamboo and I think it will look fab!

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  3. That book looks like it has great projects! That little shrug will be so cute.

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  4. Worsted is just another name for the thickness of the yarn, which is best described as yarn that is a medium width with a hefty feel. If you are going with Bamboo, just be sure that it has the referenced charateristics. In that some Bamboo yarns can be sport weight, which is not as thick as the worsted weight yarn. I hope this helps and looking forward to your Crochet project.

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  5. I see you have some links to yarn weight guides already - I use this one to translate American yarns. http://www.yarnstandards.com/weight.html, which unfortunately does not include the Australian weights. Light worsted is usually DK/8ply, and worsted is usually Aran/10ply. Love your wrist band.

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  6. Sue - I came across a definition too which may help:

    Worsted yarns * have a long staple length (4 inch fibers and longer only)
    * are carded and combed
    * have a tight twist in spinning
    * are stronger
    * are finer, smoother, and have more even fibers
    * are harder

    Woollen yarns
    * have a short staple (1 - 4 inch long fibers)
    * are carded only
    * have a slack twist
    * are weaker
    * are bulkier
    * are softer

    I think Cleckheaton used to make worsted yarns but I'm not sure if Cleckheaton even exists anymore. There are a lot of knitting blogs you could try to ask on though.

    I love crochet too. I started when I was about 10 and made dresses and tops in the teens when they were very much the in thing. I like the little vest you're going to do. I'll keep an eye on your blog to see how it turns out.

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Love to hear what you think...