Tag Archives: wool

Crochet project

Crocheted crowns!

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Crocheted crown - white and pink

So here they are! The finished products from the one of the lovely hand-dyed balls of yarn.

I looked around ravelry, until I found this pattern, which can be found on the Hatting Madly Crochet website.

They were so quick to crochet up, and as far as I can tell, the pattern was brilliant. This is about the second written crocheting pattern I have followed, so Im not much of a judge! There was only one spot, where I pulled it out about 4 times before realising what it meant. This is clearly because Im a knitter and forget that you can crochet into holes, not just stitches!

They also dont take up much yarn. I was thinking that I might not be able to make 2 out of the 50g ball of yarn, so I did the first one with a cream coloured yarn as the band. Boy, was I wrong. I made it, and then 2 completely coloured ones, and I still have about enough left for another one.

The only change I made to the pattern, was for my 3 year old. I did one less pattern repeat, to make it smaller. I found that even though the pattern is for a toddler crown, it turned out to fit my 5 year old. But Im sure that it depends on tension, and the yarn. To adjust, the website says to adjust the foundation chain by 6 stitches.

The kids love them, and apparently so do the dogs (who just love to dress up, haha!).

Crocheted crown - hand-dyed yarn

So now, Im still not sure what to use the other yarn for! But Im sure something will come to mind.. 🙂

Fun musings, Knitting project

Hand-dyed yarn!

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Hand-dyed yarn

On the way back home after Mothers’ Day, I visited a fantastic handcraft shop. There is some gorgeous hand dyed, and handspun yarn there. And some delicious jam… amongst other things.

We are going away this week, and I need something to do in the car. Its decided that I will be using this gorgeous yarn. But what do I knit?? The pink yarn is an 8 ply (DK) and is 50g. The multicoloured yarn is 4 ply and also 50g.

Ive looked through some pattern books, but with the amount I have, its hard to know!

Any ideas??

 

 

Knitting project

Mothers Day!

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This year I got to see my Mum for Mothers Day! We live a while from my parents, so it usually doesn’t happen. It was very nice. And of course, I made my Mum something. She was gushing with happiness over them. My Mum, my biggest fan!

Here they are:

Nice and toasty...
Nice and toasty…

 

And matching!
And matching!

From this book:

Awesome book
Awesome book

With this yarn:

 

Awesome yarn
Awesome yarn

How was your Mothers Day? Any handmade gifts to show off?

Knitting project

Leftover balls of yarn project complete – a blanket!

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Leftover yarn blanket ~ OTD

So I did it. I have finished all but a few balls of yarn (and after being gifted some from my MIL), and made a beautiful stashbuster, leftover yarn blanket. This after my lamenting of having so much leftover yarn.

I was set on a blanket of sorts, and after having a look through raverly patterns, I came across one I loved, garter squish (I think you will need a ravelry account to access it, otherwise this is the creators website),  and so modified it. In the US, it seems the fallback yarn of choice is a 10-ply, but it Australia, it is definitely an 8-ply (DK). So with that in mind, I was using 8-ply. I used two strands of 8-ply on 8 mm needles, with 120 stitches across (making it 90 cm wide).

I continued the pattern for approx. 190cm, which makes it the perfect size of a single bed. That means it would also cover the pillow, but I think it will look great folded back.

My MIL loves knitting the odd blanket for the couch, and has a great one that is long and narrow. Perfect for having a snooze on the couch. I think this blanket would be great for that use as well. Too wide and it would become very heavy to knit.

Somewhere in the midst of making it, I promised it to my 3-yr old daughter. She is in love. I let her have a sleep with it yesterday, until I realised.. vintage yarn, that blanket needs a wash..

Heres some more photos…

Close up of the edge :)
Close up of the edge 🙂
All folded up!
All folded up!
So colourful!
So colourful!

Do you have a nice warm blanket you are knitting at the moment? Im ever so strongly resisting the urge to start another one!

Fun musings, Knitting project

Bendigo Woollen Mills

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If theres one thing Im passionate about, its buying local. When I hear about imported fruit while ours rots on the ground, my blood boils. Living near orange groves, I eat my fair share of local oranges. The juicer gets a workout too. At $8 for a box of 64 delicious and fresh juicing oranges, why on earth wouldnt you?? But I am going on a tangent…

My choice of yarn follows a similar pattern. In Bendigo, Victoria, Australia is a great wool mill. They use Australian wool (imagine, a mill using wool for yarn!) to make all different coloured and ply yarn. Garments Ive made out of their yarn always turns out beautiful, washes well, and best of all, theres probably a chance Ive driven past the sheep wearing the wool itself, with it being sourced from central NSW!

So for my upcoming knitting patterns, I will be using Bendigo Woollen Mills yarn. Please go and check out their website. They have beautiful yarns, mostly 100% wool, but also 100% alpaca, 100% cotton, and wool with blends of alpaca, silk, bamboo, mohair, and angora. The mill brings out limited editions of yarn in different blends and colours a few times a year, plus the regulars that are always available. Their yarn range is from 2 ply through to 12 ply, and comes in large 200g balls. And one of the best things I love about Bendigo Woollen Mills is the value for money. Their prices are low because they manufacture the yarn themselves, meaning you are buying direct.  AND if you spend over $50, you get free postage within Australia.

Now, where are my needles…