Reorganize in progress

So... I am reorganizing my stash to make space for new craft...

While i was sorting my bags of yarn, i thought i was handling the very last bag, but then one big bag fell behind that bag of yarn.

I cant help but laugh... I have yarn...

Tour de Fleece - testing waters part 2

Omg.... I really like the test result!!!!

I changed colors and it just happens... And the plied result looks so squishy, so cute so b-e-a-utiful....

It's also easy to "test" the tension. And my, i do see the point of why the singles has to be stable enough. The single cant be too weak since it has to support the loop. Once i plied, i can immediately see the result. I think i may look like i am fangirling...

Cant wait to try and wash this sample :D

What has been done, be...

I am trying to "fix" my first spun yarn.

It's so overly twisted. I have felted it so i am not sure if i can still mend this yarn to slightly more normal. But... I dunno... 

We'll see...

Second hand spun - after bath

They look so cute!

I just feel sad that i only have around 420 yard of it. 2 plied, merino, fluffy it seems. Dont know what to do with it (yet).

Just in case

You are wondering why i am not that active...

Well... Busy.

But i got to make this in between:

Distant hours part 2 - still indecisive

I cant decide which yarn and beads.

Now i have one more color. Purple.

Distant hours, part 2

Hmmm.... 

Which one?

Red soy cardi - bahasa Indonesia

Beberapa waktu yang lalu, mbak octy ngasih benang baru buat dicoba. Benang acrylic gitu, 100%, dk weight (or maybe fat sporty?). Lumayan banyak, satu hank besar total 300 gram, lah. Di kepala langsung komat kamit ngitung, cukup buat apa ya? Akhirnya waktu itu langsung memutusksn untuk buat short cardigan.

Soal benang

Benangnya ok. Ga gampang rusak pilinannya. Waktu harus rip off juga benangnya ga kenapa-kenapa. Jadi benangnya ok bahkan untuk temen2 yang baru mulai main benang. Berhubung saya nyobainnya buat knitting, teksturnya halus untuk ukuran acrylic. Nggak berserabut, jadi juga ga gampang "murudul". Waktu masih dalam bentuk benang (belum di knit), tampangnya aja udah meyakinkan. Aku coba tes ke beberapa teman foreigner yang juga perajut, mereka ga percaya kalau benangnya acrylic. Mereka pikir itu katun. Soalnya lebih halus dari kebanyakan acrylic and agak 'berat'.

Benangnya sendiri bervolume. Jadi bukan benang yang kalau dipencet jadi kempes. Keuntungan benang dk yang memang dk asli, kalau udah jadi project-nya, dia gak akan berubah bentuk dengan drastis. Apalagi kalau sudah mulai dipakai dan sering dicuci.

Kalau soal blocking, biasanya saya menyarankan steam block untuk acrylic. Tapi untuk yang satu ini, wet block ternyata sudah cukup. Mungkin karena "berat" si benang juga. Untuk merapikan stitch, cukup dengan menarik-narik si hasil rajutan ke segala arah sebelum dan sesudah dicuci.

Saya pakai jarum 3 mm buat project ini, tapi saya saran untuk pakai 3.5 - 4 mm aja. Harusnya sih masih lebih bagus, soalnya saya ngerasa kalau pakai 3 mm, stitchnya agak terlalu rapat. Nanti gaugenya saya update di sini ya...

Soal project:

Link untuk pattern project yang saya kerjakan ada di sini. Gratis!

Saya pilih pattern top down karena mudah dan ngga perlu sambung kanan kiri. Karena mulainya dari lingkar dalam leher, jadi berasa ngga mudeng, bentuknya tuh gimana sih? Tapi ya akhirnya ketemu juga setelah polanya dipelototin selama beberapa jam.

Ini waktu masih berbentuk 2 dimensi,

Dan yang ini waktu armholenya (lubang lengan) disambung dan mulai terlihat bentuk 3-Dnya.

Saya suka metode top-down, soalnya baju bisa dicoba2 sambil terus dirajut.

Terus, sayang banget saya ga sempet bikin short rows buat ngebentuk bagian dada (hmmm, penting bagi mereka yang dianugrahi volume di bagian dada). Tapi ternyata jatuhnya ya masih ok-ok aja. Flap buat kancing saya perlebar, supaya kasih ruang buat dada kalau2 ukuran yang saya buat itu ngga cukup. Tapi, saya malah jadi ngga kontrol jumlah kancing. Kancingnya kebanyakan! Harusnya sih, 6-8 kancing juga cukup ^^.

Ini waktu baru selesai mengerjakan kedua lengan, tapi ribbing buat kancing dan kerah belum dirajut:

Ini setelah kancing dipasang dan si cardi lagi di wet blocking.

Dan ini setelah jadi, dipakai oleh mbak model :p

Semoga posting saya bermanfaat!

Spin some yarn

I finally learn how to spin yarn!

Astried was nice enough to encourage me and lending me her spindle (drop) to learn for the few first ones. She also sent some fiber leftovers to me so that i can play with them. It was fun.

I got a hang of it in a while and immediately spun quite "stable" yarn, but i still trying to understand the fiber behaviour. Some of the fiber i tried were long and sticky, some are short and "dry", or even long and bumpy. I dont know if my words are comprehendable, but alas! I started spinning.

I have yet to depart on my first full 100 gram spinning, but i have tried some fibers. I am not that good yet, but so willing to learn and now i am looking for sometime to squeeze the 100 gram spinning into my schedule.

I bought a cheap spindle. After i used them (both cost only US$ 15), i really like it! The wood is soft and stable. Really like the way it feels on my hands.

And, these are my first handspuns. Only 5-10 grams, not much, but i am learning. 

Looking forward for more handspun projects.

Yarn review: silkindian Maharaja

Yarn name: Maharaja

Yarn brand: silkindian

Purchased from: silkindian.com

Purchased price: ask the seller for quotation

Sold in: hanks of 100 grams

Fibers: 100% silk

Weight: lace weight 

Yardage: 700 yards/100 grams

Colors; available in wide solid and blended choices. May ask for custom color.

When i write this review, i already purchased:

300 gr light lime green

200 gr undyed

200 gr light brown

Actual weight:

Light lime green: to update

Undyed: to update

Light brown: 89 gr + to update

When i write this review, i already used 89 grams for 1 project.

Ratings: 3 of 5

Personal opinion:

Really love the fact that they have a wide variety of colors. It is unfortunate that they do not have that much ready stock. But luckily, i always like at least one of their available stock, so, so far i'm ok.

The yarn itself is quite soft. I didnt feel it when i first touch it, but i always think that before it became a fabric (knitted) i always give the faith that it will be good. I was right: It is good and soft after i knitted it.

I dislike the fact that the yarn is not 'clean' and evenly spun. Lots of fibers trapped in the yarn spun and some of the parts is not fully spun (you can still see that they are fibers, instead of a strand of yarn). It's worrying since i dont know whether the yarn is strong enough when i block it. If the yarn is clean and evenly spun, i'll give 5 out of 5. Especially, because when i wind my hanks, i didnt find any knots on all the hanks, which should give that 5 star rate.

Blocking

Double blocking applied. Wet block and reblock by further expansion and steam.

Material is not stretchy when wet.

Will i use this yarn again?

Yes

Will i recommend this yarn?

Only for those who doesn't mind the unclean spun yarn.

another victim - recycled yarn

 Made from a pants given by a friend.

Maybe I'm going to make a bag. I should've been able to transform the trousers into shorts, but it was too late, so... I'll see what I can do with the top part.

recycling t-shirt: Yarn

Since I moved to Taiwan, I have to admit that my awareness of reduce, reuse and recycle has greatly increased. I believe, the habit of the Taiwanese society, along with the encouragement from the government had supported the development of the care towards the mother nature.

One of the great advantage of staying in a dorm that is occupied by rich Taiwanese student (I'm not rich. I chose this dorm because the school encourage me too, and I'm too busy to find a cheaper place to stay), is that they like to discard clothes. Some of my PJs are second hand from those discarded clothes. I even found a contoured/ergonomic pillow, carpet, hot water jar, etc. for my room. Well, most of the discarded - yet still usable - stuff is t-shirt.

I've been wanting to do this since a long time ago, but I can't do it with my tees, even the one that I already owned since 1997. I am dreaming to cut and recycle the tees into a usable yarn.

A week ago, I found the victim in a carton box in front of the elevator. So whoever has this shirt before, be happy, it will be useful for quite a long time.

First, I cut the part that I want to transform into yarn

Second, I cut that part into small vertical cuts and the width was approximately 1.5 cm (or about half inch), but left one end uncut for about 2.5 cm (one inch).

Third, I cut the last strand of the vertical cuts, and the cut should be diagonal.

Fourth, continue the diagonal cut to all the next vertical cuts until all the cuts are done.

Fifth, pull the t-shirt strip. since mine is a bit fragile, I did it by holding the connection seams between front and back part of the original t-shirt, so that the seams would not be destroyed. Stretch the strips until the sides of the strips curled (usually inward).

And the yarn is ready for use.

I'm thinking about making a mop by crocheting the yarn. Whaddayathink?