Yarning in Thailand

Hello!

My solid granny squares are beginning to pile up. Too many for a bag. I'm thinking a small blanket instead? (I'm rather partial to blankets as you might know...) As that pile of squares is growing - like my other work in progress (the shawl) - my travel yarn stash begins to decrease rapidly. Too rapidly.

Anyway, time to explore the yarn shops of Chiang Mai. It took me a while to find them, but I did. In China Town.

These colours are not edited. Can you imagine: the shop was quite dark, but still there was this unexptected colour explosion. Don't you just love it? I did... I didn't buy anything, since they were all acrylics, and I really would like some nice, preferably local, cotton. BTW, it was the first time I saw acrylics in skeins, I'm used to acrylics in balls. (And the skeins were rather huge too.)

However, the vast majority of the yarn sold here is acrylic. Which I often use myself, but I didn't really like most of what I came across. By the way, the way the shop above displayed it stocks in a quite unusual way. Far more usual around here is this... (This was actually the first yarn shop I came across, by accident. I got hopelessly lost while cycling through town and suddenly saw these huge bags filled to the brim with yarn. I almost squealed. Ha!)

And this. (Yarn in the back of the shop, behind the counter and wrapped in plastics.)



Oh dear, I wanted to show you some not yarny stuff as well, but it's getting late already. Next time! I'll end  this post with some crochet - which seems much more popular here then knitting. (Apologies for the bad quality of the picture.)



Hopefully till soon. Many thanks for dropping by!
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Crocheting out of a suitcase

Sawadee Ka from Thailand!
How are you?

I'm quite well, as I have the luxury of travelling for quite a while through South East Asia. Having arrived two days ago in Thailand, via Laos (beautiful!), I still have many, many weeks ahead of me. Hooray hooray! Being away from home for a relative long time, left me with a big (and when I say big, I mean Big) decision to make. Made even more difficult by the fact that I like to travel light (and when I say light, I mean Light: one small suitcase, plus one carry on bag). Which (and how much!) yarn to bring with me?

So what is in that (really small) suitcase? Well ehm... See for yourself...



Oh dear, this is rather embarassing, isn't it? And this is even without the balls of yarn pictured below... Beforehand I couldn't decide which project to make. It had to be practical, but satisfying at the same time, if you know what I mean. So in the end I quite randomly took quite some cotton pastels with me (the ones I usually use for doilies) and silver grey and natural white acrylic (because the acrylic is light weight).

I still can't decide what to make of the pastels... I have been trying different things. Like the lacy circles from the first picture. I thought they would make a nice blanket. But the pattern (inspired by a Japanese pattern) is too fiddly and fuzzy when travelling. A lot of short rounds means a lot of ends to sew in, and that is just not the thing to do when travelling in a bumpy bus for hours. ('Where's my needle? Sir, excuse me, my needle is under your seat. It's my favourite needle you see. Oh dear, I think I might have fallen between those bags of rice. Would you mind removing them?') Also I think this pattern would work better with a softer cotton, like Drops or Vinnis. So this sample will end up as a doily or hotpad. (I haven't blocked it yet, so it is a bit wonky still.)

So after the blanket-ending-up-as-doily, I tried these solid squares. I think this might work out. The idea now is to make a big bag of them. What do you think? And should I throw the bright pink in too? (Pictured on the right.) Probably.

Because it needs to be a travel friendly project I'll have to compromise on my principle that even within one-colour-squares I cut the thread after each round in order to start the new round on another side of the square. Is that a weird thing to do...? It's just that in that way the first stitches are less visible as such.

Meanwhile I'm working with the grey yarn. It's going to be a huge scarf. I'm using the same shell stitch as for the pink scarf that is still waiting for me at home. Couldn't finish it in time.  Anyway, I like the stitch, and it's a perfectly travel friendly project. Especially in this very light acrylic meant for a 3 mm hook - but I'm using a 4,5 mm hook, which makes it very soft).

Anyways, quite enough of my ramblings for today, I think... I'll try to post some travel posts soon - with a yarny angle. Thanks for visiting. Have a lovely day!
(And of course I would love to hear your yarny - or other - travel adventures...)
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Winter Colours for Winter Crochet

Hello there,

Time for an update on the bobble cowl and a scarf in the making I showed here ages ago...
Well, the cowl has been ready for quite a while now. Somehow it looks a bit spiky on the pictures, haha, but in reality it is rather soft.

The granny square scarf is extremely soft and huggable - and very long.
I can wrap myself up in it. But, since I still have some yarn left, I might make it even longer. Still considering that option. I did not finish the matching hat and mittens yet though.

Anyways, where I am now, I won't need any mittens or winter scarf...
But more on that in another post. [cliffhanger alert]  ;-)

Hopefully till soon, have a lovely weekend!
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ZigZag

Finally I made something chevron, or ripple stitch!
Not a throw (two others to finish first) - but a scarf.
As many before me pointed out, it is a quite addictive pattern.

For this scarf I used a fine yarn, meant for hooksize 2.5 or 3 mm,
but I used a 4 mm hook instead,
Which makes the result more lacy and light.
This is a very basic chevron pattern (there are so many variations out there, don't you think?)

Have you often used a ripple stitch pattern? Or is there another classic pattern which you really want to make? There is so much I'd like to make - and so little time...

Thanks for your visit - it's nice to have you here!
Have a lovely day.
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Haberdashery & a New (Another) Work in Progress

 Happy New Year!

To start this new year with a tidy (erh...) workspace,
I have been trying to organise my haberdashery and whatnot.
So what you see when you open those boxes is the following...

It might not be the most practical storage, but hey, we're talking esthetics here, right?

While tidying up my craftroom I came across the first doily I ever made (I think). It's the one I have in the header of this blog, see? I can confess now that it wasn't meant to become a doily, but a potholder. However. As a novice to crochet I found out that size matters when it comes to yarns + patterns. *blushes*

Anyway! I now appears to have the perfect size for this little thrifted stool.

And of course: a new year, a new (unplanned) work in progress.
I love how this scarf is turning out.
Very soft. Very powdery pink.
The simple shell stitch pattern makes for an interesting texture, I think.

I have more posts about (finished) scarfs coming up in the next week.
Over the last week is has become rather cold in this part of the world,
so it seems sort of a good timing. ;-)

Thanks for popping by!
Have a lovely day.
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