Bali in PIcture

Yarns Organizing Idea

Here is one yarn organizing idea for you. I have uploaded this yarn roller idea in a fb group before which received  an overwhelming feedbacks but have never published it in this blog. Now people are asking again for the same ideas so I thought I will post it here for easy reference for all.  

You need several household items such as:

1. a plastic basket with holes
2. yarns in cake shape as above works better
3. drinking straws
4. a knitting needle

Here is how:

Slide the needle inside the straw, if more straw is needed to cover the needle cut another  straw. 

Locate the most top hole on one side of the box. Slide the straw covered needle through the hole, string the cakes carefully, pass the needle though the opposite side of the box. 

Now you have it. Turn your work from time to time to avoid tangling. When stringing the cakes make sure you pull the threads all in the same direction toward you. If you prefer you can insert each of  the threads through the holes in the box to separate them.

Get the box from Carrefour outlets or from online store such as Organizeit. 

Finishing Your Crochet Project - Tutorial Round-Up

Today I bring you several pictures and video round-up on how to neatly finish your crochet project.
After my last trip to Bali and saw all those beautiful crocheted  items and purchasing some-- I came home with the thought that there is room for improvements here on how those pretty fabric can last for a long time so you can keep them as treasures. Here are some useful technique I found on the web.

• This article talks about tapestry needle and why you need it in crochet. I always keep at least of them along with a scissor and measuring tape in my hook case.  
• EliZZZa of Knitaholics show you  how to tie a Frankfurt Knot. 
• Finishing ends tutorial from Red Heart. 
  

• Bethinx1 demonstrates how to break off your yarn and secure it from unravel using several methods.

If you find more tutorials which can benefit crocheters like us, please share them in comments below. xoxoxo

Souvenirs from Bali

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.

Local spinner, photo  from Tempo.co

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.

Silk batik scarfs on display among many crocheted items

Tourists strolling Ubud market.

If you travel further to the north from Ubud toward Tegalalang you will find several rest area with restaurants overlooking the rice fields below. Along the streets there are several craft shops selling crocheted items as seen below. These blanket are big, I think it would fit a king size bed. I asked for the price and the seller asking around US$50. Unbelievable! It would take me a year to do that.  

A dress made of local cotton).

I can't resist not to buy one of these hats so I purchased the purple one.

Waiting for sunset in Tanah Lot. Look at the crowd on the bridge in the background. 

My son enjoying his cup of coffee at Grand Kuta Hotel and Residence. 

A cafe inside the Agung Rai Museum of Arts. The museum is a great place to visit for art lovers, collectors and artists. 

Above is the Thread of Life's gallery in Ubud. 

Threads of Life uses natural dyes in their yarns productions.

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

Lotus Flower Broche

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Crochet Beaded Crocodile Stitch Scarf

Hello all, how are you today?
I have  36 hours before packing my luggage. We are traveling home to Indonesia Insya Allah on Friday. I am happy but sad at the same time because this time for the first time all four of us will travel at the same time but with two different airlines. Me, my youngest and my hubby will be with Qatar Airways, but my oldest son will be with Emirat. What can I say, our travel allowance dictate our tickets...  

But the good news is I have a bit of time to start with a new project which is light enough to carry in my travel bag to the airplane. I have been wanting to do this crocodile stitch for long time now. I have now purchased the yarn I need. I choose Alpaca, wool, and acrylic mix in lilac by ICE yarns. The yarn is size 2 and My hook is size G/4mm. 

Here are the first few rows I made. I will continue this as I travel. I learned how to make triangle crocodile stitch from Bob Wilson's tutorial on Youtube.  It is so much fun to do. To know the number of beads will be needed, I counted the number of petals I will be making first. Mine is going to be a 30 inches long scarf and my gauge is 2 petals = 1.5 inches. It means that I will have to make  30 : 1.5 = 20 rows of petals. I know that the petals is increased by 1 in every rows and the number of petals in next row is always n + 1 (n is the number of petal in previous row).  I made the table in Excel spreadsheet to calculate the total petals in a triangle scarf according to the number of rows you are making. Mine says I have to load 210 beads to the spool prior crocheting. I added more beads to the total just incase I made mistakes in counting it. I used Japanese Toho Magatama  from Bobby beads since it has larger holes and you can tread it easily. I don’t use any pattern, just as above and follow the tutorial above. 

I finished one ball of yarn while I was on vacation. The height match to my calculations and the amount of beads were perfect in fact I have to remove the extra beads I loaded. I will continue crocheting it and make it a bigger scarf. Will see how long that will take me since I still have 7 balls of yarns to go (sigh).  

Would love to read your comments.

Have a nice vacations. See you soon.xx

Custom Made Hats

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.

I thank Cherry Thayer Drake for publishing the chart in FB group I am in.  I retyped the chart according to our group needs. For detail instructions in English on how to design your own hat go to Loraine's Blog

Hat Sizing Chart

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

Bahasa Indonesia

DISAIN DAN BUAT TOPI SENDIRI

Buat topi 2-3 inci lebih kecil dari ukuran kepala sebenarnya agar “snug fit.”

1. Tentukan diameter lingkaran atas kepala (crown):

Caranya: Ukuran topi dibagi 3.14 (rumus lingkaran waktu SD/SMP)

2. Buat crown sesuai ukuran yang diperolah. Lihat cara membuat flat circle di post terdahulu pada blog ini.  

3. Lanjutkan merajut tanpa penambahan tusukan dari crown sesuai panjang topi yang dikehendaki sesuai motif yang dikehendaki. Selaraskan jumlah tusukan dengan pola yang digunakan dengan menambah atau mengurangi jumlah tusukan pada round terakhir dari crown.

Jika lingkaran kepala sebenarnya diketahui, gunakan ukuran sesuai hitungan diatas. Namun, jika tidak diketahui ambil angka rata-rata sebagai patokan mengukur diameter crown. Misal:   

Ukuran topi minimun =16 in : 3.14 = 5.0 inch

Ukuran topi maksimum =18 in : 3.14 = 5.7 inch

Rata-rata = 5.0 + 5.7 dibagi 2 = 5.35 (bulatkan menjadi 5.25)

Jika ingin menambahkan pinggiran:

Tambahkan 1-1.5 inch dari panjang topi untuk  topi bayi, 3-4 inch untuk dewasa.

Sunhat, clochet, flopp, kurangi 0.5 inch dari panjang topi.