to market, to market

Only two sleeps to go until the 'Celebration of Wool' day at the OBDM in Canberra. Hausfrau headquarters is a bustle of activity as we prepare for this fantastic day. I will be taking almost our entire range, so you can squeeze as many skeins as you dare!

You can find more details out about the markets by clicking here.

With a bigger stall space this year I'm hoping to avoid last year's gridlock of yarn tragics...and to make it easier to spot suzy and her helpers, we'll be rocking these awesome aprons!

Just like the 'suzy hausfrau tote bag' these aprons were printed by Yardage Design, and I love them. They even came in brown paper and suzy pink wrapping! Don't you just love a business that rocks a brown paper package?  *wink*

See you on Sunday!

suzy xoxo

Why you NEED to be on Ravelry right now!

So I'm pretty much assuming that I'm going to be preaching to the converted here. That most of us that live and breathe yarn are already on the Ravelry train. So then, what's the purpose of this blog post?

Well, one of my customers very kindly asked me to do a 'why you need to be on Ravelry post' so she could forward it to her friends. So this is for her friends, and any of yours that need to be convinced that they need to be a part of the single most exciting thing that has happened to knitting & crochet in like FOREVER!

What is Ravelry?

Ravelry is a free social networking website for knitters & crochet folk. I often describe it as Facebook with a purpose. It has over 3 million members worldwide and has even scored its own wikipedia entry. Pretty impressive for a website that only started in 2007.

What can I do on Ravelry?

You can:

• search for patterns
• search for yarn
• match yarn up to patterns
• search for alternative yarn for patterns
• browse through other people's projects photos and notes
• upload your own projects to a page, including photographs
• upload & manage your own stash
• join groups with like minded knitters, such as those in the suzy hausfrau group
• participate in forums on all sorts of topics, knitting and otherwise
• find where to buy yarn 
• download patterns direct from designers (pdf format), including lots of FREE patterns!
• participate in 'show and tell' by having other people comment and 'like' your projects, and by you doing the same to theirs.
• and heaps more

Does it cost anything?

Not a penny

What do I do to join?

Head on over to the home page here, click on join now and follow the instructions. You will need to chose a username (commonly known as a Ravatar!) and a password...and chocks away you're off!

seven | swans island fingering weight

seven

seven patterns inspired by the scrumptious swans island certified organic yarn (fingering weight)

1. tetsubou by Kirsten Johnstone (knit)

2. biscotti by Lori Versaci (knit)

3. Funchal Moebius by Kate Davies (knit)

4. DJC Spirals by Doris Chan (crochet)

5. Heartbreak by Lisa Mutch (knit)

6. Baby Girl Fair Isle Cardigan by Purl Soho (knit)

7. Piquant by Lily Go (crochet)

What's the point of yarn bombing?

You may have seen my tweet earlier today about a conversation I had with a mum at school.

It went a bit like this:
suzy "I've finally finished this scarf I've been working on...it's nearly 2m long!"
mum "I love long scarves. Did I ever tell you that I found my favourite scarf wrapped around a lamp pole in St Kilda?"
suzy "Dude, you just stole someone's yarn bombing?"
mum "Their yarn-what?"

Magda Sayeg (above & below)

Judging from your reactions on twitter and Facebook most of you were as horrified as I was. I was at least to start with, but I've been mulling over it all day.

Yarn bombing.
What's the point of it?
Is it to 'warm up sterile places' as Wikipedia would have us believe, to spread the love of our craft around or have a bit of 'not too naughty' fun? I'm actually not sure.

I do know that there is surely a risk to leaving our precious project out in public, that the other end of the demographical spectrum ie. the non-knitters, haven't even heard of yarn bombing and would therefore not understand why we would wrap scarves around light poles, except maybe for them to have.

But, do you think we could go so far as a creative community to accepting the odd pilfering of our bombs? That some of them end up in needy hands, or that they might inspire someone to learn how to knit?

Your thoughts?
suzy xoxo

How to get your crochet garment to drape.

Today I'm going to talk through drape and your crochet garment. One of the arguments I hear against crochet is that the result is 'too bulky', 'too stiff', 'doesn't drape well' or simply it isn't that wearable.

Up front I have to disagree. Although I can both knit and crochet, I could crochet for a LONG time before I could knit so I have an affection and passion for this craft, and can see the advantages that it has over knitting for certain projects.

Here is my list of the advantages of crochet:
1. Crochet is faster than knitting
2. Crochet is more forgiving of your mistakes than knitting
3. There is only one stitch on your hook, leaving less room for 'dropped-stitch disasters'
4. Crochet lets you create wonderful three-dimensional stitches, that give your project depth
5. You can put a crochet project down at any time, and don't have to 'finish a row'

Yes, it is true that crochet often uses more yarn than knitting. This is due to the 3-D nature of the stitches, and with this comes the negative. That the heavier stitches create a firmer garment, less inclined to drape.  This can be overcome with wise project, yarn and hook choices.

So here are my five tips for getting your crochet garment to drape:
1. Chose a project that has a more lace or lattice effect.
2. Chose the weight of your yarn wisely. I would suggest no more than sport weight (5-ply) with a strong preference for lace (2-ply) or light fingering (3-ply) yarns.
3. The fibre you choose also makes a difference. I like baby alpaca, silk, silk/mohair & wool/silk blends.
4. Needle size. You may want to play around with a larger hook size to see if it makes a difference to the drape of the garment.
5. Blocking. Everyone blocks anyway right?

Still need convincing? Well here are some projects that I found on Ravelry that I rest my case on.

Happy hooking!
suzy xoxo

Julien Outing Shawl

Crocheted Moebius Cowl

Summer Storm

Romantic Wrap

Summer Breeze

seven | holst garn samarkand

seven

seven patterns inspired by the arrival of the Holst Garn Samarkand

1.  Shaelyn by Leila Raabe (knit)

2.  Caramel by Isabell kraemer (knit)

3.  The famous South Bay Shawlette by Lion (crochet)

4.  Different lines by Veera Valimaki (knit)

5.  Sweetheart by Tora Froseth Design (knit)

6.  Dragonflies jumper by Joji Locatelli (knit)

7.  Motif shawl by Nihon Vogue (crochet)

Introducing the suzy hausfrau tote bag

Don't you just love this? I know I do! Designed in collaboration with, and printed by Yardage Designs, it's the perfect carry-all tote for knitters. More details on how to get one over here.