Princesse

There's been some beading going on around here; probably since I told Susan I'd bead 'on monday'. Well I didn't bead on monday but I did do something. SO in order not to overwhelm anyone, I'll just post one by one. (It also helps me post a little more regularly hehe)



I created Princesse when I saw a 'charm ring' in one of my magazines. It was placed on a miniature cat statue and believe me, I was looking at the figurine first. Since I don't have a little cat figurine to pose for me I shall take a picture of my not-very-nice finger.



The pearl beads are more purple than black, and it probably shows better in this picture.



It's the first time I'm using the swarovski rondelles and I guess I just like them a little too much to stop at one ring. Earrings soon followed.



And here's the set.



More to come!

New stuff!

No pictures of wips or fos. Not even of beading or tatting.

But I met mlc today for lunch. She brought little Isabel out and the baby was sleeping so very quietly, we weren't interrupted at all! It's good to see them both though, even if it's for a short while. :)

The reason why I met her today (instead of after 23rd Mar which I'm telling everyone) is because mlc sms-ed me yesterday telling me that she wanted to meet cinnabar, and that she's ready to come out to town with baby in tow. So yes, after my language classes would be a good time!

AND of course, my needles came with her!



Ahhh so much excitement!

I'm fighting the urge to start something new. Oh come on, I'm just trying out new needles right?

And btw I do like the new range of colors in Palette. Here's Golden Heather and Calypso Heather (Love the name!) respectively.





I think this started after I received one of the purpl-y heathers from rain during SP11. :)

As usual, mang isn't amused.

meme!

Kessa tagged me! :) So here goes another meme~~~ heh

These are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

And here are the six non-important things/habits/quirks about myself. (I'll be sure not to repeat anything from the other two memes I did.)

1. I have a lot of lip gloss/balm. One (or more) in every bag, on every reachable surface at home, and a number in my drawer.

2. Although Chinese (or Mandarin rather) is my mother tongue and the language I first used, I started to find it increasingly difficult to converse in the language. It was so bad I almost replaced my second language (Chinese) with my third (French). I learnt German and a bit of Russian after that.

3. I like to pinch a little corner of clothing (or just any random cloth surface like a pillow case or a hem) and rub them together. I've been doing it subconciously for years until my mum told me about it when I was in primary school.

4. I've been a gamer since I was 5. Thanks to my parents who allowed my brother and I to game everyday for two hours (and longer if it's after exams) and exposed me to almost every kind of console available! :)

5. I have a lot of X-men (and X-men spin-offs) comics. But I stopped buying when Rogue started to get together with Magneto. Combined with my Manga, this collection is modest for hard-core collectors, but 'ALOT' according to my friends. (since they currently line my wall)

6. I also have a lot of books. I think the only stuff I don't really read is chick-lit. And er... cookbooks. I guess this is also why it's dangerous for me to walk into a bookstore as much as it is for me to walk into a game or yarn store.

Ok I tag (in no particular order) genevieve, susan, emily, rain, mlc and yvette!

Storm

I so wanted to make a ring all of a sudden and browsed through all the ring patterns I had for inspiration. It was so late yesterday and to be honest I was quite sleepy. So I decided what could use less brain power than those buncha-beads rings I see so often?



Ok I realize it was quite tedious but I did enjoy seeing how the ring grew. Storm is done with Light Gray and Black pearl beads, and Smoky Quartz.

Thank You Yvette!

Yvette nominated me for a Make My Day Award! Thank you, Yvette! I'm so honored!



The rule is as stated: Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.

I had a long thought about this one since I really wanted to pass it on to people who have not seen this award before. If you look at Yvette's blog, this doesn't seem to have travelled much internationally. Some of my nominees are quite new to our circle too. Anyways without much further ado, here are the blogs that Make My Day!

barb

emily

genevieve

ing

hooknneedle

mlc

munyee

phuazzie

rain

ssedro

My So-Called Scarf

My So-Called Scarf done with Hamanaka's Granbia in 6.5mm Addi Turbos.

That's a bit of left over yarn to show the color variations.

I really love the yarn and have already bought more 'just in case' I find time to make a present for a friend! More pictures here.

(Antrelac)ements

HAPPY VALENTINES' EVERYONE!

I finished my vday project in time.

Here it is sans blocking.



Oh and because the yarn is so colorful, there are some parts which were totally not repeated and I am absolutely in love with this little mint triangle. The color only appeared once in all three balls and that makes it all the more special! Note: It doesn't look very minty here but it really is in person.



Here's the first part of the pair, just in case you've forgotten. It's also pictured (although not very well) here.



And here they are together



The reason why I'm calling them Antrelac is really because of our names. (how cheesy actually but well) I chose to do scarves this time for two reasons. One is of course I wanted to learn entrelac. And the other is I felt that I didn't actually make a proper scarf for AS. I mean yea, I did the dark blue one in Zhivago long ago but it felt more like a 'I should make a scarf' rather than something I really put my heart into, with the intention of gifting it. I guess.

Antrelac





Antrelac (pattern: Entrelac Scarf from Allison Knits)
Done with Rowan's Tapestry, Antrelac I in Leadmine and Antrelac II in Rainbow, with Clover 4.5mm circulars.

To the Guy who Exclaimed

Dear Mr. Man,

I am writing to inform you that it was not quite appropriate for you to yell about our knitting in a public place yesterday. And negatively too. Although we were not exactly upset, we were quite perturbed with your behavior. Please also note that your partner was quite embarrassed. Did you notice her sheepish smile? Did you also realize that she scurried away to place her orders because you exclaimed 'Crazy Asians! Knitting in this weather!' thus loudly?

I must apologize that I was confusing you by knitting a scarf. Perhaps I should have been knitting a breezy-looking tank. However, please realize that there are different kinds of materials yarn can be made of. Cotton, bamboo, nylon, silk and tencel are some of them. Not every ball of yarn on earth is made of wool, you know. Also, being Asian and sitting in an Asian coffeejoint doesn't mean that I'll be in the same hot and humid country 365 (+1 every four years) for the rest of my life. For your information, just like you, Asians like myself can travel too.

The data in DSW-Datareport 2006 show that out of the 15 most populous countries, 8 of them are Asian. Furthermore, Asia accounts for over 60% of the world's population. For more interesting information, please refer to the data here. The world today is very much globalized, and races do not label much anymore. If I may reiterate, people, just like yourself, travel.

In retrospect, I must admit that I have no idea where you have travelled from, and perhaps the heat must have spoilt your mood for the day. Do be informed, however, that you must have fellow countrymen/women who knit, and must be appalled if they heard of your biased comment. I urge you to think before you exclaim about crafters in future, for we knitters unite with our needles whether they are straights or circs or dpns, bamboo or metal or plastic, regardless of race, language or religion.

Yours Sincerely,
The 'Crazy' Asian Knitter

Beading around

Actually I'm very proud of my. first. tatted. earrings.

Tadaaa~~~~!

Flight of Fancy



And aside from this there are two other pairs of earrings

娃娃



娃娃 or 'Doll' is made with Russian Jade bead and silk tassels. This is just in time for the lunar new year heh!

Lilac Hints



I just wanted to try out the colored wires and play with an alternative form of wiring. So I came up with Lilac Hints.

And of course I have some bookmarks done. The other day while doing research, I realized I needed a few bookmarks.

Actually, a few of them.

AS also wanted one so, if I could find appropriate beads, I could make him some book thongs.


From top: Lagoon, Tribal and Tabbed.
All beads are glass beads. Lagoon is a metal squiggly bookmark; Tribal is leather-corded and Tabbed's a book thong made from double-satin ribbon.

And on the knitting front, I think I'm a bit paranoid. I have a bad feeling that I won't be able to finish my second Antrelac in time. Keeping fingers crossed but with the hike in research work these days, it's getting difficult.

Tats-it weekend~

I bought a Japanese Tatting book the other day, and went tatting over the weekend. (of course, a few stitches were made on the neverending wips. but i'll come to that later.)



Who knew I'd have new wips! Luckily they aren't knitting projects and are much smaller. And of course these wips are better than the 'incomplete project' pictured, because they are worked in sections, so I can just finish as section as and when I can without having to worry about remembering where i stopped. I think I'm getting the hang of tatting and it seems much easier the more I practice. I'm still not confident enough to use the pretty threads I bought but I think soon I will. This also makes me not give up on spinning as well. Practice Practice Practice.

Meanwhile yes, here are some pictures of all those in progress.

Wisp

Seems like the least progress here (actually it's not, broadripple is. Then again I also haven't don't anything on my Lily of the Valley) but the pattern is really easy, and nice. I love the yarn as always. It doesn't take long to do a single repeat either.

Broadripple

I have about 12 rows on the second sock left and then I will be moving on to the heels of both socks.

My So-Called Scarf

I'm so in love with this yarn, I'm already planning to make a similar scarf for a friend. The yardage is better than I thought too.

Antrelac Part II

I love the color whooo~~~~ I can't wait to finish this so that at least I have my vday gift all done and in time.

Well tat's about all for now. Will be working on my thesis today so I don't think there'll be more crafts until late in the night perhaps.

Latest Updates on War on Startitis

Aloha!

Welcome to this morning's edition of Knews@ennairdaknits.

First up, Ayu's War on Startitis. In the early hours, Ayu seemed to have been blessed by the Goddess of Cast Off. She was able to finish up on the first entrelac of the pair she's been working on. Although victory on the shawl was much later than expected (since there were two occasions of mistake correction and frogging), she was able to heave a huge sigh of relief by mid-day.




Antrelac Part I in Rowan Tapestry's Leadmine with Clover 4.5mm.

Before Antrelac I is blocked, Ayu needs to cast on and finish up Antrelac II. "So that they are a pair, and I'll get the same length," she mused. "As some of you might have know, I've been fighting Startitis. So, I thought this would've been a good counter-attack."

Unfortunately, her casting-on of one project triggered the vengence of Startitis. And the results.


From Left: My So-Called Scarf in Hamanaka, Antrelac Part II in Rowan Tapestry (Rainbow) and Wisp in Sublime Kid Mohair Blend.

"What is there to do?" says Ayu. "It's the domino-effect."

Ayu is not available this morning for further comments. It's been reported that she's gone quite crazily addicted over the stitches in all the projects, and is hoping she would be granted an additional three pairs of hands by the Goddess of Cast Off before things go haywire. In our speculation, she's already there.

We interrupt this program...

for an important newscast.

Ayu is fighting the urge to cast on a million projects and is losing the battle.

Stay tuned for more updates.

as promised

the wips and progress of spinning.

As some of you have been asking, how goes my spinning? It isn't as smooth as I expected. So the very nice lady who sold me the spindles, Annie May offered some troubleshooting advice via email. And I also appreciate very much Kessa's tips in my post on spinning, thanks Kessa! I've been visiting and reading all the forums related in Ravelry, and watching all available videos online. So here, a photo.



The thick and thin pink was my very first attempt. That means that was way before the troubleshooting and forum-visiting. It was thicker than a pencil at some points and precariously thin (until it broke - that's why it's in two bundles) at others. And the blue is the second attempt a day or so later. The second time was much better because I practiced drafting a little and got them into pencil roving, but it was still difficult to draft. It's like super bulky yarn, but I am glad it didn't break. I was also slowly getting used to the rhythm of the drafting triangle. The white yarn is Annie May's work, which is far far far far better than mine as you can see. I do have a question though, is spun yarn supposed to twist and turn like this once you've released it from the shaft of the spindle?

Anyways, I guess what's left to do now is practice practice and more practice. I think I'll try to fluff up the roving abit as Kessa suggested; I didn't do this when I practice drafting the blue roving. I love the pink roving though. Surprisingly since I'm not a pink person. But the muted, dusty shade is very beautiful, and I can't bear to waste my lousy skills on what's left of the roving. It's tencel and wool blend I think and I must get more from Annie May!

Unfortunately, I had a bad bad bad paper cut a couple of days ago, and my very dry skin didn't help. It's taking a little longer to heal than usual and I can't practice spinning now. Bah :( I guess that will have to wait...

On to my wips. My entrelac scarf apparently triggered the cast-on bug in mlc haha... Well I'm making a pair, hopefully by Valentine's Day (again I'm being hopeful). I'm calling my scarf set Antrelac for obvious reasons. I've just used up the second ball of yarn today for the first scarf so it's a lot longer than it is in this picture (which was taken when I was going to finish the first ball).



This is going a lot slower than usual because I have to knit it in secret. AS also likes to question my knitting (like 'who is this for?' or 'what is this?' etc etc) so I have a feeling I have to knit the second of the pair (which is for me) in secret as well.

What about knitting NOT in secret? I have the lily of the valley and this sock.



:D I started this to get my sock mojo back. And it is! yayy! Actually I'm also focusing on the needles in the picture... it's the Harmony needles I got for Christmas~! It's light and the tips are sharp. These are size 3.25mm and still, the tips are good! Ah I'm enjoying them a lot~~ :)

Time to Read?

The Reading-in-Bed Shrug was completed over the weekend but I really couldn't take a good picture until today. So here's the first peek at the first FO of the year.



This shrug's made for my mum in mind, in time for her birthday. In MARCH. I know. Call me paranoid, but I think if you realize what kind of speed I have, the possibility of me finishing gifts in time ranges from 0% to 100%.



The pattern was really easy to remember but I had a problem at the end. Because it tells me to 'BO loosely' (and it didn't say CO loosely), I did exactly as it said. And then I ended up with a nice snug sleeve and a loose, squarish one on the other side. Everyone also knows what it's like to rip mohair. But I had to do it; the difference was too great to be forgiveable.


Reading-in-Bed Shawl from Interweave Knits Spring 2007 in Sublime's Mohair blend with 5.5mm Addi Turbos.

Anyways I've used much less yarn than expected so now i've got quite a bit left. I thought I'd make myself another shrug but today I was inspired by MLC's wisp... so... hint hint.

More on wips and spinning progress tomorrow.

still stuck

i'm still bugged by the spinning. I can't thin out the roving properly.

not giving up but will only try tomorrow.

Stuff and Spins

I met Susan yesterday for lunch and a teensy little KO. Look what I received!



Of course I was too distracted then to know what it is and totally missed the blinking words 'MATCHA CAKE' (or actually, cookie/biscuit) on the front. The packaging is gorgeous as usual. I can't bear to eat it! :D Thanks Susan!

She also bought me these...



We call them the Camouflage Yarn. And yes they are very 'me'. I haven't any clue what I'd make with them but a good Camo scarf peut-etre?

And of course I got my sock books! Yayy!! Perhaps I'll find something there to solve the sock problem I'm having.



I've already flipped through Knitting on the Road and am already queuing a number of them in my head. I think I need another three pairs of hands to finish all the socks I've queued.

Last but not least my spindles are here~!!!



I tried spinning last night but I think I'm wasting the beautiful roving. So I'm going to think of an alternative. I need to research on drafting, because I don't seem to be doing it correctly. I pinch the roving in places I'm supposed to and try to draft bits of the yarn out. But I always end up having to tug and pull really hard at the roving, which shouldn't be the case! The 'yarn' ended up being thick (like almost worsted) to precariously thin at different parts of it. I also think there's too much spin in the yarn, which makes it wind itself back when it's relaxed. Sigh! That's my start to spinning but no I'm not giving up~!

Another three

Thanks for the suggestion on the socks :) I will definitely be considering them especially ripping to the toe now. meanwhile if there are anymore ideas, keep them coming in!

I made three pairs of earrings on friday evening but didn't post them on flickr because it was Mang's birthday and it was really late. It's been so difficult to take pictures recent because of the gloomy and rainy weather. Not that I'm complaining but sometimes the few minutes of sunlight decides not to grace the day at all and my gamble ends up in forfeit.

Rachel


The flower's a 'fimo flower bead' and it's the same one used in Amy. The beads are red cat's eye and I actually bought them at a much higher price than I could have gotten them. O_o Also, please don't ask my why they are Rachel. I have no idea and it just popped into my head just before I uploaded their photos.

Olga


With Russian Jade and milky colored swarovski beads in white/violet(?? I can't remember, old stash) and pacific opals, these are simple yet fitting for dailies. I love all the three beads incidentally.

Whimsical Alice


Made with another one of my favorite colors (besides purple), the hazy pale blue cat's eye beads are wire wrapped and bunched. I really loved the look and they reminded me of Alice and her whimsical adventure.

Whimsical Alice has a matching bracelet but I have ideas and might split the set into two. I did the bracelet just so I can wear them to the musical I was going to attend on Sunday.



And I think I forgot to mention two other pairs I made before these so let me present Chloé and nOiR. (Note: yes and I was feeling a bit French-y that day, hence the names.)

Chloé

I actually delayed posting about Chloé on purpose because I made a similar pair for a friend for our birthday so I had to wait until it was over. This is made from bronze findings (which are a little harder to work with I felt. I think it's the gauge) and turqoise beads.

nOiR

I just wanted to try out the gold findings and use up the two lonely amber crystals even though I hardly wear gold. I wear two pairs of platinum earrings at the same time (three on my left and one on the right), have a silver and a platinum necklace, plus my rings are platinum and white gold. So in short, gold is not in my color scheme.

I have no idea when I will be able to wear these though but perhaps I'll need to get some gold artistic wires. But anyways nOiR is made from black glass beads and amber swarovski crystals and it's nOiR because it's noir + or. ;)

argh...

Because there's a hash today I had the opportunity to stay home in the morning and do whatever I wanted (after Mang's bath of course). So I decided to knit the Reading in Bed shrug and got up to seven repeats. That's a good sign because it's past the 50% mark.

And then I decided I better cast on the toe for the second Elfine Socks. I have already done the first one up to the heel and just wanted to do the socks simultaneously. So I decided to put the first sock unto some waste yarn and started to cast on the second. However, I had a problem.

I suddenly decided not to lie to myself and admit that the pattern REALLY gets lost in the yarn. Consider this toe:



At first I thought that little piece isn't a good gauge, and lied to myself that it will look better on my foot, when it's a bigger piece. But now that it's done up to the heel, it's not looking much better. Just imagine the above photo times two. It doesn't help when the second ball of yarn refuses to be casted on as well, and it kept slipping off the needles when I wasn't looking. After that, I had ugly m1s.

Although I must admit I'm a bit sleepy, I really don't know what's wrong and then I just gave up trying. I think the yarn just doesn't want to be a sock. Or this particular sock for that matter.

Now I must confess that this is the first sock I am knitting from toe up. AND it's also the second sock (casted on) and knitted with the magic loop method. I have no qualms with the method but incidentally, I didn't finish the other magic loop sock as well. Before I casted this on, I thought this pattern was suitable because I wanted to try the toe-up with the magic loop. Now what's so difficult about that? I have no idea.

I actually don't know what I should do now. Should I

(a) Try again?
(b) Look for another sock pattern that uses the above methods? (any recommendations at that?)
(c) Look for another sock pattern regardless of whether it's toe-up or cuff down?
(d) Use the yarn for a non-sock project?

Sigh!

And now in Progress...

I've started two projects over the Christmas and New Year holidays. The first is a lace project started because I thought the Kimono was so beautiful and I wanted to make another lace shawl NOW. I looked around and while there were a number of beautiful shawls I love out there, I just couldn't find the right color from my stash. In the process, I also added a load of new projects onto my Ravelry queue. At this rate I'll take about 10 years to finish everything on that queue.

So when I saw the Lily of the Valley Shawl from Lace Style, I casted on almost immediately. (At the Starbucks where we were having coffee actually)



(oh the blue thing there is a folder AS bought for me. Now I put my project patterns in there. :D it's a great size and I love it!)

And then I started another project because Mum says my Coquette is nice. Well. If you know my mum, she's not usually the kind who's interested in crafting and all. She doesn't stop me from doing it, but she was just never really interested in the process, the effort or the finished product. But she actually was impressed with the Coquette (and subsequently Kimono) and I thought I'd make her the Reading-in-Bed Shrug.



I'm posting this actually because she doesn't use the Internet and no one in my family visits this blog. If my brother does, then he'll be quiet about it I'm sure. I chose a smaller project (than a shawl) for now because I have only 3 months to her birthday. The shawl will have to come later.

Speaking of gifts, MLC's scarf project has got me wondering if I should make some his&her scarves for us on Vday but that means I have 1 month to finish things. And then if I were to make two that would mean 2 weeks per scarf. Sounds possible but remember, you're talking about me here.

It also made me regret not planning my knitting time better because... I thought I should have made something for a friend on our birthday. That would leave me... about 20 hours to finish the project?

In the occasion of frenzy, turn to other capabilities.

And I beaded her earrings. I made two of the same pair (I want one myself) and I'll blog about them when I've gifted them so stay tuned~

PS: It's MangMang's birthday today so go ahead and wish her a happy birthday here or here.