Silke

my oh my... it's September and I haven't posted anything in August!

Anyway I finished something



It's a one skein stole with noro silk garden sock yarn.
:)

I have to thank Lois for bringing her stole at our KO show and tell hehe... I managed to knit this thus quickly because it became something that I could do during the little bit of tv time I have.



I love the gradation of the colors!! Noro never fails to amaze me. hehe. In fact, I think this yarn has a better life as a beautiful dropped stitch stole than if it were a sock!!



well well well... time to get back to those other FOs...

Oolong

I have been working on these socks for awhile... Lois 'threatened' that she didn't want to see it again at the next KO lol.



The pattern was great and the yarn was nice to work with. I initially had a tiny misunderstanding with the pattern and wrote to the designer, Mona about it. She was very kind and replied really quickly. And when I realized how silly I was, it was fortunately nearing the end of the leg. hehehe...



I worked two socks at once on two sets of dpns. I know summerknit warned me about using two sets of dpns from two different brands... (they might have a slight difference thus causing some tension problems) But so far, and I hope NOT to have such a problem in future, I have been blessed by the Goddess of non-SSS.

Oolong by Mona Schmidt



Made with Cherry Tree Hill in Green Mountain Madness

I have another 2 pairs of socks in the making... no progress on the cardigan. :( But I keep telling myself, a stitch is a stitch, so I gotta keep going. hehe.

Plum

I've been so slow at knitting and absolutely lazy at blogging. I'm now a full-time maid at home and still have to go to work. AS has gone for his surgery at the ankle and I not only have one less pair of hands to help around the house but one more to care for. BLEAH....

I finished this awhile ago, just before I started my work (and I've been here 2 months already!)

I've worn it a few times at work and never ever had a chance to take pictures.

Plum



This is the two-toned ribbed shrug from Fitted Knits. I did it with Cotton ease and actually kinda like the yarn!

I have finished my Oolong socks. Might blog it this evening. Hopefully

Vintage Infant's Silk Socks

Yup, this pattern's from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I borrowed it from Lois and then I thought I should just get a copy for myself. And I did! It's on the way to my shelf now... I really love all the vintage stuff that's in it... Recently I've been in a 'traditional' craze. I guess it just grows on you especially since I'm someone who likes to learn and make things from scratch.

ANYWAY I thought I decided to give one of the patterns a try. I've heard so much about children's socks and wondered if there's any different from the normal adult socks that I make. So I decided to pick one pattern from the book, get some 4ply yarn and work on it. At the back of my head, I also thought I need a recipient for these little socks, and MLC's adorable daughter came to my mind.

I chose to work with Rowan's Cashsoft 4 ply because there was a very beautiful vintage pink. I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of the yarn since I started the project almost immediately. But here's a picture with some leftovers.



I actually worked the sock over the CNY period - when I usually get a lot of knitting time sitting in front of the TV! The thing is these socks went slower than I thought because I was using 2mm and I started them on some Susan Bates... which are 7" ... Definitely not a length I would want to work with for kids socks anymore! (initially they were on the 1,75mm pink needles and the whole project was so pink!!! But I had to go up sizes to make slightly larger socks so they got onto the gold 2mms)



There are a few little things about children's socks though. Firstly, longer legs are better - all the more they won't pull of the socks. Secondly, they have a short gusset!! Third, definitely a fast and satisfying knit, as with all baby and children's things... :) I'm glad to finish the pair before Isabel's birthday so I had some time to send it off to her! Yayy!

And here's our beautiful and adorable model with her knitted socks!


Infant's Silk Socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting Vintage Socks
Worked with Rowan Classic Yarns on 2mm Susan Bates DPNs

I've been hijacked by bears, if you haven't noticed. But all is not lost. I had a great KO on Saturday and seeing everyone knitting away and sharing their projects has kicked off my mojo. The weather does keep me off the needles, especially since I'm working on a cardigan. But I'm happy to say that I found stuff to watch on the History Channel last night and knitted for about 2 hours!

In the meantime, I do hope to use this time I have to craft as much as I can. I won't have the luxury in about a month's time!

Catja

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!~ I really appreciated them. :)

Well, my birthday isn't really the first birthday of my household in the year even though it's technically in the first week of the year. My darling cat MangMang has the credits to being the first. And yup, my first FO of the year started on 4th Jan 09 (Mang's birthday - she's now 9!). My mum has a fantasy that my dear cat needs a bare-backed outfit. (she also 'gives me ideas' about dresses and jumpers with hole so that mang's tail can go through -_-) Well, I've always had Katja in mind too and it's such a wonderful pattern to knit that I wouldn't mind making more for human recipients.

I casted on in the evening and when I put it aside to have my dinner, I left it on my sofa. Mang, who has really thick fur, usually does not sit on the sofa. But she decided to cozy up with the top I was making her that day. So while she zzzz-ed lying on the top, I decided not to wake her and didn't work on it much after dinner.

Of course I finished it the next day and my dear MangMang didn't know what's in store for her. I don't know why but the first i-cord strap took eons to finish. And since I finished it before it was dark, I quickly woke Mang from her afternoon siesta so that she could pose in it.



It was quite easy getting her to wear it but she didn't like to be held upright for long periods (she used to dislike anyone carrying her as well and will start squirming). If I let her walk on fours, then she would look like she's wearing a tube top. I think the top is also flattering on her since it flattens her poufy fur and makes her look slimmer. Don't you think so?

I changed the pattern a little so I could have some buttons put on the back of the halter. I knitted flat and included the buttonholes for the first part of the torso, and then I joined and knitted in the round thereafter. I only managed to get buttons a few days after which is why I waited until today before I could post anything. (mang is on my non-knitting blog tho.)

And here is a mosaic!


Catja (originally Katja) from knitty.com, GGH Bali on 4mm Clover Takumi Circulars. Button from DMC


So anyways now, my mum thinks that I should take MangMang to my family's reunion dinner to see my grandma (who loves my furkids as well) and let her wear this top since it's red and it's Lunar New Year... -_-

Season of Fetching

I've got 6 Fetchings done this year, all for different recipients.

The first pair was mine of course, done with Jaeger Extra Fine Merino. It's a Valentine's day gift set for us with Dashing.

Then I had a Fetching Frenzy around November and I thought I'd make them for some recipients. I had them in my head but I never found time to go down to get the yarns. I only managed to get the yarns in early Dec and made them all in a span of 6 days - with a break in between. So really, if you're looking for a last minute project, and have a ball of DK somewhere, try this!

:)

La Reine

I finished and blocked this awhile ago but never had the chance to take it out for a good photoshoot.

Anyways here's my Queen Anne's Lace :)



Queen Anne's Lace in Jaeggerspun Zephyr in Mahogany.



I loved knitting every bit of this. It was a pattern that keeps one interested and even though it gets bigger with every knitted round. LOVE it!!

Monkey

I'm back with a post!!

These are my monkeys.



The pattern is great!! I really love it. I did change the heel to an Eye of Partridge heel with garter edges though. I didn't like the original stst heel, especially with yarn like KP Essential - I don't think it's a good idea.

Why? KP Essential is very soft and fun to work with. But the problem is it pills easily, and soon I risk having 'furry' socks. You can see in some of my pictures that it attracts all sorts of stuff (like my dog's hair for example) very VERY easily. I have a feeling this would make the knitted fabric not very lasting...



On the other hand, I do love the pair as a whole. I love scrunching my socks when I wear them. So this pair makes me want to do that immediately. And here you can see me scrunch up the socks and the eye of partridge heel, which I think works great with the yarn's variegation!



I did this pair of socks simultaneously on dpns. And there's a strange story during my knitting process. Please scroll directly too the bottom if you find the story too long.

So you see I left one sock (presumeably sock A) on the needles at the end of the gusset decreases. And I started to work on sock B. On the day I was set to finish ONE sock (in this case sock B) I took out sock A to admire. (really!)

And lo and behold, the two socks are of the same length.

Somewhere in between I had been working on sock A as well! I had initially thought it was strange sock B was taking such a long time, and I would take an equally long time with sock A - so a large part of my knitting was sprinkled with 'why why why why why'. I also occasionally frequently tried on the socks and wondered why it's 'not there yet'

So when I finally thought I was taking out sock A to admire, I realized it was time to do the toe. For both!

Whoo!!!!


Monkey by Cookie A. on Clover 2.5mm dpns with Knitpicks Essentials in Tuscany Multi.

I'm working on projects now but I'm not talking about them yet. I've been too busy recently as I have a Japanese test tomorrow and I need to do good! (It's getting very tough but anyways) I also don't have my computer with me so hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures today and post them for some updates.

Fetching the Second

Yes! And FO!



And I didn't even have time to announce I casted on another project.



Decided to make my teacher a pair of Fetchings because they are so easy, so quick and so nice. I thought about what I had in my stash and lo and behold, of course I found something.

I never thought I'd make a pair of something again. But after finishing the second pair of Fetching, I started to wonder if I could make another pair for my friend in France. This really took very little time. I don't know if it is because I'm already familiar with the pattern, but I suspect it's also because of the 'thick' yarn (dk only, but it is thick compared to sock yarn or lace). I wasn't even 'knitting the whole day' like I would if I am anxious to finish something.


Fetching the Second in Sublime Cashmerino DK

Well ok now I can get back to my Monkey and think about when I should block my Queen Anne.

Baroque

I've finished the Baroque last friday.



This was an interesting knit but I must admit one must MUST pay attention when knitting this. I had a lot of tinking moments and it wasn't fun with all the twisted knitting. This is also the first time I'm knitting something from the CURRENT issue of knitty. I've also made a new friend via ravelry because of these socks, and all in all, I'm a happy camper.



Nevertheless the outcome is very beautiful. I'm glad about it too because this beautiful yarn has been ill-fated. It has gone through a few castons for a project which didn't work. So now, I'm happy to see it as a beautiful, stunning pair of Baroque.



Baroque from Knitty with Louet Gems in French Blue on KnitPicks Harmonies 2.25mm

And guess what, with the cast off of Baroque, I now only have ONE wip!

Muguet de Mai

Also known as Lily of the Valley Shawl, this pattern really bored me to tears. :(
I was initially drawn to the beautiful outcome of the piece, and thought it would be easy to memorize. But because of that, I got really bored with the pattern and finished two other shawls (swallowtail and hanami) in the process of knitting this.



Nevertheless, I still love the finished product. It's a little short but the width is perfect. I've gone down needle sizes on this but I'm not regretting it. I guess it took me a long while to realize that every little bit is an advance to the finish line. :)



Lily of the Valley Shawl from Lace Style
with Jaeggerspun Zephyr in Sage with 3.5mm Addi Turbos

I think I'm not turned off by borders after I've seen the finished product, but it'll be awhile before I'm going to do anything with borders again!

Whitby in Maldives

I started this project on the first night in Maldives. I took three days to finish the first sock with an injured hand from fishing, and another few days to finish the second after I got back.

I chose Dream in Color's Smooshy to take with me especially since the name was Beach Fog. Here's a photo to demonstrate the wonderful choice of color hehe



The pattern is Nancy Bush's Whitby from her book Knitting On The Road. Just like all the patterns in the book is meant to be, I could memorize it very quickly and only needed to refer to it on rare occasions. It's also because of this that I could finish the pair in a short amount of time.

I took a picture of it on the dawn of the fourth day in Maldives before I packed it.



And here's the finished pair at home.



Whitby by Nancy Bush from Knitting on the Road
in Dream in Color Smooshy - Beach Fog - on 2.75mm bamboo dpns.

I really like the yarn!! I've read so much about it being splitty but perhaps because my needles were not very sharp, I didn't have splitting problems. At the same time, it wasn't difficult to do the cables and the stitch definition is great! I saw many on Ravelry using the same yarn to do other sock patterns that require great definition and they all turned out beautiful. (Oh and it has great yardage too!) So I really foresee myself getting more of these!

Hanami

I finished this about a month ago but have been busy and didn't block it until I came back from Maldives. And then by then I had hurt my hand on a fishing trip so the blocking wasn't spectacular. But anyways I still love the shawl a lot and am totally obsessed with the yarn. So, I will definitely reblock it now that my hand has almost fully recovered.

Oh and this is my favorite part of the shawl.



Hanami Stole by Melanie @ Pink Lemon Twist
with KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Smoke Heather on 3.25mm Addi Lace

Trystero and other updates.

I finished Trystero yesterday!!



I have been knitting this sock almost forever. I started the first sock in April or May or something but had to frog and cast on again about three times. Although I got the gauge right, somehow it was just too tight to be worn unless I'm looking for wrist-warmers or foot-covers.



I don't really blame the pattern nor the yarn. Although the single-ply must have had something to do with the stretchiness of the sock, the colors made it all worth it. The pattern is also very fun to do and I can zip through a repeat very quickly! So while it's true that I love the yarn AND the pattern, and the eventual outcome, I guess there are times when I just get tired of things.



Trystero by Cookie A.
3mm Harmony DPNs
Noro Kureyon Sock

I really love the pattern and am looking forward to the next Cookie pattern I'll cast on. I have a teeny bit of the yarn left and I have another ball in another color. I might make a shawl out of it this time.

Meanwhile, I've finished Hanami but I haven't blocked it. I've also casted on Queen Anne's Lace which I might just call La Reine. It's in Zephyr (mahogany) and I'm still at chart 1. Muguet de Mai's center panel is finished and I've picked up the stitches for the border. I'm tired after picking up. blah. I think it's about 600 over stitches. *faints* And I've wound my Dream in Color sock yarn in Beach Fog for... Maldives~! I'm planning to do Nancy Bush's Whitby with it.

So yes I'm looking forward to knitting at the beach next week with La Reine and Whitby!

PS: I bought the Debbie Bliss VK mag.It's quite nice and the more I look at it the more I love the patterns!

Cotton

Actually I finished this on Sunday and was doing kitchener stitch on the toes of the second sock by the time we received our Olympic Medal after a drought of 48 years.

The first sock was done awhile ago but the second took a bit of time. So what could be more apt than to put this up for Ravelympics 2008? Of course after I finished Ester, I was all ready to finish more projects! I zipped through this with turning the heel on friday while watching the Table Tennis Women's Team Semi-Finals. And the rest of the leg and toes while waiting for and watching the Finals on Sunday. The Semi-Finals was such an exciting match I had to stop a few times for fear of breaking my needles. And the finals? Well it was such a good match I did stop and watch in awe many times~!

The silly thing is, I realized this wasn't tagged for Ravelympics after all!! For some reason, it was just not tagged and I just thought it was. Much to my disappointment, of course. Sigh. :( But in a way I'm quite glad since I got to finish another project.


Cotton in Regia Surf Color, using the Eyelet Bar stitch Pattern with Narrow Heel in Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. Needles were 2.25mm Ebony Sox Stix.

Ester

Ester by Alice Bell. Made with Jaeger Merino Aran with 5mm Addi Circulars

This project is also part of Ravelympics 2008's WIP Wrestling

Mang's Anouk

Anouk for Mang



I started this because it's such a cute dress. Also, my mum has a habit of telling me how cute my cat would look in these little frocks. It was also time I tried some good cotton and this Anouk's made from Rowan's All-Seasons Cotton. I love it and I foresee many future projects with the same yarn until I get tired of its colors.

Unfortunately I have absolutely no experience with babies, and when it came to sizing, I had no idea whether my cat is the same size as a 3mth old or a 6mth old. Obviously she has a much thicker neck than a three month old. But I only learnt that after I finished the piece. -_-'

Here's what it looks like from the back:



Pattern: Anouk by Kate Gilbert.
Needles: Clover 4mm circs
Yarn: Rowan's All Seasons Cotton

I still like the pattern a lot and will attempt to let my cat wear it. Maybe I'll use a ribbon instead of a button so that the neckline could be adjusted for the photoshoot. :D

No pockets on this Anouk because my cat doesn't need one. hehe ;)

Frock Camisole

Frock Camisole



Yarn: Harmony from Bendigo Woolen Mills
Needles: Addi Turbos 4.5mm

I thought it would look more like a frock than this. But I guess the yarn also plays a part in the eventual turnout of the project. Harmony is a great yarn to work with but it's a little stretchy. I love the almost heather look of the yarn. (I think I am having a penchant for heather-y colorways these days.)



Also, the straps look thinner than they are in the photo, and I thought they might be set wider. But oh well. I think this is a great top for those fat days. :) BTW, I don't know why but AS likes to take pictures using the zoom - So the second picture is a bit blurry. -_-

Three is as good

Well I'm late but we've both been so busy. But on the knitting front there's a bit of good news.

For our third anniversary, I decided to do a pair of Dashing and Fetching, both available from Knitty.com. They are really fast knits! I was actually worried I wouldn't finish them in time (i.e. last thursday) even so because of all the things I had to do but I did.



Don't worry they are really a pair each.





On another note, SOS '08 started last weekend. I was busy but I didn't forget to start a sock for SOS. Of course that comes with a promise that I would have finished ONE of my Trystero socks by then. And I did!



So now I have two socks, two shawls and one tv project. That's not too bad. :)

More on my SOS socks next time because I want to brag about my Sox Stix. :D

Swallowtail Shawl

Yes the shawl Mollie was modelling is the completed Swallowtail albeit unblocked.

I blocked it last friday and it seems to be a favorite of Millie and MangMang too. Millie was more interested than usual in the blocking process (although I must add that she also likes the mat I use for blocking). MangMang wanted to lie on it. But of course I said there are pins so she lay next to it with her little hands placed nicely in between the pins.

Anyways it wasn't as frighteningly small as I thought it would be but it's still as frighteningly pink.



I think this is the first knit I've ever taken out in the hot blazing sun for a photoshoot. It was so quick and random that there's a few people looking, wondering what I was doing. So you see, there's this old couple in the photo above, probably debating about whether I was too poor to hire a photographer, or why I wasn't looking into the camera.

Here it is again flapping in the wind (there's wind!) and you can see the same old couple there still looking.



I actually don't mind the fuschia part of the overall colorway but I think the sweet pink has made this more of a 'sweetpea' than 'sunrise'. Anyways.



Swallowtail Shawl is designed by Evelyn A. Clark. I used one skein of Knitpicks' Gossamer in Sunrise. The needles were Knitpicks' Harmony Interchangeables. I did the shawl in a progression of needle sizes from 3.5mm to 4mm. I really love the lily of the valley nupps but wish they weren't in various colors.



I intended to gift this but I don't know if it would suit her wardrobe. It probably might do better there than with mine. But of course today when I took it out again before I left, Mollie looked at me longingly and nudged the little bag with the shawl. So then what should I do?