When i put aside knitting

Then what would I be doing? It's shopping, not of wool or yarn, but of apparels. So I guess retail therapy still works out pretty well for me.

So the local shopping scene is much similar to the yarn industry. You will find brick and mortar boutiques or online blogshops (BS). Glad to say that I saved up quite a bit which goes in the money for yarn. In between launches of BSs, I will work on my latest project. This sound like stalking for Wollmeise yarn every friday. Anyhow, this post is a short review for a few BSs which I had patronised and in no particular order of ranking.

Loveschues

BS for shoes are hard to come by. Few BSs will have a pair once in a while. So this is indeed rare for shoes lovers. However, the thing about shoes is that you need to try on. Buying based on measurement given could be risky at times. My first pair was passed to my mom cuz I got pretty wide feet. So I might go one size up for their pretty flats. Owner is a young pretty lass out to venture in the world of fashion. Still, I am looking forward to her next collection on thursday.

Smooch

Known previously as Acrossthebloodyuniverse.com. Set up by 2 ladies, Sarah & Mery, with a great and unique fashion senses. Quality of apparels had only failed me once, when the measurement given was off. However, that piece was returned and I had my refund. Everything was done in a timely manner, kudos to their customer service. With that in mind, I had made more purchases and even recommended to friends. My biggest wish is that they could bring in more stock for their items. They always ran out within a minute of the launch. Being on backorder is the other way to your items.

Hollyhoque

Their clothes are quite affordable despite being on dot com basis. Dot com shops do have more overheads, especially when they are doing very good on LJ and move over to dot com. They will need a good server that supports them during each launch. In their previous carnation, I had a few qualms about them due to their website going down when they do an update. Once being item short delivered and other times having to wait for their page to load while my item went out of stock during check out. Currently, they placed their shop on myshopify.com, which I hope they do not increase their prices. Shopping experience since the change had been smooth but items run out within 2 minutes. Faster fingers win the game.

Agneslle

Another one which move to dot com recently. Unlike SMooch, they do not keep a data base for customers to trace their orders (so does Hollyhoque). Its something which is very essential to customers. They to know their payment confirmations, delivery or even credit notes. I find it a waste of effort to move to dot com if owners do not take customers seriously by not improving. Its a giant step to move on, but does their service getting in the same direction and speed? I seriously doubt so. I used to love shopping on their LJ launches and received some lovely items.

Ever since their move, I had stop not in spite of their service but of their designs and quality. I had read negative feedbacks on local forums hence this shop will be on the backseat unless they up a few notches on their website config.

Lovebonito

This is the biggest and most successful ones that move to dot com last August. There were also issues with server problems during their few initial launches but were all ironed out subsequently with dedicated servers. It's not a wonder when a few thousand people are loading their browsers to check out on new items. I do get their basic items once in a while. Prices had a hike since their move so there are times when items were overpriced

I do love to mention other BS, but will leave it to next round.

From Twitter 04-26-2011

• 08:32:38: @Knitcafe muahhahaha
  
• 10:49:35: finally got the cleopratra necklace. thanks to @smoochsg for bringing in more stock.
  
• 12:36:58: my fav chicken rice gotta b fr: Boon Tong Kee, TianTian@maxwell and the one @ redhill mkt. white meat and protein, essential !!!
  
• 17:19:54: @Knitcafe new wedges from LB http://twitpic.com/4po0bt omg...there goes my yarn money
  
• 21:09:54: @Knitcafe wear not chant
  

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From Twitter 04-25-2011

• 08:36:48: i love maxi dresses, cuz they help me get seats on crowded public transports. yes i am that shameless, who cares...
  
• 08:37:33: ...when i get to knit or dead tired. 3 yays to maxis!
  
• 08:38:18: @jasz05 morning to u
  
• 08:48:50: @jasz05 where got ho sey....waitin for pang gang lo. haizz
  
• 09:05:04: @jasz05 T_T sobsobz
  
• 20:46:33: @meishanl preggy figure :p
  
• 20:50:24: @meishanl ya i know. they just "naturally" fall asleep
  

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From Twitter 04-24-2011

• 16:34:30: finally get my hands on dean's breakfast and hb's on darling's eggs from The Plain
  

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From Twitter 04-23-2011

• 20:55:08: Homemade cheesecake. YUMZ! http://twitpic.com/4ofjy0
  

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From Twitter 04-21-2011

• 13:49:37: @smoochsg will Chandelier Mirror Necklace be restock or BO?
  
• 16:13:40: ppl around are quite hyped up for the JP Morgan run later...pray no rain k.
  
• 18:47:15: and wkend just started. so precious
  

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From Twitter 04-20-2011

some ppl are over buying and some are just lazy to shop. but doesnt shopping and wearing new stuffs cheers one up?
@mypreciouschest hi is the Chic Drape necklace still avail?
@mypreciouschest how do i reserve one?
darn! its way too crowded at #theplaincafe. gonna try our luck this weekend. no reservations on wkends. booooo!!
came home to a mailbox packed with YARN!

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We went to the Zoo

Well, when was the last time I hit the zoo? Too long to remember, perhaps more than the fingers on one hand. Anyways, we made our way to Singapore Zoo on his birthday. How creative can a wife be? Hah, that's me. The birthday guy got free entrance and a complimentry scoop of ice cream from Ah-Meng's Restaurant. Too bad no Ben & Jerry's though.

My favorite shot of the day.


Knitting while off the grindstone is probably boring me out soon. As I kept finishing way too fast and sifting for pattern that might intrigue me enough to cast on is not catching up.

A pair of socks probably take me at most 6 days. On average, I clocked at least 1 item a week. Still, the yarns are aplenty. Meanwhile, am stocking up a few hanks in the Knitpicks spree.

Back to pattern looking on ravelry.

plenty of warmth

something that was gifted to me and i have it near my window now. guess it needs a bigger pot soon. now, where is my Green Thumb?

back for a minute

Almost 6 months had passed since my last post here. Perhaps a lot of people had forgotten to check this blog. A lot had been going on with home, work, shopping and knitting.

Although this space had been left alone, I never did put down my knitting. THe longest that I did not touch my needles was around 2 weeks. I simply had no idea what to cast on. No patterns nor yarn called out to me. I did not buy yarn for quite some time too, this exclude the Madelinetosh sweater club which i joined earlier and got my last shipment not too long ago. On clubs, Colleen joined the Cookie A sock club with me. How could I stand by and do nothing when this is one club by my favorite sock designer. FYI, the club is sold out a few days after we got in. I am still looking for a lace club.

So what have I finished so far in 2011? 1 pair of Milo socks, 1 Cusp sock. And hopefully many more to come and make 2011 full of knitting good-ness.

A quick one

I think my mojo is getting back after binding off the last pair of socks. I can't help it. I refused to rip backwards to mend a mistake. Anyway, its fine to have 1 sock bigger than the other but nobody can tell. :p

Cast on for Cinnamon Grace last friday, coz Col wants to KIP. And since, I had bind off the scarf on tuesday and started Briochette last evening. Hope to finish by coming Monday, better still Sunday if I'm not busy with housework.

Till then, happy knitting.

Positive points

1. Moved in to new place since 21/5.
2. Work has improved.
3. Nearer to workplace.
4. More food variety in the precinct.
5. Most probably adopting a kitty. (She matches the color theme of our home. lol)
6. Jailbroken my phone. YAY to more free games, though I hardly have time to play more.
7. Managed to get my first load of laundry done with the new washer. It wasn't that intimidating with the knobs and buttons afterall.
8. Finished a few knits.

Hope to write about the new life in the new home.

Space planning

So we were back at the unit for some real space planning. The main objective was to have plenty of storage space. So we were hoping to have wardrobe on one full wall with adequate space for movement between the bed. And here's what we were left with after marking the "used up" areas; slightly more than a foot.Since the foyer is so tiny, we would be deprived of a shoe cabinet. Hence, no way would we settle for a small wardrobe.

Anyways, the worst had yet to come till I notice a hairline on my living room wall. A knock at the spot, it was clear to tell there a hollow in there. This will definitely cause a delay in the renovation schedule. DUH!

not a Knitting post

Thanks for all the kind comments and support for my sock pattern. I have 2 up my sleeves, so watch out for them.

As the title says, I'm going to talk a bit more on my new home. There might be a little insight on renovation stuffs. Now, getting a HDB flat in Singapore is not easy. Especially if one has to go through numerous ballot exercise (direct purchase from HDB). Also there's lots of regulation the buyer has to adhere to. We were rejected after OTP on the first try due to income ceiling. On the second and also the last attempt, we managed to scrap past the conditions. The entire process took us almost 3 years till we possess the key.

Recently, I had been lurking between home&decor forums in the locale. It was both interesting and knowledgeable reading the various contributions. It had also given me lots of ideas on how to make this new space a live-able one.

One of my intention is to knock down half a wall of my kitchen. Plenty of sunlight will be pass in from the living area. However, budget is a big question here since additional $3000 will be required. Anyways, I was back at the scene just a few days ago. We saw a notice that invites people to a showflat. Least to my expectation, it wasn't open. Instead, the neightbour of that flat invited us to take a look. Their ID was on site, checking the progress with the owners. Very much to my surprise, they actually hack a "hole" into the kitchen wall, large enough to lit up the kitchen. I thought that would cost less. Hope the M will agree to this.

A lot of discussions were upon
- open concept kitchens, hacking of kitchen walls,
- whether to engage IDs or go straight to contractors
- lightings: coves? or false ceilings?
- positioning of the hod/sink/fridge
- storage or instant water heater?

Click to see notes on my flickr page.

I will continue on my findings in another post.

What a boomz

I started 2010 with a boom.
- Mom and I were trapped in the lift at my new place, with 3 other strangers.
- This was the first time I got trap-in.
- Did I mention I got keys to my new place on 31st Dec 09?
- Then I flew more than 1500 miles for 2 concerts.
- This was the first time ever, I spent 4 days with myself in a city I've most visited.
- and I wore several of my hand knits in the cold weather. (it's consider cold comparing to where I reside)

Now it's back to reality.

Fa Fa Fa Socks

As promised in my previous post, here's the surprise in the form of a sock pattern. The cable stitch is adapted from stitch books, using one of my favorite yarns.

Click on the picture for the pattern.

Greetings

I better post something if not I will have murmurings that I had disappear from this dimension. It had been rosy on the knitting front despite some hiccups. I shall not do more explanation here and let future postings do the talking.Pattern: Vivian by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12 Ply - Agate
Needle: Addi Turbo, 5mm, 5.5mm, 6mm
Size: XS
Time to finish: ONE year!!!

Click on the picture to access more photos (pardon the wispy hair). Do come back on Boxing Day for a little surprise from yours truly. Meanwhile have fun and lots of food.

A Dog's Life

I got this from a friend and its so true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he sees a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again. So, he goes over to the dog and notices it has a note in its mouth. He takes the note and it reads "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please? The dog has money in its mouth as well."

The butcher looks inside and, low and behold, there is a ten dollar note there. So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it's about closing time, he decides to shut the shop and follow the dog.

So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street, when it comes to a traffic junction; the dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button for pedestrian crossing. Then it waits patiently, with the bag in its mouth, for the lights to turn. Then it walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way.

The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable. The butcher is in awe as the dog stops a bus by pulling its left leg up and gets in it. The butcher follows the dog into the bus. The dog then shows a ticket which is tied to its belt to the bus conductor. The butcher is nearly fainting at this sight, so are the other passengers in the bus. The dog then sits near the driver's seat looking outside. As soon as the stop is in sight, the dog stands and wags its tail to inform the conductor. Then, without waiting for the bus to stop completely, it jumps out of the bus and runs to a house very close to the stop..

It opens the big Iron Gate and rushes inside towards the door. As it approaches the wooden door, the dog suddenly changes its mind and heads towards the garden. It goes to the window, and beats its head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door. The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him. The butcher surprised with this, runs up, and stops the guy.

"What in heaven's name are you doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me! "To which the guy responds: "You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's forgotten his key."

Moral of the story.....
You may continue to exceed onlookers expectations but shall always fall short of the boss' expectations.

It's a dog's life after all.....

Knitters spotted

I had been spotting knitters and crocheters on the commute to and fro work. There are so far and between, that I though I was the only commuting knitter. But I was wrong. I was hoping to be proved wrong.

Getting back to the grind, has indeed placed knitting on the side. Especially when I need to put in extra hours to see through things. And being new to the industry just makes it tougher. As the saying goes, as tough gets tougher, the tougher gets going.

My very fabulous mom bought a Kenwood mixer recently. So, a bit of time had been spent on baking. I'm still trying to figure out to make better sponge cakes. The durian cream cake was nice, all thanks for attending the demo class held by the oven maker. Hope to make chocolate sponge and freshly baked breads very soon.

Pictures soon, I hoped.

090909

How can I not drop a post today? a short one mind you.

Plenty of good news. My new place will be handed over in December. Finally I can wake up at 8am and not be late for work. About work, yes I've move away from the previous scope. The current one is entirely a new forte to me.

Few weeks ago, I had a blocking party. Took plenty of photos of the party-goers. Hope I have time to upload them.

With the busy schedules, now wonder it had taken a tow on my knitting progress. Maybe you will see more of WIP pictures than FOs.

Take care till the next post.