A-List updated

I think I even updated my Knitting Inventory. Take a look on my sidebar.

Well, here's some kntting related books to look forward to, and might most probably make good Christmas presents for knitters.


The title sounds familiar right? I just hope this might be better than One Skein


After getting on and over, Nicky's back with Beyond the edge. The review sounds promising.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to receive my Amazon order.

Weekend Update #?

This weekend had been full of CSI Season 1 and with that, loads of knitting done. I finished the back and both sleeves of Blazer 33, but forgotten about 1952 as she was hidden beneath Lady E. I was stuck with the instructions for the front pieces of Blazer 33 so I went back to Lady Eleanor. And now I have 5 more balls to work on, tenth ball would be used for the edgings.

I'm having a love-hate relationship with Aviso. It's very soft and nice to work with, however it splits like crazy when I'm not looking. In my opiniont it has pretty good stitch definition.

And I got a little package from Ms SP 8. Here's a picture to show what she sent me. The package reached me few days ago, but I don't have the time to post about it. Thanks a lot Ms SP. And this reminded me to send out my box to my spoilee.

There's plenty of CSI dvds to catch up.

Types of Knitters II

(You can find Part I here)

Maybe knitting habit has something to do with your zodiac sign. I was born in August and that makes me a Leo. No doubt the big hearted gal that I am, I could be quite sly. =p Anyway, that's during the PMS days. I'm not a meticulous person, I can even make mistakes while following the pattern instructions, strictly. Thus I'm a regular at the frog pond, and the incidences are too frequent to be reported.

I know not why, but knitters who kept on swatching and measuring their swatch really freak me out big time. Those are the knitters who worship Perfectionism. They need to have the exact yarn which the pattern called for, no subsitutes can come close. Or maybe they are just not that adventurous. But of course, only the original yarn can bring out the feel and look of the pictures in the book itself.

Even with the original yarn, the gauge could be a little different. so the Perfectionist knitter will keep trying with different sizes till gauge is attained. The logic is that you will be getting a much smaller or bigger finished object once the gauge is slightly off. My point is, even the person who knitted the very first piece of that pattern miight always have slight changes in gauge. So I guess its a give and take issue. And also whether you are able to live with the mistakes. I think it reflects every much on a person's character and what's their perception on the same issues.

On my part, I tend to do the short-cut way. If I am able to get the original yarn, God bless~~ Else I will look around for other people who may have subsitute with another yarn or a different needle size. And this is really faster; learning from other knitters' lessons. I really hate to knock myself against the wall resulting in bruises and blood before getting things correct. It also depends how precious the project is to me. If its gonna be huge (like FFL), I will definitely swatch, but if I'm able to find similar yarn (like 1952) I'll just go ahead and cast on, measuring as I go along. Call me the bummer knitter if you want, but I just find that knitting should be relaxing and fuss-free. Getting paranoid about how the end product wil be, is absolutely uncalled for.

So just sit back relax, and enjoy the process one stitch at a time.

From the office

Just pop in to say a few words at the office.

- FFL progressing very slowly, 4th row, 3rd repeat of Chart 2.

- Lady Eleanor on the 4th ball of Silk Garden

- 1952 is almost an FO. She just need a warm bath.

- The first ball of Aviso for Blazer 33, from Phildar #443, is coming to an end soon.

- surfing ebay for an affordable ball winder as the LYS is not bringing in any for quite sometime.

Goodies stashies

I'm too tired to type out the post, so I'll leave the pictures to explain myself.

Chasing the Postman/Parcels

I think I had shared my story with the knitters in my group. Since I hasn't been updating with pictures, this tale came in a good time.

I was napping in a warm afternoon. The heat was too much and I was already half awakeen by it. Vaguely, I heard noise coming from the door and asked my brother to answer it. Unfortunately he was on his PS2, and refuse to move. Then he reminded me that it might be the postman. Who would be knocking on the door on a Saturday afternoon? My family members have their own set of keys. Before I manage to be fully awaken by these thoughts, I was already out of bed pulling my hair back with the hairband, straightening my clothes. From my kitchen window, I spied the Postman hoping onto his scooter.

And with lightning speed, I dashed to the lift with the delivery notice, pressing the buttons insanely. Hoping that with the press of a button I will appear instantly infront of the Postman. Perhaps you have no idea that I'm staying on the tenth storey. Going by the stairs might not be a good idea as I may tripped and roll down to the ground floor.

By the time I reached ground floor, I spotted his scooter and made a 50 metres dash. Thank goodness he was at the lift lobby of the opposite block. Passed him the notification slip and he handled over my package.

And I hugged the package as I strolled back home.

Talking about packages, it had been like Christmas-came-early during last week. 5 packages reach me and I'm going to collect another 2 after work today. With the increase in packages, I think I got to go on a diet again. duh~~

Meanwhile, I think I need to replace my pair of Papillo Gizeh with something from the Birkenstock range. Maybe a pair of gold/brown Madrid would be nice for everyday wear.

Decisions ....di zzi sions~~

Ninja knits

stolen from inex.



Too cute~~~

Itchy Fingers, My

My fingers got itchy and cast on for a new project. Well, at least I'm knitting from the stash. Anyway, I had the yarns just for this project and got it at the cheapest with the help of Maryann. Thank you again!

Needless to say this is what was gathered on the floor (where I'm knitting). Imagine having this x10 after completing the whole project.

If you still have no clue what I'm working on: It's Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style. This is one book which I have knitted most from or wanted to knit from. You can judge by the 12 inch ruler which I had placed, Lady E is going to be bulky for me to carry around soon. So I wil alternate it with FFL. Speaking of which I had not touch on this weekend. Current dimension is 20" by 8.5", and I've only used 1 ball. I like using Silk Garden, it works up fast and soft. Just that I had the tendencies to pick out all the twigs and tweeds, and this slows down my knitting.

I need to get 1952 back on track. Happy knitting!

Secret Pal 9

Here's another list for my previous SP5. just in case.

The list was for SP8, I have reviews and change a few things. - 3rd Oct 2006

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Natural fine fibers does the treat. I think a peek at my stash will give you a better story
Keep acrylic to the minimum.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
here’s how I organize.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I’ve been knitting since Fall 2004 and have knitted quite a bit, from simple stockinette stitches to cables to laces.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Wishlist

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I love fruity and floral scents. Nothing foody please.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Dark chocolates are the best! Else M&Ms will do.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do love to try spinning. I’m into a bit of crochet but never seem to finish that crochet scarf.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Anything that falls along the line of Diana Krall.
I play MP3s on my computer

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I can’t wear dark blues, at least I can’t see myself knitting will that color.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I’m staying with my folks. No pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
These are too warm to be fashionable in Singapore

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
No favorite items but I have a list of To Knit.


13. What are you knitting right now?
More sweaters are on the way after finishing Salina.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I love to keep and admire them.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circulars! I have Inox greys, Clover Aluminium and Addi Turbos. I’ve said it all.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I have both.

17. How did you learn to knit?
Self taught with online videos.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?
It would be Martha, I may be celebrating her 2nd birthday very soon..

19. What is your favorite holiday?
Yarn store hopping, yarn shopping.

20. Is there anything that you collect?
Postcards.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I have been coveting for the latest RYC's fall pattern collection and Louisa Harding's latest collection,RYC Classic Woman, cashmere and silk yarns. I had my Interweave Knits subscription renewed.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I want to do continental style knitting. Fair Isle as well.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have knitted socks. I’m UK 6 and US 37.

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
August 11th.

Frost Flowers & Leaves Update #2

This is the third weekend I spent with FFL. From the previous 248 stitches, I now have 552 stitches on the 60cm needle. All in all i have done a total of 20040 stitches and this is just the tip of the iceburg. I even timed myself for every repeat which was about 5 minutes, with 4 repeats, per round will need 20 minutes. I gonna do some maths here

Let's say its gonna take about 25 minutes for 550 stitches.

110 sts = 5 mins
And if i were to do 6 more repeats of CHart 2:
Total no of sts left , 134768 - 20040 = 114728 (!?!?!?)

I need another 5215 mins = 86 hours = approximately 4 days of continous knitting. But i don't have that luxury of knitting 24/7. If each weekend i can only spare 16 hours of knitting, I will need another 6 weekends to finish knitting and probably another weekend to block it.

Here's proof of 15% done.
Chart 1 + 1 repeat of Chart 2 = 82 rows
and why the bad picture? cuz my hands can't keep still after hours of knitting. I need a good massage~

Lucky me~

Just realised I have a free pack of yarns on their way to me. How lucky can I get?

I had been working hard on my FFL. It's finally on to Chart 2 with a little over 400 stitches on the needles. *sweats* no pics yet, as FFL is progressing and i refuse to pause.

Maryann: HK's accomodation cost might put me back on the shopping budget. :p

Kessa: hope u are feeling better! the earth is still revolving round the sun. =)

Ruth: thanks for the compliment. hows your lacy lattice doing?

Valerie: u can email Bendigo wools at benwool@bendigo.net.au

Long weekends, I love

I love long weekends. And there's going to be 2 in the month of May, starting with this weekend. So there will be more progress for FFL. Hopefully I can finish more of 1952, I'm only 3/4 away from a finished sleeve.

With all the public holidays in May, I'm sure it will pass on swiftly. I'm also looking forward to a small getaway. To where? I'm not so sure. A place with good yarn supply would be a good idea.

Anyways, there's a meetup today with other knitters. I haven't been able to organise meetup as I'm swamped with activities with Mapling. I'm 3 levels away from becoming a Mage, I will have new skills so very soon.

More pics on next post. I promise.

Frost Flowers & Leaves Update #1

After 2 weekends, frogging the cast on twice, trying to know which method is better, here's my FFL on Chart 1 Row 45.
As you can noticed, I'm using 2 circulars to knit this circular shawl. The metal dpns were too cumberson with the initial 8 cast on stitches. With the help of Eunny's tutorial, i cast on 8 stitches and placed them 4 on each circular. I did not place markers till i was on Row 5.

After taking this picture, I think I can start transfering the stitches onto the 60 cm circular.

As such, I got to cast on for the second sleeve of 1952.

Flashing the monster

all This is the Stash Monster which is currently growing in my room. Here's a picture of what it's made up of. (Click for a bigger pic) I'm too lazy with the unpacking and packing of ziplocks, so you shall see them with their "raincoats" on. So if you want to swap or buy my stash from me, you know how protective I am with my precious. Moreover, its a pet free and smoke free home.

1. Japanese yarn, a very fine gauge of 33sts/10cm. and also the last ball of Trinity for 1952

2. 10 balls of australia wool bought on my last Taipei trip.

3. 10 balls of Noro Silk Gardern #88

4. 2 hanks of Color Your Own and 1 hank of Paint Your Own

5. 4 skeins of Wool of the Andes in Fog and 8 balls of Rowan 4 ply soft in Buzz

6. 4 cakes of i-dont-know-what-blend shiny yarn from Taipei. (maybe destined to become IK's Lacy Kerchief)

7. 4 balls of Japanese KSH wannabe, it has similar fiber content, same if not more yardage. Most importantly, its half the price of KSH.

8. sock yarns here with 1 ball of RYV Cashsoft leftover for Rebecca 31 project.

9. 3 balls of Japanese KSH wannabe. same as bag #7 but its varigated.

10. the newcomer, 6 hanks of Elsebeth Lavold SIlky Wool.

Edited to add: The Monster is not for sale. None at all

I got another huge package (2 times the size of a regular pillow) from Bendigo Mill from Australia. I was worried that it may have gotten lost. The package took an extra week to arrive cuz it violated the aviation regulation (or something likewise). As each ball comes in 200grams, they are really HUGE, about 3 times of a normal 50gram ball. . No worries, not all were for the Monster in my room.

Of course, I'm still destashing. and stashing up too. =P

"6" meme

Got tagged by BeeBee (can I call you by this?) =P

1. Six minutes to yourself: How would you spend them, ideally?
Other than knitting, I will also be admiring at my stash, fondling, stroking, petting, squeezing and give them a sniffle or two.

2. Six bucks to spend right now: How would you spend it?
I need breakfast now since I came to work empty stomach. It's been a while since my last McDonald's Big Breakfast.

3. Six items in your house you could part with, right now, that you hadn't thought of already?
The old TV in my bedroom, the old sewing machine which both hasn't been doing their jobs normally. Old clothes and jeans. There should be plenty more I think.

4. Six items you absolutely, positively could never part with in your house?
All of my FOs, WIPs, yarns and such. Not forgetting my desktop PC.

5. Six words you love?
I love Sale, Discount, Holiday, Money, Yarn and Knitting.

If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.
No obligations of cos. =)

Blockhead

Some pictures of the Backyard Leaves blocking. I even had my Flower Basket Shawl reblocked when I first bought these foam mats home. They were actually meant for children's play mats. Since no kids at home, they served well as a blocking mat when pieced together.

I love how the leave motifs are designed. Ingenious is an understatement. Here's a close up.

Seeing 3 packages after a bad day at work really perks me up more than anything else can. The box at the top is OPI nailpolishes, the brown package is from Maryann. The white package is from loopyarn.com. The only regret I had from loopyarn is that I ould have bought more from them. LOL

I was still trying to take better pictures for the other FOs. but they all turn out really bad on the screen. So I guess I will wait for a sunny day, when natural light pours in. Meanwhile I have finished the back and fronts of 95-12. I shall call this cardigan 1952 since Drops doesn't give proper names. 1952 is giving me a good time with its drapey-ness. Hope the other KALers are enjoying it too.

Its gonna be a long weekend

Was the contest difficult? I doubt so in Belinda's case. And now I know who's the mysterious stalker. LOL. So Belinda, watch out for my mail to claim your yarns. Thank you to those who have tried! *HUGS*

This coming long weekend will be loads of cleaning in my room. I'm practically swimming in yarns now and with the arrival of packages of yummy yarns, i will be drowned sooner or later. Furthermore, I think Panta is buried deep uder my stash, so is my Silk Garden Beanie.

I have plans to flash my stash and also document those un-document FOs. Not forgetting the long-forgotten sewing machine which was part of my Mom's dowry, I will have it oiled and cleaned. If the weekend is really long, I might get some cloths and practise on it. yoohoo!!

so i sew too? I did sew during my secondary schools in Home Economics classes. My granny handsew most of her blouses, even at an age of 70+ she was still sewing by hand, just that she needed me to help her thread the needles, which i gladly did for her. I think I sort of inherit her genes in that sense. I love to do crafts since young, was in the Art's Club during my first 10 years of education. I can still remember how to paint goldfishes the chinese painting way. I had origami-ed ad crocheted. I was into baking before I took up knitting. I still can't forget the peanut cookies (kok zai in cantonese, not Japanses gou zai) which Granny made for every Chinese Lunar New Year. Unfortunately, it was only 3 years after her passing did I take up baking. Thus she never had the chance to try my baking. I shall talk more about Granny soon.

Back on my stashing excerise, 6 hanks of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool was waiting for me when I reached home last night. Together came the dpns which will be used for FFL cast on. Hence, I hope this weekend will be super long so that I can at least cast on FFL and have it big enough to be transferred onto a 40cm length needle.

Mona urged me to join the Tri-Knity KAL and I finally freed my 3.5mm needle to cast on for this cardigan. I'm on the third repeat of the lace patterns. The knitted up fabric is so drapey and light. Maybe I had been purling a little too tight, that when I try to k2tog, it feels so tauted that I'm afraid the yarn might break.

I'm expecting more yarns to arrived within this 2 weeks. Many thanks to Maryann for hoarding a pack of Noro Silk Garden for me. <3

Blo-giver-sary!!!

It's been a year of ups and downs in my knitting path. Started this blog after a few months of knitting and it has bring me joy by sharing my views and stuffs, still is today. I also made lots of friends, be it local or overseas. The Internet has certainly bring all knitters closer than ever.

As the title of this post says, I'm going to give out 2 hanks of yarns, to be dyed by Kessa of The Singing Yarn. You can have her custom dye 2 hanks for you. Of course, there's no free lunch (or you might say "free yarn") in this world. Please tell me which FO(s) of mine has not been documented on my blog. Which means: I might have mentioned finishing an item but no FO photos were posted about it. The first person who give me the most number of FOs not mention is the receiver of the yarns. If you have been following my blog, it wouldn't be that difficult. Last day of this contest is 11th April GMT+8 10:00.

All entries to be emailed to undievisual (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Results will be announced on the 12th.

I have plenty of photos taken and will update when I have more time.

To Knit List (Spring/Summer)

My latest To Knit List. Both Vintage Velvet and Backyard Leaves should be done by this weekend.

WIPs to finish:
Jaywalker sock #2
VL Lacy Cardigan
Martha
Japanese cami (I need to see Rita about this)

New Projects in the queue
Frost Flower & Leaves - Aegean Blue Jaggerspun Zephyr (Ruth, now you know?)
Bergere Cable Cardigan - Bendigo Yarn*
Fad Classic - to be decided*
2 tops from Louisa Hardings Vintage Knits - Cotton from Bendigo Yarn*
Ribbed socks - Trekking XXL 100
Cascading Leaves socks - Lorna Laces Shepherd Socks
Embossed Leaves socks - Knitpicks Color Your Own(handdyed by Kessa)
Phildar 436 Blazer - Phildar Aviso* (future yarn spree)
Lady Eleanor - Noro Silk Garden*
Drops Design 95-21 - Jaeger Trinity
Timeless from Rowan 34 - Rowan 4 ply soft Buzz

Seems like I'm not knitting much from the stash.

*oppz i didn't mention i added a few balls of cotton to my Bendigo order. and Silk Garden is on my To Buy List =P

I need a Vent

Its so stressed at work. When was the last time i spent 12 hours straight in an office? I entered the office at 8 am last morning and left at 8 pm. I rather spend time knitting away. Imagine 12 hours of blissful knitting. That's the problem of working full time. Luckily, there's only 19 working days in April. Not forgetting that paycheck will be in in less than 3 weeks. yooohoooo. =)

anyway, I sat down and work on Vintage Velvet till its time for bed. A dose of knitting a day, keeps my sanity at ease.

I guess I overspent the day i broke my yarn diet. Needless to say, there was a sale of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool at loopyarn.com so off I jump from the edge after months of waiting. I also bought 2 sets of DPNs, that might be used on Frost Flower & Leaves. And did I mention my 8oz of Jaggerspun Zephyr had arrived? it came in a huge hank. It almost got tangled a few times while winding it into a huge yarn cake. I guess FFL will be a stay-at-home project since a HUGE yarn cake is not portable by any means. Beside these, I also need to add a few balls of cotton to my Bendigo order. All of my Bendigo yarns are already spoken for, so I guess this is quite fair. I'm still looking around for a bagof Noro Silk Garden #226, which will be yarn for Lady Eleanor. any cheap deals to recommend?