My favorite character

Take the Quiz here!

I finished 2 audio books and already a Jane Austen fan. More audio books for now.

Snippets of last 3 months

Aeolian

Esther

Pacific Islands

Bex

Aquaphobia

I had also finish Whisper cardigan, Outside In sock and Buttercup too. I think I missed out a few others.

Finally I began to see the back of my shelves, which is a good sign. This meant that I had less stuffs to take with when we move to a new place next year. Yes, finally we got our little haven.

Team Knit, Jenny and Rain: thanks for the compliments.

Craftlover: do watch out other yarns from Wollmeise.

was it 1 month ago?

And June is over.

The weather is hot and humid, despite the occasional rain. I dislike going for interviews in the afternoons, gives me migraines.

Game-wise, I had completed all dishes on Restaurant City after hitting level 27. Also a Farm Town retiree at level 34.

Knit news would be the WWKIP day, cum Ingrid's farewell. She brought baby Aemilia with her. Hope she enjoys plenty of knitting time back home.

My Aquaphobic socks is still only 1 done. Meanwhile, I finished Aeolian on the eve of WWKIP and Artichart yesterday. Time to hit the sock before it hit me. Maybe its on 4" dpns that I'm reluctant to go on. I thought I changed to the bamboos when it was time for heel flap. Probably, I might have a looser foot since I knit much tighter on the 4".

I did a bit of yarn stalking and all packages arrived. I thought I'd a stash update on my sockyarns (WM category).
Collected them for over 3 years? Notice the old labels?

The 8 skeins from the sock club. Pity there won't be a sock club in the near future.

Disruption from gaming

Time for another post before May slips away. A very hot afternoon which made it difficult to concentrate on games and double difficult to knit.




Pattern: Ribbed Lace by Charlene Schurch
Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss sockyarn - Porcini
Needle: 2.25m, Knitpicks Harmony
Size: n/a
Time to finish: 1 week

Nothing to add, just did as per the book's instruction. Love the round toe.

May I?

Its May already, and almost half of 2009 passed us all. I only have a fair bit of knitting to report since time has been mostly devoted to Restaurant City and Farm Town. Hoping to turn 30 on my farm. and join the ranks on the farm town forum.

Anyways, I did finished a few socks. None to say, I am so behind in documenting the FOs on my ravelry account too. Well, here goes Maelstrom.


Pattern: Maelstrom by Cookie A
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock Yarn - Impressionist Sky
Needle: 2.25m, Knitpicks Harmony
Size: n/a
Time to finish: 1 week
Notes: Only added 1 extra repeat to the leg section. I have nothing but positive comments for most if not all of Cookie's patterns. Just a minor thing which I might change would be the toe. I still much prefer a more rounded toe than a pointy one. Malabrigo Sockyarn has joined Louet Gems on my ranking of favorite yarns, both share the top position. It give good stitch definition and its so buttery soft. I can't wait my lay my hands on other colorways too.




Rain: yep that's Farm Town on Facebook. Its been days since I last level up.

Mabel: bookdepo was half a good reccomendation. i made 2 orders, 1 was cancelled cuz they decided to increase to the price and not fulfilled my order which was of cos placed prior to the increase.

Ruth: swaps are addictive!!!

Tp all: thanks for all the well wishes for this post.

Where was ME?

Of online shopping

I think I got into online retail therapy after swapping for cosmetics/skincare on Makeupalley.com for almost a year. The surprises I always get from package through out the many months were very fun during that year. And a time to learn more about grooming myself. (Even though I have slackened a lot.)

There were swappers who refuse to ship international. Since I always ship outside of Singapore, I can totally understand the cost of postage and the anxiety whether the package will reach the recipient safely. Anyway, there's always swappers who were willing to ship to Singapore. Postages back then were much cheaper too.

Then came a time when I realised I had turn into a makeup junkie. That's when I sold off items which were 99% used, threw away stuffs that were not touch for a long time and would probably have gone mouldy.

Alright this is a knit blog not a makeup blog. So why did I start writing about the above? Well, since I stash mostly via online retailers, I thought I might do a little write up on my online Stash Enhancement Experience.

- Freeshipping
It's not always inexpensive to buy online. Especially when one buys alone. Shipping charge is 1 HUGE factor to consider when shopping. Very often, I will look for Freeshipping Worldwide. However, you might need to hit a minimal order amount. And there's no freeshipping for books and magazine, That's common sense, isn't it?

- Flat shipping charge
This is not usually available to me. And I love to organise bulk purchases. There's once which I need to seek out USD300 just to claim the deal. I'm never in the right mind to stash $300 worth of yarns at one go. I'm still very sane towards my yarn hoarding. By sharing shipping cost with other like-minded, it is more wallet-friendly.

- Free/Flat shipping within US/Canada
I might need to do a bit of maths and judge whichever is more cost-effective; to ship via a forwarding company or direct to my doorstep.

It pretty sad that some sellers do not ship international. And I think that's simply closing doors to more business. Given the current economic situation, turning down a sale is turning down a potential long term customer.

As a customer, I think it is very helpful if a seller goes all out to help save shipping cost for me. I will most probably return to buy more and recommend them to more people. Word of mouth is very powerful in this sense.

And now, I'm crossing my fingers (and toes) that my last package willl reach me within this week.

angelknits: thanks for the congrats!

Aw: it was raining and traffic was very slow, thus the long wait for the groom.

Rain: hahaha, i guess we agreed to take a pic of me knitting in my gown. will really be unforgetable.

Snippet from the BIG day

I thought I should start sharing some pictures from the BIG day. So here's one which I was knitting.

picture grabbed from Adrianne.

Boxes and envelopes

These were the things that kept appearing at my doorsteps and mailbox. 2 more and I shall hibernate till April.

Finally, they are in my possession forever. Can't help it, when the pounds is low and the temptation from the lovely photography.

One more work day to endure and the start of a knitty weekend and hopefully also something that gets bind off from the needles.

Realisation

Its only when you are at it, will you feel the intensity.

The work has started since last Monday. Assigned to replace this lady who was going to give birth. At this point in time she had already return home after a C-section, hence I'm covering her duties for the next 3 months or so.

The office is situated at this not-so-convenient location. Lunches were boring, food were bought back by some kind souls.

I would say that I stay pretty near to the office, just half hour drive. However, I'm using the transport pick up (pick up point 5 minutes walk), I need to be standing by at 7.15am. Journey usually takes around 1 hour and I'm still at least 15 minutes early for work. The bus journey was so jerky that knitting is almost impossible. I managed a few rows while seated by the window this morning. Return trip is on a van, goodness, its only a waste of 20 minutes.

I guess I won't be returning to this area for work. The limit is only till end of the contract period.

Knitting news, not much 'cept for finishing the Seascape wrap. I started out a bootneck cotton top, I might need more yarn than what I already estimated.

I'm also expecting 4 packages to arrive within the next 2-3 weeks. With the income and good exchange rates, I hope I don't buy myself poor.

One more, perhaps two

One more FO report, two socks which make a pair.

Pattern: Clover from The Inside Loop Issue 2
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Superwashed Solid - Sapphire
Needle: 2.25m, Knitpicks Harmony
Size: n/a
Time to finish: 1 week
Notes: The feel of it knitting up is very similar to Louet Gems fingering. I like the combination of both lace and cable on this sock. The pattern repeat is intuitive. I would say this is a pattern that is good for beginner sock knitters to step up for more advance stuffs.

Vessy

I was so into getting the jacket in the picture below to work, but it seems like the WIP was hiding in a dusty corner waiting to be recalled by me.

In turn, I transformed it into something totally different. Also from Phildar patterns.


Pattern: Pull #468-T6-628 by Phildar Design Team
Yarn: Phildar Aviso in Ficelle
Needle: 4.5mm and 4mm for the ribbings
Size: 32
Time to finish: 2 months?
Notes: I missed out the chart for the front piece and while waiting I finished up other projects. The yarn is soft and splity at the same time. With charts to follow, one can almost do without the French instructions. I love the cable richness. I think certain cotton/acrylic yarns bring out cables better than wool/alpaca does.
Mod: i left out the ribbing for the armholes, might add them in one day if I can tolerate the bulk at the pits.

First FO of 2009

I have quite a bit to report here. I ended 2008 on a silky note with a wrap. Not much pictures yet, since this was kept away to avoid the dust from my cleaning.


And here's the first for 2009. Hope this will spark off good knitting vibes for the rest of the year.



Pattern: Baroque by Janice Kang
Yarn: Posh Yarn Lei
Needle: 2.5mm Knitpicks Harmony
Size: small
Time to finish: 4 days
Notes: I was apprehensive about the stitches showing up on this color. Seems like it worked well and I enjoyed working with the yarn despite its splity-ness. I would use 2.25mm if ever to restart these socks. Also, if i'm knitting for feet much larger than mine, I might need 1.5 skeins at least to get a enough leg covered.

Lots of ends

Consolidated this pile of "FOs". I think they were finished within these 2 years but waiting to be blocked or weaveing their ends. Click on the photo to find out about them.

Pondering on the Grindstone

The quietness on this blog is due to the fact that I'm on the look for job. It had been rather physical and mentally exhausting with each interview. However, I'm hopeful that the next one be better than the previous. So here's a brief rundown.
I shall not name the companies but just their initials.

Company A
- US MNC, wrong job scope, its the furthest part of the country that I'd been to. Rejected on the spot, even though they are willing to train. Seems like they are rather desperate for someone to fill up the role.

Company C
- US MNC, job scope was something I'm looking for. The deal was that I would be employed under Company F as C had a frozen headcount. I wasn't very comfortable with this arrangement I guess. Even with a direct bus from my place, I need to do with a slight paycut. I thought I could have this straighten out myself, somehow I still felt insecure and depress. Depression shouldn't be how I feel, it a totally different feel from my previous appointments. I did not want to celebrate or put a smile on my face. So C was outta question as of today's turnout.

Company G
- US company, 6 months contract work. Cuz they weren't able to tell me whether this is going to renewable, I weren't in the least interested. It might be glam to work in town, but that means I would spend more on daily expenses like food and transportation.

Company K
- local SME (small medium enterprise). I butted at one of the questions asked, it would be total different environment from a MNC (most if not all of my previous experience were with MNCs). I think even the interviewer was doubtful if I would be adaptable to such arrangement. Anyway, it did open me up to the structure of SMEs.

Company V
- didn't even have a chance for interview, cuz the role was taken up by their contract staff!!! ARGH!!!! I really wouldn't mind V.

Above all, I'm still optimistic with the hunt. I just received another call, hopefully I will have another interview coming up next week. and a brand new workplace in 2009.

WISH ME LUCK.

Before i sign off, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

XOXO

100

Hopefully there's more to come.

Pardon for the empty squares. I wonder when I will get to fill them up with photos.

Fern Garden

I hope to finish taking photos of all my FOs and keep this blog really up-to-date. So this is not the last of my stoles and shawls.



Pattern: Fern Garden Stole by Sharon Winsauer
Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist Fino, Silver Belle, less than 2 skeins.
Needle: 3.75 mm Addi Lace
Size: n/a
Time to finish: < 2 weeks
Notes: I had about 70grams left from the second skein. Being in a high humidity climate, knitting with alpaca is a little painful. As it keep sticking onto my pinkie and refuse to slide smoothly. The silk content does its job beautifully, giving a slight sheen.
The Fern Garden motif is exactly as the one on FPS. However, due to the movement of the motif, it did took me a little while to get use to reading the chart. This made it a more interesting knit.

Hanami

This stole is going away to somebody. So this post is really meaningful to me.



Pattern: Hanami
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr, Ice Blue
Needle: 3.5 mm Addi Lace
Size: n/a
Time to finish: < 2 weeks
Notes: I did like 2 extra repeats on the basketweave section, and skip a couple of the blossom charts. This made me wanted to knit one stole only with the basketweave pattern, which I did last month.

Dream of Lace

I hope before the year ends, I will be able to catch up on my FO reports. So here's another from 2007, which makes 2 more shawl reports to go.


Pattern: Lace Dream by Eugen Beugler, Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr, Sage
Needle: 3.5 mm Addi Lace
Size: n/a
Time to finish: < 2 weeks
Notes: I think I'm left with nothing to say about the yarn since I had used it countless times and will still my top choice for lace knitting. Patternwise, it sank into my brain just after a few repeats. A slight different from the usual feather and fan.

After blocking

I was out shooting the FOs, alone, so no modeled pictures.

Before my wedding, I had the luxury of time and space to block out quite a number of pieces. Queen Anne Blue Lace was one of which got pack along for the outdoor shoot.


More photos HERE.

Pattern: Queen Anne's Lace by MMario
Yarn: ColourMart Cashmere /28NM Lace Weight
Needle: 3.75 mm Addi Lace
Size: n/a
Time to finish: < 2 weeks
Notes: Very easy to follow instructions. Interesting construction, even my brother asked about it; the very first time on my knitting.