Frost Flowers & Leaves Update #5

I think the photos will tell a better story.

After 4 months of working on this project. I finally have this shawl blocked. Its actually dried and off the block. I shall have it modelled soon.

Midweek treats

I really hope this week is getting better, it can be as I am expecting more packages. It's like buying yarns has became my full time job. Anyway, all the yarns had already been called for.
From the far left,
- Woodland Sage, Gloss from Knitpicks, between Diamond Fantasy and Swallowtail Shawl
- Blessed, Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4 ply, won from a contest. (something from Vintage Knits)
- Cream, Merino Stretch from Schoelle Stahl. I shall knit this once again as I'm not satisfied by the result previously.
- Cactus, Soho Summer from Jo Sharp. Cherry shall turn into a cactus.
- color 97, Cash Iroha from Noro, a choice of either Raspy from Rowan Denim People or the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
I got to get them into ziplocks right now. And more edging to go for FFL shawl.

Opps, before I forget. Did I mentioned Yuvee was in Singapore the last weekend? I managed to meet up with her the day before she left for home. We agreed to meet at the usual yarn store. Fortunately we walked out from the store unscathed.

Blogspotlight Show #2 Local Knitters' Blogs

Another 4 noticeable knitting blogs have sprung alive on this little island.

Hooked on Yarn by the lovely Karyn. I saw her Sweetpea Shawl from SnB Hooker, and it was so pretty. Hope she's uploading pics soon.

Next three are from the Swallowtail Shawl KAL. Jollin, Regg and Matilda. Wish them success in the KAL, specially Jollin who has quit using Alpaca Cloud.

Frost Flowers & Leaves Update #4

On the home stretch here. Two weekends and I'm half done with the edging. So it isn't as tedious. And that means half the stitches had came off the needles. Here's a picture of one corner.
I started with 12 oz which is made up of a 8 oz hank and two 2 oz yarn cakes. I think I'm gonna left with 4 oz worth of Jaggerspun Zephyr in Aegean Blue. Most probably gonna destash it. any takers?

And thanks for the concern about my outburst in the earlier post. It must be the lack of knitting that caused it.

By the way, I finally got a new phone after 2 two years. The picture above was taken by this new gadget. I need to get a 2 gigabytes MiniSD card so that I can have those PDF patterns stored on the phone.

Ignorance is Bliss?!

Yeah, it is but not to the one who's being ignored. If I did something to deserve that, kindly tell me. Keeping mum will not help.

I see the turn of a friendship. Titanic sank, relationships breakups, who say friendships wont make a turn for the worst?

What a good way to start a weekend.

26 years and 4 days

Yep, that's roughly my age on the GMT 8+ timezone. One of the female species on planet earth who knows how to crochet for more than half of her life and has converted to knitting more than 18 months ago.

Anyways, I decide to draw 3 names for the give away. Incidentally, all 3 have pins on my Frappr Map. (in no particular order)
Elliphantom
Kessa
Valerie
Can Elli and Valerie leave your emails in the comments. I will be contacting you for your mailing addresses.


Thanks to all those who have been leaving comments and pins. Its warming to know that my blog is being read and I shall continue to blop (blog-hopping).

Further on, I had a wonderful evening spent with the SO. After a sumptuous dinner, we walked over to Esplanade, it was so crowded. The bay stretch was crowded with early birds who's there to snap a good place to watch the fireworks display. I was indeed lucky to have fireworks displayed on my birthday. No pics to put up as most of the night shots were yucky. I guess its time to get a new camera.

Back to my needles, FFL is on the home run. And its like a far stretch. I'm not even a quarter done since sunday. I'm just hoping there's not much distractions. *cross fingers*

Overwhelmed Days

Things are pretty unsettle these few days. With some of the orders not reaching me on time. I'm getting really stressed out.

I will have the names drawn during the weekend for the giveaway.

I will keep this short as I need to get some rest. <3

Happy Birthday to Singapore

Its the 41st birthday of this tiny little island we call home. And lucky me, Mom got 2 tickets to this year's NDP. I started Jaywalker Sock #2 so I can have something to knit along the way. We set off at 2pm and reach there after 3pm. Every audience received a goodie bag, which includes drinks, tidbits, clap-o-sticks, mini fan, cap and touch light and etc and etc.

Slowly we waited as the stadium gets filled up with people. This is my second time in this stadium for something event like this. First time was about 10 years ago during my secondary scool days. Mom was kind of excited as this was her first time in this stadium. This was a very memoriable event cuz this 33 year old stadium is going to make way for a sports hub, which means no more "Kallang Wave" and the last NDP to be held within this premises.

Going to the real thing made so much different to the other NDPs which I had watched on TV over the years. Everything is so alive! The performers, lightings, laser effects and sounds. I may not have a bird's eye view of the parade, but the feel of being part of NDP make this year's parade a whole new experience for me. Last but not least I shall leave you with a short clip of the parade's climax.

Close, so close

I'm less than 20296 stitches (according to the excel sheet) away from finishing Chart 3 of FFL. No pictures to show, as its still a blue blob like last week's pic. The only difference is its mass and had occupied a larger area on my lap.

The weekend had been hot and dry. I was hoping for some rain to cool things down. The fan was on for as long as I was home. It seems like the dry season is here permanently.

I am so eager to finish FFL and have it block up. Before that, I need loads of junk food. Off to cook myself some instant ramen.

I just read the FFL KAL, and seems like the edging is going to be very boring. Hence, its gonna take more time than I expect. T_T

MORE RAMEN PLEASE!!!

New Magazines on the Block

If you do not already know, Rowan 40 is out. I found the patterns not as interesting. Only a couple caught my eye.

Next up is Debbie Bliss fall collection of Pure Cashmere. The patterns meant for this range was also blah. The aran sweater in there cover takes 19 skeins of yarns, but do bear in mind that each skein is only 25grams with 45 metres. The yarn takes 5mm needles and the tension is 18 sts 25 rows. Anyways the rest of the pattern takes just a few skeins.

However, Lousia Harding surprises me with her winter collection of patterns. Not that I wear wool in this climate.

I'm still tapping my fingers for the Rebecca Fall/Winter issue

Phildar will definitely come out with thick and fluffy kind of designs, which are just undesirable in this climate, again.

FFL is up to 70% completion. So i think i still need to work like 5 rounds each day which meant I need to work on it 5 hours each day. Now, I need 36hours a day.

Row call

I did one just after finishing 3/4 of the 6th repeat of FFL. So here's the report.

Total No of of balls : 137
Total meterage: 23200.5metres
Total weight (grams): 9100g

The above excludes the following :p
- 1 cone of Jaggerspun Zephyr
- Yarns which are going to be destashed
- Yarns which are still on their way to me.

I just ordered 9 hanks of Noro Cash Iroha from Webs Noro sale and also 6 balls of Jo Sharp Soho summer for Cherry. And not forgetting the recent knithappens.net spree and the knitpicks.com order. The figures are going in one direction which is North.

On a happy note, I think this figures are not staggering at all. And better still, I think there's plenty of room for expansion (In terms of figures not the space).

And if this is the first time you are visiting this blog, you are most welcomed to join my birthday giveaway.

On swaps

my SP8 hostess posted this question "Someone has stolen your stash and all your books: now what are you going to do?"
- This would be the best excuse to start stashing without feeling guilty.
- I should start a new life without knitting, take up something like going to the gym 3-4 times a week.
- Get back into my social life.

But then, I really want to do the first one. Knitting has become a huge part of me. It would be painful to let go of it.

Recently I have participate myself in a couple of more swaps. First on hand would be Yarn Aboard II. And I have a messenge to my pal. Dear Pal, whoever you are, I think I did not mentioned in the questionaires that I wish the least for fair isle sock yarns. Anyway, you should have a lot of time to plan my box.

Next up is Knitters Lace Swap. If you are my pal, do listen up. I'm fine with most lace weight yarns. If you are sending me Jaggerspun Zephyr, please send colors in neither Aegean Blue nor Teal. I have loads of them to last me many projects over.

Frost Flowers & Leaves Update #3

It's been more than 3 months since I started on FFL. In between there were distractions and I can't help but felt the lace pattern was monotonous. Good thing about monotonous is that I don't have to refer to the chart for every single stitch. The pattern is systematic but I still managed to live with a few mistakes. I just hope that once the shawl goes through blocking, everything will smooth their way out. Now the stamina to finish this off and I might even add another repeat is getting stronger.

Here's the pile of FFL, over my mole hill of clutter at, 46% away from completion.
and Dear Sarah,
The needle will defintely come handy for knitting 2 socks at once. Thus the chance of developing Second SOck Syndrome is minimized. I will be keeping the copy of mag you sent me and probably donate the extra one to the library or something.

On another note, I think it's time get a new phone, with all the functions packed in a candy bar. I might have more pictures in the future as this gadget packs a 3.2 megapixel cammie with Carl Zeiss optics. I have seen the pics taken by it and definately justifiable for the price. I can only be happier if I can get it at a fraction of the retail price.

Hectic and relaxing

It had been a hectic week with the opening ceremony in the office. and I need to prepare 4 quotations for one of my major accounts I'm managing. Finally got them all out yesterday. *sweats*

Anyway, it had also been relaxing once I got home, cuz I got to knit and do stuffs I want to do. And most of all, I got another package from my SP8. I haven't been scouting around for my SP's blog, so far I only knew her first name's Sarah. So I guess her identity is still safe from me. Check out the picture on the right. The bar of dark chocolate is da BOMB!

And a message to Sarah: Somehow I have gotten both the needle and the magazine. So I guess, you can start looking for somcthing else. =P
I think the magazine is a bit hard look for. So I guess I should kind of relieved you from that.

With the new needle, I went back to Frost Flowers and Leaves again. So from a huge hair net, its now big fish net hanging on a 120cm needle. Knitting with such a long circular is really taxing, cuz I need to move the stitches after knitting a few dozens of stitches. I really hope to finish FFL before that day. It would really be nice. I'm like 6 rows away from completing the 5th repeat, which tells you that I'm about half way through the entire project. So if I were to complete 4 rows each day, the probability to complete by then will be higher.

Less talk and knit more.

Frogging Fetching

I was working on Fetching on impulse the other day. I was sorting out the stash and saw this lonely ball of Rowan Cashsoft Aran, poor thingie. And I remembered that a particular pattern in the latest Knitty requires only a ball of aran weight yarn. Although I was about 10 metres short of the original yarn, I just went ahead and cast on.

As I approach the finishing of Fetching #1, I started to get paranoid of not having enough yarn.
But then again, I think I should have more than enough if I were to cast on 5 less stitches. So Fetching is making a trip to the pond.

More books

I think I should ban myself from the internet and from going out to the bookstore. These are the damages so far.
Anyway, the past 48 hours were spent sleeping, eating, caught a movie with SO, knitting and finished 6 dvds of Goong. I was so tired after 2 dvds of Goong that I was sleeping through half of this show. I guess only guys like the SO would prefer this genre.

On the knitting front, Petunia is almost 50% done. Mom is urging me to have this knitted for her. I'm still considering cause its really a beautiful piece. About 98% of the knit stitches are done through the back loop. I will try to get a close up of the stitches if possible.

I also got buttons for the Knit1 Summer cropped cardigan. I got 5 x 1 inch diameter buttons instead of the recommended 3 x 1.5 inch size. I ill continue this if I got stuck with Petunia's pattern.

Oopz, did I mention that Vogue Knitting Fall preview is up? An issue worth getting as I'm only attracted to the socks.

Pic of the day

Its the three things I stick with when the SO is not around.
- Japanese lace top, I shall name it Petunia, shade of the yarn.
- 11 copies of Death Note
- and both of them are placed on the TV, which means I'm watching Goong series.

And have you done frapp-ing me?

Another Update?

I seem to be updating daily. Well this is to help those who are interested in my contest to keep up with the commenting. Of course you can comment my past entries from the July 14th onwards.


Anyways, I was checking out my mail before I head to work this morning. And I came to know that my pal for Yarn Aboard II is Amanda!!! What a pleasant surprise. I found out from the questionaire that we have more than a bit in common. First of all, we are Birk fans or at least we wear Birks a lot. Second, we are not into self patterning and fair isle sock yarns. And we both like chocolates too. Which means whatever I might like would also make Amanda delightful.

Knitting has been on a hiatus till I finish 11 copies of Death Note and I might knit a bit while watching 24 episodes of Goong aka Princess Hours. I need to have a second take of Death Note cuz the meaning of the storyline takes time to digest.

Back to work for now. And remember to place a pin on my frappr if you have not.

Back for tangy

I knew what was wrong with me. Anyways, after reading the comments, I decided to start Jaywalker #2 but *gasp* I cant find my yarn! and I cant remember which needle size. And that put me off sock knitting for the time.

I wanted to start something so I went through a small box of stash. A ball of Sirdar Snuggly 4 ply said Hi and I was reminded that its meant for this. Grab the right needle and went on to knit till my eyelids came down. It was too boring and not challenging at all. Moreover I wasnt watching CSI or any interesting TV shows. Left it aside and crept to bed since I slept at 3am+ the previous night after catching Pirates Of The Carribean: Dead Man's Chest for midnight show.

Then after on Sunday morning, I went through another bag of stash. This Petunia shade of yarn was calling out to me. I remembered that it was meant for a Japanese pattern. I frogged it months ago since I can't get 3 of the stitches to look right after seeking the help of knitters. I decided to rewind it and give the pattern a second try. And wala~~ I'm into the third repeat. (I hope to upload pics today)

So I guess, I was probably up for something tangy.
I'm craving for lime juice! or a shot of this.

PS. Get 5 extra tickets to my contest by adding yourself on my frappr map. It's just that easy!

On a slump or what

I do not know why, but PMS is definitely not the reason. I'm facing a slump-like phase. FFL was done with 4th repeat two nights ago, and I knew I have to start something new till I get a longer circular needle (80cm is not longer enough). However, I'm sitting here pondering which project to start. Total dilemma!

Should I (in no particular order) start or continue first?
- Jaywalker #2
- Lotus Blossom Tank from IK Summer 06
- Cherry, my only concern is running out of yarn.
- Pomatomus from knitty.com winter 05, will there be pooling if I were to use Lorna Laces Shepherd Sock yarn?

I guess the above will creat topic for discussion so you can earn more tickets. Haha! Here's a pic of the prizes. I added a couple of key chains and the lime green bag. The mohair yarn is from a Japanese brand which I chance upon on my last Taiwan trip. It should be a good replacement for Rowan Kidsilk Haze.

And yeah, thanks for all the early wishes.
i have not thought of how I'm gonna split the stuffs or should there be only one lucky winner?

less than a month

yep, time flies. It's less than a month till my birthday. So as what most people do, they have contests. Like guess the age and etc. There's also other contest like guessing the number of needles owned. Mine's gonna be easier than all these.

Start from this post till 10th August 2006, anyone who leaves a comment will get a ticket or places a pin on my Frapper map, will get 5 tickets. Which means the more tickets you have the more chances you had entered yourself in the lucky draw. Drawing of names will take place the day after.

Prizes? A copy of Debbie Bliss Book 4, a copy of Cotton Friend Spring 2006 (Jap), Clear & Simple Knitting Symbols (Jap), 3 balls of Japanese mohair yarn from my stash, 2 bottles of my favourite OPI nailpolishes. I will take pics of the prizes tomorrow. and I maybe adding more stuffs.

So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment and say hi.

PS. I love no spams.
PPS. My birthday's not today. =p

Outdoor shoots

This is one of the weekends which I prefer to laze at home. Before the weather turned cloudy, I went out to get more pictures taken.

Hold your breaths!

First up is the first FO this month.

Pattern: Diamond Fantasy Shawl by Sivia Harding
Yarn: 3 balls of Elann Far East Collection Cashmere Silk, 50g ea, 177 yards.
Needle: 3.75mm Inox circulars
Size: NA
Time to finish: 1 week? or less?

I really love knitting this shawl. The yarn was burning a hole in my stash and i really need to do something with it. This cashmere silk was acquired through a swap quite sometime ago. It got quite warm to knit as the shawl grew bigger. I still had 1 ball of it left.

The pattern was very easy to follow after a few repeats, especially the edging. What an ingenious way of creating an edge! I did a little different in terms of the "s1, k2tog, psso", I think i mentioned about it HERE.

And I think I own you knitters pictures of Lady Eleanor. Here goes:

The Lady is lounging on the garden bench.A close up of the Lady.

Seem like the Lady loves the outdoor a lot.

Added: Thanks for all the kind comments. Sometimes I need a little of these to keep my knitting up and going.

Busy needles

I had my camera's battery charged, however I had been so busy with a new project that I really have no time to take a picture of the latest FO. I had it blocked and ends weaved and tucked but just no photos to show. I'm feeling ever so guilty cuz I own you knitters out there so much pictures.

On another note, needles have been kept busy throughout and I'm expecting to finish the last piece of this project. Hope to start the seaming tonight.

And I found some pretty interesting knitting related clips on youtube.com.

Off to lunch.

Lady Eleanor : A Knotty Finish

I haven't got the time to model it before the sun set. so here's a picture of it on my favorite chair. The chair is really old, at least as old as yours truely. So pleae forget about the rust and old paint.
Pattern: Lady Eleanor from ScarfSTYLE
Yarn: 10 balls of Noro Silk Garden in #88
Needle: 4.5mm circulars
Size: NA
Time to finish: since May 7th till June 24th

It has been months since I last posted an official FO report. Blame the procastinator in me, I have a few others on hand which have yet to be photographed. Anyway, Lady E has been sailing smoothly with me. It was a good chance to pick up entre-lac, something that had me curiously sought after. Yarn-wise, I had a good time picking at the tweeds and what's-not from the single ply, machine spun of 45% Silk, 45% Kid Mohair and 10% Lamb's Wool.

I thought I would be knitting this for a longer time, but when i reached the 6th ball, things started up pick up. The real adrenlina rush was when I start to cut the trimmings. I was so close yet so far. Thank goodness, the weather had been dry and hot and she was able to dry in one day after her bath. And then she stands taller than me.

And then came the time to do the knotted fringes. It took like 3-4 hours just to plan and get the knots done. And then it was the last knot, took a deep breathe and it was over.

Not really over, it's just the start of a new relationship with the Lady Eleanor.

Worth Coveting

After reading so much reviews about the Vesper Sock Yarns from www.knitterlythings.com, I just got to give it a try. I finally had the chance when someone posted on knitty board that Julia is having some on her etsy store. I was crossing my fingers that there would be at least 1 hank left. Lucky me, I had 2 choices of colorway. And here's what I got: Its call Sweetwater, very summery colour. Now I need a good sock pattern.

To the end, almost

Yes, the end is near for Lady E. I'm on the last ball of Silk Garden. The bunch of yarns were cut in 40" each for the trimmings. As I get nearer to the end, the stronger is the adrenlina. I'm so looking forward to have her finished. Meanwhile she is massive even at 400g.


Here's the prize for Belinda for winning in my contest. Took the pics before I gifted her yesterday. Two hanks of yarns, wonderfully dyed by Kessa, The Singing Yarn. She does custom dyeing too. So check out with her.


Meanwhile I had another stashing yesterday after meeting with the knit group. This cutey balls of yarn, each 25g 73metres, are really hard to resist. I got 2 boxes of them, they should be enough to make a short sleeved top. Next are the yarns from Filatura di Crosa, the cream latte is Millefili Fine 100% mercenrized cotton. The 3 balls of magenta are Zarina, doesn't merino wool sound yummy? Anyway, both additions are spoken for. Guess I need to start destashing or have a yarn diet.

Knitting in Public

With the regards to the WWKIP Day last saturday, I want to put a in few words about my KIP. WARNING: This is going to be super wordy.

I KIP a lot, almost daily. I will feel kind of lost, staring into blank space, trying to avoid eye contact and pretending to fall asleep. All of that when I don't have a project in hand. So having my knitting during my commuting has really became a part of me.

Even when I was a beginner then, I wasn't shy to KIP too. I was always amazed by the new techniques I learnt that I want to do in public, showing it off silently. Exclaiming in every stitches that Hey, see I can do knit and purl stitches without wrapping the needle the wrong way.

I will received curious stares and overheard murmurings. I used to knit too, but gave up since I have no time for it OR It's such a waste of time, I rather buy from the shelves OR Who would wanna wear sweaters or scarves in this weather?!?! Many atimes, I wanted to voice out to these non- and ex-knitters, but I was way too cool with my knitting than to have such words disrupt my knitting peace.

Above all, I still received compliments from onlookers. Some of them do not know the time and effort put into it but after I told them how much time I spent, they were always in oohs and ahhs. So I guess it always nice to meet a fellow knitter who knows how to appreciate.

Since I stay on one end of the island, I tend to get a seat easily on the commute aka MRT(This is one of the most travelled public transportation in Singapore). Then one day, a lady got in 5 stations after me, which the cabin was crowded by then . Maybe it was a knitter's radar to detect another knitter's presence, I felt that she's a knitter too. She doesn't look too much like one, with a power suit and carrying a laptop case. A few stops later many passenger got off and she managed to grab a seat diagonally opposite me. I thought my senses were wrong so I carried on knitting for a while. I was engrossed in my knitting that it was only when I heard the broadcast that I realised I need to get off on the next stop. I glanced up and saw the power suit lady was knitting a dark blue scarf. woohooooo....was my radar accurate? u bet!

A littel bit about my WIPs, Something Brown is on hold till I'm done with Lady E. Lady E is growing at a amazing speed since I brought her around with me. 3 more balls before I give her a good soak. I will have more time with FFL when I get more stuffs off the needles. I so wanted to finish Lady E. I am so closeeeeeeee......

PS. This post was inspired after listening to the first 13 minutes of this podcast

Blogspotlight Show #1 Local Knitters' Blogs

There's some pretty new knit blogs springing on this tiny island of Singapore.

Firstly, there's Dor at My Hobby My Thoughts. Take a peek at her latest FO for her niece Ethel.

Here's another from Reina at Knit Journey. She must be one who carries her knitting with to and fro work. Hope she has better luck on her Japanese top.

Hope to see more blogs from local knitters.

Multi-task

I tend to multi-task a lot. A good example will be knitting, chatting over MSN with other knitters and also my latest addictions on podcast, especially those with knitting content. If you have any podcast that you subscribe to, do intro them to me. I'm thirsty for more podcast. <3

I had been organising quite a number of sprees recently. and here's one of the loot. The stuffs were packed in the smallest box, once I unpack, they started to overflow.

So, what had my needles been busy with? During the past week, I cast on for Something Red in a brown yarn. I wasn't able to continue since I left it behind in office. The weekend was spent alternating between Lady E and FFL. Lady E is still quite enjoyable so she has really grow quite a bit, half grown to be exact. FFL is getting tedious even on 3rd repeat. But I MUST persevere! 7 more rows to complete 3rd repeat.

Saturday was the WorldWide Knit in Public Day. Since our group did not register for this event, I was out for some yarn store crawling. I got yarns for 3 projects. I did a reservation for 10 balls of organic cotton which should be due soon.

And after which I met up with Kessa at the nearby fastfood outlet for a "lonely" KIP. Poor gal was sneezing throughout cuz her nose was kind of sensitive with the Rowanspun 4 ply which she had with her. Moreover, it was a rainy day. I guess she needs a mask if she were to continue else she better knit with some other fibres.

Off for somemore podcast.

When I go blopping

That's what Kessa calls it when u go blog-hop.

Take a look at Jenn's collection of Blues

Another Diamond Fantasy Shawl by Jessica

Knitting Iris is getting her dream room.

Seems like Orangina is starting up at quite a few blogs, including this and here.

I quite like her style of bookscraping.

I would love to make one of this.

The Amazing Lace has commenced.

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. =)