Hello Mojo

The weather is finally cooling down, and knitting's back on the needles! There are endless queue of things on my ravelry but I have had my fair share of knitting accidents in the past months, and just got to get these UFOs sorted out first before I can knit happy again.

Here's the embossed leaves sock started in February with the Regia Silk that have been previously frogged and overdyed. It was almost forgotten until I saw Joy’s recent pair and finally digged it out of the bottom piles. The half-done sock is not only tight-ish, there’s a silly mistake whereby I did the first few rows twice on the third lace repeat before starting the heel…

The Japanese Diagonal Cables is another heartbreaker… (sorry no pics yet but you can see Siow Chin's version here). The construction is certainly interesting and the chart is clear but you really must concentrate! And that is hard when most of my knitting is done while on the move these days, which means my counting is out more often than not… The project has been restarted at least 6 times before I thought I’m finally making some steady progress… and then I realized that it was worked on the wrong needles, I've used 4.0mm instead of 4.5mm… Shame, shame!

So how about some mindless garter stitches? Boo! I’ve inadvertently missed out the first sleeve increase on my Baby Surprise Jacket and knitted on blindly until…


And what else? This Piggle hat intended for Jasmine is turning out baby-sized, so maybe I'll keep it for another baby and start up a new one for her. There’s also a mini-pink Sahara that I’ve casted on in Rowan Handknit Cotton but having second thoughts on the yarn choice... well, it doesn’t seem right for the weather now anyway.


My very long-time UFOs, the Baby Trellis started on the beach last year, and the Jawbreaker Cardigan in Araucania Nature Cotton both need to be taken apart. And by the way, my Lady Eleanor stole has gone “missing” for almost half a year now and still nowhere to be found…

Anyway, sorry to have bored you with all these ughish projects... I will be finishing up my Noro Kureyon socks tonight, and do have a few other unblogged FOs to show you next time.

Well, see you all soon and happy winter knitting!

All Things Red

I wouldn't say I had a great time away, but my 3 weeks of blog absence has been rather efficacious. Despite all the setbacks, I finally finished off these longstanding pairs of Oak Ribbed Socks started back in March. Long story short, I switched needles half way (stupidly) and my second sock turned out bigger. The yarn is a millend lot, really nice stuff, so instead of frogging I made 4 socks out of the same yarn/pattern. But while I'm half a sock away from concluding this 6 months project, I lost 2 out of my 5 needles, and these are my favorite set :o(. So the socks continue to marinate until I finally found one Clover #1 set in bamboo here...

These are mine! And Ivy, the other pair is yours!

The bamboos are nice ones too and they did the job perfectly but I still prefer my metals. So if anyone know where I could find a set of Clover#1 (short 15cm) metal dpns, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

* * * * *

And more socks, these are Jasmine’s Sweet Surprise Socks, they finally fit her now and I love them with her Crocs.

* * * * *

And finally, a sneak peek of the super soft and snuggly sweater dress that I made for Jasmine. It's done on 8mm, bottom-up with seamless (and painless) set-in sleeves, and a rolled-neck collar.

I didn't actually planned a teaser but I had an awful time with the photos. Most of my shots this morning either went blurry or murky... so I'll do the details, hopefully with my pattern notes and some better pics pretty soon.

Until then, happy knitting to all of you!

Going with the flow...

I have been knitting almost nothing but socks since my last post... that includes ripping out my first Sockapalooza sock about 10 times before giving up on the pooling and switched to a solid color yarn. I’m glad I did so and hopefully my pal will like them too.

Yarn: 18% Cashmere, 12% Soybean Fiber, 70% Lambswool

Pattern: Go With the Flow by Evelyn A. Clark.

Available from IK Summer 2005 or Favorite Socks.

Needles: Clover #1s dpn (2.4mm)

Start to Finish: July 11-23

Notes: My pal likes shorter cuffs so I did only 12 patterns repeats, and there's a very minor error in the pattern... that can be easily fixed by doing 12sts instead of 14sts which helped center the insteps. I just love this pattern, the simple lace set within ribbed columns are straight forward yet pleasantly interesting and it's very stretchy - making it very perfect for the yarn.

I was actually at work in Beijing last month when I got so fed up with the pooling from the Claudia Handpainted yarn. So when I stumbled upon a tiny weeny LYS after a meeting, I decided to give it a try... and there I found this Mongolian cashmere blend, the yarn weight and fiber content is exactly the same as the yarn I used here except it's sold under a different brand with better color choices. I'm very pleased with the softness of my own pair and have been wearing them a lot last winter... Like all cashmere yarn, it's not very elastic... so I thought they would sag but they held up just fine and are such a treat for the feet ;o)

Love at first sight!

Time flies (again)... it's been 10 days since my last post and I haven't any blog-worthy knitting to show you... Both Claude and Baby Apricot are half-seamed... each has only one sleeve and some part of the body done... I could have finished either one if I manage to focus... haha...

At some point, I thought I could fall back to my CTH socks for sanity, but my second sock is turning out much bigger than the first... that's because I switched to Clover Aluminium #1s (2.4mm) needles from the 2.5mm bamboos that I started with... but still I'm surprised with the outcome of how smaller needles would produce a much bigger sock.... But well, since the intended recipient has a wider and longer feet, I will probably decide which one to keep after she comes over for a fitting session.

Oh, and this is really what I'm here to share... I'm in love at first sight with this sleepy snake from Mochimochi Land...

How fun, and there's also an extremely cute Rainycloud with hanging raindrops available from Anna's shop. Now I just need to go get my hands on some felting yarn.

A bit of everything

First of all, Don and I thank you all for your lovely words on our anniversary. May has been one of the most frantic but prolific month of my year. Aside from my busy-as-usual work schedule, I took a short break and brought Jasmine to sunny Singapore to see grandma and grandpa and many of her uncles and aunties.


In additions to family gatherings during those few days, we squeezed in a playgroup session at Kindermusik, had some good fun at the pool, did some shoppings and I also got to meet up with Erin and Lois for very enjoyable laughter-filled afternoon, well into the evening. Thank you, gals!

I even managed some knitting on her baby AJ while Jasmine catches up on her magazines at Starbucks. It's such a fun trip and I really hope to do that again soon.

Well. and in between all these, I also went through a series of interviews, reference/background checks and negotiations and ended up with a new job offer from an UK firm. And June started with me being in a dilemma over whether or not to switch jobs... my final decision is to stay put but that's another story for another day. Let's get back to the knitty bits now....

On finishing up - I'm all done with knitting for both the baby Apricot Jacket and my Claude... good thing I've already got all the buttons picked out so these will be wearables as soon as seamed. I also bought some silky fabric as linings for Claude but we'll see how drapey it gets before doing that.

Turning over a new leaf- As you may have noticed, a few previous WIP has made their way to the frog pond. Trellis is a must "rip", the yarn choice is just not right, it's not only too thick but rather stiffly too... and I even did the left twists wrongly on both the back and left front. My Jaywalker in Regia Silk has lost its charm but half a sock is an easy decision compared to my half-done adult-sized Apricot Jacket, my gauge is actually tighter than desired but I just failed to face it any earlier... Last of all, the only one project that I might be able to salvage is the Diagonal Ribs and Cables sweater, which turned out too short for me. I'm thinking my helper Loida, who's really petite and this might fit her just right.

The old and new - I'm back on my CTH Oak Ribbed Socks and started Jawbreaker from Interweave Winter '06 with some Araucania Patagonia nature cotton, both in Red for the June/July Project Spectrum. And I'm also slowly getting things updated onto my Ravelry, it's super cool and fun and absolutely addictive... I'm sure you've already heard about it all.

Up and coming - My first hank of Handmaiden Seasilk has arrived and now waiting in queue for the perfect scarf/shawl pattern... And I'm still deciding on my sockapalooza socks but that will certainly be my next pair.

Finally, happy WWKIP day and have a good weekend, everyone!

Super Easy DIY Sock Blockers (Tutorial)

I've always wanted some sock blockers, but was a bit skeptical about paying $20-30 for one... If you're like me, try these... they are really easy to make and cost me a dollar. Oh, just why did it took me so long to get inspired....

ETA 5/5/07: I'm absolutely thrilled to learned that this tutorial has been featured on Craftzine. Thanks Natalie, and also Erin for forwarding me the link. Yay!

Materials:

• a piece of plastic placemat or any thick-ish plastics sheet. The piece of placemat that I used measured 11.5" x 17" x 0.7mm thick, and was just enough for a pair of women's small size.
• A piece of cardboard (a cereal box will do the job)
• A pair of sharp kitchen scissors
• Some papers, a pencil and a ruler

Step-by-step instructions:

1. With a pencil, draw out the desired shape of your sock blocker on a piece of paper. Cut and trace it on your cardboard.

ETA 7/5/07: A few people were asking about my sketch/template, so I've uploaded it here for your easy access. It has been shrunk to fit into a letter/A4 page, but you can always resize it by drawing or with a photocopier.



2. Cut and try your cardboard blocker on a pair of socks. Make any adjustments and redo Step 1-2 if necessary.

3. Now layout both your cardboard and paper version on your placemat/plastic sheet, and secure the cardboard version to the your placemat/plastic sheet with a double-sided tape.


4. Cut along slowly and carefully with a pair of sharp kitchen scissors. Repeat.

5. Smooth out the edges of your blocker to avoid possible snags, and ya, I told you it's really easy!

My Guilty Pleasures

First of all, thanks everyone for your kinds words to help justify my splurges. A couple of things in my non-knitting life has taken over… and I'm sorry for the lack of response over the past week… Well, here are some of the good stuffs I’ve received thus far for your viewing pleasure…


3 bags full of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in each of these colors… the lilac and gray are for Jasmine and I ended up getting one more pack in pale blue for myself, and I’m thinking Claude. By the way, the pale blue is not quite the same as the other two. The fiber content is the same but I definitely see/feel more angora in blue, and the lilac and gray says 78m/ball instead of 90m... Maybe they came from different mills, anyone has any idea?


And with thanks to Joy and her friend, I’m impressed with this beautiful lot of Debbie Bliss Soho/Maya in Peonies from Elann, this yarn is probably not the softest to touch but the colors are so intense and pretty and I just can’t wait to see how they knit up.

I actually did received more good stuffs but both the Rowan Spray from The Knitting Garden, and some RYC Soft Tweed from Cucumberpatch came in the wrong shade… so they will be returned… In fact, my guilty pleasures continued as I gobbled up even more Rowan goodies from here and here again. I knew I'll never survive those crazy prices so falling off the wagon seems inevitable…. (but that’s probably good until he sees the Webs order at our doorstep and/or the bursting drawers)… LOL… wahahaa…

Back to the knitting, I’m happy to show you some (new) knitting in progress… First, we have the EZ February Baby Sweater that was originally planned for February (of course), but only got start last week with the DB Cotton Angoras in Gray. I’m working on the body first and just a few inches passed the * wonky* garter yoke. All is going on well and as my Lady Eleanor is on a standstill due to the warming weather, I’m hoping to finish this little sweater before we move on to the next Project Spectrum sequence.


And here's a pair of Oak Ribbed Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks at works with some Cherry Hill Tree yarn, and I'm showing it off along with the DIY Sock Blocker that I made yesterday.

2006 Wrapup and New Initiatives

Well, I finally crossed my fingers and jumped over to the new blogger. The upgrade is, quite frankly, smoother and easier than I thought. I have also reorganized my sidebar for a cleaner look and made a finished object gallery at long last.

Going back to the knitting, let us begin with the wrapup for 2006. The final FO count is 22. Almost half are baby things. My fave is this pretty baby dress, and this one is undoubtfully the most worn item.

Below, are some recently finished baby socks.

On left is the Sweet Surprise socks knitted with yarn from my acid dye trial. The socks turned out pretty ok except for being slightly huge… but honestly I’ve never ripped a pair of socks that many times before even getting it right…. so I’ll bear with it. On upper right is a pair of Two-toned socks from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby, made with DB Baby Cashmerino in Lilac. The contrasting color is made by overdyeing 10g of the lilac with vermillion. On lower right is the warmest and best fitted pair, made with an Angora blend and reinforced with stretchy nylon.

The Works In Progress that are accompanying me into the New Year are a Cabled Sweater (shown above) and an out-of-sight, out-of-mind Apricot Jacket. And I have also cast on a new pair of socks for my bus trips, with some Regia Silk in Roma from Jimmy Beans... the colors didn’t worked out exactly how I've envisaged… and I finally turned to try the Jaywalker. What an ingenious pattern! These lusciously soft socks are now turning out well and growing at a good pace.

And here's a list of my future cast ons:

• Beaded Cardigan from Debbie Bliss Special Knits
• Cable and Teddy Bear Cardigan from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino Book
• Baby Smock Coat from the Debbie Bliss Simply Baby Book
• February Baby Sweater from EZ’s Knitter's Almanac
• Hourglass Sweater and Child's Placket Neck Pullover, both from Last Minute Knitted Gift
• Vintage Pink Cardigan from Interweave Spring 2005
• Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style
• And definitely more socks!!!!!

Unmatched softness

This winter, nothing will keep my feet as warm and comfy as these...

Yarn: 18% Cashmere, 12% Soybean Fiber, 70% Lambswool
Pattern: Priscilla's Dream Sock, available from the member section of Interweave Knits or in the IK Fall 2000
Notes: The wonderful softness of cashmere has definitely overshadowed the slightly slouchy cuff... so light and soft you have to feel it to believe!

A mini-vacation

With just 5 weeks away from Christmas, I thought I'd better focus on the cabled sweater during my mini-vacation to Bangkok... but instead I brought the wrong-sized needles and *almost* ended up with a knitless vacation... But well, we did had a great time in Bangkok. The weather is fine, water is warm... Thai food is scrumptious as always and the Thai massage is wonderful too...

And the most pleasant surprise is that I found myself a last minute knitting project... which is a ball of 4 ply cashmere and sets of sock needles in the front pouch of my luggage... I must have left it there since my last China trip... YAY, so I was gleefully knitting away ;o)

I'm sorry, friends!

Sorry for this belated post and even more sorry to start this post with a vent... I'm very fed up with Blogger... couldn't get any of my pics uploaded since Sunday when I first drafted this and after several more attempts I managed to get the 3 that you see below loaded ... then it just doesn't work for me anymore... I'm giving up, maybe I should move my blog somewhere else, any recommendations welcome. In the meantime, please use the hyperlink to view the last 2 pics on Flickr. (image uploaded finally). Anyway, I hope you'll like my recent FOs as much as I enjoyed making them.

First off, is the Simply French Navy Socks.

For: My wonderful domestic helper. Thanks Loida for your great help! I hope you'll enjoy the socks.

Using: 100g of Jaeger Wool Stretch in Pacific (discontinued) and a generic 54-stitch plain stockinette sock pattern with short-rows heels

This stretchy wool yarn does make great comfy socks. I bought a bag of them initially for a sweater but they are more like 3-ply than DK so I gave up ( a really wise decision... haha). For this pair of socks, I knitted them with double strand to make sure they are toasty enough for the chilly winter nights.

* * * * *

Next up is the Blue Sky Alpacas Eyelet Baby Blanket.

For: A friend's baby girl due this November

Using: About 13oz (380g) of Interlacement Alabama Cottons in Carbon Dioxide Pastels (102P).

Finished size: 29" square

I absolutely love this pattern. It is mindless to knit and yields lovely results. I like the yarn too, nice colors, perfect for our climate and they are very easy to take care of. However, the best surprise is -- inspired by the eyelets, I transformed the blanket into a poncho shawl for a toddler with a ribbon and just love it! I'll definitely be making more!

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And last is a pink baby dress that is almost done (except for the crochet flowers and leaves).

For: Jasmine, my 10-month old baby girl

Using: 150g of DK cottons in light pink.

This baby dress was originally from a Japanese knitting book. Siow Chin made one too, a couple of years ago. My pattern was kindly shared by a Chinese knitter, along with her idea of adding the decorative eyelet row on the skirt. My crochet flowers and leaves to embellish the neckline are missing simply because I don't know how to make them. Thanks to Siow Chin for teaching me to do the flowers at our Saturday meetup but making all the rest will certainly take me quite some time.

Her First Splash.....

Hi everyone! Despite the "Very Hot Weather Warning" in Hong Kong, we took Jasmine Big Wave Bay yesterday... She's almost 9 months old and her first time on the sandy beach. She got really curious and excited about the new sensations and didn't seem to have any fear at the seawater that came tumbling over. There's a very shallow area here that is just so perfect for babies. Now please see my sweetie in action...

Needless to say, there hasn't been much knitting around here, although my new Simply Navy Socks did come out for a WIP photo. The yarn is the Jaeger Wool Stretch in Pacific from an aborted sweater... Just a little stashbusting when the sock bug came around biting recently.

2005 FOs - for my baby Jasmine

The Baby Asymmetrical Cardigan designed by Kristi.
Pattern: http://home.pacbell.net/kapleo/blog/domesticspherepatterns.html
Size: 6-12 Months
Yarn: Even.ch from Italy. 70% Alpaca, 30% Wool. Worsted. 200 yards.
Started on: 3 September 2005. Completed on: 11 September 2005.

******

Matching Hat & Socks Sets
Patterns: The Rolled Brim Hat and Super Quick Baby Socks
both from www.knittingpatterncentral.com
Yarn: Same as above. About 120 yards.
Started on: 14 September 2005. Completed on: 19 September 2005.

*****

First Pair of Wool Longies
Pattern: Based on the doodle pants, but with short rows at the back http://www.littlebellesoakers.com/doodlepantspattern.html
Size: Small (0-6 Months)
Yarn: Space-dyed Acrylic Yarn (No Labels), DK weight. Approx 100g.
Started on: Mid-September 2005. Completed in about 3 days.

*****

A Wrap-over Cardigan
Pattern: My own design
Size: Newborn to 6 Months
Yarn: Patons Supersoft Sport Cotton. 50g of Cream and 50g of Yellow
Started in Mid-October 2005. Completed in about 10 days.

*****

Seamless Yoked Cardigan by Carole Barenys
Pattern: Available from http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/babysweyokecard.htm
Size: 3-6 Months
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Monbebe. Baby Weight. 560 yards. Yarn is worked double strand throughout.
Started in End-October 2005. Completed in 3 weeks.
This is one of my favorite pattern. Will be doing another one in a thicker yarn for the coming winter.

*****

Two Wool Soakers (Diaper Cover)
Pattern: http://community.livejournal.com/punk_knitters/110889.html
Size: Newborn
Yarn: Bliss Baby from Italy. 100% Virgin Lana. Light Worsted.
Hand-dyed with Kool-aid. About 200 yards total.
Started in Early-October 2005. Each one took about 2 days to make.

*****

Yet Another Pair of Longies - The Dreamy Pink Pants
Pattern: Based on the Doodle Pants again but with a crotch this time.
Size: 3-6 Months
Yarn: Forsell DK Pure New Wool. Hand-dyed in Kool-aid. 280 yards
Started in End-October 2005. Completed in about 4 days.

*****