Harvest Festival

Polly blogged about the Harvest Moon Festival and I said I'd look for a pic to place in my blog. So here's one-



Some years ago, the company I work for published a small information site on the Harvest Moon festival so feel free to surf around the site for more information on the festival and how it is celebrated in Malaysia. For some reason it is known as the Mid Autumn Festival here, which is weird considering we have no seasons in Malaysia.
Mid Autumn Festival

Every year the mooncakes come in all sorts of packaging, boxs or tins and the packaging is sometimes more popular than the contents.
Have a look at my favourite for this year -

And when you open it, here's where the mooncake is placed -

Enjoy!

Charm Yarn for sale

I tried to swatch the charm yarn for the lacy ladder top ( see previous post) but I realised that even if I could bear to knit a whole top with this scratchy yarn,. I don't think I would want to wear it. This yarn is probably not suitable for apparel but I can see that it would be really nice in a fluffy type scarf or bag as a glitsy accent. Or even with larger needles.

So - I am putting it up for sale. I only need 2 for a scarf, leaving 6 balls for sale.
Check out my destashing page more the detailed info.

Japanese pattern book find

I was browsing in a not-so-LYS on Friday, ( she only deals with Sirdar yarn and nothing else so I don't go there very often) when I happened to see this book in her pile of 20 year old charts.


I grabbed because

1. It had lots of light lacy pullovers



2. It had a number of pullovers made of ladder yarn



I am no expert in reading Japanese patterns but I noticed the ladder yarn sweater had a gauge of 22st to 28 rows for 10 cms - that's like double knit.? I was under the impression that ladder yarn was knitted on larger needles.
I wonder if my stash of charm yarn will do instead of ladder yarn. I have to do a swatch tonight to see.

Oh and while I was there I got some 2.5mm dpns and 3 mm needles, so that I shall be ready once I have decided if I want to start on socks first or on a lacy scarf with my cotton colori sock it to me sock yarn .

It's Fantastic!

Before I go any further - here's the first look of Ioan Gruffudd as Mr Fantastic


Read the full article plus pics of the other members of Fantastic Four, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and The Thing (Michael Chiklis). I must say Jessica Alba looks very 'de-lish' as a blonde.
Way to go Ioan!!!

Ok Back to knitting - The tunic-along button is up and more information can be found at Consomme's. This is my first Knit- a-long and I am not sure how to proceed so do contact Consomme and she'll set you on the right path.

Pattern: No. 42 Tunic with Lace Pattern
Source: Rebecca #27
Recommended Yarn: GGH Safari
Gauge (10cm square): 20sts x 30rows
Completion Date: no time limit!

This is my progress so far

Such a nice Tweedy violet. The yarn is not the smoothest but I love the finish as the tweed does forgive a lot of imperfection.

Consomme showed how to knit continental style and I have been alternating between two as I do find my hands getting very tired after a while knitting english. Continental seems to be less taxing so I am determined to keep at it until I come up to a reasonable speed.

We had a great SnB at Starbucks. It was a quiet night so we had a nice cosy corner with two big comfy armchairs. A little 5 year old girl kept coming up to watch us but she ran away when Consomme asked if she wanted to learn.

Next week we are contemplating changing locations so Doreen, another KL knitter can join us. AND getting her to join our Tunic along.

SnB Kuala Lumpur is about to be born!

I promised pics of my stash purchases this month.



From top left - DiVe Cotton in Charcoal, Unusual Yarns blend, and Jaeger Trinity in Violet.

I met up with Consomme and poured over her Rebecca magazine to see if any of the yarns would suit the Apricot Jacket. Alas I need an aran or worsted weight yarn instead of double knit. So I went trawling along the web today to look for a good deal on either Rowan's All Seasons Cotton or GGH Java. Alternatively Elann has Jo Sharps Desert Cotton which seems to be the right weight but I didn't like the colours in stock. In any case I must restrain myself from buying anything until payday end of the month.


Anyway Consomme and I have decided to start up a SnB with just us two every Thursday and we're going to knit in our local Starbucks. Who knows we might garner some more knitting enthusiasts that way. We've decided to start a knit-a-long ( yes with just us two, as well) - to knit the Lacy Tunic from the same Rebecca magazine.


I'll be using the Jaeger Trinity for this AND (being ambitious here) we're going to shorten the tunic at least 20 cm. I'm only 5 feet and the 80 cm length stated in the pattern would reach to below my knees.

The question is - do we start off with the same number of cast on stitches and figure out the rate of decrease to get to the same number of stitches in the pattern after the decreases or do we figure out the number of stitches from where we want to start and continue to do the decreases in the same rate as stated in the pattern?

So wish us luck while we try to figure out the pattern and the dimensions and hope to God we don't botch things up.

I've finished both the back and front of the Shapely Tank. I had to frog the arm holes decrease once cos it didn't match the front. Let this be a lesson - Never watch the Malaysian Idol results show while knitting.

Once it's blocked I'll post a pic. Silly me, I didn't realise that I could do the sleeves as well and make it a Shapely T. So will be casting on for the sleeves tonight.

Stash and Free yarn ( got you to look, didn't I?)

I haven't my camera with me and have been away from the 'puter for two days so here's a quick update on what's been happening knit wise.

I finally met Consomme on Friday by chance. Well I knew she was going to our local LYS so I dropped in at about 8.00 pm just to see if she was still there... and she was! Brenda - the owner, has been a sort of go-between for the previous weeks and was quite please with herself that we finally got together in the store at the same time. I got to see her project with the lovely Online yarn - oohhhh subtle variagation, chunky with a brush of mohair. It's going to turn out real nice, Consomme.

We chatted about Noro and the difficulty in bringing it in to Malaysia - Brenda would have to make a very expensive order, and she isn't so sure she can distribute the stock profitably. I should have told her there'd be tons of knitters in the US who would gladly take it off her hands if the price was good enough. I might do that the next time I am there.

There's nothing like stashing up with another knitter. Consomme persuaded me (didn't take much effort!) to start a project for my 18 month old son. So I got some Patons Bumblebee to make a little cardigan after I've finished with the Shapely Tank.

We're making plans for a more regular meet up and on the prowl for other like-minded knitters in the vicinity.

I finished the front of the shapely tank and am starting the decreases for the back.

The Jaeger Trinity arrived from Polly at the same time as the DiVe Cotton from Elann. Now my yarn stash is beginning to look respectable. I can't decide which to use for the Apricot Jacket from Rebecca. I love that pattern but I am not sure if it would suit my body shape being more on ...errr.. on the fluffy side. The Trinity is a nice violet and the DiVe cotton is charcoal grey. I fancy the Apricot Jacket would look divine in both colours --- decision... decisions!

Today my mum flew off to New Zealand to visit my sister who has strict instructions to stash up for me. What's even better is that my sis also asked if I could knit her some sweaters if she got all the yarn for me. She used to knit too, but has since given up because of her bad back.

I think there's nothing better to knit stuff and fondle stash without having paying for the yarn, don't you?
Will be posting pics of the new stash and the Shapely Tank progress when I get my camera back from my sister-in-law.

More on Ioan Gruffudd

I have had a couple of comments on Ioan Gruffudd so I thouht I'd share a little bit more about him. For those who are not familiar with British Television, you may have seen him as Lancelot in the movie King Arthur.


He plays the dashing devilish second in command to Clive Owen's Arthur, foremost of his band of Sarmatian knights.

The movie was so-so but Ioan was excellent. He's not as serious as in Hornblower, has a wicked little glint in his eyes and is an absolute charmer.

Now for the obligatory "knit" blah - this is what I have been staring at for the last 1 hour.

Now excuse me while I go wipe the drool off my keyboard.

Lust, desire, envy - and that's just about Yarn

That's it!
I have got to stop scouring eBay for yarn deals and blogs for swaps.
I am consumed by this obsession for self striping / variegated/ jewel coloured yarn like Noro, Cherry Tree Hill, and Koigu. I have spent too much money, if I keep on going my baby boy's not going to get any milk for six months!

I've even resorted to de-stashing some of my scarf yarn cos you know, there's only one or two scarves with the same yarn without just getting really sick of it.

Currently, I have 2 packs of 10 balls coming from ebay - and... *deep breath*.. 1 pack of DiVe Cotton from Elann and one pack of Jaeger Trinity from Polly at All Tangled Up.

You'd think this is enough for one month right?
I've just manage to convince myself I can wait till next month to get the Noro Silk Garden. But I have just heard ...... the company I work for has announce a little bonus this month!!
*faint* - I must resist buying more yarn!!

So help me please!

----------------------------------------

Oooh! one of the ebay yarn has arrived and I must say it's Unusual, alright

Take a look :-

I am not sure what to make of it. The auction description said that it was a mix of cotton and silk fibers and I was a little surprised to see that it was stranded together and not spun.

Here's a closer look -


OK so I have a few tanks lined up for this. I think I will go with a simple v-neck cap sleeves ribbed tank that I saw in a Keidotama ( Japanese) Magazine. If I can figure out the japanese chart pattern first. But first to swatch.

Frogging the Tank

I decided to frog the shapely tank and start again with a size 38.
Happily knitting along to "Malaysian Idol" and starting the decrease for the waist when I realise I had cast on 10 less stitches.

So I had frog the whole thing and start again.
A friend lent me his colletion of "Hornblower" DVDs and I must say it was a better accompaniment to my knitting.

And because I do like Ioan Gruffudd so much, I'll invite you to check this wonderful site "Horny!" dedicated to this wonderful series of men, their honour and their uniforms.

I'm Tanked Up

OK! Slap me, I jumped on the Tank bandwagon.
See I don't wear tanks although I often wish I could. I have this thing about my upper arms, can't bear to see them exposed. BUT I do wear them under jackets or shirts. AND I have to give myself an excuse to go on a diet.
The other motivating factor being I am sooo sick of doing just scarves!! For the moment anyway.
So I have decided to do a tank. And I chose to do the Shapely Tank.

The idea of short rows appealed to me, since I do not like wearing stuff that is totally square and make my already disapparing waist even more invisible.

Here's my progress after 2 weeks.


After reading the Shapely tank knit-a-long blog I am wondering if this tank will be too big. I measured for 44" which gives me about 1 inch of room but apparently one should actually measure from the top of the breasts - ie - where your arm holes begin - to get the right measurement. Dare I rip it out and start on a smaller size?

Yarn is a lovely garnet red from Adriafil Cotone Povero.

More on Scarves

Just wanted to show off my newest finished scarf.
I really need to get an album somewhere.

Yarn is Paton's High Society that I got from eBay and Katia Gatsby. It's not as stiff as it looks - it's actually very soft and fluffy.

I love Katia Gatsby and will do up a project once I have saved enough
or find a good deal on ebay.

How much do you think this scarf would go for in ebay?

Here's a more detailed look at the scarf -

Here's a variegated short slotted scarf that's going to my mum.I have decided not to fringe it. Yarn is Mark & Kittens Toscana Space. I'm not very happy with this ribbon yarn, it's very hard to work with.

This fun scarf is still on the needles, I'm striping an eyelash and a charm yarn instead of knittng them together. I wanted a lightweight skinny and loooooong scarf for summer wear suitable for our climate.
It's light and lovely and the colours are too cute

Nuts about Noro - The Continuing Saga

Wool Needlework wanted to charge me $35 in postage which is ridiculous. I have had stuff couriered to me at that price. I am afraid I have to forgot the Noro until I can find someone coming back from the US or UK to bring the stuff back to me.

Sob!! Sob!!

Shopping FAQ by Tropical Knitter

Just a short note today about some OYS shipping terms -

Shopping FAQ by Tropical Knitter for knitting needles, accessories and classes: "Countries That Are Restricted From All Shipments:
Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Cuba, Czeck Republic, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela, Vietnam, Vietnam and Yugoslavia. This list is not exhaustive."

Firstly this site apparently specialises in yarn suitable for a tropical climate. As you can see most of the countries they do NOT ship to are tropical countries, including Malaysia. Secondly and most ironic thing is, the distance between Singapore to Malaysia is errmmm about 8 kms ie the length of the causeway between our two countries.

Thanks Tropical Knitter - you're not gonna get any of my business.