A ripple and a half

I have finished my first ripple baby blanket BUT I am not so happy with the colours. It’s a little dull and manly, don’t you think? The pattern is from the free ripple pattern on Project Linus except I casted on less repeats.



I casted on another one using the Soft Waves pattern from 200 Ripple patterns book this time using the boat load of Peaches and Crème I got from this seller on eBay.




If you want to make this type of “Stash” blanket and don’t have spare stash or just want to have different colours of the same yarn, he’s a good one to go. He has a 1 lb assortment which you can request to have part variegated part solid.

I haven’t just been crocheting ripples –there’s a little top down cardigan I hope to get done by Christmas. I am not ready to let you have a peek yet.

AND I have been surfing the Drops free pattern site. Finally got my Adobe upgraded which allows me to make pdf files and I have just been going crazy…

I made a few stash sales which gave me a wee bit of money to spend on new stash for Christmas and I have been debating and debating on what to buy. I finally placed an order for a couple of Zimmerman books and Drops Bomull-Lin – a cotton linen blend from Scandanavian knitting http://www.scandinavianknittingdesign.eu/ for a very reasonable price. I have never tried linen before and of course there’s a whole host of yummy linen summery knits on Drops that are just irresistible.





What knitty/crafty stash are you buying yourself for xmas?

Stack and Match

I'll let the photoes tell the story....

Babette Beginnings

This has been tough! Really tough - just deciding what colours goes on the next round is freaking me out a little. I have two weights of yarn, sport and DK and I have to balance it out - one round sport one round dk - or else the sizes of the squares don't match. Then I have to think of variegated and solids and how those go together as well. Hair-raising!!

And then how to group the squares into a panel - by colour groups or by contrast. I did draft it out on paper on the sizes but I quite randomised what colours go into a square. As I laid it out I realise there are distinct colour groups. So I decided to lay the squares out by the colours of the last round.




Sorry for the quality of the pic but I took it in a hurry last night to remind myself of how the squares are laid out.

If you kind of squint you might get a sense of the overall project. My sister in law was watching me and she asked if I was going to frame the panels - which made me think about this for a while but I decided, the Babette needs larger canvas to show off its glory.

BUT it is an idea for another time.

PS I took pics of the finished circular cardi but they didn't come out to my satisfaction so it will have to wait for another bright day and a proper model.

Half a Ripple

I'm keeling over from a ton of scraps!! I have scrap yarn, scrap paper, scrap fabric etc etc etc.

I used to love the idea of doing scrap quilts. My quilting days are long behind me but I have bags and bags of fabric scraps, big enough to cut 2" squares out of. My plan was to cut it all up and then sell the squares off in ebay... well when I have the time of course.


The thing about scrapping is that there is a serindipity in putting scraps of ugliness, transforming it into a myriad of different textures and colours. But of course, it doesn't always work that way. Sometime one has to control scrappiness with a colour or a tone. Sometimes it's a matter of having an eye for colours and a good knowledge of colours theory - contrast vs complimentary vs tone. Sometimes it's just a leap of faith.



For someone not very in touch with her inner artist, it's quite a challenge.



Anyways in light of my recent "baby" phase ( and plus one of my colleagues is going to deliver at any moment) I've decided that it's time to Ripple or to Babette.




Here's half a ripple. What do you think??

The Babette is waiting on me having the time to sort out all the odd balls and putting them in one place for easy access.

BTW here's how the baby surprise jacket looked after I put on the buttons. I was concerned about the small neck so I folded the tops over to make a flap and sewed it down.




As they say in Malaysia, "Cute or what!"

WAIL!!!!!!

What to do? What to do? Ran out of yarn on the last round of the second sleeve before the shell motifs....

The Yarn Diet is over!!

It's October and the Knit from your Stash/ Yarn Diet thingy I joined 9 months ago is officially over!! I was allowed 2 lapses and I did get two lots of yarn in 9 months and then.... just a few weeks ago.... all hell broke loose.

My October stash consisted of more Rowan Calmer - on a discount of course. And just last weekend I visited Malacca, my husband's hometown and went to this crafty wholesale place who had some limited amounts of yarn stashed away for a very reasonable price. I splurged on some Catania ( an 100 % cotton) to make a cardigan for my goddaughter, 3 balls of Millifille Fine for no reason other than it looked good and some variegated acrylic for trying out more baby projects. I do have "baby" on my mind for some reason.*

Not pictured is another 4 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (why? why? why?)that I got from someone's stash sale on Ravelry, which is enroute. Did I tell you I love this Ravelry feature??

*No I am not pregnant - just a lot of of collegues and friends are.

Surprise!

Just a short note to add my latest FO the Baby Surprise Jacket!

I really put on the express needles for this one - I was dying to see how it would turn out because truthfully, halfway through the pattern, I had no idea it was going to turn out.

Here it is unfolded.



Here's a quick look at the pick up sitches at the end. I fluffed my counted halfway to the project and had to make it up a bit as I go along so the pick up stitches don't exactly align to the decreases. Or in layman terms, the lines don't line up so well.



And here it is folded and yet unseamed



To tell you the truth, I didn't think it was going to be so small... I used DK weight yarn (Sirdar Sunggly Magic) and only about 250 yds and it's probably big enough for a 1-3 month old but no older.

Now it's back to the sleeves of my circular cardigan.

BTW there was a kniting meet up in the weekend but I saved the photoes on my home pc. You can find out what we did at Lyn's blog .

Back to the surface

Sorry for being MIA in the last 3 months. My internet connection at home as been non existent and it has been finally restored last week. Blogging from wokr is not longer possible in the new fast paced job that I am in now.

I have been knitting sporadically and for the last week have been frantically trying to get this off the needles so I can get started on the crochet edging




I love the yarn which is Buttefly Super Cotton - but - I don't know why the center looks like a volcano.

Anyone can tell me why??

I've also been make some slow progress on aEZ's Tomten jacket for my friends new baby!



This is going to be a cutie!

Oh and I have been spending way too much time on Ravelry!

WWKIP Day

8 KL Knitters met up last Saturday at Starbucks Bangsar Village 2.
A great time was had by ALL - and many of the Starbucks staff were quite intrigued by our knitting activities.So much so they invited us to join in their launch for their latest promotions. Those of us who were game enough got some free coffee and snacks for our pains.

I am not going to say much but let the pictures do the talking.

Aw, Ee Koon and Jackie. EK is holding her first project, a scarf. Aw brought her daughters as well and the youngest modeled her first lace knit. I didn't get a pic so you need to check it out at her blog.

Helen and Sally. Helen is a very talented lady who knits marvellous projects for her daughters. Sally of course brought her Forest Path Stole which convinced me I have to re-do mine with smaller needles.

Rain and Mira concentrating hard on knitting.

No pic of me cos the only one I took has me looking like I had too much coffee. There's no pic of Hanne too, who is a talented lace stitcher. I've been drooling over Hanne's site for a while now and I am so glad to finally meet her in person.

And that silly drop stitch tank - trust me to only find out I had divided the twosides unevenly just before finishing the SECOND side - it's been frogged and being redone at the moment.

It's my third day at my new job and it has been quite a trip out of the comfort zone. But I am sure I will in the swing of things soon. The biggest side effect is that I am so sleepy so early -so my late night crafting has to go out the door until I adjust myself.

Keep Calmer

Wanted to know what I am knitting with Calmer??







The Drop Stitch Tank from Fitted Knits.

Only one problem -I forgot to check the errata and now I have one garter stitch seam and one ribbed seam - ARRRRGGGHHH!

I am not ripping - it's only the seam- whose going to see eh??

And the other new stitching start



Prosperity from Examplers from the Heart.

Knitnut doesn't work here anymore....

It's been a littler hectic in Planet Knitnut in the last month or so.

I have been busy getting a new job and finishing up my current one. Not that I have anything against my current company - it's just time to move on. It's really difficult to leave the friends I've made here. After all I spend more time in the office with this bunch of colleagues then I do my own family.

But I took a look around at people my own age and I could see that I needed to get a better position and better pay for my experience and expertise. And much as I enjoy my work, this place is just not going to be able to provide that.

After I put in my resignation letter I still have 10 days of leave due to me, which I ma enjoying right now!! I can't tell you how good it is to sleep at night without thinking about work. Still I haven't made as much progress as I had planned with my crafty stuff.

All I can say is there has been 2 new starts and no FOs.. and I am really itching to have a FO NOW!!.

Anyway this is my last post on my beloved PC at work and I will have to get used to the notebook at home to update my blog.

I will just leave you with some glimpses of the stitching stuff I have been up to.





I received this lovely little pinkeep from Azie as part of the Quaker Pinkeep exchange organised at the Malaysian Stitchers Group. Lovely blend of brown and gold!!







And my latest WIP shot of Cirque after Page 2. It's off my rotation now - I've been knitting something gorgeous with Calmer... Will update once I take a pic in the next post.

Walking along the Forest Path Stole

It's not so much of a brisk walk more of leisurely stole a this moment. Both Sally and Regg are far ahead of me. And Sally had to wait for her yarn to arrive from the UK, too.

Anyway I promised a progress pic even though it's a little fiddly -I am being my usual fiddly self and using circs all the way without actually taking each section off on holders.




I think I might move on to dpns because of that humungous hole between panels which I hope to God will block out.

Here's a pic on one of the lace panels - the one with the nupps




And here's another...





I'm also hoping this yarn will bloom as it's pretty soft and spare at the moment. AND the stink of sewing machine oil - phew - it's not over powering but I have to wash my hands every couple of hours or so.

Ok I am hoping to finish Tier 2 by today and then get back to my other stitching stuff. How does one juggle all these crafts? Sometimes I think my brain is going to explode.

Quaker Pinkeep

My Quaker Pinkeep partner, Jean has received it so I am now able to show it off here for all to see.




A Pinkeep is very much an ornamental pin cushion but God Forbid if you take any of the pins out - the ribbon might fall off !! I actually was trying ruche the ribbon for the sides but gave it up as it looked like someone tried to do elaborate icing on a banana cake - the simplicity of a narrow ribbon and nice bow on top suited the design better.


It was part of an exchange I organised on the Malaysian Stitchers group and I think that everyone is very happy with their pinkeep - well those who have received theirs at least.

Another WIP pic for Jan Houtman's Buds of Life


That green motif is my absolute favourite.

I do have a knitting update to post but I need to take a decent photo first before I can show it off. Note to self - must get up earlier tomorrow to take pic.

It's been so hot in Malaysia the last few days that I have trouble sleeping - especially since we're staying over at my mum's in the aircon-less room. Hence it's been really hard to get up in the morning too. I barely have time to jump in the shower and put on my make-up and clothes (down to the bare minimal now cos it all melts off before lunchtime anyway) before I rush off to work.

Must get the tomtoms out to drum up a bit of rain. Anyone know a good rain dance??

New Look

So as you may have noticed - I upgraded my template to the new Blogger template system where I can plug in codes and play around with the elements of my page.

I also used the stretched format cos -I just want to show off bigger pictures. 300 px width just doesn't cut it anymore.

Just a quick update to show what I have been playing with lately.

Kind of playing with the Bead Soup idea but I am not liking the "knitting with wire" thing. I got to look for a more pliable type thread.

More updates after the weekend.

A new Spring

Over the Easter Break I managed to finish an old WIP from way back by just sucking up and knitting that mindless boring edging. Thank GOD for my new North and South DVD set and the Tudors.



Red Fichu from Baxter Knits
500yds of HandPainted yarn.com Laceweight Red Pagoda

It's not blocked yet, and I'll do that tonight now that the in-laws have gone home and I have a spare bed again. Unblocked the fichu is smaller than the picture on the chart but I think that it will block up fine.

I didn't quite like using this yarn because it was quite wiry but the finished knit especially at the garter stitch portion was a surprise. It's crunchy and spongy and a whole lot of texture that make my hand want to touch and fondle.

So with that FO I decided I want to start on a new lace project. Forget all the other WIPs in my cupboard - the huge stash need to be busted. Was chatting to Sally on GTalk and she mentioned the Forest Path Stole and I went (!!) . Of course! I've had this on my to-do list for ages!

Before you know it, Sally, Regg and I are discussing yarn and needles. I've chosen to use the laceweight cashmere from Colourmart in the colourway Aurora and because I can't find my 2.5mm needles, I used 2mm instead.




Think I need to go up to 2.5mm ? I kind of like the dense-ness of it but I am afraid the cashmere will bloom after washing.

Other than knitting - here's a peek at my stitching obsession at the moment.

Monotone - ous

You guessed it - it's going to be a stitch post.

I figured a non knit post is better than none at all and at least some crafty stuff is going down in my part of the world. I got my eightsome reel back from the framers and was surprised that he decided to put the hanging bits on a diagonal so that it hung like this



I'm not sure I like it..

In honour of this finish I had started 3 more stitching projects. Yes it looks like a whole new bout startitis with a whole new hoby but this time I WILL limit it to 3 projects at any one time. I also need to make one of the three a small and quick project in order for me keep feeling motivated.

This is my small-ish project - Quaker 6 mains a Mystery sampler collaboration from Gigi and Carinne of "Broder Ensemble" and "Le 498" and Jackye of "A Mon ami Pierre". It's no longer a mystery so anyone can go the link and download the whole sampler.




Quaker 6 mains on 40 ct white linen and HDF Turkey Red

The second start is Paradigm Lost from LongDogs Designs using custom dyed Dip & Twist cotton thread from my friends Niza and Leena.
I specified a blue greyish tones and Niza added a bit of green so that it looks marvelously warmer than the cool tones I was thinking of. A good choice against the beige 22ct hardganger fabric I have chosen don't you think?



There has been a bit of knitting actually and one project is close to the finish line so I hope to get pics up of that in the next post.

Topi

I thought I'd ease mysef back into knitting by doing something simple and fast. So when my colleague asked me to knit a chemo hat for her dad undergoing chemotherapy, I jumped at the chance to try out Topi.

It was a fast knit using the Rowan's All Season Cotton leftovers from Samus. Camouflage green is a nice manly colour and I just love the yarn.

It took my two nights but as I was binding off and looking at the picture I noticed something strange. The brim look very much shorter than in the picture.





Looked over the pattern again and I noticed that I did not read this line -

Work back and forth in stockinette st until brim measures 1 inch, ending with a WS row.

just before the short rowing.

So I have to go back and finish this thing tonight.

The pattern is so easy and fast, I'm planning another one in girly pink. Hopefully this will ease me in to start back on my other WIPs.

Stitching Happy Dance

There are a few differences in crafter's dialect - knitters go FO!! and stitchers go Happy Dance!! - but the feeling is still the same.






Eightsome Reel from Papillon Creations. I used mostly the recommended GAST plus a few substitutes of my own. Stitched 2 strands over 2 on 28 ct Potato Cloth



I started out as a knitnut, then I became a quiltnut and a stitchnut and then a knitnut again. These days quilting has fallen by the way side but stiching is suddenly experiencing a revival. Good thing stitching stash is not as expensive as knitting stash.

There are few more samplers in my Stash that needs to be stitched but I might go back to knitting for the rest of the week. We'll see how it goes.

Happy Chinese New Year

I'd just like to leave you with this great TV ad - brings tears to my eyes everytime.

Sneaking up on me

Time is I mean!!

It's almost Chinese New Year again and the house is in a mess. So is the stash. I have to get the Calmer into the cupboard but that means I need to take some yarn out. Yes, yarn that has been there and I have no idea what to do with has to come out. Odd balls have to come out. To be frogged projects has to come out.

Which mean there's going to be a sale here very soon.

Knitting slump

I am in a knitting slump for one very simple reason - have an FO that makes me look huge - don't know if I can get up the courage to post the most unflattering picture of it here.

All I can say is - no more boatnecks for me .

While I gather up my courage - I leave you with a little bit of my other crafty pursuits


Eightsome Reel from Papillon Designs


Celtic Bookmark

Old Friends

Last saturday I met a new friend, Ling who was visiting from London. It's always a little awkward to explain this to the family, "I'm off on an internet date with a knitter from London," and leave them wondering why on earth I was meeting strange people I have never met before just because they knit.

In truth , I am always a bit apprehensive about meeting new people. I am a bit shy and I never assume that I am going to get along with every knitter I meet. There's bound to be just that one bad apple that will wind up spoiling the whole bunch. Thankfully Ling was very very sweet and I felt quite comforted. She was almost like an old friend.

She brought my last stash purchase of the year 2006, a bag of Rowan Calmer in Blush. I now have total of 15 balls in this colourway (although in 2 colour lots). Can you imagine?? I am rich in Calmer. It's all I can do just to stop myself from just diving into the pile.

She also gave a gift - a skein of HipKnits 100% wool (I think it's sock yarn).





Thanks Ling!!!

The funny thing is Jackie joined us a little later and both she and Ling were puzzling out why they looked so familiar. After a little backtracking and family history, they discovered that they were neighbours when they were in school! How freaky is that! They Were old friend after all.

Speaking of old friends - I dragged out this UFO and finally finished it.





Well it still needs the edging around the neck and bottom and a very stern blocking. I've been playing around with crochet edgings and settled a very simple net.





More pics once I am done with the edging.