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.

Knitting goals for 2007

I am still getting my grip in 2007, a little aimless wandering around especially to do with knitting. Although I have been working on Ariann on and off, it's not inspiring me at the moment.

I have been spinning a lot more and I finished off the batts from Crosspatch Creations.





Started on my own hand dyed roving but I wanted to take a seres of photoes on how the colour changes on the bobbin so I'll update that on a later date.

On the knitting front, I have been looking over my huge stash and books and starting to decide what I really want to achieve this year.

These are the goals I have come up with and in no particular order -

1. At least one lacy top from the numerous Japanese Mags I have
2. At least one cabled sweater
3. At least one colourwork or fair isle project
4. Knee high socks for my sis
5. At least one shawl from Simple Stunning collection from Sharon …
6. Try to finish the Forest Path Stole
7. At least 3 spin to knit projects
8. Finish at 3 WIP or recycle the yarn and finish the project
9. Start charity craft project
10. At least 1 lace doily or table cloth from my very beautiful Japanese lace book which apparently has some Kinzel patterns in it.

Making lists really work!! I was so fired up that I immediately worked up a swatch with my chosen yarn , Rowan Felted Tweed, for what will be my colorwork project.





Not bad for someone who hasn't "stranded" since 1991.

So I have been thinking at first of making a tunic or vest with just a colourwork border at the hem. But I had a look at Eunny's Deep V and decided that that will work for what I want. Plus it has an added challenge, "Steeks"!!!

Catching up

Oh I know it's been some time since I posted but there's been so much going on the last 3 weeks.

1. A whirlwind trip to Penang just before Christmas
2. Christmas dinner with DH's family at our place, and dinner with my family at my mum's on Boxing Day.
3. Internet interruptions after Boxing day (and still continuing to this day). It's almost impossible to upload anything to Photobucket and getting into Blogger has only recently stopped being a pain.
4. New Year Eve weekend in the East Coast
5. Greg starting Kindy after the New Year - which was thankfully almost painless. He's enjoying kindy and looks forward to it every day.
6. Back to a whole pile of work for me and DH.

I haven't done much knitting. In fact I am still a little shellshocked at the amount of stash I bought in December to compensate for the 9 months yarn diet. When I feel a little less in denial I will show you the amount of Rowan Calmer I got.

It's not so much what I ought but now trying to figure what to knit with it. This weekend will be devoted to looking through my numerous books and finally starting to mark out what yarns would suit what project.

I hope to have a more to update in the coming days - espcially now the 'net is back to almost normal.

Meanwhile I will leave you with a few scenes of Penang which I took during our fly by visit.



The entrance to Campbell Street.


The view from the most prestigious hotel in Penang, The Eastern and Oriental courtesy of a more fortunate friend. I wish I had the chance to stay there.

Traditional kebayas hanging from an armoire at the Peranakan Museum Penang.

From Batt to Bobbin

I was just finishing up this spin project last night when I remembered I had not taken a pic of the batt itself so here it is :-





From Batt to Bobbin to Yarn. The batt is from Crosspatch Creations that I found on ebay many moons ago. Have a look at more Crosspatch Creations batts at The Bellweather and drool over the lucious colours.

Crosspatch Creation batts are a mixture of many fibers ,wool as well as some silk noil and it produce a nubby type yarn with lots of interesting textures.


I used a flash in this pic to show the reflection of little silky bits.

I split each batt lengthwise into four and just pre drafted a little before spinning. The result is a two plied aran weight yarn - I haven't measure the wpi yet.

I'm thinking making this into a nice bag maybe the RYC Belt bag with some co-ordinating yarn.


And now for a quick look at the dye-pot.





More updates on that later.

Knit from your Stash 2007

I've not been kniting much in the last week - Christmas has snuck up on me again and the nights and weekends have been mostly taken by Christms shopping and placating an excited almost-4 year old who wants to buy the whole toy shop.

The next few nights will be taken up by Carolling. It was one of our informal agreements before DH and I got married that we would continue both our families' tradition of carolling so we joined our neighbourhood carollers for 3 nights of door to door singing the Chistmas blues away.

This little challenge on Wendy's blog caught my eye and it's really something I'd like to try. Those of you who have been to my house would know about my enormous stash.I have been quite good in last 3 months limiting the stash buying to one lot a month but I feel that I really need to use up what I have as well as finish up on some of the UFOs.

Here are the rules ( with a couple of comments from be in bold):-





Knit From Your Stash 2007: Guidelines for L-B and Wendy

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone? I do have enough sock yarn to last me a while so no worries there.

2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift. I truly have no yarn for many many things that could be gifts for someone else :)

2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project. Hooray!!

2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time. My personal pledge is that I will only use this Get out of Jail card in May.

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn. hint hint hint!!! Say does this mean we can swap for yarn too??

4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt. Thank God!! cos I am in a spinning mood lately. And spinning means - more yarn!


The downside is that - now I have the urge to buy lots and lots of yarn before 1st January. Ling will be coming down in January and has offered to bring back more Rowan if I want it! How can I resist??

Back in the spin

I was inspired by Eunny Jang's post on blocking her handspun shawl. See the yarn was spun out from merino tencel roving and it just so happened I had about 2 oz in my spinning stash of merino tencel roving I got about a year ago.

So I decided to spin it up to the thinnest I could and this is what I got




The colourway is called Beach and it's from Kendig Cottage. It spins like a dream, it's soft and shiny but not as tough to draft as silk. I know that there are many hand painted rovings on offer on the 'net but I seem to like all of Vicki's colourways and her service has always been top notch.




This is roughly fingering weight and it's not very even BUT I think it's the best I've spun so far.

Now I need another 4 oz to get a decent yardage of a shoulder scarf.

Must-have yarn in your stash

When I first started knitting years ago, as a student, I didn't have much disposable income - so I would only buy enough yarn for one project at a time. In fact I sometimes had to use a layby - where I buy about 4 balls to start off and got the LYS to keep the rest of the pack for me to get later.

Whne I started knitting again about 2 and half years ago, I fell victim to the joys of unlimited credit ( well to a point, even I have a limit to how much I can spend on yarn) and started to buy everything on sale in sight.

Lucky for me, stash is almost always recyclable and as the years go by, one gets a knack for what type of yarns one really likes and learn to be a bit more selective when buying yarn. That is not to say I am not tempted by a bargain or two every once in a while.

I've noticed lately I have some definite must-have in my stast. What's a must-have yarn? A must-have yarn is normally:

1. ... a yarn that is soo precious you must keep in your stash at all times.
2. ... you probably almost never use it and if you do, you have to buy a second lot to replace what you used as soon as you can.
3. ... you probably have about 2 bags of 10 for each colour that you buy or you will forever regret it becuase 1 bag of 10 may not be enough for the one project that would be perfect for the yarn.
4... you probably have it on one of your favourite searches on ebay.
5. If, God forbid, it is ever discontinued - you have the overwhelming urge to screw themortgage and start buying up as many bags you can.


My list of Must-have yarn includes:-

1. Rowan Calmer
2. Rowan All Seasons Cotton
3. Cascade 220
4. Jaggerspun Zephyr
5. Socks that Rock
6. Koigu


What's your must have yarn??

BTW I am selling some of my not-so must-have yarn to make room for the other.
Check my destash blog for details

And just so it won't be a pic- less blog - here's my latest spinning



Grape cormo 2-ply
roughly DK weight and slightly underplied



Yes I am spinning a little. That's a story I'll leave for another post.

Snapshots

I always hate modeling my knits - I never catch the hubby in time to take a pic in the morning rush for work and I am always not in the best attire during weekends. (read braless and messy hair).

And when I do find someone in the office to take a pic, this in itself is a nervewrecking experience cos there's always someone or other coming round to investigate the flash of the camera. There there are family, friends and collegues not really clear on the concept of "focus on the knit" and take a full mug shot as well as the messy desk in the background, or never bother to get you sit or stand properly to show off the knit.

Anyways I tried my best and here we go :-



The one in the mirror at home.


The one in the office with the misaligned neckline.


I am due for a destashing soon - some Rowan ASC as well as some DK yarns - I have to take the pics and should be able to upload tomorrow.

Bianca's minor surgery

I had thought the dropped stitches on Bianca meant major surgery and so I put it off until I had a bit more time to myself. It turned out to be not as bad as I thought.

I got myself a small tripod today and decided to test it out on some super close ups.





It's not a very good picture but if you kind of squint you can see the two dropped stitches hanging out.

Luckily it's close to the neckline and also on the last lace repeat - so I didn't have to undo any more stitches to reknit the section. I only used a crochet hook to hook up the stitches for a few rows.

Since I had already crocheted the scallop edging I coundn't hook the stitches all the way to the top. So I cheated...





I pulled the stitch to the wrong side and secured it with a few double crochets in to the purl ridges.

Do you think the operation is succesful?





For Sally's benefit, here's a picture of the neckline




And a better pic of the whole project.




As for my modeling Bianca - I have to wait for DH to come back from his outstation trip this weekend as I have to confess I haven't worked out the timer on the camera yet.