crochetgurl

FO: Gathered Pullover II

2010-06-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

* Presenting Gathered Pullover II!

* Back

* Baby cable rib detailing on sleeves

* Cabled detail

I know, I know, I'm a very bad girl. This sweater was finished about 2.5 months ago, but I never seemed to get around to blogging about it although it is up on Ravelry. I haven't been knitting as feverishly as usual lately, although I'm merely hours away from finishing Printed Silk Cardigan. Right now, I'm plugging on the buttonband and then comes the sewing. Ugh. My goal is to finish it by 7/2, so hopefully it should be up by next month. I also have another Anthro-inspired Scarflet on the needles for my mom which should debut soon. :-)

Pattern: Gathered Pullover

Yarn: Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette in Pebble

Needles: US 5 and US 7

Amount: 6 balls

Mods: I mainly used Tweedy's mods on Ravelry and added some of my own.

Cast on for the 36.25” size, but decreased down to 32” for bust
Instead of a rolled hem, I did 2 repeats of the Baby Cable Rib from Backward Cabled Pullover
Added waist shaping
Longer body
Short rows and 3 needle bind-off for shoulders

Worked another inch before splitting fronts and back
Left 5 extra stitches at each shoulder to make the V less wide
Followed XS directions for the sleeves and gradually switched to S directions for the upper arms
Did one repeat of the Baby Cable Rib for the neckline in the round

FO: Anthro-Inspired scarflets & Anthropologie-Inspired Bobble Cable Ascot

2010-04-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

* First scarflet, unblocked. Darn it, I forgot to get my photographer to take an official FO pic last week!

* Second scarflet, fully blocked, atop a Gathered Pullover

Pattern: Anthro-Inspired Scarflet by Kim Seio

Yarn: Uruguay Chunky in colorways Sage and Red

Needles: US 8

Amount: ~ 150 yds

Mods: None for the green, added an extra inch or two in length for the red, ultimately I prefer the green scarflet's length

I love looking at Anthropologie sweaters and cardigans, but I know I will never afford that kind of stuff unless I win the lotto one day. And so I happened to stumble upon this scarflet on Ravelry that could afford me the Anthro look without the Anthro price. I finished this in mid January, but I'm not sure why it took me this long to blog about...

I love this yarn deeply, and I'm sad that it has been discontinued. The green was left over from my first Shalom Cardigan, and I ended up buying the red from a fellow Raveler.

And here is Anthropologie-Inspired Bobble Cable Ascot. Try saying that three times fast!

* Unblocked at night...

Pattern: Anthropologie-Inspired Bobble Cable Ascot by Kayla K's Thrifty Ways
Yarn: Chuckanut Bay Yarns 10 Ply in colorway Orange Red
Needles: US 10
Amount: ~ 170 yds
Mods: None

I love how similar this looks to the actual Anthropologie ascot seen here. I think Anthropologie even made one in this color too! It was a fun knit, but it came out a bit loose and big for me. :-( Most likely, I won't be wearing this out that much since the looseness really bothers me. If I ever make it again, I'll be sure to decrease the length so that it will fit more snugly around my neck.

FO: Man Paws

2010-04-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Man Paws by The Running Biology of a Knitter

Yarn: Oh gosh, where to start? Patons Classic Merino Wool in brown, Ella Rae Classic in cinnamon heather, Cascade 220 in burgundy, and Dream in Color Classy in Black Parade.

Needles: US 4

Amount: ~ 150 yds

Mods: None really, maybe except for increasing the cuff length a bit

When I saw this pattern come out, I was drawn by the simplistic, manliness of it - something that I think my dad would appreciate. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough worsted weight wool in a manly color, therefore I had to resort to using up my bits and ends. Yay for stashbusting though! And my dad has since received this in the mail and loves the multi-colored aspect. He also seems geniunely surprised that I would "know his hand size". :-P He has pretty big hands, and at first I was a bit worried they wouldn't fit. But they were loose on me which was a good sign.

FO: Ishbel (IV) for Mom

2010-04-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Eek! It's been so long since I updated. But I assure you there has been knitting going on. It's just so much harder now that my photographer is off at grad school to get FO pics. He always takes such care and is so patient with me knowing how much I care about getting the right pics to capture my FOs.

Starting the FO parade will be Ishbel IV. This went to my Mom for Chinese New Year's which was coincidentally also Valentine's Day this year.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in colorway Pearl Ten
Needles: US 6
Amount: ~ 1 ball with a little left over
Mods: Made a size medium by doing large stockinette and small lace

Happenings

2010-02-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

I feel like I haven't updated in a while, although there is still knitting going on! I finished another Ishbel for my mom the other day, and I have a couple scarflets laying around that still need to be photographed. I even forgot to post one of them on Ravelry, which is unheard of for me! :-O

* Ishbel waiting to dry

In the meantime, look at what I started two nights ago...

I really wanted to make my Dad solid-colored, fingerless gloves, but I couldn't find enough random (read: not earmarked for sweaters/shawls) manly-colored wool lying around, hence the stripes. I really hope I don't run out of yarn. In a "doh!" type of moment, I realized that I might not have enough brown yarn to do the cuff ribbing for the second glove. Most likely, I will have to supplement with some black and pray it will be taken for a "design element". Knowing my Dad, he probably won't mind since he wears everything I make him. :-D I'm procrastinating pretty badly on the Gathered Pullover 2. :-( I've reached the part where I need to short row the shoulders, and I guess I'm too lazy to pull out my previous notes and get it over with. It makes me a bit sad that I am not knitting and producing FOs as quickly as I used to be. Perhaps, all this shawl knitting has slowed my pace down?

Holiday FOs

2010-01-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in colorway Black Parade

Needles: US 5 and 7

Amount: less than 1 ball

Mods: None

I whipped this up for myself before heading north for my vacation. It came in handy too as it was pretty cold at home. The only thing I didn't like was that the yarn bled onto my needles, turning them black, before I even washed the FO! It's a beautiful yarn, but I don't think I will ever want to use it again. I always get sad when my bamboo needles get stained.

* Can you spot Audrey in the background?

* Miles of lace

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in colorway Polar Morn

Needles: US 6

Amount: ~ 360 yards

Mods: None

This was made with the same yarn and size (small) as my first Ishbel, but somehow it came out bigger, especially the lace section. When I made the pink Ishbel for my Mom's Christmas gift, I had to sacrifice my US 6 circulars due to knitting too tightly and the stitches not being able to slip over the join where the needles meet the plastic. Ever since that experience, I have been paranoid about knitting more loosely and so I most likely overcompensated by knitting too loosely on this one. I think it actually "blooms" more with the open lace. Also, my bind-off was a bit too tight as I was unable to create much of the "points" with my blocking pins. But I still love this Ishbel as I feel like it gives off a different look/vibe than the first one. Isn't it strange that knitting can rarely be identical even when using the same materials as before?

In other knitting news, I am still chugging along on my second Gathered Pullover. I also bought more Malabrigo Lace last week from Little Knits when they finally had some shipments in of the darker shades such as Paris Night and Pearl Ten. I've never seen those colorways in person, but I really want to make my mom a dark-colored Ishbel that could go well with more of her outfits. I really should diversify my shawl knitting (maybe go for that infamous Swallowtail), but I can't seem to stop knitting Ishbels. :-D The thing I love most about Ishbel is the fact that it's wider than it is deep, making it easier to wear as a scarf. Can anybody recommend similar shawl patterns with that feature?

FO: Gathered Pullover

2009-12-19T22:39:00.000-08:00

* Gathered Pullover (the sleeves came out a bit long so I had to roll them :-( )

* Cables!

* Gathered Pullover trying to fit in with the scholarly statues at Stanford

* Another front view

* Climbing the stairs to a Stanford library

Pattern: Gathered Pullover by Hana Jason
Yarn: Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette in Quince
Needles: US 5 and 7
Amount: 6 balls
Mods: I mainly used Tweedy’s modifications on Ravelry and added some of my own.

Cast on for the 36.25” size, but decreased down to 32” for bust
Instead of a rolled hem, I did 2 repeats of the Baby Cable Rib from Backward Cabled Pullover
Added waist shaping
Longer body
Short rows and 3 needle bind-off for shoulders
Worked another inch before splitting fronts and back
Left 5 extra stitches at each shoulder to make the V less wide
Followed XS directions for the sleeves and gradually switched to S directions for the upper arms
Did one repeat of the Baby Cable Rib for the neckline in the round

I love this sweater! The yarn is perfect, and the cables in the middle pull in perfectly. This sweater also marked a milestone for me as this is the first project that I learned how to sew in sleeves. And it only took me 2 years to get over this fear! Mattress stitch, here I come!

I love it so much that I already started a second one with the same yarn but in a different color. It only occurred to me the other day that I tend to knit lots of multiples of the same sweater.

I am currently on vacation now which explains the different backgrounds for my FO pictures. They were taken at Stanford where my bf/photographer is currently studying. I love how their buildings have such history. Maybe I'll post more scenic pics when I get home.

Christmas FO's!

2009-11-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

And the FO parade continues...

First up, we have an Ishbel for my Mom. (I don't even know what to make my Dad yet!)

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Colorway Pink Frost
Needles: US 6
Amount: ~ 395 yards
Mods: I decided to go for a medium-sized version with large stockinette and small lace.

* I haz wings

And a thick scarf for my bf's father...

Pattern: Shale Pleated Scarf by Kristen Hipsky

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Colorway Woodland Mix

Needles: US 9

Amount: 2 balls exactly

Mods: None

* Shale close-up

And finally a lace scarf for my bf's mother...

Pattern: Falling Water by Bonnie Sennott

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Lace in Colorway 8127

Needles: US 5

Amount: ~ 280 yards

Mods: None

FO: Shalom Cardigan III

2009-11-24T17:37:00.000-08:00

No, you're not going blind. There really is another Shalom Cardigan 3.0!

* Pretending to be a Macy's model

* Yoke detail

* Close-up of the buttons

Pattern: Shalom Cardigan by Involving the Senses
Yarn: Cascade Eco+ Wool in Colorway 8450
Needles: US 9 for sleeves, US 10.5 for body
Amount: 1 ball (I had literally less than a yard left after binding off!)
Mods: Shortened yoke ribbing by 2 rows each, added 11 rows for back length, picked up 52 sts around the sleeves on smaller needles and did 10 rows of garter stitch, lengthened the front, omitted waist shaping, added 2 extra buttons

After finishing Shalom Cardigan II, I was a bit disappointed. First, I had always envisioned myself in a bright red, Shalom and also I was sad that Shalom 2.0 was a bit snug. To counter, Shalom 3.0 was knitted on larger needles (same size as Shalom 1.0) and I reverted back to no waist shaping. Ultimately, it came out slightly looser than I wanted, but I still like it. A good thing is that the armholes came out looser than the other two versions, so it fits well around there too. Hehe. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist. It seems like none of them will ever compare to Shalom 1.0.

As for the buttons, there is a story behind that. I've been in love with that button (it's called the Hamburg button) since I saw them in Joann's months and months ago. However, they're sold in packs of 2 and they never had more than 2 buttons in stock. Finally, I buckled down and decided to buy them online. Well, yesterday, when my photographer was down in SD (reason why I suddenly have a ton of FO pics), we went to Joann's and I found 6 buttons in stock and bought them all. I'm really thrilled since I was able to use a 40% off one item coupon too. :-D

This sweater sets the record for the fastest sweater I've ever knit. It only took me 4 days from start to finish. Of course, this might be because I was still sick/recovering from sickness. So the first day, I actually spent morning until night knitting versus the couple hours I usually spend per evening knitting. I plan to bring it home and wear it around Christmas when I visit my parents next month. In other knitting news, I decided to frog Henley Perfected. I think I got too lost with all the mods I made, and I knew a project that has been sitting around for 2 months now will probably never be picked up again. So I frogged and I have started Gathered Pullover with the yarn. Hopefully, this one will turn out better. I've also started another small, Ishbel with the Malabrigo Lace I bought a couple weeks ago in the Polar Morn colorway. I'm beginning to think Ishbel will make for great plane/travel knitting next month now that I've mastered the pattern, and it's small and portable. Is it very bad of me that I tend to cast on for projects sometimes as soon as I bind off a previous project? :-D

FO: Shalom Cardigan II

2009-11-22T22:45:00.000-08:00

* Introducing Shalom 2.0

* Buttons that my bf helped me pick out. This was a couple months before I bought the yarn, so it actually worked out well.

* Tight back. :-(

Pattern: Shalom Cardigan by Involving the Senses

Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool in Colorway 8087

Needles: US 10 for body, US 9 for sleeves

Amount: 1 ball

Mods: Shortened yoke ribbing by 2 rows each, added 10 rows for back length, picked up 50 sts around sleeves on smaller needles to do 10 rows of garter stitch, lengthened the front by 14 rows

I loved my first Shalom Cardigan so much that I decided to make a second one. I'm not sure if I love this one as much though. The difference is that I used smaller needles than the first, and I actually included the waist shaping in the pattern. (First one had no waist shaping.) So it came out a bit tighter and smaller, and I feel a bit self-conscious about how the back looks. But I love the natural wool color and am thrilled it's the actual color of a real, live sheep. :-D It only took one ball of Eco Wool, so it was a pretty good deal finance-wise.

Christmas WIPs and stash enhancement

2009-11-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that I don't seem to have as many sweater FOs lately, and that is because I've been crazy busy knitting up Christmas presents. I hate how the season tends to creep up on me every year, even though I tell myself I will start early in order to get all my gift knitting done. I did finish a second Shalom Cardigan lately, but I'll get FO pics for that in 2 weeks when my photographer/bf comes to visit.

This is technically a FO, but I don't have any good, official pictures yet. It is the Falling Water Lace Scarf knitted in Misti Alpaca Lace. I'm a little disappointed in that it looks too "holey". I thought it would come out more solid like the picture in the pattern. I blocked it to be 6 inches wide, but it ended up being more around 5 inches. Should I re-block to make it narrower and perhaps scrunch it together more to reduce the holes? Hopefully, my bf's mother will still like it.

* So hard to capture the detail...:-(

* A quick picture of what it looked like hot off the needles, unblocked. This manages to capture the true color of the yarn.

I started this over last weekend for my bf's father. I always find it really hard to knit something for a man, especially somebody who isn't my dad who loves anything I knit him. Inspiration didn't strike until about a week or two ago when WEBS sent me their usual newsletter with a free pattern called the Shale Pleated Scarf. It looked simple enough to function as a no-nonsense, men's scarf so I quickly cast on and it's already over 50% completed. Thicker yarn and larger needles is making it fly by so much quicker than the Falling Water Lace Scarf. I thought about using Malabrigo, but I couldn't find manly-enough colors at the LYS, and I ended up breaking into my Ultra Alpaca stash. The yarn was supposed to be reserved for a sweater, but I figure if I've had it for over a year and it still hasn't turned into a sweater yet, I might as well break it down into gift knits.

And lastly, I went to The Needlecraft Cottage in Pacific Beach last Sunday. I love the fact that they're the only LYS around here that is open on Sundays. The owner is also much friendlier and more approachable than the owner at Knitting in La Jolla. Plus, they have a heavy-duty ball winder and swift and I was so happy she helped me set up my skeins for winding. I definitely didn't want to run into my first, 5+ hours winding Malabrigo Lace experience again. Knitting in La Jolla doesn't wind yarn for you. Anyway, I haven't been there in a year since it takes me about 50 minutes by bus, and I ended up walking out with 3 balls of Malabrigo Lace (one in Polar Morn, and two in Pink Frost). The owner gave me a great discount on the 2 pink skeins that even beats the prices online because she's had that yarn there for a year. Somehow, lace yarn doesn't sell very well in her store. I plan to make my mom an Ishbel for Christmas from one of the pink skeins, and I definitely am craving an Ishbel for myself with the grey skein. However, it might literally be next year before I'll get a chance to make myself an Ishbel. I also ended up ordering a skein of red, Cascade Eco Wool that I'll pick up hopefully by the weekend. That will go towards my third Shalom Cardigan. I never thought I would make 3 sweaters from one pattern, but I guess I love my Shaloms. :-P

FO: Guy Next Door Cowl

2009-10-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

* Side

* Front

* Front 2

Pattern: Guy Next Door Cowl
Yarn: Ella Rae Classic in Colorway 33

Needles: US 8

It seems like it's been forever since I've had a FO! I know I certainly haven't been knitting as quickly as I used to, but I've been so busy lately. However, I did finish a little gift today for my Dad's birthday next week. The pattern is pretty easy, and yet not boring. I loved that I was able to whip it up in 3 days. It probably would only take 2 days if I had spent more time on it yesterday.

A happy Saturday

2009-10-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

So I decided to make pot stickers this weekend. Hehe. At the rate I'm going, I think I'm going to aim for learning a new recipe every Saturday.

I'm so excited because I've never made pot stickers from scratch. When I was a kid, I helped my mother fold pot stickers from time to time but I never paid attention to how the filling was made. Looking back, I realized my parents really made practically everything as homemade as they could. For a time, they even made their own wrappers! :-O

Here they are freshly folded. I made 52 total!

But ended up gobbling down 6 for dinner.

The recipe is from Steamy Kitchen. I love her picture tutorial that shows you how to fold them too. My mods were added chopped onions, garlic, and pepper. I made them all with pork and omitted the shrimp. I just realized I'm now talking about food as if they're FO's.

On the knitting front, I'm still letting Henley Perfected sit. But in the meantime, Shalom Cardigan II is going really quickly and hopefully it will be done in another week.

Che Dau Trang

2009-10-07T22:22:00.001-07:00

So recently I've been getting into food blogs. It kinda just came to me one day while I was checking out knitting blogs that there must be food blogs out there too. So I decided to start with Asian food blogs and found some really good ones. Next goal is to find some good American ones. If you know any, let me know.

I have a potluck at work tomorrow, and I decided to make something a bit non-traditional.

Behold, Che Dau Trang!

I made a test batch last night, and I'm so glad I did because I was able to make tonight's official batch much better. The first batch was still good, but it was bit thick for me.

Basically, Che Dau Trang is a Vietnamese dessert. It's a thick, sweet bean pudding. This is what it looks like if you were to buy it at a Vietnamese market.

When I had posted my name on the sign-up sheet with the dish name while also putting in parentheses "Vietnamese" dessert, one of my co-workers actually had the gall to approach me and ask if there will be blood and guts in my dish. I thought she was joking, but she actually looked pretty serious. I found that highly offensive. I'm sure that if I had put up "Zucchini Bread" or "Blueberry Cobbler" nobody would have questioned whether there would be chopped guts. Besides, what practical person would mix blood in a dessert? (Okay, maybe a vampire, but I can't think of anybody else.) I held my tongue, but secretly I really wanted to ask her for a blood sample to see how she would react. Grr. Ignorant people.

If you're interested in trying this, I got the recipe here. My mods were to add more water, more sugar, and less glutinous rice. :-)

FO: Fetching

2009-10-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Fetching

Yarn: Chuckanut Bay Yarns 10 Ply

Amount: probably 100 yds or so

Needles: US 6

Mods: Did an extra cable repeat at the wrist, long-tail cast on, regular bind-off

I wanted to do a photoshoot with my gloved hand in my coat pocket like the model in the Knitty picture, but it's too hot here to model with a wool coat. Therefore, my left hand will suffice. ;-)

I have had this yarn for a while now. It was a souveneir from my bf when he went home to visit his parents. See this post to refresh about our experience winding it up. He was always sad I didn't make anything from it, and that it had been languishing in my closet for a year now. (Obviously, he doesn't know how stashes work.) So I decided to make Fetching and still have enough left over for a matching hat later.

A little something that arrived in the mail today...

2009-09-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

I had no idea Cascade Eco Wool was so huge in person. It smells sheepy, which I actually don't mind, and I can't wait to cast on for a second Shalom Cardigan. I even have the perfect buttons waiting for it. Is it wrong to start another project before I've finished Henley Perfected? My Henley is more difficult than I thought it would be, so who knows when I'll be able to finish it whereas my first Shalom only took me 2 weeks to knit. Plus, the lace scarf is going pretty slowly, but I won't worry because I still have another 2.5 months to finish it. :-D

Some of my latest WIPs...

2009-09-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

I realized that I don't blog about my WIPs as I used to, so I thought I would whip up a couple pictures to show everybody.

Here's what I have at the moment for Henley Perfected, although I'm a bit stalled because I'm not sure how to proceed next. Instead of working flat in pieces, I did the stockinette portion in the round, and then worked back and forth for some of the lace portion. Now I'm wondering how I should shape the armholes along with the sleeves...

Since I don't like to waste time when I'm stuck on a project, I decided to cast on for the Falling Water Lace Scarf last night. Think of it as an early start on my Christmas gifts. This will go to my bf's mother. I figure I should give myself plenty of time to work on it since it's laceweight yarn. I'm feeling a bit dubious about the way it looks now, but hopefully it'll be much prettier once I block it.

Speaking of blocking, I accidentally stained my belowed Sew EZ blocking board the other night with my recently finished gloves. :-( Grrr...I really should have set the yarn with vinegar, but I forgot. Does anybody know how to remove stains from a blocking board? The spots are very faint, but still I love my board so much and I just want to keep it as clean as possible forever. :-(

Destash!

2009-09-13T17:10:00.001-07:00

So I finally got around to photographing most of my yarn stash this weekend. I'm thinking I really should start destashing. There's nothing wrong with any of the yarns I have, except for the fact that I have too much yarn and too little time.

Please check out http://www.ravelry.com/people/crochetgurl/stash/trade and let me know if you're interested in any of them.

Thanks!

Note: All yarns come from a pet-free, smoke-free environment. Yarns have always been stored in a ziplock bag. I can only ship within the USA.

"There's a lock on top"

2009-09-12T14:16:00.001-07:00

After owning my tabletop swift for a year now and still having problems on how to use it, it kinda figures that my non-knitting bf figured it out before me.

There's a lock on top, he said. And little locks on the bottom.

What he meant was that knobby thing that screws down in the middle of the swift. I had always thought it was a decorative knob and had no idea it served a function.

What used to take me at least 30 minutes to 4.5 hours (in extreme cases) to wind a ball has now been shaved down to 8 minutes. Patience...

FO: Ishbel

2009-09-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

Remember this?

After a week of furious knitting, it has transformed into...Ishbel!

* Ishbel scarf

* Wingz...I haz them

* And we have lift off!

* Oooh, lace

* And for kicks, Babushka Ishbel!

* Finally, to amuse my photographer, Ninja Ishbel!

I never thought of myself as a shawl type of person, but Ishbel has really sold me on the idea. So much so that I will probably make many more in the future for both myself and as Christmas gifts. (Shh...I already ordered the yarn.) I am a huge fan of Ysolda's Gretel and this pattern was very clear, as always. She even goes so far as to create both written and chart directions. I went with the written directions in order to avoid misreading the charts. This is the second shawl I have ever knitted (first being the Textured Shawl for my mom), and the first shawl I have ever made for myself. I plan to make another one with some Misti Alpaca Lace that I picked up recently that was deeply discounted at WEBS. Only $6.02 (that's including the shipping) for another Ishbel!

The only problem I had with this FO had to do with the yarn. I have never worked with Malabrigo before although I keep hearing all these wonderful compliments about how heavenly it is. For me, it was a nightmare. I'm not sure if I simply got stuck with a bad skein or what, but it took me and bf 4.5 hours to wind it up. Actually, it was mostly bf doing the winding and untangling of knots. The yarn literally kept knotting upon itself and was really sticky. So much so that I still have about 100 yards left in knots that I'm going to have to throw away. But once I finished knitting up Ishbel and blocking it, the yarn was so soft and light that I might actually go through torture again for another one. I wound up one of my Misti Alpaca Lace skeins the other day and magically, it only took me 30 minutes! This time I was very careful to not use my swift, but to place it carefully around 2 chair backs and locate the ties before starting. :-) But the Alpaca Lace wasn't sticky at all, so I wonder if it really was Malabrigo's fault.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Amoroso, Colorway #157
Amount: Less than a ball, probably around 330 yards
Needles: US 6
Mods: None
Size: Pre-blocked = 37" wide by 13.5" deep, Post-blocked = 43" wide by 18" deep

FO: Leaf Yoke Top II

2009-09-07T13:39:00.001-07:00

* Angled FO

* Front

* Collar detail

* Hem close-up...they're supposed to be hearts, but don't they look like triangles?

What can I say? I loved my first Leaf Yoke Top so much that I decided to make a second one in a leafy-green color. You may recall that I knitted Green Gable last year, but I never truly liked it so I had only worn it once or twice. In order to not live with mediocrity, I decided to frog Green Gable, and voila, Leaf Yoke Top II was born! I know I'll definitely get more wear from this FO, and it's something I can wear easily to the office as well. :-)

Pattern: Leaf Yoke Top from Spring/Summer 2009 Knit.1 Magazine
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Peridot
Amount: 2.5 balls
Needles: US 4 and 6
Mods: Cast on 8 sts instead of 10 sts for the armholes
Added an inch in length by doing increase rows every 6th round instead of every 5th round
Added an extra increase round for the waist
Worked to 18 inches before starting the heart lace pattern from the Vogue Knitting book
Only picked up 40 sts around the armhole (not including the 36 sts held on waste yarn)

Look what I got today!

2009-08-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist picking this up in downtown La Jolla today. I impulsively bought a pattern yesterday that I will hopefully cast on later after I wind it into a ball. Can you guess what it will be? Hint: It will only take this one ball, if not less.

FO: Weighted Companion Cube

2009-08-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

A Day in the Life of a Companion Cube

* 8 am: Wake up in her rocking chair

* 9 am: Head to the kitchen to start grilling breakfast

* 10 am: Play with her owner

* 11 am: Let owner goof around and wonder what life would be like if she had a square head

* 2 pm: Check out what's on TV

* 4 pm: Play a game...

* 5 pm: Maybe even some Guitar Hero

* 6 pm: Consult the latest Knit.1 magazine

* 7 pm: Work on the Leaf Yoke Top

* 9 pm: Ahh, back to bed

This has been one of my longest FOs yet because I let it sit around and procrastinated on doing the assembly and finishing. My bf is an avid fan of video games and one of his favorite games is called Portal. In this game, you go around shooting things and you get through a level with the help of your trusty friend, the Weighted Companion Cube who lets you position it as a stepping device. However, to get to the next level, you have to throw your friend into the Incinerator. So I decided to make my bf a friend who never has to be burned. He loves it so much that I kinda regret making him that scarf that he never wears. Note to self: it's a safer bet to make geeky toys for your boy than an article of clothing. :-)

I'm very bad at motivating myself to finish/sew things up, so my bf helped with most of the sewing. In fact, he probably was responsible for at least 75% of that part. He spent one night staying up until 3 am to finish sewing up all her corners. I say "her" because he has decided that the Companion Cube will be a girl and that her official name is Kubie. :-P

I loved this pattern because I think the crochet and all those individual corners make her "pop" out more than the popular knitted version that most people have made on Ravelry. She is actually pretty similar to the plush Companion Cube seen here.

Pattern: Weighted Companion Cube from Craftster by sprocketfish

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Oxford Grey (darker grey) and Grey Heather (lighter grey) and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Pink

Amount: 3.5 balls - Oxford Grey, 3 balls - Grey Heather, and 1 ball of the pink

Hook: 4.00 mm (G)

Mods: None, except for crocheting the sides together instead of sewing to enforce stronger seams

FO: Leaf Yoke Top

2009-08-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

* Happy FO * Front

* Back

* Collar

I fell in love with this pattern a couple months ago and immediately proceeded to buy the magazine simply for this top. After searching through my stash, I decided to go with the Cotton Fleece as I wanted to start using it up. All in all, I'm quite happy with this pattern and I actually found myself being happier with the top than I expected to be. I don't remember being too impressed with the yarn last year because it bled a lot in the wash, but this time I was extra careful to wash and rinse twice with vinegar. (I would die if my beautiful blocking board became stained.) And now I'm really loving the feel of the yarn.

I work in an office and knew I wouldn't be able to pull off wearing this at work, so I went to H&M over the weekend and found the perfect little short-sleeved, button-down shirt to wear under it. Voila! Now I can wear it to work and not worry about being that scandalous girl. :-)

I also decided to forgo the folded hem and opted for the scallop lace from Titania, thanks to Jasmom's suggestion. In my opinion, I think it complements the lacy leaves well and leaves room for some "air conditioning" at the bottom.

Pattern: Leaf Yoke Top from Spring/Summer 2009 Knit.1 Magazine

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Terracotta Canyon

Amount: 2.5 balls

Needles: US 4 and 6
Mods: Cast on 8 sts instead of 10 sts for armholes
Added an inch in length by doing increase rows every 6th round instead of every 5th round
Added an extra inc round for the waist
Worked to 19 inches before starting lace pattern from Titania for the hem
Only picked up 40 sts around armhole (not including the 36 held on waste yarn)

All in a night's work...

2009-08-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

From this...
to this in 2 hours

If you recall, I knitted Green Gable last year. This was one of my earliest tops, back when I did not know how to use DPNs, or owned 9" circulars. The sleeves did not come out well, and the body felt frumpy on me so I rarely ever wore this FO. After finishing the Leaf Yoke Top the other night, I figured why live with mediocrity? If I don't love something, I will never wear it and it would be a waste of yarn hanging in my closet. Not to mention that I loved this gorgeous leaf-green shade (unfortunately, my camera can't seem to capture its true color).

After patient frogging and detangling knots (man, I splitted so many stitches), I came to this conclusion...

an impulsively cast-on Leaf Yoke Top II!

FO: Ingenue

2009-08-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

It just occurred to me today that I forgot to blog about my finished Ingenue! And Ingenue was finished 2 months ago. *hangs head in shame* I have posted them to Ravelry, but forgot to update here too. So here you go...

* Front

* Back

* Artistic sleeve

* Collar

* Trying to look happy wearing a mostly wool sweater in 80+ degree weather

Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress of all time. In fact, I have a poster of her posing as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's on my wall. So when I saw this pattern and it made me think of that scene in the movie where she's knitting and wearing a similar, turtle-neck sweater, I knew I had to make it.

Pattern: Ingenue from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard

Yarn: Rowan Soft Lux in Amethyst

Amount: 7 balls

Needles: US

Mods:

Added extra 10 rounds before shaping waist,
Did extra 8 rounds before increases,
Did extra pair of decreases/increases,
Did extra 3 rounds before beginning Ridge Stitch,
For sleeves, I worked the Ridge Stitch another repeat longer since I wanted to maximize my yarn. In the end, I had only a little bit of yarn left!
Instead of sewing down the collar, I was lazy and crocheted it down. It looks much better, is invisible, and provides a very strong seam. :-)

FO: Backward Cabled Pullover - The Sequel

2009-08-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

I loved my first Backward Cabled Pullover that I knew I had to make a second one. While the first one was made from Karabella Margrite (a wool/cashmere blend), I decided to make this one appropriate for spring and summer. I'm a bit sad that the yarn I used for this version, Ella Rae Silkience, is now discontinued! It feels so nice against the skin and I love the shiny gleam that the silk lends to the yarn. Even sadder that I can't even find this colorway online anymore either. On the bright side, I did pick up a bag of Silkience in a lilac shade from Little Knits a while back, so there's enough for me to make a cardigan with that one day.

* Front

* Sleeve

* Collar

Pattern: Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Ella Rae Silkience, Colorway: 12
Amount: 6 balls (I had literally less than a yard left from the last ball.)
Needles: US 6 and 7
Mods: None that I can recall except for adding an inch or two in length, and of course placing the scoop in the front

FO: Cupcake

2009-07-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

* Final cupcake for Christine

* Shocked and Pawed: I can haz cupcake?

* No, really?

* Omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg

I haven't crocheted in a while since the Weighted Companion Cube (which technically is still missing her corners.) But I whipped up this cupcake last week for my friend Christine's birthday. She loves cupcakes and I thought this would be the perfect, fat-free gift for her. There are two cupcakes pictured. The first one came out a bit lopsided which bothered me so I made a second, better one which ended up going to her. The first one was filled only with polyfil, while the second one was filled with brown rice in a plastic bag for the bottom and polyfil for the top. I also added a round cardboard bottom for both of them.

Pattern: Cupcake by Ana Paula Rimoli

Yarn: Lily's Sugar 'N Creme - Cream for cupcake bottom, Lion Brand Vanna's Choice - Pink for icing, Lion Brand Micro Spun - Cherry for the cherry :-P

Amount: Minimal. I didn't measure.

Hook: G
Mods: None for the original cupcake. For the 2nd cupcake, I decreased one bottom row and increase one icing row.

In other news, I finished my 2nd Backward Cabled Pullover, but I still need to take FO pics. They'll be up soon, I promise! Also, I'm still working on the Leaf Yoke Top which I started the same day as the Backward Cabled Pullover. I finally buckled down and forced myself to not be scared of short rows the other night, and it's finally coming along. I can now do short rows! :-)

FO: Woodland Collar

2009-06-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here's another late FO to blog about. Technically, I finished this in March but never got around to taking FO pics until earlier.

Pattern: Woodland Collar by Hanna Breetz
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran in Black
Amount: 2.5 balls
Needles: US 9
Mods: None

It makes me a bit sad that I haven't actually worn it out yet. It's 78 degrees in San Diego today, so it's far past the season for neckwarmers. Maybe it'll be good for my trip to San Francisco next Christmas? Speaking of trips, I just came back from a 3 day visit to Las Vegas for the first time. But more on that in another post...:-)

Summer Knitting Goals

2009-06-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really already been a year since I entered Skeins Her Way's knitting blog contest? I remember last year my goals were to complete Juliet, Rusted Root, and Green Gable. They were all completed and I remember how proud I was of Juliet because she was my first knitted sweater ever. :-) Even though I rarely wear her since it flares out too much at the waist, I still enjoyed making her.

This year, I have quite a few summer knitting goals but I'm not sure if I'll be able to complete all of them by summer's end. I guess it won't hurt to hope?

Goals:

1. Complete 2nd Backward Cabled Pullover (I haven't blogged about it yet, but I'll take a progress pic soon.)
2. Complete Leaf Yoke Top (same as the first)
3. Start Printed Silk Cardigan (I have started swatching, but at the rate I'm going, I highly doubt this will be completed.)
4. Start a vest for Dad's birthday (or Christmas present if I can't finish in time...hehe)
5. Finish crocheting and sewing up Sackboy

FO: Koolhaas

2009-06-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Father's Day!

Pattern: Koolhaas Hat from Interweave Knits store
Yarn: Ella Rae Classic in colorway 33 (cinnamon brown)
Amount: 1 ball
Needles: US 6 and 8
Mods: None

This is the matching hat to the basketweave vest I knitted for my dad last Christmas. I made the woman's (smaller) version since my dad and I have the same size head. :-P

FO: Talia

2009-06-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

The following was what I had drafted in a post in October 2008. Yeah, it took me a while to post FO pics. *sheepish grin*

Technically, Talia has been finished quite a while ago. To be precise, I remember weaving in her ends on 9/14, the weekend when I was recovering from my wisdom teeth removal.

*Front* Back

Pattern: Talia from the Spring 2008 Knitty, also available as a downloadable PDF at the Sweaterbabe's website
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Colorway 2401 (Burgundy)
Amount: Almost 3 balls
Needles: US 9 24", and US 9 12" circulars for the shoulder straps
Mods: None really, if you don't count the fact that I had crocheted the shoulder straps (right sides together) instead of seaming.

All in all, I'm quite satisfied with Talia. The sad thing was the yarn stained my needles and even after using rubbing alcohol, my needles will forever have a pinkish tint. :-( My only concern was that it stretched out a lot after washing because I had probably knitted loose. If I make another one, I will shorten the length and knit at a tighter gauge. My boyfriend actually picked out the buttons for me in Vancouver when we went to a huge discount yarn/notions store called Dressew. They were on clearance, and all 4 buttons cost me $2.00 total! (Not sure what that comes out to in USD, but it can't be too different.) Aisles and aisles of inexpensive yet beautiful buttons, and I only came away with these ones and 12 black ones. Yes, I am still kicking myself.

Pocky

2009-05-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

I love Pocky and after bf and I discovered a Japanese market in the Convoy area that we've never been to today, I loaded up on a lot of Pocky and promptly had a photo shoot.

Here is my family of 13 different Pocky's!

And here's one with the bastard child, Lucky Stick, at the bottom.

Now I'm almost afraid to eat them...

FO: Shalom Cardigan

2009-05-17T17:21:00.001-07:00

Shalom Cardigan is finally finished! I remember trying this last year with Bernat Softee Chunky and I wasn't loving the yarn, so it got frogged. But I tried again using different mods and a wonderful yarn that I wish I had bought more of when I had the chance. I had a hard time capturing the true color of the yarn, but the last picture (from Little Knits) shows it perfectly.

// Warning...this post is highly picture-intensive.

Pattern: Shalom Cardigan by Involving the Senses
Yarn: Uruguay Chunky in Sage Green (#113)
Amount: ~ 7.5 balls
Needles: US 9 and 10.5
Mods: Used Ishi's mods. Lengthened to 22" before blocking. Came out to be 24" after blocking. Picked up 52 sts around sleeves using smaller needles and did 10 rows of garter stitch.

* Happy

* Side

* Back

* Front and center (but a little overexposed due to sunlight)

* Sleeves

* Flat

* Buttons! If they look familiar, it's because they're the yellowish-green version of my red Juliet buttons. 1 1/8" and from www.buttondrawer.com .

* I love that green!

FO: Textured Shawl

2009-05-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Introducing my first shawl!

It is my Mother's Day present to my Mom, and was finally photographed and mailed off today. A week late, but Mom said she didn't mind.

Since shawl pins seem to be so expensive for what they are, I found a butterfly hair pin at Claire's with a removable stick just like a real shawl pin! Best part, it was on clearance! :-)

Pattern: Textured Shawl by Orlane's recipe
Yarn: Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette in Quince (#15)
Size: 48" by 23"
Amount: 3 balls exactly (I only had 2 feet left over.)
Needles: US 7
Mods: I added in more textured and stockinette rows to basically maximize usage of all the yarn since I used smaller needles and thinner yarn than the pattern suggested.

* Front* Side

* Butterfly shawl pin

* I'm a triangle!

* Spread out

Preview...

2009-05-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

Huge Balls...

2009-04-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

of yarn that is... :-P

Here are some pictures of the souvenir skein of yarn that my bf gifted upon me when he went home for Christmas.

Better yet, he spent 2 hours on a late Friday night helping me winding it onto my ball winder with my tabletop swift. It took that long because it became really tangled on the swift, and he had to undo all the knots and tangles. After countless times of me telling him it cannot be done, (after all my ball winder is the standard $36 kind from Royal with the blue handle), he proved me wrong. :-)

Yes, that is 390 yards!

Freebies

2009-04-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

I love freebies, especially when it has to do with knitting. Remember how I posted on 4/3 about the awesome spring designs in the latest issue of Verena Knitting? Well, since I was subscribed to their newsletter, they sent me a survey geared towards their American readers. As a special thanks for completing the survey, they sent me a coupon code for a free digital issue of Verena Knitting. Naturally, I chose the latest spring issue and I'm in love with this pattern...

Also, this one totally looks like an Anthropologie sweater. Reading through the pattern, I realized that the leaves are embroidered onto the sweater. Interesting, but I can't even really sew let alone embroider.

It's a treat looking at these gorgeous patterns, but I don't think I'll have the time to actually knit one. At least not until I have learned how to seam. I have yet to knit a sweater that is knit in pieces. Baby steps, I suppose.

If you like the SweaterBabe patterns (e.g. Talia from Spring 2008 Knitty), you might be interested in the 2nd freebie. While I was browsing the 20 Spot forum on Ravelry the other night, I came upon an offer for a free pattern from the SweaterBabe. All you have to do is go to her website, www.sweaterbabe.com, look at her directory of patterns, and send an email to wwmag@sweaterbabe.com with the following info.

Pattern # that you would like

Pattern Name

Your Name

Where you heard about the offer

I requested Lush and Lacy Cardigan since I've been lusting over that for over a year now, and sure enough I received the pattern in about 2 days!

Now I just need to find the perfect yarn...

FO: Backward Cabled Pullover

2009-04-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

* Doing my best impression of the dramatic model pose

* Sleeve detail

* Side. (Forgive the bad hair day.)

* Back

* Collar detail. Goes perfectly with my new necklace!

* Freshly blocked on my beloved blocking board

Pattern: Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Karabella Margrite in Plum, Colorway: #24
Size: XS
Amount: ~5.5 balls
Needles: US 7 and 6
Mods: Increased armholes by 2 stitches each. (In hind sight, it was unnecessary as there seems to be too much ease under the arms.) Placed scoop frontwards. Added a couple rows before beginning the waist shaping. Lengthened sleeves to 3/4 length. After all the sleeve decreases, kept working even at 44 stitches around until desired length was acquired. Lengthened ribbing at the hem.

This yarn was really scrumptious and felt decadent running through your fingers. It was also the recommended yarn for the pattern too. I rarely use the recommended yarn for a pattern as the size XS-S alone for this pattern would run you at least $100, but I had 3 balls gifted upon me for Christmas. Therefore, I went and bought the other 3 from my LYS. Therefore, my sleeves are made from different dye lots than the body, but I don't think it's very noticeable.

In conclusion, I really love this FO. It feels really light and drapey, yet still very warm. I was surprised by how much it bloomed in the wash and for a while, I was afraid it would come out too long. But it came out to the perfect length for me in the end. :-)

Knitting News

2009-04-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that Backward Cabled Pullover has finally been finished. That has been my longest FO yet, totalling about 2 months. It still needs to be washed and blocked, but I promise I'll get my FO pictures posted soon!

In other news, Ingenue is zipping along quite nicely. I had to frog back about 3-4 inches last night though because I had placed the decreasing markers in the wrong place after my mind stupidly read over the notes section and I should have been following directions more closely. Luckily, it was no biggie and here is what I have so far...

* Forgive the bleak, bathroom lighting.

* An accidental, "artistic" shot that shows the true color of the yarn better.

P.S. Oh, and that trip to the mall over the weekend, I did manage to score a grey, cabled sweater (totally hand-knit looking) for only $20! It was the last one in the store, but better yet, it had wool and alpaca content!!! It's pretty rare for me to find sweaters with alpaca content in department stores that don't cost $200+. :-)

Eyecandy and Shopping

2009-04-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

Spring is my favorite season of the year. There is something comforting about the long winter days becoming lighter earlier and the weather easing up and becoming warmer, yet not too hot. It is also my favorite season for knitting. Well, either that or fall. I can't deny my love for wool sweaters. f only I had more hands and time!

As I was stalking the daily Elann.com specials the other day, I came across an European knitting magazine called Verena Knitting. I don't know too much about mags other than Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, and the other usuals you would regularly find at your grocery store. These are the two patterns that caught my eye.

The thing I like most about knitting other than the decadent joy of running beautiful yarn through my fingers is the fact that you create a garment that is unique and that you can't find in stores anywhere. You'll rarely ever run into somebody wearing the same thing as you (unless you go to a yarn convention or LYS). If you know me, I take this approach with me when I go to the mall. "Hand-knit looking" is what my eyes automatically scan for while browsing the racks. And springtime unfortunately is when I tend to do the most damage at the mall.

Ever since I discovered my favorite sweater ever at Macy's, a beige INC number that bears a striking resemblance to Printed Silk Cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2008, I keep going back to Macy's looking for more. But, alas, that is probably the closest unique sweater I'll ever find. So I went to Macy's last week absently browsing the racks when a certain magenta sweater caught my eye on the rack. The cables reminded me of Tangled Yoke Cardigan, and I decided to try it on. Luckily, it was just my size and fit me perfectly. Even better, this $80 sweater was on clearance for $20, and armed with a coupon, the total price went down to $17! True, I rarely ever wear magenta, but it was a nice shade of magenta, nothing too horrifying. And $17 for a sweater that is made mostly of silk and angora? I say, bring it on! :-D

Afterwards, I bought a green, v-neck cardigan at H&M. It was another good deal at $20, and I was so bummed that they didn't have the bright orange version in stock in my size. Yet, there were 4 XS's left. Figures. I was really surprised by the amount of cute, work-appropriate and affordable clothes they had at H&M. Last time I went was to a H&M in San Francisco a year ago, and my impression was that all the clothes seemed to be black-colored and somber looking.

But not to worry, it looks like I will be going to the mall again tomorrow...*hangs head in shame*.

A Bad Habit

2009-03-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've noticed that I am beginning to develop a habit of beginning a new project while I am in the home stretch of finishing another project. In my case, this translated to casting on for Ingenue from Custom Knits over the weekend. I'm going to use the 7 balls of stash RYC Soft Lux that I purchased from Elann.com a while back. I'm excited because it will hopefully be just enough! I decided to go with the Soft Lux because there are metallic strands shot through the yarn making it a bit shiny like the Karabella Marble called for in the pattern. However, it's a bit funny that I'm making two purple sweaters in a row. :-)

Even though I have finished the neckline, body, and one sleeve (which I will probably frog and re-do since the ribbing looks too tight) for Backward Cabled Pullover, I simply couldn't resist the call of Ingenue. I'm the type of person who usually works and completes projects one at a time, but at the moment I have 3 WIPs on the needles. The crocheted Companion Cube is also in the home stretch, but I'm not too worried as crochet goes by quickly. The harder part will be sewing/joining the pieces together and stuffing with fiberfill. But I am a little sad that Backward Cabled Pullover is one of my slowest sweaters yet and I'm not feeling the motivation to do the sleeves. Maybe I wore out my patience with the short rows fiasco that led to at least 10 restarts?

In any case, Ingenue is making me happy although I'm a bit worried about the collar. It came out narrower than the pattern, but hopefully I can just block the heck out of it. I am a major fan of Audrey Hepburn, and I can't wait to wear it like she did in Breakfast at Tiffany's. :-D

Progress Report

2009-03-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Here is what I have so far on the Backward (Frontward) Cabled Pullover. The going has been slower than usual compared to other sweaters due to mistakes, my work on the Companion Cube, and the fact that I was sick last week. I was very scared that it might be coming out too small, but so far it fits pretty well!

* Side

* Front

Casting on for Backward Cabled Pullover

2009-02-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

After many false starts (I counted at least 8) due to not knowing how to do short rows, I have finally got going on the Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits. I'm glad I learned a new skill though although those short rows were making me very frustrated for a while. This was the pattern that made me decide to purchase Custom Knits. However, I'll be making the alternate version they show in the book with the scoop in the front. I guess it'll be like Opulent Raglan. I'm using Karabella Margrite (3 balls which were graciously gifted upon me by my cousin during Christmas) and I have bought 2 more balls. I get the feeling I'll have to buy another ball for the sleeves so I'm a bit wary that this sweater will be made from yarn from 3 different dye lots. Oh well, hopefully it won't be too noticeable.

Here's what I have so far...

* Don't they look luscious and plump?

* Slowly growing

The yarn is supposed to be worsted weight, but it appears to be more along the lines of DK. It looks pretty thin to me but it's still so soft and luxurious. This is the first time I've used the actual yarn suggested for a pattern. (Not counting Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.) :-)

FO: Woodland Collar

2009-02-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a second "scarf" for my cousin.

Originally, it was supposed to look like this...

This is the St. Brigid's Scarf pattern that they sell at Imagiknit in San Francisco. However halfway through, I realized that what I have above constituted 2 complete balls of the Bingo Mouline. And I only had 4 balls total. And it's a discontinued yarn that I cannot find for sale anywhere online. A few months ago, I won a free pattern in a knitting blog contest that I was intrigued to try.

Enter Woodland Collar!

* This shows the truer color of the yarn.

* Hmm...cables.

* Quick bathroom shot.

It wasn't until after I sent off the neckwarmer to her yesterday that I realized I forgot to take a close-up picture of the button. I bought the button in downtown La Jolla at a sewing/fabric store that carries hundreds of buttons. Good thing I did buy an extra button. There was a really gorgeous button that caught my eye. It looked more like a butterfly shawl pin than a button, but it cost $25! Nonetheless, it was very beautiful and I probably would have bought it if it had been more affordable.

Pattern: Woodland Collar by Hanna Breetz

Yarn: Lana Grossa Bingo Mouline in colorway 815 (Green-Purple)

Amount: 2 balls

Needles: US 9

Mods: None

FO: Reversible Cabled Scarf

2009-02-16T17:23:00.000-08:00

My cousin (who feels more like an aunt since she's the same age as my mother) was very generous and added many, many luxurious balls of yarn to my stash recently during my trip to San Francisco. Most of the yarn I have never had a chance to knit with before since they're expensive and very Italian/European and buttery soft.

I'm too lazy to photograph all my additions, but they were 3 balls of Karabella Margrite in Plum, 3 balls of Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran in Gray, 1 skein of Dream in Color Classy in Black Parade, 2 balls of Cascade 220 Heathers in Brown, 4 balls of Lana Grossa Bingo Mouline in Green-Purple, and 3 balls of Cascade 220 Superwash in Black. Needless to say, I was very touched and speechless by her generousity. I love the Karabella Margrite and I plan to buy a couple more balls to make Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits which actually calls for the Margrite!

So this was made for my cousin. She loves cables and the color black. I have never used Cascade 220 Superwash before, but thought it looked really beautiful and soft in the ball. However, it bled a lot and grew disappointingly longer than I had expected so I probably won't use this again in the future.

Pattern: Reversible Cabled Scarf by Lion Brand
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Black
Amount: 2 balls
Needles: US 8 and 7
Size: 72" ?
Mods: None

* Folded in half

* Black cables are so hard to photograph

* Cabley goodness

Pictures from San Francisco

2009-02-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

I know I promised pictures of my Christmas trip to San Francisco, and here they are!

* The Ferry Building was really amazing and teeming with tons of fresh, food vendors.

* Inside the Ferry Building.

* The mushroom shop.

* Another shop.

* Outdoor skating rink across from the Ferry Building.

* The most awesome yarn store in San Francisco! It was so hard for me to leave the store...sob. (Also, I am wearing a brand-new, grey Gretel that I furiously knit before the trip and the red scarf I made last year.)

* Imagiknit was huge (for a LYS). This is just one room. The store is composed of 2 main rooms. I literally stood in awe for a couple minutes staring at all the yarn lining the walls.

* More yarn. I forgot to take a picture of the second room, but it was basically filled with springtime and novelty yarns. They also had a huge table heaping with handknit pattern models for sale too.

* I loved the Castro District! They had many really distinct and unique shops everywhere. Too bad I didn't have time to go into the chocolate store. This shot is taken near 18th Street, near one of the yarn stores I visited.

* Chocolate!

* Teeheeheh. Giggle giggle.

* Crepes! We had strawberry nutella crepes and a turkey artichoke. They were yummy. That's my mom on the left wearing the Gretel I had initially made for an aunt. (Mom loved it upon first sight and decided to steal it. The aunt ended up getting chocolates instead. Hehe.)

* Entering the indoor mall at JapanTown. That's my mom and dad. Dad wearing one of the first crochet caps I ever made him, and Mom with her Gretel.

* Cool, tall buildings near downtown.

* A yarn store in the Castro.

* Inside Noe Knit.

Funny Realization

2009-01-10T23:07:00.000-08:00

I went to a Vietnamese supermarket today and happened to see something on the door that totally made my day.

Apparently, I am a type of payment!

Updated Basketweave Vest FO pics

2009-01-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

I am back from vacation! I had so much fun in Northern Cali that I almost didn't want to come back. More on the trip to San Francisco, my experiences at SF yarn stores, and suddenly growing yarn stash to follow later.

My dad loved posing for his FO pictures. So much so that he insisted on taking lots of them complete with the many hats/scarves that I have made him in the past. I'm glad to know that there is at least 1 (well 2, including my mom) people in this world who appreciate my handknits/handcrochets works so much. :-D

Basket-weave vest with crochet newsboy cap

Basket-weave vest with crochet scarf

Basket-weave vest with knit beanie

The matching Koolhaas I planned to knit for my dad was a bust, so I'll start that over some day. However, I did manage to finish knitting a matching scarf for my mother's Gretel. I binded off the night before my flight. Talk about the nick of time! However, I forgot to take a picture of it. :-(

Vacation

2008-12-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, I will be going home to visit my parents for two weeks. During that time, we are going to go to San Francisco for a couple days. There are a couple of yarn stores I would like to see, but I'm not sure if I'll get the chance. I heard there's a store called ArtFibers in San Francisco that is rumored to have gorgeous yarn at very expensive prices. Not sure if I will go if I know I definitely won't buy anything. I'm also excited to finally go see a certain yarn store in my parents' city. They're holding a bottle of Soak for me to pick up. (I can't wait to introduce my parents to Soak and the joy of washing hand-knits.)

I'm going to bring some needles and patterns with me. Currently, I'm working on a Gretel (finally, the first one for me) and hopefully I can get it finished in time before I hit the cold streets of SF. I'm going to bring along the pattern for Ingenue from Custom Knits, but I'm not sure if I want to start a large project over vacation. I tend to do smaller projects when I'm traveling for portability. It also makes sense because I wouldn't have Internet and access to Ravelry. *Gasp*. Most likely, I'll make another Koolhaas and various dishcloths to show you when I come back!

FO: Gretel #3

2008-12-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Camel Hair

Amount: 1 ball

Needles: US 5 and 7

Size: Regular
Mods: None

If this hat sounds familiar to you, it's because it's exactly the same as the Gretel I made for my boyfriend's mother. Right down to yarn and color of yarn. :-) My mom asked me to make a hat for one of my aunts that we will be visiting next week.

FO: Basket-weave Vest

2008-12-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Front

Side view

Back

Pattern: Easy Basket-weave Vest by Edie Eckman from Creative Knitting, September 2008
Yarn: Ella Rae Classic in color #33 (Cinnamon Brown)
Amount: a little over 4 balls?

Needles: US 8
Size: 44" chest
Mods: Had to fudge the basket-weave pattern after the armholes since I kept miscalculating. Also, I added 1 inch of 2 x 2 ribbing around the neck, armholes, and hem.

This vest is for my father that I finally finished in time before Christmas. Woo hoo! Originally, I had planned to make the Notting Hill vest but that was quickly frogged due to the difficult pattern. I'm a bit nervous because I'm not sure if this will fit him. I asked my boyfriend who is much taller and thinner than my father to test model and it looked good on him. I'm concerned because he is about a foot taller than my dad, but the length looked appropriate for him. Therefore, I'm not sure if it will be too long for my dad. I begged to take a picture of bf in it, but to no avail. He looked miserable trying it on. Sigh. Guess we'll have to wait until I can get pictures of my dad in the vest.

Sorry for the grainy pictures. I didn't have good enough lighting. If I can get better pictures later on, I'll update again!

FO: Koolhaas Hat

2008-12-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Koolhaas Hat from Interweave Knits Gifts 2007 (I don't have that issue so I bought the pattern from the Interweave Pattern Store)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Giada

Amount: 1 ball

Needles: US 6 and 8

Size: Man

Mods: None

This is the first Koolhaas I have made, and I was very relieved to discover that I was able to make it successfully. I only had to frog one row where I miscounted my cables, but afterwards it was smooth sailing. :-) This hat will go to my boyfriend's dad for Christmas. It looks pretty good on my boyfriend and fits him well, so I'm hoping his dad will have the same size head. :-P

I love the intricate detailing of this hat, and I can't wait to make additional ones in the future for my parents. The 1 x 1 cabling was a bit tedious, but it might have been because I literally spent an entire day from morning to night knitting most of the hat.

FO: Gretel #2

2008-12-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Camel Hair

Amount: 1 ball
Needles: US 5 and 7
Size: Regular
Mods: None

This hat is a Christmas present for my boyfriend's mother. I thought it would be nice to make her a hat with alpaca content, especially since she drove us to an alpaca farm when I was visiting them in Washington in September. (Which reminds me, I still need to put up my Washington pictures! Sigh.) I love this pattern. It is the 2nd Gretel that I have made and I even managed to master tubular cast-on! Yay! I'm not sure how big her head is, but when I tried it on after finishing it, it came out too small on me. So I washed again and this time, I blocked it around a plate that was about 11" in diameter. Now it's a perfect fit (hopefully for her too)!

I love the smooshiness of the Ultra Alpaca, and the way it looks slightly hairy to give it a soft, muted look. This is definitely my most favorite yarn yet. :-)

FO: Opulent Raglan

2008-12-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

My best friend, Maryann, came to visit me over Thanksgiving weekend and now I'm finally caught up on FO pics! Thanks so much, "Mackie"! :-) Readers, beware the flood of a FO parade...

Ever since I saw this sweater on Yarnhog, I knew I had to make one too. Technically, I finished this on Oct. 26 and have worn it at least a handful of times, but I finally got around to getting FO pics. This is my favorite FO ever, and the most wearable.

Pattern: Opulent Raglan by Wendy Bernard in Knitscene Fall 2008
Yarn: Ella Rae Classic Wool in colorway 11
Amount: ~ 4 balls
Needles: US 5 and 6
Size: 34"
Mods: I did an extra repeat of the cable pattern (~19 rows) before I started the waist shaping. It didn't seem right to me to start the waist shaping way up above my bosom. But I like it the way it is now. Also, I think I decreased 1 inch in length due to my fear of the yarn stretching too much which thankfully it did not.

Close-up of the front

Side
Back view
Trying to make the sleeves "pop"

FO: Rusted Root

2008-12-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

This was also finished a while back.

Pattern: Rusted Root from Zephyr Style http://www.zephyrstyle.com/catalog/item.cfm/2367447/3289215
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Putty
Amount: 3 balls

Needles: US 6 29, and US 4 29" circulars

Size: XS
Mods: Lengthened by a couple inches

FrontSide
Back

I'm not sure I am completely loving it. Perhaps, it would have been better in a brighter color. This was using the extra yarn I had purchased for the crochet babydoll dress. If I was to make it again, I would go up to a size small as it is a bit too tight. The sizing threw me off because I was making this around the same time as Juliet, and even a XS on Juliet was looking big on me which does not happen ever! Also, there's a place in the lower back where I dropped a stitch and later picked up that annoys me because there is a tiny hole.

FO: Green Gable

2008-12-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Green Gable from Zephyr Style
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Peridot
Amount: 3 balls
Needles: US 6 29" and US 4 29" circulars
Size: S
Mods: Added a few inches more of length and single crocheted around the neckline to minimize it from drooping. Sadly, the neckline still droops, but I heard this is a common problem among other Green Gables out there too.

Front

Side

I'm not sure what to say about it. I think it fits better than Rusted Root in terms of size, but I'm not exactly loving it. I'm a bit disappointed that none of the Zephyr patterns came out as I pictured them to be. But, these are all my first knit sweaters, so hopefully my FOs will come out better with experience. The sleeves aren't as pretty as they could be because I didn't know how to use DPNs back then, and I basically stretched them out on a 16" circular to work in the round. Yeah, not so good. The pattern recommends using 2 circulars, but I couldn't understand how to knit small circumferences w/ 2 circulars.

FO: Juliet

2008-12-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

FO parade!

Pattern: Juliet from Zephyr Style
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Candy Apple
Amount: 5 balls
Needles: US 10.5
Size: XS
Mods: None really, except for making the longer version so that the garter stitch section ends right below the bust. I also used 4 buttons on one side, instead of 3 buttons on alternate sides.

Front

Back

I am very proud of Juliet because she is the first knitted sweater I have ever completed. And this is coming from the girl who hated knitting when she first learned it because it stressed her out too much. But I am a bit disappointed with how flared it came out. My friends tell me I'm crazy, but I don't like the flare because it makes me feel like I'm wearing a maternity top. So I'll probably only wear this once in a while with my 4 inch platforms to balance the really wide look.

Basket-weave back completed

2008-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

I completed the back of the basket-weave vest last night. The vest was started last Wednesday, so hopefully if all goes well, it should take me another week to complete the whole project! Right after I started the armhole section, I was beginning to get a bit lost on the basketweave pattern. It just didn't look right. So I decided to stop following the pattern to a T, and instead fudged it to force it into a basket-weave pattern. It's not too noticable unless you stare at it closely and intently. Not too bad because I didn't exactly stray from the pattern, but my math might be a bit different.

I won an award!

2008-11-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

I was really surprised to see that Suzanne of Yarnhog had nominated for the I Love Your Blog Award!

Whenever, I receive a comment I always get so excited to read them. It really makes my day to know that there are people out there reading my blog posts and sharing their tips/advice with me. Thanks so much for being awesome readers!

The rules for award acceptance are as follows:

1. The winner can put the logo on their website/blog.

2. Add a link to the person who gave you this award.

3. Nominate at least 5 other websites/blogs.

4. Provide links of the nominated websites/blogs.

5. Leave a message at each website owner that you've nominated.

So in no particular order, here are my nominations...

JasMom at Amateur Craft Mom - She always makes her FOs look wonderful on her. I love checking out her blog because she tends to make sweaters/tops that I am also considering at the same time! Also, she knows how to crochet too!

Sue at Good Yarns - Besides posting pictures of her knit and crochet projects, she also has lovely anecdotes about exploring interesting places around the Bay Area. It appears recently that she is also getting into sewing and quilting. I must say that I am extremely envious of her wonderful bag-making skills.

Sway Knits - I'm afraid I don't know her real name, but she also has an amazing blog filled with gorgeous cardigans, shawls, and berets. It's becoming quite apparent that I adore fellow bloggers who are also sweater knitters.

Philigry - Unfortunately, I never caught her name either. She is a mother who truly amazes me with her home decorating skills, recipes, knits, and sewing skills. Check out her post where she transforms a leather jacket into a beautiful handbag that seriously rivals the $200+ bags at Nordstroms!

Eilene of Ei Knit - I was blog-hopping one day when I inadvertently stumbled upon her blog. She has a wonderful backlog of gorgeous sweaters and cardigans. I adore how her every FO looks amazingly finished, and to top it off, she looks like she could be a professional model too.

In other news, I've been working on the basket-weave vest. I am up to the armhole section and hopefully will finish the back with another 5 inches or so to go.

This weekend didn't go very well because I found out that the apartment mate I was trying to contact for the past 2 weeks had evidently given notice to the manager that she was moving out. She only comes home once a month to pay the rent, and the rest of the time she is at her boyfriend's place. I can't believe she couldn't spare 2 minutes to respond to my multiple phone calls/emails to let me know. It really angered and saddened me to know that these 2 people could be so selfish and so ready to screw an innocent person over. And the other roommate is moving out too so I'm suddenly stuck with the rent for the entire apartment. When I had moved in 4 months ago, they had confidently assured me that they were going to be there for another year or so, but I guess they just intended to screw me over. They're both pretty messy people so I'm praying that the other roommate will come back to clear out her stuff by the end of the month. I've heard horror stories from a friend whose roommate suddenly moved out and never returned to claim any of her furniture, clothes, or belongings. Sadly, my friend had to clean out all her stuff right before finals week.

Sigh. So I am really grateful for my knitting and crocheting. It helps keep me from panicking about finding a new roommate, or possibly having to move again. :-(

Casting on for Basket-weave Vest...

2008-10-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

I finished Opulent Raglan a couple nights ago. She is already dried and ready to wear for FO pictures, but that will depend on when I see my photographer (read: bf) next.

Notting Hill was depressing me because I felt like I was making too many mistakes. So I frogged it and casted on for Basket-weave Vest from the September issue of Creative Knitting instead.

Hopefully, this pattern will work for me. *crosses fingers*

FO: Munny

2008-10-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a FO that I finished over the weekend. Due to his ears, his name is Munny since he is half mouse, and half bunny!

From the front

From the back

With his new girlfriend, Garlands

Pattern: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Jessica Spencer
Hook: Size E
Yarn: Lily Sugar 'N Cream - Cream and Light Blue, also some pink felt for his inner ears
Amount: Less than a ball each of both colors
Mods:
1. Since I couldn't find any brown Sugar 'n Cream in stores, I made him with my cream-colored stash yarn.
2. Placement of ears (sewn on for a more floppy shape, vs. pointy bat-like ears)
3. 1 row shorter and narrower on the legs as my gauge might have been off
4. Thicker overall straps

I can't sew very well, (and perhaps lack the patience), therefore my wonderful bf did all of the sewing. I'm truly amazed he could do that considering he's never seamed amigurumi before. :-)

I love Munny so much! (Hehe.) Now that I've made my first amigurumi, I'm really interested in trying other patterns. My boyfriend recently bought a new video game called Little Big Planet that stars a little hand-knit looking character. One of the games' creators' mother can knit, and look what she made for him below!

Hello. I'm Sackboy!

Sackboy celebrating Chinese New Year

Don't you want one? Unfortunately, there's no pattern for him on Ravelry, or if there is, it's not public. I'm going to try to see if I can recreate him, wish me luck! The hardest part appears to be his mouth. I can't tell in the picture if it was simply embroidered on, or if it is actually indented and open.

Opulent progress report

2008-10-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

So I took a 2 week break from this project, but I'm almost done! Half a sleeve, and the neckline to go!

FO: Gretel

2008-10-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

After admiring countless Gretels online, I have finally made my first one. And yes, there will be many more to come. The pattern is beautiful, clear, and very easy to understand. The only thing that stumped me was the tubular cast-on which took me a while to grasp. However, I didn't realize that Ysolda had a pictorial for tubular cast-on on her website, so I will try to use that next time. I ended up using a different tutorial that left me skeptical as to whether it really was a tubular cast-on, or plain 1 x 1 cabling. My Knitting Answer Book clearly explained the 1 x 1 rib tubular cast-on, but there were no specifics on how to convert for 2 x 2 rib.

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Cognac Heather

Amount: 1 ball

Needles: US 5 and 7

Size: Regular
Mods: My cast-on was too loose so I added a round of crochet slip stitches to tighten the brim up

This particular hat will go towards my mom. I plan to make more for her, and as Christmas gifts for other people. It's funny I find it so satisfying to make hats for others, but I don't own even one for myself. Wait, scratch that. I do have one hat - the last lacy beret I made that came out a bit too big. It's beautiful but it doesn't fit me well enough for me to love it.

Footnote: And those are my new glasses! First glasses that I've had since I was 8 that did not have round and/or pink frames! :-)

Look at those huge balls!

2008-10-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Anthropologie sends me their periodic emails from time to time, and I literally squealed when I saw this picture.

I love those huge balls of yarn! And the hand-knit looking beret, and hand-knit looking sweater! Sigh. I am a yarn addict, and a sucker for anything that looks hand-knit.

I could use a yarn stool too.

I wonder how much that ball in the background weighs.

How do I make a slipknot?

I went window shopping at Anthropologie last night, and every time I go in, I secretly yearn for this mouse door stopper. This picture is borrowed from somebody else's blog, but the color in real life is actually more bronze and darker. Doesn't he look so cute? *No, I can stop...you...heavy...door!* If you know me, I really love mouse figures and anything to do with cute mice, especially because I was born in the Year of the Rat.

On the knitting front, I finished the waist shaping for Opulent Raglan last night and realized one side looked wonderfully shaped whereas the other side was not. I knew I should have gone with my instinct of decreasing evenly among both sides, instead of taking the pattern literally at its word. So it's back to frogging tonight. Honestly though, I don't feel too sad about frogging with this pattern. Can it be I enjoy it so much that I actually want to prolong the knitting progress? *Gasp* Besides, I need to learn to get out of my lazy habit of not frogging and then ending up with a product that ends up in the back of my closet unworn.

The Good News and the Bad News

2008-10-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

When posed with "Would you like to hear the good news or the bad news?", most people choose the bad news first. (If you want to see the good news first, then scroll down to the second paragraph.)

Bad news:

Notting Hill is not going the way I want it to, and I am seriously considering frogging it. I was loving the pattern until I reached Row 30 where I was supposed to bind off for armholes, but Row 30 was only 5 inches above the ribbing where the pattern said it should be 12.5 inches above the ribbing. Was I way off in gauge? I don't think my gauge was that far off since I made a swatch, washed in Soak, and laid flat to dry before I started the project. So I went for another 90 rows before I reached 12.5 inches. Afterwards, I got a bit lost on the underarm shaping due to the "when there aren't enough stitches to complete a cable, work in rev st." This happened in Talia too, but somehow the scroll lace pattern worked itself out. Here, my cables are looking pretty wacko since there are 2 different types of cables. Sigh. I don't want to give my dad a vest that isn't at least mostly perfect. But I've spent so much time knitting on it last week. I know it was only a week's worth of work, but somehow I really wanted to power through and finish it. Now I'm considering ripping and finding another vest pattern, perhaps "Peter Easy" by Berroco or "Skye Tweed Vest" (another Kathy Zimmerman pattern). Notting Hill was designed by Kathy Zimmerman. Has anybody knitted her patterns before? In general, are they clear and straightforward? Maybe I'm spoiled because I tend to knit patterns that are very clear and concise.

See the cables at the very top that are going wacko? :-(

Good News:

Out of frustration from Notting Hill and excitement over the Fall Knitscene, I casted on for Opulent Raglan last Sunday. I made at least three different swatches using different needles before I could finally reach stitch gauge. Row gauge is a different story, but I don't mind it being smaller as it would mean my neckline would get raised (yay, for no cleavage showing at work!). It's only been 2 days and it's growing really quickly! My only minor concern so far has been the waist shaping. I reached the waist shaping part last night, but my work so far had only reached the top of my bust! Maybe I'm short-waisted (one of these days, I need to go measure and find out), but it's quite alarming to shape for my waist when I haven't even gotten past my boobs yet. After consulting Ravelry (oh, how I love that site), I decided to add in another 19 rows before I start the waist. Hopefully, by then, it'll fall right below the bust.

I'm using Ella Rae Classic in Colorway #11 which looked like a pastel peach online, but it really is more of a dusty rose. It doesn't bother me at all since the yarn was deeply discounted, and I still love the pink color. The other wonderful news is that I bought a couple more balls of yarn from yarnandfiber.com from their Spooktacular Sale they're having this month, and they all arrived yesterday. But wait for it! The best news is that I had ordered 2 extra balls of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Woodland Mix to add to the 2 balls I bought in April from the WEBS anniversary sale. I figured it would make a good 2nd Opulent Raglan should I be successful with the first. Or perhaps the Backwards Cabled Pullover in Custom Knits. Here's the best part...THE LOT NUMBERS WERE THE SAME!!! Wow, talk about luck! I really wasn't expecting the lot numbers to match considering the yarns were bought 6 months apart from 2 different companies, and I hadn't even put in a request for it. Yup, that really made my day. :-)

FO: Toni Ribbed Hats

2008-10-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Toni Ribbed Hat
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool
Amount: I used leftover yarn, but if I had to guess, probably around 220 yards/hat
Needles: US 8 24" circulars and US 8 DPNs and/or US 8 12" circulars
Size: The blue one is for a man 24", and the black one is for a woman 20"-22"
Mods: Instead of knitting flat and seaming, I joined for knitting in the round and switched to DPNs for the blue hat, but I got lazy and switched to my 12" circulars for the black hat

I really loved this pattern! It was so simple, easy, and quick! It literally only took me 2 nights to finish one hat. The blue one will be for my dad, and the black one for my mom. It's rather funny that the yarn was from the yarn leftover from the crochet newsboy hats I made for them. And I still have yarn leftover! It's the never-ending balls of yarn! I'll probably make one more in the future that will have black and blue stripes.

A Meme...

2008-10-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been tagged by juicyknits for the "six random things about me" meme.

Here are the rules:

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six people at the end of your post.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know your entry is up.

1. I have keratosis pilaris which is really a fancy way of saying I was born with rough, dry skin with small red bumps. Luckily, they only occur on the tops of my arms and on my legs. Some people even have it on their face and chest. Elsewhere I have pretty normal skin. When I was a kid, I was pretty depressed with this condition, and I would spend hours online researching what lotions could cure it. Unfortunately, there is no cure but the good news is that by the time I reach age 30, the bumps might diminish in appearance. Also, they're not as prominent in the summer.

2. My left eye is weaker than my right eye. I also have astigmatism. (Just learned this 2 weeks ago from my optometrist.)

3. In all the jobs I've ever had, I've always been the youngest person among my co-workers.

4. My favorite actress of all time is Audrey Hepburn. Favorite movies are My Fair Lady, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. (I think she even knits in a scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's!)

5. The first thing I had ever crocheted was a multi-colored tea cozy. 16 years later, my mother still uses it everyday. :-)

6. My oldest UFO is probably around 15 years old. It was a pair of pink, knitted slippers. One was completely finished with a furry pom-pom. The other was technically finished, but somehow I couldn't muster up the will to make a second pom-pom.

I'm not going to tag people, but feel free to tag yourself if you like.

Casting on for Notting Hill Vest...

2008-10-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Last year, when I started seriously taking up crochet again and whipping out warm hats for my parents, my dad asked for a vest. I told him I wasn't advanced enough at that time to attempt a vest, but now a year later, I think I'm up to the task.

Which is why I casted on for Notting Hill from the Fall 2007 Knitscene two nights ago. This pattern was available a while back on the Knitting Pattern Central website, but it has been pulled off the web since. I was making pretty good progress on it last night when I noticed the right side was looking a bit wrong. After staring at it for a while, it dawned on me that I had forgotten to cross a couple of the cables! Grr. What a dumb mistake! I skipped breakfast this morning before work so that I could carefully frog, and hopefully start going again tonight. And I rarely ever skip breakfast. (Can you tell that I am totally obsessed with knitting? Sigh. This is a disease, I tell you!)

If all goes well, it should look somewhat like this...

Here is what I have so far...

I am a bit scared because after reaching Row 30, the pattern states that it should be 12.5" above the rib. I was coming out at 8 inches, and that was including the rib!!! On Ravelry, I've heard that this pattern has mistakes and I'm not sure if this is a mistake or if my gauge is totally off. I made a swatch and got gauge, but I'm always paranoid that my real gauge will change once I start knitting the actual project. I think I'll remedy it by adding another repeat of 10 rows to the right length, and then start binding off for the armholes. Also, I don't know my dad's exact bust size so I'm winging it and hoping he can fit into a 44" (size Large). This is also my first project that is knit into pieces and then sewn together. Wish me luck!

I learned DPNs!

2008-09-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Being inspired by the number of beautiful Gretels I see on Ravelry and others' blogs, I took it upon myself to learn DPNs. After all, I can't cheat forever with the 12" circulars I recently purchased in Washington. (Which reminds me, I need to get around to posting about my vacation...) Last Friday, I sat down, looked through the Knitty tutorial of using DPNs, and taught myself to use them in 10 minutes. Yay! The prospect of finally getting over the fear of DPNs have opened me to an entire world of knitting that I had previously believed would always be closed to me. Hats, sleeves, mittens, fingerless gloves, toys, socks, oooh the possibilities! I think I will start with hats first.

To memorialize this momentous occasion (well, at least for me), here' s a picture of the very first thing I made with my new DPNs. It's really just a tube that I seamed up at the bottom, but I will be calling it my Bag Hook Cozy.

Hello there. I am warm and cozy.

Crochet and alpaca dreams...

2008-09-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

My fall issue of Interweave Crochet finally arrived yesterday. There are several gorgeous sweater patterns that I would love to try. The one that caught my eye immediately is the Northern Dreams Pullover. It looks just like a crochet version of a Fair Isle sweater! Sigh. If I was to make the smallest size, it would still require 13 balls of baby alpaca. Looking online, that would bring the total to $91 before shipping! Even looking at cheaper substitutes would still total $70 if I want a sweater that is at least partially alpaca. Sigh. Maybe this is why I don't crochet sweaters and have turned to becoming an obsessive sweater knitter. Talia was amazingly budget-friendly. She only took less than 3 skeins of Cascade 220 that I bought on sale for $4.79, so even after shipping and buttons (that I got in Vancouver), the vest only came out to $20 total!

Northern Dreams Pullover

The other cardigan that stood out to me is the Stepping Stones Cardigan. It would require 12 balls for my size which would total $84 before shipping! Yikes! But so classy and beautiful.

Stepping Stones Cardigan

Besides my lovely magazine, my Custom Knits book arrived yesterday too! I was so happy with both book and magazine arriving on the same day. Custom Knits is the new book by Wendy Bernard whose blog Knit and Tonic I read religiously. She also designed the Opulent Raglan in the Fall 2008 Knitscene which is absolutely gorgeous. In fact, every time I go to B & N, I drool over the latest issue. I am majorly tempted to buy the issue just for that pattern, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

I have stopped work on Shalom Cardigan for a couple weeks. Frankly, she will probably get frogged as I am not completely loving working on it. To me, the pattern doesn't excite me and I really shouldn't work on projects that I don't LOVE. Lately, I've been very undecided on which major project to start next. A pattern from Custom Knits (there are too many beautiful ones to choose from!), Back to School Vest from Fitted Knits, Bluebell Pullover, Central Park Hoodie, Lush and Lacy (am I really advanced enough to make this?), arrghh...too many choices! I have decided to start the Easy Basketweave Vest from the September issue of Creative Knitting for my dad once the yarn arrives. They have the pattern for free on http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/. I'm also considering the Notting Hill Vest by Kathy Zimmerman, but it looks harder especially with all the cables. I don't know what my dad's bust size is, so I'm going to wing it and hope he's around a 50". He usually wears size Large in shirts and sweaters.

At the moment, I am currently using up my leftover yarn from a Newsboy Hat I crocheted a couple months ago for my dad. The pattern I'm using will look like this when I'm finished. (Of course, it won't be pink. Hehe.) I had to frog 6.5 inches of ribbing (which was nearly 60% of the hat) when I realized this hat should be worked in the round, but the pattern didn't specify. Technically, it can be knitted flat, but then you'll have to sew up the side seam, and it might show, especially with the turned-up brim. Plus, I love knitting in the round as my seaming/finishing skills are still very rudimentary. It looks like a very simple and generic pattern, even like a hat you could buy at Target or the mall.

Also, I bought a beautiful ball of Patons Classic Merino Wool at Michaels last weekend. I don't know if it's a new color, but I have never seen it in other stores. It's called Cognac Heather and I think it would make a wonderful Gretel for my mom (once I learn tubular cast-on!) My parents and I are probably going to San Francisco over my Christmas break, and I really want to get started on providing warm and stylish accessories. I don't know why, but fall really makes me want to jumpstart all these projects. Sadly, it's still in the 80s here in San Diego. I admit I wore Talia to work last week and turned up the A/C so that I could "enjoy" wearing her. Does this make me a bad person? So many projects to work on, and so little time!

FO: Lacy Beret

2008-09-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Quick post:

I finished this tonight, and haven't blocked it yet. I'm so excited to have made my first knitted hat!
I tried this because it’s an unconventional pattern that didn’t require knitting in the round or dpns. I didn’t check my gauge, but knitted looser so it came out slouchier.

Pattern: http://knittingdivine.blogspot.com/2007/07/lacy-beret-free-pattern.html

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Bright Red

Amount: 1 ball
Needles: Size 4 24" circular (knitted flat)

Mods: Omitted Rows 63-64 so the band didn’t turn out too tight at all. In fact, it could stand to be a bit tighter. Instead of seaming side, I single crocheted with wrong sides together.

I'm back!

2008-09-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been back in town for almost 2 weeks now, but it has been a whirlwind of activity. After coming home from Washington on the 6th, I went to a dentist consult on the 9th to do x-rays of my teeth, and had all 4 wisdom teeth removed on the 11th. I was a bit scared going into the process as a lot of people I know have been telling me horror stories about their experiences. One co-worker even has a permanently damaged jaw. And I had never been under anesthesia before so that was also a new experience for me. But all in all, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Except for non-stop bleeding on the first day and swelling like a chipmunk, it was relatively painless. I only had to take 1 Vicodin after the surgery and I haven't taken any since. Don't want to become addicted to painkillers if I can help it.

I took many pictures in Seattle, Bellingham, and even a day in Vancouver. I even had the rare chance to do a quick visit at an alpaca farm! Once I clear up hard drive space on my computer, I'll load the pictures up and tell you all about my exciting trips to the Washington yarn stores. :-)

Over the past four days, I took time off from work and basically slept and knitted everyday. I am really glad to say that Talia is finally finished! I actually managed to get past the neckline shaping part! Yay! I still need to sew on some buttons, block her, and then I'll take some pictures. I still can't really believe I finished her since she is the most complicated knitted sweater I have ever made. She's not perfect, and I know exactly where I made mistakes, but after frogging numerous times, I decided I'll live with mistakes that hopefully nobody else will notice too much.

On the knitting front, I realized I tend to fall into new projects before an old one is quite finished. So yesterday, before Talia was completed, I started the Shalom Cardigan from http://involvingthesenses.blogspot.com/ . Hapichick on Ravelry has a gorgeous version of which I will be shamelessly copying her right down to the yarn. Only difference is that mine will be a blush pink. :-)

Vacation and random gifts

2008-08-26T18:13:00.001-07:00

Well I'll be off to Seattle tomorrow for 1.5 weeks of vacation, tourist attractions, and fun. I've reached the neckline shaping section of Talia and she is beginning to get difficult, so I will unfortunately have to leave her at home. People laugh at me when I say knitting stresses me out at times. Not all the time. Only the times when I make mistakes I don't know how to fix, or when I keep ending up with the wrong stitch counts. But I'll be bringing along some wool and straight needles to try a cabled scarf pattern I've been eyeing for a while now. Something easy and relaxing.

Here's a picture of a bag hook my bf randomly gifted upon me last week. I have always wanted one, and surprisingly, The Limited were selling bag hooks! I don't know of any other store in the mall that carries them. They're great for hanging your purse on the table when you're at a restaurant and you won't be forced to put it down on a chair (or worse, a dirty floor!)

Talia progress

2008-08-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Front progress...

Back progress...

Casting on for Talia

2008-08-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I have basically finished Green Gable. The only things left to do are the sleeves. Sigh. Which brings me back to the same problem I had with Rusted Root. I don't know why I can't seem to bring myself to learn how to use 2 circulars to complete the sleeves. I even have the instructions printed out in color lying on top of my Green Gable to motivate me to finish it. But, alas, to no avail.

So I decided to cast on for Talia after admiring Amateur Craft Mom's and Juicy Knits' Talias. After scrounging through my stash, I tried a swatch with Patons Classic Merino wool but the gauge was off by too much. Not to mention the fact that I really didn't want a white vest. So I decided a swatch with Cascade 220 in a gorgeous burgundy shade. And for the first time ever in my life, I got exact gauge!! It made me so happy since I could never seem to be spot on. Holding onto the gauge throughout the project...well that's a different story. I'll be going to Seattle for 1.5 weeks next week, and I'm not sure if I should bring Talia with me. She is going to get complicated and I don't know if I want to bring something that I might not be able to fix without access to Ravelry, online knitting videos, and other knit friends like Amateur Craft Mom and rchrispy.

If I get really lucky, Talia should look like this...

And look at her gorgeous waist shaping...

I would love it if anybody has suggestions for mellow, plane/airport knitting patterns. :-)

Green Gable progress pics

2008-08-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

Some quick pics of what I have done so far...

And to the yarn stash it goes...

2008-08-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Since I received 2 sets of the same Ratatouille Remy talking figure last Christmas, I decided to give one set away to one of my co-worker's 6 year old son. A couple weeks ago, she surprised me with 2 skeins of Patons SWS in the Natural Earth colorway. Wasn't it nice of her?

The gift bag her son chose for me.

So what should I make with 220 yards of Patons SWS? I have never used this yarn before and would appreciate any suggestions. :-)

Green Gable progress

2008-08-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here's how my Green Gable is coming along. After close examination, I realized my lace section is incorrect. The first half is correct, but the second half is wrong. Sigh. However, it is consistently incorrect, so to a non-knitter, it could be interpreted as a deliberate design detail. :-\ Anyway, I'm going to leave it in because I'm too lazy to frog and it doesn't bother me too much. I put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn last night and I ended up with 3 stitches extra on one sleeve, and 4 on the other. Sigh. Plus, 3 less stitches for the body. Perhaps I'll do a little decreasing when I finish the sleeves and hopefully it won't look too big. I wouldn't mind a slight puffed sleeve look.

Doesn't it match my comforter quite nicely?

Green Gable

2008-07-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been so long since I have updated. Blame it on the moving and enjoying a single room and enjoying a single room with open windows and enjoying a single room with open windows and a TV. I have never had a TV in a bedroom before so nowadays I tend to come home and flip on the CW (only good channel I receive). Two and a Half Men, Family Guy, and Gossip Girl take up my time. Yes, you heard me right. Gossip Girl. I watched 2 episodes and I'm ashamed to say I'm slightly intrigued. At the very least, the girls on that show have such stylish clothes. I wonder if they will wear beautiful knits come winter. (Ah, the mind of a knitter/crocheter.)

Case in point: This dress from Anthropologie made my jaws drop.

Also, I have recently decided to start cooking real food again. When I say real food, I mean making dinners that involve ingredients and mixing. I've been living off of Trader Joe's frozen food for a while to accommodate maximizing my knitting time after work. But I'm going to try to spread it around a bit so I can cook, watch TV, AND knit/crochet. To inspire me, I bought a new set of plates, a French bohemian design, at Ralph's. They were on sale and I had always coveted that design ever since I bought a matching ramekin two years ago when I tried my hand at making corn chowder.

Last week, I learned how to make a classic French dish of sauteed chicken with cream-mustard sauce and last night I made chicken alfredo for the first time in my life. Yes, it's sad I have never cooked pasta in my life before. My pasta came out a bit watery and I accidentally made too much so I'll be eating pasta for lunch and dinner for at least 2 days. But practice makes perfect, right? I also discovered a new type of cookie at Trader Joe's. Oatmeal and cranberry. They are so delicious! I love the fact that they come in a package of precut dough, and all I have to do is take them out and bake them for 12 minutes or so. :-)

Hello. I am the front side of the bowl.

And I am the other side. Can you spot the difference?

Dinner is served, mademoiselle.

Please put some corn chowder in me.

In knitting news, I finished Juliet a while back but recently just got around to blocking her. She is drying as I type, and hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures by next week. To get me out of my knitting hiatus, I casted on for Green Gable last night. I'm a bit afraid that I'm not doing it correctly for the Part A, Row 1 part. It says that I need to YO, K2tog during the lace section and then K1f&b 1 stitch before the marker. However, I always get an even number and don't end up with 1 stitch left before the marker. Sigh. I'm going to fudge it and see how it goes.

Busy bee

2008-06-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in a while due to being quite busy and stressed out. Last week, I caught the cold that was going around my office and on top of it was somehow extra busy when I had a 102 degree fever. But luckily, I have recovered. Knock on wood! Lately, I have been stressed out over finding a new apartment, packing, and finding the perfect desk, but that will be over soon. :-) Last night, I finally bought a desk that I managed to get delivered to me. Maybe one day I'll find a matching hutch for it, but it will do for now. It is beautiful and in very good condition and I am excited because there will be enough room to throw my WIPs on it.

Tonight I'm going to begin moving my stuff over to my new apartment. I am very excited and haven't been sleeping well lately due to that. I haven't had my own room for six years. Yay to being able to sleep peacefully without hearing my roommate's snores! Yay for being able to control the ability to open my windows wide! (I love fresh air.) Although for 2 years in college, I did have a really good roomie who subsequently became my best friend. Thank god Maryann loved air too! :-D

In knitting news, Juliet was finished last Sunday when I was feverish, bored, and trying to relax. I wove in all her ends as I knitted her because I know I would never be able to finish a project if I had a million ends to weave in after alll the knitting was done. Now all she needs is to be blocked and then I will post some pictures!

Here's a picture of my new desk!

Juliet: Progress Report

2008-06-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

If it wasn't for the fact that I keep messing up on my stitch counts and the lace section, Juliet should have been finished by now. However, bf did take some progress pictures over the weekend with his new camera. The first pictures ever taken with the camera too! He even offered for me to bring my FO's and UFO's to be photographed. :-)

Juliet front

Juliet back

Juliet flat

I'm not sure why, but the last picture came out looking very pink. In reality, Juliet is actually a deep burgundy red. Anyway, these pictures were taken two frogs ago. :-( I made many mistakes in the lace section and I kept coming up with the wrong numbers for the stitch count. It really pained me because I hate frogging (especially in knitting), but I tore it out. I was very happy because I finally learned how to frog "safely" this weekend thanks to my friend rchrispy on Ravelry. What I mean is using smaller knitting needles to pick up stitches back to where I want to start over again, and then pulling out my work with wild abandon. This may sound strange, but it made me feel like a liberated woman. Ever since I was 8, I have been scared of knitting because I didn't know how to frog and my remedy for it was to simply knit without mistakes (which is nearly impossible!) Now I finally discovered I don't need to be scared of making mistakes or live with the knowledge of doing something incorrectly, but stubbornly forging on due to not knowing how to go back.

Yarn Stash

2008-06-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

I bought these yarns a while back when WEBS was having their anniversary sale, but never got around to photographing them. Here they are!

7 hanks - Classic Elite Premiere in peach color

1 hank - Classic Elite Premiere in natural color

For: Tall Latte in Everyday Crochet

7 balls of Ella Rae Silkience in a bright red color

(I couldn't resist the Cat-Envious-of-Yarn shot, even if Tony isn't my cat.)

Interweave Crochet Summer 2008

2008-06-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

My issue of Interweave Crochet Summer 2008 arrived in the mail on Wednesday! I love staring at all the gorgeous pictures of the projects probably as much I would enjoy making them. Here are some of my personal favorites...

Gladiolus Vest by Robyn Chachula: Man, I am majorly tempted by this pattern, and there is a high probability that I will make it. The yarn suggested is too expensive, so I will have to find a more economical 70% bamboo, 30% silk substitute. Do you guys have any suggestions? When I looked at the full page photos in the magazine, I was completely blown away. These sneak previews do not do it justice. I think this designer makes really beautiful patterns and I can't wait to see her upcoming book that will be released in September. I even put it on my Amazon.com wish list. Hehe.

Midsummer's Dream Camisole: Looks lovely, but I think the yarn suggested is probably way too expensive. Also, it appears to flare out too much for my taste in the back.

Ocean Pearls Cardigan: Another lovely cardigan that I'm half tempted to make. It reminds me a similar pattern in Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan, except her version is lacier. Btw, what does "bed jacket" mean? Whenever I look at this pattern, I think "bed jacket" and it conjures up images of sick people in bed. (Strange, I know.)

Sir Stephen, the Bunny: Isn't he adorable? Awww...

Summer Knitting Goals

2008-06-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well I've decided to enter Skeins Her Way blog contest. Details here http://www.skeinsherway.com/2008/06/2008-summer-knitting-goals-contest.html .

Currently, this is my summer knitting goals list...

1. Finish Juliet
2. Finish Rusted Root
3. Knit Green Gable
4. Knit other lacy, summer tees/tops perhaps Delicious Stitches's Lillian top

Wonder if I can actually meet all of my goals? :-)

In other news, I began actually knitting Juliet yesterday and managed to get about 18 rows done in one night. I love the way the doubled yarn and chunky needles are making it work it up relatively quickly.

Casting on for Juliet...

2008-06-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

I told myself that I wouldn't cast on for Juliet until I finished Rusted Root. But I couldn't resist, and besides Rusted Root isn't really going anywhere until I can get some DPNs, right?

I am using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in the very elusive Candy Apple Red. I found it on sale online, and now I regret not buying more since this shade appears to be out of stock.

Look at what I discovered today!

I am especially lusting after that grayish jumper on the cover. Wish I had paid more attention when I was at both Michael's AND Joann's this weekend to see if they were selling it.

Here are some of the patterns that I like...

Lacy, empire waist top and bag

Scallop pattern empire top

Twin set cardigan

Bolero cardigan

Rusted Root

2008-06-08T01:08:00.000-07:00

This is my first knitted shirt and it really should have taken me only 2 weeks to complete. However, due to the sleeves, it will probably hibernate for a while. The pattern states that you are supposed to use 2 size 4 circular needles to do the sleeves, but I'm not sure what that means. (I am still an advanced beginner in knitting.) So I think I will try using size 4 DPNs (which will also be a new experience for me)! After trekking out to Michaels and Joann's today, I realized that neither store carried size 4 DPNs! This means I'll have to order them from Joann.com and possibly throw in some yarn to get free shipping. I spotted a beautiful shade of Patons Classic Wool at both of the stores today. Paprika. It's a terracotta orange color. Now I am tempted to get some once Joann's has a Patons sale...

Progress pictures of Rusted Root so far...

FO: Babydoll Dress

2008-06-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

This dress took me about a month to complete. After much frogging, frustration, and time, here she is!

Pattern: Babydoll Dress from Interweave Crochet Spring 2008
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Putty
Amount: 5 balls
Size: 32" bust
Hooks: E, G, H (yeah my gauge is always weird)

Man, I do have red eyes...

And should probably clean my mirrors before the photoshoot...

And here is my take on the classic 1960s sideways tilt angle that I see in vintage crochet/knitting magazines...

Last, but not least, here is the back...

If I ever decide to make another one, I would probably make it in the size 34" bust. I went down one size to create negative ease, but apparently the bodice section already has a bit of negative ease built in.

FO: Green Newsboy Cap

2008-06-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

Another crochet newsboy cap. I don't know why I keep making hats that I never wear. Not sure if I like it enough to keep it. I might frog it and use it to make something else. If I frog it, I will have 3 balls of this yarn to perhaps make a shrug?

Pattern: Same as the brown newsboy one
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Olive
Amount: 2 balls
Hooks: J and L

FO: Short 'N Sweet

2008-06-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad at keeping up with my blog. But now I present to you a series of FOs!

Pattern: Short 'N Sweet from SnB: The Happy Hooker
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic in a royal purple
Amount: 5 skeins
Hook: Size H

And close-up of detailed lace...

It is still missing a purple button to be attached, but I'll do that once I can find a needle small enough to go through the hole.

My New Knitting/Crocheting Bag

2008-04-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Where I work, there are daily booths downstairs where people come to sell stuff. Today, I noticed a lady selling really pretty, printed tote bags. So I went in and browsed and it turns out the lady sews the handbags herself. She even brought a sewing machine so she could add velcro onto the bags at the customer's request. Well, I've been meaning to get a knitting/crocheting bag for my projects, and I thought what better bag than one that is handmade? (Man, if you ever want to sell me something, just tell me it is handmade and I am sold! Sigh.)

There were two prints that caught my eye. One had little kittens playing with yarn balls (how perfect for knitting!), and the other was a black and red floral print. The bag with the kittens was a bit bigger than what I wanted and pricier. Unfortunately, while I was being slow in my perusal, another shopper had snatched up the red floral bag which was smaller and more portable. However, after sifting through Disney themed bags, Disney princess bags, Betty Boop, SpongeBob, tapestry, country, the other shopper gave me the bag back because the owner couldn't get her credit card to run through. Yay for cash!

And here I present to you, my new knitting/crocheting bag!

Inside lining with zippered pocket

Inside lining with the other open pocket

Macy's

2008-04-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's the deal on my Macy's trip. I have been feeling a bit blah-ish fashion-wise lately. Most of the stuff I wear to work is a bit casual and some of my winter clothing I've been sporting lately goes back to sophomore year of college. So I went on a shopping trip to Macy's last night just to "look around".

And what did you know? I ended up buying two really nice I.N.C. sweaters. One is a babydoll cardigan that looks like a beautiful handknit that I knew I had to buy once I tried it on. The price was $69, but it was on sale for $41.40. And I usually don't spend that much on one single sweater, but I couldn't resist the handknit look so I went for the plunge.

Upon bringing it to the register, the girl there told me that there was a pre-sale going on. I am like huh, what's a pre-sale? (And frankly, what's the point of having a "sale" if there is a pre-sale?) But apparently, this ultra-secret Family and Friends pre-sale means that a lot of regular price and sale price stuff at Macy's is 10-20% off. (In my case, 20% off.) The only catch is I had to pay for it up front and wait until next Wednesday to go pick them up. This made me so happy I went back and grabbed a second sweater I had tried on (I.N.C. in a gorgeous peachy pinkish shade). So in the end, my first sweater went from $69 to $41 to $33 (before tax), and my second sweater went from $49 to $29 to $24. Amazing deals, right? :-)

FO: Short 'N Sweet in Cream

2008-04-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Technically, this was finished in February with all the ends woven in and everything blocked. But I never got around to buying the button for it until last month and I didn't actually sew the button and a loop for it until last night when I was inspired by my trip to Macy's. (Tell you more later.) Yes, I am very bad when it comes to procrastinating the small details. Truth was, I didn't truly love this bolero until the button was all sewn in and I realized how it truly made the garment.

Pattern: Short 'N Sweet from SnB: The Happy Hooker

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Aran

Amount: 3 balls ~ 660 yards

Hook: size H

With a sweet spring cami...

Laying flat...

FO: Newsboy Cap

2008-04-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

I didn't have the heart to frog my babydoll's sleeve so I whipped this up in about 1.50 hours tonight.

Channeling my inner serenity.

I'm sexy and I know it.

Wannabe model look

Pattern: Etsy

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Black

Amount: 2 balls

Hooks: L and J

Anthropologie

2008-04-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I went up to Cardiff for the first time to volunteer for this diabetes fundraiser called Tour de Cure. It is a bike ride to raise money for diabetes research. I spent about 5 hours there in a thin hoodie and open-toe sandals. And I was freezing cold for the entire time, not to mention hungry because the event had promised us lunch but then didn't provide enough meal passes for everybody in my group. Hardly, any people came to the event other than the people involved with the ride. So that was quite boring and dreary, but I had a good time chatting with my co-workers and chilling (no pun intended). I even got a free, insulated lunch bag from the casino booth next door which was really cool. I had always meant to buy an insulated bag ever since I started working, but never could find the right one. :-)

Afterwards, bf and I drove up to Encinitas area to explore the shops there. I got to go to the Encinitas Michael's where I picked up a couple balls of Patons Wool and two pairs of Clover needles. It was pretty convenient that it was located right next to Circuit City where he could finally get that last (or second to last) PS2 game he has always been hankering after. After a bit more driving around, we randomly discovered we were in Carlsbad! And better yet, we went into this cool looking strip mall with lots of upscale shops! And there it was! Anthropologie! I had always wanted to go to one since I love drooling over their cute clothes on their website, and now I have finally seen their stuff in person. It's a pity their prices are so expensive because a lot of their stuff is my style. Feminine, classic, and conservative. Sigh.

Look at this sweater I saw there that caught my eye. It is knit, but it really reminds me of Robyn Chachula's Comfy Cardi from the Crochet Me book.

Comfy Cardi by Robyn Chachula

So when I was in the store (and even yesterday online), the price for it was $78, which I would never spend on a little sweater. But today, it wasn't on the Anthropologie website and I was like, oh no, they sold out that quickly!? But it turns out it is now in the Sale section and half off at $39.95!!! Man, I am so tempted to get it in the Emerald color. I am kicking myself for not trying it on Saturday so I could have known which size fits me best. :-( So what should I do now?

Babydoll frogged and redone

2008-04-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

I never got around to making the newsboy cap last night because I decided to give the dress another whirl before completely frogging. And I am glad I did. After using a H hook and rethinking the set-up single crochet (crochet in every single stitch vs. crochet in every other stitch), I finally got it to fit me!

Updated progress picture:

Yay! No flare, or can't-even-fit-over-head syndrome!

And my WEBS order finally arrived today! I came home from work and checked the mail, but no luck. I live in an apartment complex, and quite often packages can get stolen which left me fretting. That is, until I noticed a UPS truck located a building away from me. Wasting no time, I dashed upstairs, printed out a copy of package tracking record, and leaped back down the stairs to the UPS truck. I showed the guy my sheet and lo, and behold, HE HAD THE PACKAGE!!!! Whew! I was so relieved! Last Christmas, my friend Christine sent me Friends Season 6 and it was delivered to my door, but ended up stolen. Thank god, I was there to safely rescue my $100 order of yarn. (Hey, it was on sale!)

Pictures of my new yarn. Is it weird I held them up to my cheeks, cuddled them, and whispered sweet nothings into their...strands? :-D

And a side view...

Sorry I am not a very good photographer. I own a Canon PowerShot SD550, but I have yet to learn the cool intricacies of my camera.

The list...

2 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Woodland Mix (for a Irish Hiking Scarf or Newsboy Hat)

5 skeins of Cascade 220 in Burgundy (for a Bluebell Boatneck)

5 skeins of Cascade 220 in Olive Heather (for a Bluebell Boatneck)

3 skeins of Cascade 220 in Dark Plum (for a Back to School U-neck Vest)

3 skeins of Cascade 220 in Straw (for a Back to School U-neck Vest).

Now that I have actually seen and fondled Cascade 220, I am sorely tempted to go back and buy more next month. (What has happened to the frugal girl I once was?!) This is the best sale of the year for Cascade 220. They were only $4.89 per skein. Hopefully, it will last me about 6-9 months worth of projects?

Well, I'm off to do more work on my babydoll. Ciao!