My new condo

I can’t believe it’s fall already! Or should I have said where was the summer?! This past couple months have been busy. One of the big events for me was to be the maid of honour for my sister. It’s the second wedding in the family and of course I am involved in helping. From the discussion with the DJ, to the font of the invitation cards, I was all involved. The worst is that the wedding was the hottest day of the whole summer and my maid of honour dress went from dry to wet, and wet to dry, and dry to wet again. But it was a beautiful, touching, and memorable wedding.

It was a overcast night, but it still shows the moon well. Other than seeing the sunrise or moon view from my living room, I can also see the sunset from the dining room.

The second biggest events I have done in the past couple months was that I MOVED!!! It’s our first new home and we moved in as a owner and it’s the most exciting ever! The best is that we got a good view from our high rise condo home. Isn’t the view amazing? This is only part of the view and if my camera has a wide angle, the CN tower would be in the picture too.

MY family was over for a house warming and also the full moon festival. I have never seen a full moon’s reflection on the lake before. Do you know it can turn the lake into silver colour? Gorgeous….

As for the projects on the needle, a cardigan, a shawl, and a pair of slippers are on the go. Stay tuned as I will review them in my next post!

Wedding Gail Shawl in Silk

I hate last minute project. This shawl was one of them becasue I wanted to make a shawl for my baby sister to wear at my second sister’s wedding. The first shawl that I finished for her, unfortunately, she didn’t like it. She wanted an ivory colour to match to her dress’s ribbon, instead of a colour that will match to her dress. Oh well…..got to pick yarn again and keep knitting. Two weeks later, it’s finished and she loved it. Then it’s my turn and the time it’s getting tight. Good that I got a new stash from my best frined Lillian. It’s a cultivated silk yarn she got from a local yarn. It’s extremeley fine but it’s gorgeous.

Knitting shawl is a satisifying process as you see it grows inch by inch. If it’s a lace shawl, you can see the pattern started to come through – isn’t it gorgeous?

The shawl was made in time to wear for my sister’s wedding. The “funniest” thing was that the wedding day was the record high temperature, and guess what, I didn’t get to wear it! It was so hot and humid that I couldn’t even imagine putting the shawl on my shoulder. DAWN!!! Well, the Gail shawl is so pretty….maybe I get to use it for my own wedding in the future!

Cheers.

FO: Habu Top Down Short Sleeves Sweater

It’s finally done. I got interrupted in between for at least two other projects due to my sister’s coming up wedding (in less than two weeks!). The interruptions meaning two and a half shawls, some yarn dying projects, and I am wanting to start another project but can’t decide what. The reason why I finished it this weekend is becasue I forgot to bring the shawl home to knit this weekend, so I decided to finish this long waited wip. Believe it or not, I actually FREAKED when I found out I left the shawl project at work. My boyfriend offered to take me back to work yesterday to pick up the project but I declined the kind offer because I learn I should relax about the shawl…although it’s for me to wear at my sister’s wedding in less than 2 weeks. Anyhow, here’s the top down sweater!

It actually looks nicer than it feels as the shosenshi paper is quite coarse to touchl. It was washed and blocked but surprisingly it wasn’t soften a lot than I expected. Did I tell you I was winding the shosenshi paper with my hand because the winder was lend out, and my boyfriend asked me what was I doing with the “thing”. I told him I used shredded paper to use as “yarn”. He literally believed it and looked shocked. haha. It’s just too funny. Although it’s a bit coarse, it doesn’t feel itchy or hard on the skin and I like it a lot as it’s a very simple short sleeves that will go well with anything in my wardrobe.

I look forward to some more new experience with the Habu yarns!

Trip to NYC and some WIPs

Summer’s finally here!  Are you enjoying the summer?  I am and I spent one week at NYC with my hubby.  It was overall a very pleasant trip – lots of shopping, walking, and shopping!  I visited three yarn stores all together.  Purl Soho, Knitty City and Habu.  Was it ever fun!

My hubby took a few pictures of me searching through the baskets in Habu.  I was too busy searching through these sales baskets and I didn’t know he was sneaking pictures of me. haha. I didn’t get a lot of sales goodies there, but it was just fun searching through sales section if you know what I mean.  I ended up got some undyed silk, different colours of Tsumugi silk, and some paper yarns. 

Knitty City carried A LOT of yarns!  Whatever brands you can think of, they carry it.  I was originally thinking of going there to meet Ysolda as it was her autograph night; but I screwed up the date and I missed her by a day early.  DAWN!!!  Hopefully I can meet her in the near future.  She was one of the most talented knitting designers ever! I especially love her Ishbel…I am a little obsessed and I am on the Ishbel #3!

Purl Soho was another fun place to visit.  I just adore their colour collection!  I was looking for some yarns to make a shawl for my sister’s wedding and her theme colour was the “tiffany blue”.  Guess what, the lady at Purl Soho was so helpful, she found it for me!  It was the Rowan Cotton Glace.  Was it ever soft to knit with.  I started knitting the Ishel on my trip and here’s how it looks so far.

Also visited some delicious restaurants in NYC and one of them was a Korean Restaurant in the Korean Town. Look at the picture of the dish that my hubby ordered:

Did I tell you I got a new camera too? It’s a Canon SX110. I just LOVE it! Although I have a lot to learn like angles, lightings, and etc, it is so much easier and fun taking pictures with a nicer camera. I practiced some pictures taken skills at the Central Park in NYC.

Last but not least, I finished a secret project for my dearest friend Lillian (aka Craftlover). I used Handmaiden’s Seasilk Rose, and it’s a beautiful colour. My first attemtp to knit with beads and the results were awesome. Here’s the yarn, and stay tune for the finished picture of the Hanami Scarf!

Oh, don’t forget to drop by my blog soon as Lillian and I had a fun time dying some yarns. More pictures to come!

One down!

I love project like this – started last year before winter came. It was almost done but didn’t have the mood to finish it as I wanted to touch wool instead; just realized I had this project sitting around two weeks ago, picked up the needles, started knitting, and two weeks later – whaalaa!

I am loving this. Sirdar Just Bamboo is soft to touch. It’s a beautiful yarn and it got a nice drape. Seems heavy after I finished it but once I put it on, it’s light and comfortable.

I have never used a yarn that has a gauge that’s dead on to the pattern. The row gauge was the same, and the stitches was the same. The arm hole’s cable seam was knitted separately then sewed on – even that fits perfectly! It just made my life easier.

The pattern was from the Winter 2009 Phildar. It’s one of those love at first sight pattern and it was a easy one. Modification was knitted in round and splitted at armholes and knitted separately, instead of knitted front and back.

The above photo is a little darker, but it shows this tunic sweater well on me.

Last but not least – thank you all for the lovely comments on my Habu Whisper Cardigan – all the kind words are very rewarding and they’re like engine oils to a rusted machine, it just keeps my needles going! I am knitting and blogging because of your supports! Thank you again!

You got to see this…

Look at what I’ve got – Whisper Cardigan made with Habu Tsumugi Silk Yarn! Honestly, the yarn is rougher than I expected, but after it’s blocked, it got softened up a lot. Remember if you want to wash it for the first time, soak it for at least five minutes. Some oil came out and they float to the top; and after a couple rinsed, there were quite a bit of dirt too. But after it’s all washed, it’s clean and soft.

Tsumugi Silk from Habu is a lace weight, but I used it to make a cardigan! Quite an experience. It’s light as air, and yet trendy! It’s not a long project but it took me longer than a month because I no longer have luxury knitting time. But Whisper cardigan doesn’t require a lot fo attention – simple Knit and Purl. It’s one of the advantage I like about it – this way I can pick up the needles and knit anytime I wanted without looking at where I was before.

The pattern was fun to knit as well. It’s a top down so I basically knitted to the length that I wanted. Less than 2 cones were used, and I got the length that I wanted. It’s just perfect for the spring weather!

Due to the new love experience with Habu, here’s the yarns I am using on my needles -

It’s Tsumugi Silk in Red Wine, with Shosenshi Paper in Grey. I got one ball each from the Knitter’s frolic, and knitting two together. And these are the results so far –

Isn’t it pretty? It’s an exceptional combination and I’m loving it so far! Although it’s hard to knit, the shosenshi paper is REALLY PAPER like. My hands are actually sore from knitting it. Not to mention I got a hard time purling. I ended up knitting it in round so I can move on faster.

I just love the combination.

Planning to make a top down sweater. Original design. Well, design as I go. Hopefully it will work well!

FO: Hanami

A Hanami is finished. It’s a special gift I made for my teacher/manager Jean. If you have read my blog, I had mentioned I accomplished a 7 year program, work related, and the person who helped me got to this stage is Jean. In order to thank her, I made a Hanami. It’s so hard to choose the yarn and pattern! She said she loves creamy colour, and she wants something to wrap around the shoulder on a cool summer days. So I choose Estelle South Pacific. Do you know it’s actually hard to choose something in cotton and creamy colour? I am glad Mary’s yarn carry that!

This is a DK yarn, so I can cast on less than the pattern had asked for. And because of the yardage I have, I only repeated 4 times of the basketweave pattern.
Basketweave pattern is so hard! I love lace pattern, but basketweave is just different. It took me half way through the couple repeats to get used to it without making mistakes. I used stitch marker to mark the repeats; but realized it’s not the same stitches within each repeats every row. That was the part that took me the longest before I figured it out the hard way.

After the basketweave pattern, it was much easier to work on the lace part. It’s such a clever pattern and it’s so smooth in the transition. Brilliant! As for the lace pattern, I didn’t finish it all. It’s already long enough, so I ended it earlier.

The ruffle was also shortened but it showed well in this Hanami.

All together, 2 skeins’s used, around 500 yardage.

Hanami indeed, how do you like it?

FO: Another Ishbel Shawl…this time for myself

I have the passion for shawl lately. I guess it’s a sign a spring’s arrival! I knitted a Ishbel Shawl and gave it to my beloved best friend Lillian. I immediately casted on another one for myself because I love it! I also went online and bought another skein of Jitterbug. The yarn’s just cute….it’s one of the must have yarn.

Ishbel is a fast knit – easy to knit, and it gives you a quick accomplishment as it only requires 300 meters! This time I use Handmaiden Fine Yarn 2 Ply Silk Cashmere in cream. Is it ever soft! It’s handdyed so it’s got a nice creamy-golden tone, with a hint of soft pink and pale blue if you look closely. It’s one of those colours that will match anything in your closet.

Have you noticed any difference between the real one and this one? Well, I actually added more lace at the bottom. When I’m on the second last section, I noticed I have so much yarns left that I can keep going. So I keep repeating the second last section for 3 more times….until I got tired of the pattern. Believe it or not, I still have yarn left for another 2 sections! I originally thought it doesn’t look as nice, but then as it’s blocked, it’s actually not bad! Good thing I didn’t rib it off….I am not loving it! It added length, lace effect, and it’s a bit bigger which is perfect.

Tada…it’s done!

Now I am working on a wrap for my teacher….hopefully I can show you some WIP photos soon. I just can’t concentrate…not only making tons of mistakes, but it’s ended up too big so I started all over again last night after I was over 20 rows. Oh well….got to enjoy the progress. Ribbing is part of knitting right?

Enjoy the warmer weather and sunshine out there! Happy knitting.

Where was I?

I spent the last week in preparing the most important exam in my life…..it took place in Anaheim, California. My teacher came with me (basically to speak for me and give me moral support). Surprisingly, I was CALM….calm like still water. I did really well and when I’m back to the office, this was on my desk.

My boss got me the biggest bouquet of flowers I have ever seen….I am 5″7, and the flower in the vase was placed on my desk and it is taller than me! I got emails congrats, cards, gifts, and more flowers in the following days and I am thrilled!

Back to last week’s excitement at Anaheim…..after I finished at the exam, my boss treated me and my manager to a day at Disneyland. Here’s Micky and Goofy:

I didn’t line up to take pictures with them. The line up was just too long. I was overwhelmed with all the kids as well! Other than the castle, can you see the stroller parking lot? Believe it or not, when it was getting dark, there was actually employees handing out numbers to make sure you park your strollers right and take the right strollers home.

We took a couple rides including the Little Small World (which was silly and tacky) and the Pooh ride (I took a picture of the Pooh’s bump):

Although the Little Small World is ideally for the little ones, can you see the Green Horse at the corner(or is it something else)? It’s neat!

The most funniest thing was seeing the sale of Turkey legs! I guess the picture can’t do the justice, but they’re HUGE…..I mean HUGE…..I would say it’s bigger than my arm….how can a person eat it all? I guess it’s meant for sharing between family:

The Disneyband was also playing and it just made everything more exciting!

Ellis and Magic Hat was also dancing along….Disney just made everything fun!

My inner child came out a bit on the Disneyland day. It was tiring but fun. Back to reality, people told me although I finished my exam, it’s the start of my journey in the career. It’s just exciting to know there are people care and happy for me. I am very blessed.

Needles is busy right now…hopefully I can show you something in the next post soon! It’s Shawl indeed!

How to keep your neck warm

I have attracted by Ysolda’s Whimical Little Knits. This is the love at first sight thing….especially the Ishbel shawl.

Believe it or not, the pattern only calls for 300 meters. My added on stash from Craftlover (she was doing a massive sale because she’s moving out of the country…check out her books, and yarn stash…lovely lovely lovely!), the Colinette Jitterbug, only has 291 meters. Love the red/purple colourway so I decided to take a risk. Every row/repeat I was doing, I was weighting the ball with my hands to see how much I have left. Surprisingly, after finished the last row of the pattern, I still have yarn left! I think I can make a couple granny squares with the left over!

It’s a very comfortable size of shawl to cover my neck like a scarf, or a shawl if I’m wearing a camisole to add warmth to my shoulder. I am loving it! Even my boyfriend said it’s a lovely one. He’s a picky person and he rarely comments on my knits, except this one.

The next little thing I did was The Queen Anne’s Scarf, a free pattern from 1Craftyboy’s webblog. Craftlover is right, it takes only 2 hours to do! If you want instant gratification, this is a must crochet item!

Easy to memorize, and fun to crochet. The good thing is that, you can use any yarn in your stash, and keep the flower growing until you ran out of yarn! I was using the Noro Kureyon and it only has 110 meters. One ball gives me a decent length to show off! If you got 200 meters, then you can make it a wrap around to keep your neck warm.

When I’m not keeping my neck warm, I place it by the den with my plants…it adds tremendous colourway to the corner!