Back to yarn and needle

Paid a visit to my blog after almost half decade (what!!)  not writing anything here. Found some knitters blogs are inactive or totally gone from the web. Some still there with new addresses. Flicker also change the free gallery that I embedded in my page before.
In terms of knitting, there were some works but I need to find my picts first. I knitted 2 swallowtails shawls using yarn from kmart. 1 shawl need only 1 skein. Cost wise, it fits with my budget as student back then.  I gave the 2nd swallowtail shawl I knitted to a Buddhist nun, just for pay my gratitude.

At this moment I am crocheting a table cover; however, I experienced some difficulties to follow the pattern. It's an octagonal shape, so almost circle and somehow I always made mistakes in some wedges, hence, I need to ripped the work for about 5 or 6 times, I lost counting.
The material I used is cotton thread, in taupe or dark cream with 3/0 size crochet needle.

But I won't give up with this pattern. However, I think I will have a better luck with my knitting needles.

Happy New Year - Dragon Year 2012

Happy New Year for all of you :)

Welcoming the Year of Dragon - 2012
Xin Nien Khuai Le, Gong Xi Fa Choi, Wan Shi Ru Yi, Shen Ti Chien Kang!
Happy New Year, bless with Prosperity, Long Life and Health all year long!:)

(image courtesy from http://kopona.org/tags/Chinese/)

A year without a note

When I looked back the last date I blogged, it is about a year already! It does not meant I was not knitting at all. I have finished a tablecloth, a mittens, a shawl and 2 hats.

I have quite major life changing in mid 2011 and it did effect to my knit and crochet time. But hopefully I will get my knitting and crochet mojo back, as I miss this creating process a lot.

There are some knitting projects that I would like to include in my wish-to-knit-list, such as:
1. Sporto (a hoodie sweater) from Knitty Winter 2011
2. Emmaline (short-sleeved sweater) from Knitty Spring Summer 2010
3. Cathode (short-sleeved sweater) from Knitty Winter 2004
4. Joannie (sweater) from Knitty Winter 2011 (note: seem need to tweak on the sleeve)
5. Cardiff Coat (Jacket) from Interweave Knits Fall 2011
6. Dahlia Cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall 2011
7. Magellan Cardigan from Interweave Winter 2011
8. Meriwether Wrap from Interweave Winter 2011
9. Summit Shawl from Knitty Spring Summer 2010
10. Quercus Cardigan from Knitty Fall 2011
11. Shapely boyfriend Cardigan from Knitty Fall 2011

There are some other projects from Let's Knit Series Books and Ravelry too, but now I am too lazy to pick it up and list those projects here ;)

If you have interesting top-down projects to knit/crochet, please share! Thank you! :-)

The Last Knit

This is not my last knit :) Just want to share with you a short animation by Lauren Neuvonen, from Finland. Produced from year 2005, when knit craze was so hot!

Enjoy :)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

Directed by Laura Neuvonen
Country Finland
Year of Production 2005
Running Time 7 minutes

Short Chek-In

I have not posted my work here for very long time, I am still knitting/crocheting tough, but not as often as before. Long hour at work shared some contribution to the very limit time I have for this fave hobby.

I am not sure I have posted this before, I have finished 2 crocheted dish-clothes, but only took pictures of 1 of it, here, taken from Japanese book, I am using cotton thread, held double all around, and self-dyed yarn

Yarn : Unicorn # 10, held double, less than 25 grams, and acrylic yarn # 20 (blue yarn)
Needle : Rose # 3/0
Start & Finished : April 17, 2010

Last week, somehow I really want to make a pair of fingerless mitten. I think I can use it at work, where now already in raining season, and somehow my work floor seems has air-con setting lower than other floors. So, a cotton fingerless mitten would be nice to warm up my hand a bit.
There are some patterns that interested me, from interweave knits, the japanese knit books, lion-brand, berroco, ravelry, and for sure Knitty

I found this Fetching Pattern from Knitty Summer 2006, by Cheryl Niamath, I casted-on using Sirdar Breeze Cotton yarn straight away, and in few hours I finished the half pair.

The 2nd pair was casted off on Sunday 21 Nov 2010, and then I cast it off by yesterday, it's quick and easy pattern.

I added 4 cables and I knitted 26 rows after wrists instead of 18 as it in the pattern (which too short for my palm when I tried it on).

Yarn : Sirdar - Breeze - color : Pink (0070), about 50 grams
Needle : 5 Double Pointed Needle Set - SKC, 4.00 mm
Start : 20 November 2010
Finished : 28 November 2010

Then today, I cast on a Snow Doily by Priscilla Hewitt. After work about 3-4 hours, I am finished. It is now in the kitchen sink, ready to wash and then use it (no blocking ;p)

Yarn : Unicorn # 10, held double all around
Needle : Rose # 3/0
Start & Finished : Sunday, 28 Nov 2010

So I am still knitting/crocheting, even tough not time spent on it as much as I used and would like to.
Actually I am working with a sofa-cover again now, working on my stash - the chenille yarn, it's crocheted, basket weave. Started that about 2-3 months ago, and still working on it. I love watching it growing, specially when I fold it, the basket weave composed a nice motif.
Since no pattern use for this sofa cover, I am still searching for the border motif.
Any idea? Kindly share! :0)

Progress Double Star Doily

Now, it was on 1st week of Jan, and I was dream to finished this before Chinese New Year on Feb 14, 2010. So, sewn the 2nd parts of the doily to the central pattern, with some help from this book, All Stitched Up by Jane Crowfoot. This is book is value for money and I really glad I bought this, always be a good reference for finishing the project. So here the Central Doily before sewn with the 2nd part:

And after about 2 hrs ( i was mattress stitch this very slowly..-:p), I got this:



To make sure the 1st and 2nd nicely stitched together, I sewn these 2 parts together with sewing thread:



And it stitched nicely!



I like this and was thinking to just have 2 rounds instead of 3 as what written in the pattern but I would like to try the pattern, so I cast-on the 3rd round:



Now it's almost end of March, and am still working on the 3rd parts, reached the half around the 2nd border. Maybe I can finish this by May.

Double Star Doily

Time flies.. very fast.. for me.. with all the work, i still can manage doing some knit projects. One thing that I am working on it, cast this project few months ago (around Sept if not mistaken), yesterday have finished first part out of three.

Project is a free pattern, called Double Star Doily from http://www.knitting-crochet.com. Have this copy for few years, and found this again when I went through my pattern stash.

Using white cotton thread, is has it weakness, even tough always washed my hands before working this, but seems some dust still sticking. So here it is, the finished center part (I hope when I wash this later, this stain will go away).


The central is make in section, total 10 wedges. However as advice in the pattern, it can be more depend on how loose is the stitch we knit. I am working with cotton thread # 20 (brand : Unicorn) and 2.5 mm needle. After cast off the 10th wedges and sewn 1st and 10th section, it lay flat nicely. Hmm.. am sure blocking will help to open up the pattern a bit (working with cotton, unlike the wool can bloom ;p).

There are some corrections on row 25 (center pattern), where it should be K6 (typo error, it shown a GBP symbol), row 37: should be K2 instead K3 and row 38, should be K6 instead of K8.

Grafting always challenge for me, need to practice a lot! Also found out this pattern shown a unique way on closing the center. Cool :)


There are 2 parts of border side, and already cast on and worked 3 repeat on 19/12/09. Need to rewind some of yarn for the borders. Hope can finish this before year end! :)

Now I am thinking of hemlock doily/afghan too..mmm.. after this :)