I've got stitches in my sides

So I've been watching a lot of old British sitcoms lately. A blast from the past indeed. I've been feeling all Christmassy and what better to do that snuggle up with a good comedy running and a bowl of chowder to pass the time?

Now thanks to the wonders of the interweb, no longer do we have to wait a week to watch Hyacinth drive everyone insane with her nitpicking personality or see Basil Fawlty get bullied again.

I was wondering whether anyone thinks the Vicar of Dibley is hilarious? Dawn French on a roll is ripping stuff! (See I've picked up English bits now!)

I wonder if there are any more old fun comedies to get hooked on? I'm not limited to English comedies of course, I love me my American sitcoms too :)

It's just that I'm running out of things to watch now and I need ideas!

Hope everyone's ready for Christmas :) (for those who celebrate) and the rest are making the most of the holidays!

Christmas is almost here!

Are you knitting? Spinning? Crafting? Painting? Quilling? Tatting? Crocheting? Sewing?

There's not much time left - I would know, I haven't done a thing.


Wisdom for the day:

A two idiot explodes a sphere.

Spinning updates

I finished this some time ago but never got to blog about it.

Name: Easy Tiger
Fiber: Maude & Me polwarth
Yardage: 170 yards

The fiber was an absolute joy to spin!

My new hobby

Spinning!

My second handspun project - the first was too much of an embarrassment.

100% wool

78 yards

2 ply

Fingering Weight

Project 3:

Merino Wool
258 yards
Fingering weight

First FO for 2010!

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Wool Print (2 skeins)
Needles: 3.5 mm

Notes: Smaller CO sts to get a thinner scarf. Took up exactly 2 skeins and barely a meter left over. Great stitch definition.

Hope everyone's enjoying 2010! It's May and it's raining here. Hallelujah!

Happy 2010!

From General

May you have a blessed 2010 with all your hopes and dreams coming true :)

Shhh...Whisper it to me

Yeah, this is way way overdue.

Pattern: Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Yarn: Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Papaya (thanks Rambling Roses)
Skeins: 1.5
Needles: 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm,4.0 mm

Brilliant construction with such a lightweight yarn makes this a delight to knit and wear. I carry it with me every where!

Sorry for the sparse blog-posts, I'm currently on holiday in Malaysia and more about this fantastic trips in the following posts.

Lots of love to everyone and lots of prayers to those who are suffering in Samoa and Indonesia.

Happy knitting, crafting, reading - or whatever your hobby may be - everyone!

Summer!

Oooh I've been a naughty blogger. I shall try to make up for it.

Well, most of you know that I left for a summer vacation to the motherland, Sri Lanka. It's been 8 years and seriously, nothing has changed. Except for the humidity. I could literally feel my hair frizz up as I stepped off the plane. Van de Graff's got competition.

Now that the war is over, things perhaps do look to be a bit more peaceful and people seem to be happier; free of the tendrils of fear that clasped the nation for decades.

Knitting-wise, nothing much has been done. I've got a Razor Cami in the works and a promise to fulfill blocking the Whisper Cardi that's been enthusiastically sniffed at by all the pets :D

Left to Right: Tina and Yoda (do you see the resemblance to green Yoda?)

There are two dogs, three ducks and an occasional snake in addition to the brood.

My cousin has been teaching me a new sort of embroidery and it's rather lovely. A preview:

I ought to begin knitting again. I shall. In fact I have a blocking appointment tonight :)
I've been hunting for yarn shops around here but to no avail. I've only seen icky acrylic. A big disappointment indeed.

That's about all for now. Updates will be regular henceforth, hopefully with good info stemming from the exploration phase that takes over anyone who travels.

Happy knitting everyone!

Crafty me

I like symmetry.

Knowing that I can put this like of symmetry into my knitting is a very comforting thought. That is why I keep track of every single row that I knit, every stitch that I might tink, every increase, decrease - you get the picture.

This can however lead to rather complicated nonsense scribbled on any bit of paper near me while knitting - grocery lists, envelopes, anything.

Therefore to help me in this quest for keep track of things in style, I fashioned a row counter for myself.




When I first saw these on blogs, I could never figure out how and why would anyone want a contraption like this tangled in their knitting.
But after knitting rows and rows of stockinette, the symmetry lover in me realised that this is the easiest way to remember how many rows I'd knitted without having to stop after each row and mark it.

Each jump ring represents a row, a repeat or whatever you'd like it to be.

Here it is in use with the sleeve of my Whisper cardigan.

Yeah I sorta got lazy as I reached the top and put in an old wire that I had twisted for practice before heh.

But I like how it came out. It also helps to keep my purple obsession in check without having to knit everything in purple.

Would you use one of these in your knitting?

Phase II

Nothing helps to finish up rows of stockinette like a good movie - or a bad one...

I've got my WIP count to ZERO - it IS possible and I've done it. I frogged the jacket and chucked Twiggy Tweed into a basket to be cut into bits because I know I'll never use it.

Phase II: Knit More, Much More - has begun
It feels good to start with a clean slate.

Last night, I cast on for the coveted Whisper Cardigan using Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Papaya which I swiped from the lovely Rambling Roses.
BE WARNED, make sure you use cables with the smoothest join. My KP options kept snagging and I wonder whether something can/should be done.

...back to the movie. I chose Cloverfield.

Bad choice.

20 minutes into it, I was ready to barf all over my knitting. It's a POV movie and all the running made my head spin.

Tonight I shall attempt to watch it again, however making sure I do not eat two hours beforehand. Ick.

I've been having lots of ball winding fun at the KOs lately. I'm very proud of this:

Caroline and I managed to wind 10 yarn cakes during the meet up. Sadly I don't have pictures of her bunch. Thanks for the winder Jhocy and Yanti for the swift.

Dubai eye candy.

Burj Dubai and note the cute metro train at the bottom.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Status report

Mission: Zero WIPs
Status: 2 down, 2 to go

Item #1
Halter:

Completed.

Yarn: *No brand name, sorry. This was started before I knew such things were important, ie. my first knitting project of all time.*
DK - 8 ply mercerized cotton, 4 skeins
Sport - sparkle cotton tape, 3 skeins
Needles: 5.5 mm and 5 mm straights
Size: 34"-36" bust

Item #2
Bayerische Socks:

After 2 years, this is a real relief to be done with.

Pattern: Bayerische Socks
Yarn: Knitpicks Palette, 2 skeins
Needles: 2 mm dpns
Size: Woman's 8

Have a great weekend everyone. Must. resist. casting. on.

Sorry for the rather short post, blogger's being extremely uncooperative.

Zero WIPs? Possible or Impossible?

I'm on a mission. A mission to get my cobwebbed WIP count to zero.

Pending:
Twiggy Tweed - 70% done
Cropped Jacket - 35% done (heading for the frog pile)
Bayerische Sock - 75% done
Purple Halter - 95% done

Attempt one:

**Clockwise from top: 1. Trying it on (photo courtesy Rambling Roses) 2. Blocking 3. Blocking 4. Sewing the back casing to hold a strip of elastic [more pics here]

Verdict:
I thought the front was perhaps a repeat or two short.
But the incredible group of knitters that I've luckily met in Dubai voted that it was a-ok : Thank you girls!

Yes. There are other people who knit in the UAE.
Thanks to Ravelry, I tracked them down and they're a delightful group of fun gals from all over the world, who like nothing more than to get their knit on!
We've got a Sock KAL in the works with Lorna's Laces One Hank Socks.

ETA:
Some of the gorgeous knits at the KO:

**1. Jhocy's Clapotis - modelled by Jackie 2. Jhocy's Leyburns

Jhocy, Jackie, Jennifer, Caroline, Preeti, Hala, Debbie, Gilly it was a pleasure meeting y'all and I can't wait for the next meet up!


Okay I did get distracted from the big WIP mission:

**Left to right: Crochet hat, Loop Pillow, Crochet hat

Oh happy days

First something that made me go SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!

My valentine's day pressie arrived a few weeks ago from my significant other (SO) in this lovely box:

He does have the knack for picking up pretty pretty boxes.

Inquisitive and damnably hard to surprise by nature, it was all I could to stop myself from badgering him with a deluge of questions.

Excuse the abstract and in-your-face shot, my itchy fingers were tingling to get to what was inside.


The reveal~


14.7 mega pixels of gorgeous! I've been lusting after this ever since Canon came out with this model, in this limited colour too. Isn't he the BEST?

Now you know why there have been pictures.

Ah but it didn't end there.

Every knitter's joy, a man who knows what she wants -->

SO didn't even know the name of a single knitting magazine but boy did he hit the jackpot. He picked these out himself.

Can you just picture the delirium yours truly was in? I think - nay I guess, that the rest of the day did pass by in haze of flashes, patterns and squeals.


Let's catch up on some FOs the shall we?

Argosy Scarf

Yarn: Knit picks Felici - Hummingbird
Skeins: 1
Needles: 3.5 mm straights
Blocked Length: 60" x 4"

Interesting to knit, lovely to wear.



Slouchy Hat

Yarn: Cashmira Acrylic - White
Skeins: 1.5
Needle: 5 mm hook

The little puffs are super cute but I'd add a little more slouch the next time round.




Tribble

Yarn: Lily's Sugar 'n Cream
Skeins: 0.4
Needles: 4 mm

Fastest FO ever. Already in use at the kitchen sink.



That's all for today. I hope y'all have a great week.

Happy Knitting! I know I am.

Modified Hew

A completed photo of something I started working on a long long time ago. Perhaps the speckled yarn was not the best to use, to show off the gartered rib but I like the randomness all the same.



Pattern: Hew
Size: 36" Bust
Yarn: Spotlight Acrylic
Skeins: 1.4
Needle Size: 4 mm
Mods:
1. Joined at the neckline (front center) to make it a pullover shrug instead of a wrap around.
2. 2 x 2 ribbing as a hem all over except for the garter rib.



This is perfect to wear out here, what with indecisive weather. I don't think it needs any blocking eh?

More FOs on the way =)

HAPPY KNITTING!!

Update + Meme

Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed me! I really appreciate that you all care, your emails really touched my heart.

Mum's getting along better but she's rather weak and that scares me. Dad, on the other hand has recovered fully and he's been a whirlwind around the house.

Now for a meme, it's been a while since I've done these.

10 Favourite things - Letter L - courtesy of Craftylilly!

I'll dish out letters to anyone who says they want to play too.

Love - It makes the world go round and everything is more beautiful when you're in love and to be truly loved is a wonderful blessing from God.

Lace - there's just something about how it forms off the needles that is so fascinating

LOTR - when I want to escape

Low Mai Kai - (sp?) a sinful glutinous rice + chicken dish that I discovered in Malaysia

Lifehouse - my fave band since highschool =)

Pink Lemonade - good times!

Laughter - the best medicine indeed

Lingerie - not in a lewd way but doesn't every girl love it? It's nice to own purty things.

Letters - I love getting letters, long ones, short ones. The charm of snail mail never dies.

Lasagne - 'nuf said

Have a great week y'all.