Remembering that fateful day..

A Prayer and GYK

I assume that most of you have already heard about the shooting at Virginia Tech University. I was certainly shaken up to hear of the horrific incident that left so many people dead and dozens wounded.

I cannot begin to understand what the families of the victims are going through right now. So I shall not say more.

Let's all send out a prayer asking God to give strength and support to the families and friends of the victims of this tragic incident. Thank you.

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I believe that most of you might have seen this:

Good Yarn Karma is the brainchild of Donyale, Jae and Nora. They came up with the brilliant idea of a place to give away or swap yarn that you may have stewing in your stash cupboard, making friends with dust bunnies.

It's simple enough. Got some yarn you know you'll never use? Swap it or give it away to a loving home. Magazine, knitting notions, fiber....basically anything knitty.....Good Yarn Karma will help you clear your stash for new stuff ;o)

To find out more, click on the button =) Go on y'all get yourself some good karma.

My very first swap resulted in me receiving these gorgeous goodies from Kimberly.

Speaking of goodies, I received three gorgeous skeins of Knitpicks Gloss in Black from Mira as a resolution of two rather funny bets that we had! Thanks chica.

It's so lovely. Excuse the crappy picture. Batteries did a good number on me.

I know I'm rather late to jump on the bandwagon, but after much contemplation I got this off of Amazon for a steal! The lovely and extremely talented Kitman brought it over to me and boy was I surprised at the thickness of the book. I still haven't got the time to go through it but it seems vibrant and fun.

That's all for now. Happy Knitting everyone.

Back!

I just realised its been so long since I updated my blog. Time flew by so fast that it still feels like only yesterday I came back from my weekend getaway to Cameron Highlands.

It's been quite some time since my brother left as well =( I miss him. He's the best brother anyone could EVER ask for.

I sent out the FBS and DFS to my mom and aunt. Managed to snap a few pics before it was sent off. I'm also happy to say that they love it.

Blocking time

Miles of Flower Baskets...

A rather hurried picture of the DFS, just minutes before it was mailed off. The pink thing you see is Mira's make-your-car-smell-nice thingee.

I am currently out of things to knit. Seriously. I have two balls of the cutest boucle yarn, one lavender and one baby blue, its cotton and feels so soft. I have absolutely no clue as to what on earth to knit with it! Anyone with suggestions on what to knit? I was think perhaps a face cloth, tiny towels or an eyemask...etc...I just have a feeling that knitting it up would produce a terrycloth, towel-like fabric. Absolutely any ideas, links, etc...would be highly appreciated.

Has anyone had a problem with blogger lately? I have, just a few minutes ago I logged into blogger and the dashboard indicated that there were some unmoderated comments, which was strange since all comments that are posted get routed through email to me for moderation.

Anybody know how to fix this leak in Blogger? Do let me know.

Road Trip!

DFS is off the freezer and on the frying pan again. What a relief. For a moment I thought there was no hope but then things do have a way of working out init?

Sadly enough, I have had to cast on for another project. A baby bonnet. I realized I prefer one project on the needles at one time. All my WIPs are consequences of not sticking to this simple rule. But this was a special case where time was of the essence.

But I haven’t really got much knitting done. What with the new semester starting and my brother visiting me =)
We’ve been exploring Malaysia. Next stop Genting.

Here are some pictures of the places we’ve (bro, Mira, a classmate and my ----) been to.

The Petronas Twin Towers

Lata Iskandar - a little waterfall with clear cool water, on the way to Cameron Highlands.

Vast expanses of tea plantations that smattered the hills on the way up

A rather steep climb by foot brought us here (pretty darn high up in the mountains I tell you). Veggies don't get any fresher than this!

Now this is a story I have to tell...

On the way up the mountain, by car, there was a middle aged man going home after work. He was carrying a little pink bag full of groceries. The typical homely farmer going home for dinner after a long day at work.

We all had a major itch to get up to the mountain to see the highest peak in peninsular Malaysia and he obliged us willingly and told us how to get up there. Mind you, we had to leave the car and walk.

So following his directions, we took the car up the hill and parked it when the road got too narrow. As we rounded the bends, we met him again and this time he was carrying a chicken (can you see it?). Dinner. Cruelty? Well if you think so, then you better stop eating chicken aiite? Where do you think your meat comes from eh?

It was rather heartening to see people who lived life much simpler than us complicated folks. No cellulars, no MP3s, no computers, PDAs and what not. It was really nice to chat with him to find out what life was like way up there. His little house was situated up high in the mountains and everday he walked up and down (a forty minute walk) to work and back. By the time we reached halfway, we were beat, huffing and puffing like the sky had fallen on our heads. We couldn't take it anymore.

You may see, how simple their life is and how advanced we are. But despite all that, he was nice enough to invite us to his part of the town so that we could get the freshest vegetables for free. How humbling is that? How many of us would extend such courtesy to complete strangers? I was truely touched by this simple man.

Moving on...

The view from the Hotel where we stayed the night.

Budget stuff but not so bad except for the fact that the TV channels kept changing whenever we got to the best part of a movie.

But anyways, I enjoyed the stay. Good fun, good food. FAR away from the heat of the city.

A little strawberry plant. Cameron Highlands' source of sweetness hee hee.

And of course the Cameronian tradition...

Tea and scones

For those of you who are visiting, I know I don't have to tell you this but do visit the Tcafe. A homely restaurant in Tanah Rata selling homemade hot piping scones with creamy butter, whipped cream and jam. Oh mama. I would go back just for that. BUT do note, it's closed on Sundays.

Anyhoo... the weekend is over. Time to get back to life.

Happy Knitting everyone!

SP 9 revealed!

My SP9 spoiler has struck for the last time! It was the perfect package to put me in a wonderful euphoric mood for the rest of the day. My spoiler was Jamie from Jamie's Journey all the way from Canada.

The first thing that caught my eye when I opened the box was something pink, and completely fluorescent. A pink giraffe!! Bendy and everything! Lookie here...

His eyes are so wonky! Part of his charm hehehe.

Next I saw a glimmer of dark green and the heavenly smell of peppermint wafted up into my nostrils...that meant one and ONLY one thing.....AFTER EIGHTS! Not just one but TWO big packets. I almost flipped over in delight! Thanks Jamie...it was such a treat...(was - since its LONG gone).

Also she thoughtfully included two packets of the most amazing Cranberry Cider that I was raving about when she sent them to me before. I.LOVE.IT. seriously.

Does anyone in Malaysia know where I can get it here?

Next up, I dug through to discover a wonderful selection of lip balm, inspirational magnet, hand cream and bath salts.


Next up...knitting surprises. I almost started dancing when I saw this:

Two sets of Susan Bates circulars and a Count 10 Plus gauge thingee. OMG...I've already started using one of the circs...hence the missing one in the pic and the gauge thingee is SO USEFUL. I'm so freaking lucky! Thanks Jamie, I was squealing in glee when I figured out how to work it!

And now...the best for last...my jaw dropped and I was speechless for a couple of minutes when I saw this...

5 balls of a beautiful lavender color...100% mercerized cotton! Patons - Grace as you can see.

I'm stumped at what to knit with this that would required exactly 5 balls. Jamie recommended a tank top and I think she's right. I'll have to start pattern hunting. But if any of y'all have any brilliant ideas..PLEASE...let me know.

Jamie, I would like to thank you for such a wonderful package. I can see that you have put in a lot of effort into this well thought-off package. Thanks for being such a cool spoiler.

In other wonderful news. My brother is here on holiday. It's so nice to have him around after such a long time. Wish my parents were here too. I have a nice supply of home cooked food to last me awhile now. Yumm...

Speaking of yummm...mom sent me a roasted turkey. My bro, buddy, ---- and I had a rather belated Thanksgiving dinner. Boy were we full!

Anyways thats all for now. I am currently knitting the Diamond Fantasy Shawl in Knitpicks Shadow. It's currently in the freezer because of a big ass mistake. Got to figure out what to do.

Happy Knitting y'all!

Current mood:

Freedom

The sky seems bluer, grass seems greener, twittery birds are now cute and no longer annoying....

My summer research is finally over! Hence the euphoria. This last week, the culmination of three months of work crammed into 4 days drained the life out of me! The longest I've slept since Sunday was 3 hours a day.

But now...I'm FREE as a bird. The catch? It only lasts ten days and the cycle of doom begins again.
Ah but still..sweet freedom.

I first celebrated by sleeping 15 hours straight and my dreams were haunted with images of shoot tips, callus and freakish scenarios of "you haven't submitted your thesis yet...you need to get up now and GET ON IT!"
I actually did wake up in confusion and proceed to rifle through my books only to realise, Dang...I've submitted everything early this morning, what the hell is wrong with me?!

ANYways...here is a pic of my sock on my feet. A better idea of how it look except the sunlight made it look rather faded.

I've tried and tested the sock and worn it a number of times and here's what happened: IT FELTED!!!!

Perhaps the friction of my feet and the shoes....perhaps my luck....perhaps....dunno...

But yes ladies...that's my take on Claudia's Handpainted....it felts: DURING USE!

I've got tons of projects that need to be completed ASAP and it's going to be a race against time. But it's going to be fun.

Anyhoo that's all the news from this side...a promise: more interesting and picture-smattered posts next time...I'm still in Laze-About Phase.

GONG XI FA CAI!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

To all those who celebrate this vibrantly colourful day....

Happy Knitting too y'all!


Current Mood:

Back from the Abyss

Ah..it's over. I must say that I did my very best and now have to sit back and see where my efforts have put me.

Thank you all for your wonderful support, it was truly heart-warming to see how much all of you cared and shared my sorrow. I am relieved to tell you all that I am much more light of heart and am not as stressed anymore.

And I know that your prayers played a substantial part in it.

Yesterday was my buddy Mira's bday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

Mira: I hope you have a great year babe. You totally deserve it. Thanks for being an awesome friend.

I have an FO to show. Cast on during times of stress and completed with such joy. I love the colours. They make me feel so vibrantly happy.

Pattern: Bob Marley's Grandma's Footies
Yarn: Just over one skein of Claudia's Handpainted in Deep Blue
Needles: 2.75mm dpns in a set of 5
Size: Ladies size 9-11

Comment: The cuff was replaced with twisted ribbing to give more definition. The yarn was lovely to work with and knits up real smooth. To see another pair worked in this pattern, click here. My inspiration =)

That's all for now. Thanks again for your support. I appreciate it beyond what words can ever express.

Happy Knitting everyone!

Thank you

Thanks for all your support! It really means a lot.

Today I have to study with all my might and then...
...8.30am tomorrow morning, I run the gauntlet.

I need all the luck and prayers I can get...

Sigghh...I miss my family, they were the perfect pick-me-up on days like these.

But thanks for your well wishes, my knitting family, it will certainly help me through.

Tough times

I just recovered from a long knitting slump since the FBS. Boy does it feel good to knit again! But I really shouldn't be knitting, I should be sitting at my desk, doing more research, burning more midnight oil and studying for my Immunology exam next week. But I think I'm in burn-out mode, I have no more energy to give, no more motivational spirit, no more....just...nothing.

I need a vacation.
And knitting time is closest to a vacation I'll ever get this year, isn't that a depressing thought?

That's all the energy I have to give today. Hope y'all are faring way better than I am.

Current mood:

Happy New Year!

A new year, a new beginning. That's what we all hope for. A little prayer for forgiveness is whispered perhaps? Well I hope whatever you wish for (if its good) and hope to achieve...you will this year.

God bless you all.

Just to break in the New Year, here is an FO that I've been meaning to post since last year. The FBS, sigh...I still have not gotten around to blocking it. But I did manage to finish it.

Well that's all I have got to show for now.

Till laterzzz....happy knitting everyone!

Current mood:

First SP package

Yes, it's finally here. My long awaited SP package, all the way from Canada!
Thank you Knitting Godmother.

Right, I'll shut up now.

Here's the good stuff...

An overview. The lighting ain't that good but what're you gonna do eh?

I certainly have received a lot of yummy goodies. Chocolates, drink mixes, candy canes and Kinder Christmas Egg(?). Those are the collective edibles =) Next up, Cinnamon Candles, a very phunky tape measure (really needed that), Penguin Soap, R - ma very own post it pad, a cute Journal and a magnetic notepad (very cool)!!

Knitting related...my SP sent me some Kool-Aid (a-whoo-hoo!) with instructions from Knitty to dye the Patons Merino Wool, and she has included a pattern from Magknits for a cute bag. Oh yes...a bottle of woolwash (I love it, I've been actually looking for something like this!) and the Jan 2007 issue of Creative Knitting for my reading pleasure along with some handmade stitch markers.

Close ups...

Gone in 60 seconds? I certainly hope not.

The fibery part of the package

Hmm...what should I knit? The wool is SO soft, I just wish it were cold enough here in Malaysia to wear woolly garments....sigh...we miss out on so much.

Purty handmade and customized stitchmarkers

Thanks a lot Knitting Godmother for a very excitingly Christmassy package.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Current Mood:

Yay!

Just to let y'all know...FBS is back on track and will be done soon. I didn't rectify the mistake but sort of trudged on and crossed my fingers hoping no one would notice. Hee hee.

Am in such a hurry so pics + story later y'all.

ps. thanks Mona for offering to rescue it!

Back again

I'm BACK. Ah...it's good to be on top of things again. Without further ado, I shall proceed to the interesting stuff, in chronological order.

Here, minus all the chocolate (where did it go? ask my cat) is the prize I received from the very cool Kimberly after winning her contest.

Two balls of creamy white Misti Alpaca and two balls of funky olive green mohair with pretty silver sparkles running through it.

She had included eight lovely stitch markers that were perfect for lace projects (no dangle = no tangle).

Not only that, but there was MORE, a big fat bar of dark chocolate with blueberries...yummmm...and tiny cute hershey's bars that were uh...gone...blame the cat.

ps. I don't have a cat

Thanks so much Kimberly! I tell you, she knows how to send out very cool prizes y'all.

Next up, I finally received my long awaited Funky Scarf. My swap pal I must say, is wonderful. Her first scarf actually had the misfortune of being lost in the mail and she made me another one. It's lovely.

It's the prettiest mulberry shade, with light pinks and grey. I love the way it feels. The rayon cotton blend is tangibly cool to the skin. I just fell in love the moment I put it on. Thank you swap pal, you're awesome!

Unfortunately, amidst all this joy, there is a grey cloud casting its shadow and this time its in the form of a very serious error in my FBS. It's so bad that I have actually put it down and can't even bring myself to look at it. It gives me the jitters y'all. Anyone willing to perform lifesaving surgery, please contact me, seriously. No really. I'm serious.

Norovember on the other hand, is going swell. I have succesfully HAND-FELTED (yeah baby, YEAH!) my Twiggy Tweed, panels and body. Who's your daddy now? Here is a blocking pic.

Hopefully it'll be put together by tomorrow, just in time for the Norovember celebrations.

That's about all for now. More later. Laterzz y'all

Current mood:

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been a bad blogger lately =(

My excuses:
1. Pictureless post = boring
State of mind = lazy
Environment = lazy

So...lazy + lazy = LAZY
Therefore....LAZY = no photography
= pictureless post
(until 22.11.06)

Current mood = motivated
LAZY + motivated = post with pictures =)

2. Been caught with my FBS in hope of finishing it by the end of the month.

3. Uh...too much food = excess glucose = brain overload = POOF

Anyways I'm back, WITH pictures so that y'all don't fall off yer chairs bored senseless.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for my wonderful family, my loving ----, my awesome friends, my online knitting world and friends, my little pets and life in general. Remember, say a little prayer for everything you're thankful for whenever you can =)

Now onto knitting updates. FBS is on the needles and progressing. I'm on the 9th pattern repeat and I do not know how much longer I should continue. I'm using 4.5mm circs, one strand of Knitpicks Shadow. How many repeats should I knit for a fairly sized shawl for my mom?

A progress pic:

Not a very flattering picture I must say but it's the only one that brings out the closest color match of the yarn.

I love the bumpity bumps of the pattern before blocking

Whats the deal with lifelines? I can never bring myself to use 'em. It's painstaking and well...I simply do NOT have the patience....HENCE....every mistake takes me around an hour to fix hehehe. And it's not like there hasn't been a lot of mistakes, pfffff....I think I could lop off about 4-5 hours in mistake fixing! Dang.

The Twiggy Tweed has not been put together yet, but here is a preblocking, prefelting picture just to show you the wacky colour combination.

Wacky n'est ce pas?

That's all for today. Back to FBS for hopefully what will be a continuous, mistake-free, knitting session.

Happy Knitting y'all!

Current Mood:

Post-Exam schedule

It’s finally over. Now I can knit till I go cross-eyed. Isn’t that a wonderful thought?

So in celebration of exam-termination, Twiggy tweed from Knitty was cast on. The body and the two panels were completed in two days. In the spirit of Norovember, the panels have been done in Noro Kureyon. It should present a good contrast.

Now it’s time for felting, BUT I do not have a hot water washing machine!! Has anyone had any success with hand felting? I would love to hear of any experiences. Pictures soon.

Another FO would be the cozy I knitted up for my buddy Mira’s cellphone. It’s the Yugioh Pattern, really cute I tell ya. Here is a preblocking picture.

The yarn is 69% cotton and 31% viscose. Any idea how to block it into shape? It’s a bit floppy, but in the picture, a rather small cellphone is hiding inside.

Next up is the beginning of all things Christmas-y. This is the first time I’m going to be knitting gifts for my family, it’s a scary thought since I take like forever to finish something. Eeeep.

Here is what is going to be on the needles soon. The Flower Basket Shawl with Knitpicks Shadow in Sunset.

Those gorgeous Addis are not mine….but belong to Mira who very graciously lent them to me for this project. She received them from her awesome SP.

Now for more cool news, I just received a package from the very cool Polly at All Tanged Up. She noticed that there weren’t any selections of sock yarn here in Malaysia (yes I did whine about that many-a-place) and so she suggested a swap and tada…I received my package. There was yarn, ooo yes there was yarn, and also a tin of delicious Jaffa Cakes that vanished within 3 minutes after I unpacked everything.

The skein on the left is Amethyst from Fleece Artist. It’s in the most gorgeous deep purple I’ve ever seen.

The red ball is Lana Grossa – Meilenweit Cotton Spirit. It’s so soft and yummy.

The lighter pink one is Trekking XXL, soft sweet shades of pink and lilac. The two little balls are Cascade Fixation in a kaleidoscope of colours!

Boy do I have plans for this lot as well. Thank goodness exams are out of the way. WooooOOOoooooot!

Thanks a lot Polly. I love everything you've sent.

Well thats about all for this post. Isn't life just great after exams?

Current mood:

A sock and a scarf

Exam stress.

I cast on for...

Toddler socks

It was a win-win situation. I get to practice socks, beat stress, end up with an FO and blog about it too.

And it turned out to be...

Look Ma...no holes! (with a pen for scale)

Toddler? Three year old more likely.
Why? Uh...well technically, I did swatch it but then realised it was a tad too big but continued knitting anyway. No harm, no foul. I did learn how to get rid of the darn holes, keep my stitches even AND the kitchener stitch too!

Now I have one sock in a size that is certainly no use to anyone I know. My first sock, I think I shall frame it. Memories of Socktoberfest immortalised in a framed sock. Interesting.

Anyways moving on. Kathy at MinxKnits finally received her funky scarf and I'm ecstatic to say, she loves it.
Here is a lovely picture that she was nice enough to take while modelling it!

Doesn't she look purty?

In other news, if you are completely bored and are looking for something to do, check out these bloopers in the celebrity world and entertaining commentating, go visit this site. I’m sure you already know about it but ah well, it’s easier having the link put out for you.

Happy Knitting bloggeroos!

Current mood: