Happy Yet Sad

I can't believe we are in September 2010 already, where does time go? My family and I had to deal with a very sad loss as my gran passed away. It was an unexpected death and I think I have not quite come to terms with it yet. We gathered with our relatives and went through the Chinese funeral rituals and ceremonies for several days and nights. I met cousins whom I have not seen in years and cannot believe how grown up everyone is.

The day before my gran's passing, I started to knit a little something for my mum in-law. A couple of years ago, I offered to knit her a shawl or something more elaborate. But my MIL asked if I could make her a neckerchief instead. She needs one for her morning walks. I casted on and frogged a number of projects before settling on the Goldie Neckerchief, a recent pattern published on Ravelry. I also had some pretty bamboo yarn hand-dyed by a local knitter.



I'm glad it turned out okay. As I was knitting, I had some doubts because it looked rather wonky on my needles.



This can be worn several ways, on the front, back and to the side. Projects in garter stitch are good for non-knitters because they usually cannot tell right from wrong side :-) And bamboo is the perfect yarn for tropical weather... it actually feels "cooling" when worn.



Project Details
Pattern : Goldie Neckerchief by Rachel Hunnicutt (Ravelry link)
Yarn : Dream Passion Superwash Bamboo in Raspberry Coffee (Etsy link)
Needles : 3.5mm
Used : approx. 130m
ravel it!

I hope my MIL likes it. I have not gifted it yet and I don't think she's reading my blog or tracking my flickr photos, so it should come as a surprise.

August has been a month of change. Not only did we have to deal with a death in the family, but my sister (who's now a qualified doctor!) has moved in to live with my hubs and I for several months until she finds her own place. She's currently doing her housemanship at a local hospital and is working some insane shift for the next two weeks. I'm really proud of the lil' monkey and have complete faith that she will do well in her chosen career :-)

She was telling me the hospital gets pretty chilly due to the strong air-conditioning and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to knit a wrap for her.



She likes green and this yarn was purchased a couple of years ago with the intent of knitting something for her. When I first saw it on the skein, I thought the colour looked rather strong and erm... very green. But once I started knitting with it, I began to appreciate the intensity.

As for the self-designed cardigan, it's coming along and is almost 75% complete. I just realised I have not knitted a full garment with wool before. All the past wooly projects were scarves. The cardigan has gotten to a point where it's rather warm and heavy and when it sits on my lap, it feels like a mini blanket. That's a problem with knitting in the tropics. I can only bear knitting it in air-conditioned environments now.

I should have it completed in time for my trip to China. We are visiting my brother in-law and his family in Beijing again. The last time I went there, I fell completely in love with China and its people. I don't think we'll be doing a lot of sight-seeing this time but it's more of a "lifestyle" trip with lots of shopping involved (I hope!).

Completely Incomplete

Throughout the year, I've been starting and then frogging projects because I have not been happy with how they were turning out. When a friend's wife recently delivered the cutest little baby girl, I immediately started thinking about knitting a baby dress or cardigan. I went through many patterns and eventually decided on Boheme (ravelry link).

Sadly, it was another knit that didn't turn out as I'd hoped.



The two fronts do not meet and there's a rather large gap in between. This was supposed to be a buttoned cardigan and I could not get the fronts to close in properly.



I had already made three button holes at the top front and had to sew them off because there was no point in adding buttons at this stage. It was rather sad too because I found perfect little yellow buttons to go with it.



Quite honestly, I was really reluctant about gifting it because it was an embarrassment. But le hubby told me that I should, since it's already done and I didn't have time to salvage it as we were visiting mummy and baby as soon as it came off the needles.

So, I told the giftee's parents that it can be worn as an open front cardigan :-)

project details : on ravelry



I have been toying with the idea of delving into knitwear designing. I think every knitter would have thought of this during the course of their knitting. Although I have been pretty much off my game (knitwise) in the last three years, several ideas have been forming in my head and I have been sketching them down so I won't forget.

I do not know when I'll start with my first "design" but it's not going to be something brand new or groundbreaking. My ideas are to create classic, comfortable and wearable items. Most importantly, it has to be easy to knit because I know there are many busy knitters out there with very little spare time (me being one of them).

Ravelry is a wonderful space for up and coming designers. And I am a huge fan of many of them! When it comes to established designers, I find much inspiration from Kim Hargreaves and Nancy Bush. Their designs are always honest, classic and are able to withstand the test of time.

Well, this is an aspiration to work towards to. I doubt anything I design would be a big hit since there are so many more wonderful patterns out there. But just putting my ideas down and sharing them with others, will be joy enough.

happy updates all around

Since my last post on my husband's health, I am very pleased to announce that his blood pressure has dropped quite a bit and he is no longer hypertensive. The diet and lifestyle changes we went through made a difference. We have lost some weight too, not by much but gradually.

In more good news, I completed another knit! I had six balls of Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a lovely neutral colour called Jersey sitting in my stash for a while. I had been searching high and low for a suitable pattern and came across the Vine Lace Vest one day. After seeing Little Purl's beautiful version in ASC (and she used six balls too), I knew that the yarn would be a perfect fit.

As I only had enough for the smallest size, I decided to knit the vest for my youngest sister. She has dropped hints about my knitting a few times and I thought it was about time I knitted something for the lil' hamlet.

I am so glad the vest fit her well and that lil' sis was thrilled to bits with it.

Sadly, we didn't have time to take the photos in daylight or outdoors and had to make do with a rather rushed "shoot" under florescent lighting and in quite cramped spaces. Both my pretty sisters did promise to model for me when I visit home during Christmas next week, so that's something to look forward to. They are quite the camera hogs :-)

It is likely I will not be updating the blog until 2010 and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday. May the new year be brighter and filled with more joy!

project details:

on ravelry

pleats and ruffles

It's been quite a long while since I completed a knitted project I really liked. When I first came across Debbie Bliss' Pleated Wrap, my initial thought was, "how boring...". But the more I looked at it, the more I started loving its simplicity.

I didn't even have to block it although I'm sure if would benefit from some light blocking. I used Debbie Bliss Cathay yarn in a lovely shade called Old Rose. The drape of Cathay is wonderful but I must admit I don't enjoy knitting with this yarn much because it tends to get rather splitty. There are better cotton yarns out there and this is probably the last I would bother with Cathay.

I was attracted to this pattern because of the ruffles. Who can resist them?

Ruffle, ruffle, ruffle...

 

I think I need a dressmaker body form. Honestly, it is not a fantastic experience taking self portraits especially when having to shuttle back and forth between the camera and where I stood. I don't even know what the camera was focusing at. Not to mention the heat of tropical weather makes this a rather sweaty exercise too. Not good when you have knitted wear on you.

I would consider this a success and feel quite inspired about starting another project. I have been meaning to use a bunch of Rowan All Seasons Cotton in my stash and I just need to go hunt for a suitable project for the six balls I have.

project details:

on ravelry