Simple Chic Blouse

Hello peeps! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. There is still the New Year celebrations to look forward to and Chinese New Year at the end of January to busy ourselves with. I'd guess everyone is still in a holiday mood? :) I know I am cause I'm clearin leave for the whole week! Yay! Yes, I suppose it is easy to tell it has cheered me up a lot. Though I'm pretty amazed at how many errands and things have to be run daily. It astounds me sometimes and time flies by like a jet plane. So alas, no, crafting has been put aside for a while. On the other hand, I've been a good girl and have been making myself do my "To Finish" pile. Like weaving in ends for minisweater and UO shrug among others. :P Yes I'm terrible at that sometimes.

Simple Chic Blouse



This blouse is from Simple Chic. No 1. The slight sheen and the geometric pattern makes it difficult to photograph well. I took it many times but details like the neck tie still doesn't show as well and the geometric pattern isn't as dizzying in real life as in the photos. Anyways, if you had thought sewing is easier then knitting like I did, you thought wrong. There were a lot of false starts and real stops. But all in all, I'm happy with my first piece. There are defects but I can live with it. On retrospect, I think I could have done without the buttons at the back. I can slip it on without unbuttoning. I might just do another one with slight modifications. Next in line would be a faux DVF dress and a nice little slip dress for Butterfly. All that, after I finish that huge pile of clothes I'd like to alter or embellish..:D Ok, obligatory blouse on me shots.



On Other FOs
Thank you girls for the tips and suggestions on MiniSweater. I've decided to leave it as it is. All I've done is weave in the ends and sew the armholes smaller. I might add a button if I see one that goes well with it, but for now, I'm content to just tie it on. As for Butterfly, I'm not too sure yet. I might just do as Joy suggested, shorten it if I start thinking I'd start crying if I have do another stitch. Muah haha!

Happy New Year Girls! Hope it'll be a great one for all of us!

Updates

I was getting ready to do a long update, then I realized that more than half the pix I took was so blur they are not usable. Sigh... So some updates then until I can retake the other photos. I've completed sewing a blouse from Simply Chic. I'll have to retake the photos before I can post. I've also started a jacket from Lana Grossa free pattern archive. I'm already eyeing some other projects.

Life is still busy. Lots of things in planning and set in motion. As for blogging,
I'm begining to wonder bout keeping a blog or bloglines for that matter. I get a bit batty nowadays cause everytime I log into Bloglines I have 400 over posts (and counting) to contend with. I no longer enjoy it. :( I feel like I'm plowing through them Darn it, no fun. I do still enjoy reading the blogs of people I know or are close with. Apologies all round, I do try my best to drop by whenever I get some free time. You girls totally make the effort worthwhile. :)

Just in case I don't get back in time for another post before Christmas day itself.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPAY HOLIDAYS everyone!

Butterly

I never thought I'd feel this way but Butterfly is starting to bore me to tears and I'm only at the hips. Before I started Butterfly, I was bit hestitant cause reading the forums, they've encountered problems with the pattern. I'm just glad that Kiri was my first lace project. I learnt a lot from it. Butterfly is actually quite a simple lace stitch. Only 2 lines of 6 sts to remember. It's fast, but because it is a dress, it's still very slow going. Worst is I can't watch TV while doing this to ease the boredom. If I ever get to the finishing line, I'll be very glad to finish it.

Bangle Bag



My bangle bag was done quite some time ago, but I didn't get around to finishing it. Now finally the lining is completed. I think I could possible try a side pocket next time. These 2 pics are all I got. The rest of the pictures were so blur they gave me a headache just looking at them. This is the same color lining I'm using for the bamboo cluth. Though, I have a feelin I might redo the bamboo clutch to sort out some pattern problems.

Knitty Bittys

My Surprise Gift
When Ruth said she had something for me and was sending me a package, I had no idea! I didn’t know what to expect. Then, it arrived! Just look at the package! It’s awesome!



That one time I commented to her about Yarn Harlot. She remembered and she sent me, not one, but two of Yarn Harlot’s fabulous books! That’s not all! Ruth also gifted me with a Knit Bits Calendar wrapped in that really cute piggy present wrapper and also KoolAid! I’ve already poured through one of her book in one sitting. It was as hilarious as promised. I know I’m going to thoroughly enjoy and savor the rest of the package. A Big Thank you to you Ruth! This package made my day!

MiniSweater
My minisweater was done quite a while ago. I had decided not to post it because I was uncertain about it and haven’t quite made up my mind. I haven't tied up the ends and I have not blocked it yet. I used 3 balls of Schachenmayr Punto in Blue that I had.

I added picot edging for the sleeves and hem. I thought it would be fun to give it a little pixie look with flared picot edging sleeves..:)Now I'm not too sure. Blame it on the Christmasy spirit going around with that pixie theme in my head. Heck if I had green, I'd probably used that for minisweater LOL And now, my problem with it is this : -



1.) The sleeves are very pixie looking
2.) The overlapping hem edges are too long. So long that I have to knot it to close it instead of sewing in a button to fasten it down.

So girls, I have half a mind to leave it as it is and another half a mind to frog it but I’d like to hear your opinions. Should I leave it as it is? Or correct the sleeves only or hem edges only or both?

Rumblings

My apologies to Kitty Kitty & Meowgirl for getting both their names mixed up with that tag. :) I've ammended that post.

Erin had asked what yarn I was using for Butterfly, I'm using Sirdar Silky Look in Champagne, which I dug out from my stash. :)

I have nothing much to add for now. I have so many things to share but no time to take pictures and sit down to organize my thoughts. I just felt guilty that I've been neglecting my blog.

Minisweater is completed, Butterfly doesn't flutter, it plods. And I've cast on for another project, one with simple st st so that I can knit that in the car. I'm not about to risk fumbling with Butterfly lace sts when one eye is looking at the road. I'm putting this down so I'll get myself moving to take photos soon to show. I don't think I'm too pleased with how my mini sweater looks. But I have no patience to frog right now.

I have had another 3 balls of Gedifra California which I suppose will have to resign itself into becoming another shrug. I had my eyes set on this other number. But it looked like minisweater. It is a variegated white grey color and I haven't found a pattern that speaks of a match. Any great ideas girls? I could always count on good suggestions from you ladies..:)

I'm being distracted by a myriad of things. My sewing for one, and other crafty endeavours for another. Mom has also set up something which I'm helping out with. Ever heard the phase there is not enough hours in a day? Yea, nowadays, I wish that the day has 36 hrs.

My yahoo got hacked into recently. So girls, I will no longer be using Yahoo. If anyone message you or email you with my ex-profile, please ignore.

Rant on Yahoo Skip if you don't wanna hear rant

Also, take note, that Yahoo sucks big time. Make sure ur firewall is up and that you log on securely because otherwise it is unsecure. Their support personels are also useless and don't give a hoot about their users.

I wrote 4 times to them requesting help. Each time I get an automated reply. In my 4th email to them, I pointed out to them that the hacker went in and changed my profile details, I can't verified my original profile, it's been changed. However, I can provided details that is not from my profile. Information that would be logged in their email server, like my IP or my timetable. All of which would be logged in their mail server and can't be hacked like my profile. I asked them, you are going to allow a hacker (who changed my profile data) to rummage through my emails because I can't verify my changed profile. I have sensitive emails inside. At least suspend or delete my account if I can provide matching details (Not from my yahoo profile) to their log. I don't see why they can't, especially if Hotmail staff can and will go that extra mile. They emailed another automated reply to me saying how they can't do anything because I can't match details with what is in my yahoo profile.

I sincerely hope the twerp of a hacker will get just dues in the end. And as for yahoo, they can go fly a kite for all I care. It'll be useless to do anything now, it's been 5 days. The hacker would have already rifed through all my mails and gotten what they want. My account is lost, with it, 10 years of data. I was with yahoo for 10 years and this is what I get in the end. I certainly won't be using them anymore, not if that is what they call support.

Tagged

Tagged by MiMi and Kitty Kitty and also Meowgirl(if she had gotten to me first :))


1.What is your all-time favourite yarn to knit with ?
All time favourite? Hmm, I don’t really have one yet. I like to experience different yarns. Though if I have to choose, Rowan 4 ply and Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud comes to mind.

2. Your favourite needles ?
None at the moment actually. It depends on what I’m knitting. I have a preference for circs, pointy points and the kinda of nylon string that doesn't twist so much like the Addis.

3. The worst thing you ever knit
That have to be my very first project. Eons ago, while I was still a teen I saw this off shoulder sweater on a TV show that I just had to have. I got the stuff in KL. The Malaysian knitters will find this very familiar. The shop suggested doubling the yarn. Yup, their favorite con. They didn’t follow any pattern either. Let’s just say the pattern wasn’t even like what I described to them. I chucked it aside when I reached the collar. It weighed a ton because of the doubling of yarn, was way too warm for weather here and I knew I’d never wear it. I dug it out 6 years down the road, completed it and gave it to my aunt who lives in a colder climate.

4. Your favourite pattern
Don’t have one, but I have many favourite patterns LOL. Right now I’m into ruffles and lace. Current favourites are Butterfly and AV Ruffled Cardigan.

5. Most valuable knitting technique
A few actually. Knitting in the round, (I hate seaming, I’m terrible at it.) Short rowing as my Lelah attested. And continental knitting.

6. Best knit book or magazine
I haven’t found a best. I’ve found many good ones.

7. Your favourite knit-along
Currently, it has to be Butterfly a long :)

8. Your favourite knit blogs
Well, I wouldn’t be reading if I didn’t like them now would I?

9. My favourite knitwear designer
I draw inspiration from things that catches my eye. So, I don’t really have a favourite designer yet. No designer has been ‘calling’ my name.

10. The knit item you wear the most.
Orangina. It’s the only piece that can work and play at the same time.

Flutterings

I took the opportutnity to take pics last weekend while snapping some samples. Life is still hectic. I'm still wishing for a long break which would be hard to come by right now. Anyways,



That's my butterfly progress. Not much huh? I have another 4 to 5 repeats before I'm done. My knitting and sewing is really plodding right now. Good news is, I found the right shade for the shift I'm going to make for butterfly to wear under. Yep, butterfly is lying right on top of it. It's a warm dark chocolately wine color. That's the way I can best describe it. Do you think it goes well?

I got a nice fushcia pink lining to go with my bamboo bag. But yep, no time yet. I'm also plodding with minisweater until last night. I had to frog it completely to restart. That's what you get when you are too tired to pay attention to your knits at 12 midnight.

I'm leaving you with these wandering soap dispensers. They do look like they are looking about their surroundings. My favourite pair of tourists, recently arrived..:)

When I saw them, I knew I just have to get them. I find the overall packing really unique and appealing. The sheep, which reminds me of wool and knitting and a cheerful translucent minty green colored mint flavored hand soap! Pretty unique my part of the world. Well, don't look at me like that! I know the soap in the dispenser is white. Well...:) you didn't think that the mint flavored soap would stay in there forever right? For some reason after getting it, my bathroom seems to be a favourite whenever anyone needed to wash their hands. I had to refill with whatever else I have now until I get more the next time. There's other cutesy in this range too.

PS I know my blog is having some technical issues. My bloglines subscription list has disappeared too. Bear with me yea, I haven't have the time or energy to deal with codes right now.

Of Garters and Bags

Annual leave I said, it's beginning to look more like a sabbatical..:) I'm still catching up on a hundred and one things in my life. It doesn't seem to be slowing down. Anyways, just a quick 'sporadic' post here.

My Friend's Wedding Garter





This is the second garter I'm doing for her wedding which is coming by very soon. The first garter was too loose and she wanted a snug fit. I wish she would let me put beads at the lace edge though, it would have been lovely but she didn't want anything that might cut into her skin while wearing it. A very pleasant crochet this one.

Bamboo Bag





Few weeks back, there was this one day I felt so stressed out, I just sat down and knit and knit and knit. I think I slept at 3am or so. Knitting under duress. LOL This is a bag I whipped up that night with the one ball of Rowan River Tape that I got. I quite like the effect with the bamboo handles. It's not completed yet, the lining haven't gone in yet and I have to figure out some technical details, like how to keep the stitches on and how do I want my lining to be like and the sort of button I want there. I used a semi precious stone as a button there, but I'm finding it heavy.

Nothing much else. Butterfly is plodding, I forgot to take a pic of that. Nothing else a doing yet. Some plans though. Cheers!

Application for Annual Blog Leave

I'm applying for a hiatus. Life and work is getting in the way. Posts would be sporadic. There's random craftiness but no pictures yet. A little bit of news here and there.

Ruth was here for a very short visit to KL last month. I'm glad I was able to meet up with her despite the very last minute of it all...:) Though it was unfortunate Doreen was not able to make it. The picture is at Ruth's site.

Deety tagged me and I still owe her that. I'll get around to that I promise...:)

Butterfly is progressing slowly. I'll post pix later. I finished a bag of my own design, I'm up to another. I'll post pix later too. Thanks everyone! For lending some comfort on Green Tea, there was some great suggestions to make it something else. Thing is, I ripped the thing before I got the messages. Wah! Otherwise, I could have saved it. Also, my sewing patterns arrived and I've started something few days back. All in good time girls. Cheers!

Demises and Debutes

The Demise of Green Tea
As much as I squirm, whinge and wiggle, there's just no escaping the truth. Thanks to some of the girls who have been giving ideas to save Green Tea from a ignomous death. But the plain fact is, I can't pass my own test. How on earth do you hide 8 inches of extra material on a camisole tube? If I modify it to ribbing or st st to bring it in, I wouldn't be satisfied. If I try to do a short cut and seam the sides in, no one might know, but I would. Every single time I see it or take it out. I would. Darn it for being in a mood to be fussy. Darn darn darn. It goes to the frog pond. But not yet. I can't bear to yet, I'm a wuss. At least, that gives me a chance to rework the cables. I was thinking of maybe this or something else. We'll see, I don't want to touch it yet.


The Debut of the Butterfly

That, my ladies, it the swatch for my next WIP. The Rowan butterfly dress. I was digging my stash restlessly when something clicked as I lay my eyes on my Sirdar Silky Look. While the original pattern calls for KSH, it is way to hot for our climate here. So I'll have to make do with Silky Look. It'll make up for my Green Tea setback. Excuse me girls, have a great weekend. I can't wait any longer to start my calculations for Butterfly.

Ripped - Green Tea Cables

Remember Green Tea Cables? I've just finished my 3rd ball of 100gm Sirdar DK Cotton, on to my 4th and last ball. Just enough for my tube top.



This is the progress I've seemingly made. But last night, I found out an awful truth about her. Today I was trying to think of all sorts of way to go around it. About an hour ago, I was upset. Right now, I'm just resigned.

Green Tea Cables was one of my very first projects and my very first attempt at cables. What I didn't know then was cotton expands, that you needed negative ease, that I should always try the darn thing for size, that the books are not necessary accurate and a hundred and one things. Yes I altered it into a tube top.

Yes I tried it on. It was wayyyy off gauge. I started it on March and kinda left it hanging since May. When I picked it up again last weekend, I knew something was wrong. I just didn't want to admit it. Look at that.



Sewing in 2 inches at each side didn't even do the trick.



There is at least 8 inches of extra materials while wearing it. I'm resigned. It has to be frogged and reknitted. There is no way out. My only consolation is that I can play at cable design again. There definitely won't be enough stitches for the amount of cable pattern that's on Green Tea right now. Back to the drawing board. I have no energy for that right now. I'll just put it aside and do it tomorrow on the way to work and back. Good night people.

The X File revealed

Remember my mystery X File project?

Yes, some of you girls said Dress Form and you got it right! I was busy making my dress form last weekend. I made one 3 weeks ago with the materials from above. I wanted brown paper tape instead of duct tape. I got the wrong paper tape. The results were less then ideal. While the form holds true, the same can't be said about the tape. My dress form peeled like an orange.

So I went out and got myself some industrial cloth woven duct tape. Woven tape was a much better choice. It was sticky enough to stay and have some give so it moulds to your body better. I got 3 rolls. You are supposed to layer it trice, but I ran out just after the first layer! It was still thick enough to hold but wasn’t stiff enough to hold it’s shape. I compensated with stuffing. I used loads of newspapers. This is the part that took a lot of time. It was stuff and measure, stuff and measure.


In case you are wondering why my form is so colorful! I got a roll of silver to test. Tested ok. But when I went back, they were out of silver! So I had to make do red instead. Then, I ran out of tape during the process, so I substituted with leftover brown tape. While stuffing it, I dug around and came out with clear transparent duct tape. It holds well, so I used it to tape down the brown paper tape and wherever else I needed to tape up.

It was my first attempt so I’m happy to say, I got measurements close enough. It can wear my clothes well. But boy is the dress form heavy! My next attempt after this one expires should be a lot better. But right now, I have a dress form tailored exactly to my dimensions! Good enough for me! Now I need to get a tight turtle neck shirt for my form. It’s kinda flashy with so many colors it hurt my eyes :D

Sewing
I have been meaning to start. But I kept hesitating because I was scared. Sewing isn’t like knitting. When it comes to knit, you can always frog and restart. With sewing, once you cut the beautiful fabric, you can’t really ‘uncut’ it. And I am still a baby when it comes to sewing. So I kept giving myself excuses. Well, wait till my dress form is done, wait till I get the patterns, wait till I get the proper tools, wait wait wait. Well, I’ve ran out of excuses. My dress form is done and my patterns hopefully, on the way. I made myself sit down and go through my Simple Chic book by Machiko Kayaki in detail. Finally managed to get a rough idea and figure out what to do. Time to get started.

Knitting
I have not done much here. I spent time tidying my stash and decided that I will try not to start anymore new project until I finished something in my WIP. Note, the key word is TRY. :) My green tea comes to mind. Poor dear have been neglected for quite a while. Phildar Babydoll needs to be ripped and recalculated. It’s too small. I recompiled my Knit list the other day and almost fainted by the long list. I’ve also decided to try stay on my yarn diet wagon longer unless it’s a good deal on some yarns I’ve been eyeing for a long while.

I have a few crafty ideas running amok through my mind lately. I’d need time to compile them to something that makes sense to me.  Cheers my friends!

UFO Sighting

This UFO here was trying its best to disguise as a skirt or a dishcloth. I don't know which. Innocuous enough but something trigger my warning bells.

So I prodded it a little and gasp! It's a pink UFO saucer!

Nah, it’s just my shrug. Though I must say, it does look like some strange creature in that snapshot up above.

Shrug
Ribbing - Phildar Flirt in Hot Pink
Seed stitch - Schachenmayr Punto in Pastel Pink & DMC in Purple

I used Seed Stitch. Yes I was trying to finish up some yarns and make sure I have enough for the shrug. It's a mish mash of yarns and patterns I have. :) So here -


Excuse my shaky hands. For some reason my hands was pretty shaky last night. Try as I may, the picture on the right has been taken many time, but still shaky. That was the best of the lot.

Here is a shot of the back and side. That's all the acrobatics I can manage for the back. Don't ask for more or I'll probably sprain my back. I had to take this shot 3 times to make it work.


This project was suppose to be a simple project. I had trouble starting though. I ended up ripping mine a couple of times. I started with the Punto but realized I didn't have enough yarn. I only had 3 balls. So I had to rip. Then I decided to use Phildar Flirt for the ribbing instead and use Punto with the purple DMC to help blend the 2 pink yarns better. I think the color blend worked out fine. Then it was waay too big, so rip again. 4th time was the charm. Not too bad! I still have 3 more balls of Punto in blue. That's destined for Minisweater from Glampyre.

SP5 Package

Secret Pal 5
My secret pal for SP5 was finally revealed. It was Rhiannon from US! I received her package on Wednesday last week but only finally have time to post it today. Look at these lovelies!



The alpaca is just so soft and fluffy I can't stop touching it! And the hemp yarn was something I always wanted to try! Thank you Rhiannon for being such a great pal!

UO Shrug
As for my UO shrug, it is finally off the needles last night. The shrug was not as I expected the ribbing being too soft. I didn't have the energy to seam it properly after. So the pictures of the completed FO will have to wait till I complete it tonight. And then it will be on to other things.

Tagged

Ok, I got tagged by Yuvee :) so here goes.

Ten Years Ago
I was 19 and a year in Malaysia. My parents move me to Malaysia to be with them. I attend college there. I had a hard time adjusting and struggling with the stark contrast between Singapore and Malaysia. I found great friends who helped me through some dark times and luckily enough, a level head most times though I was a rebel. Of course, I also had great time and fun with friends. I was also dying to head out to Australia for my University studies.

Five Years Ago
I was 24, back to Malaysia again after graduation. Fought with mom about my bringing furkid back with me. I got myself a dog in Australia since mom didn't let me have pets before. Landed my very first job. Lots of new experiences. But some things never change, like how things here still drive me batty.

One Year Ago
Partially acclimatized to Malaysia, jaded about working here and looking forward to live elsewhere. Mom loves furkid as much as I do now. Also some major changes in my life, dumped my ‘baggages’, kickstarted my visa application and started to do things I enjoy (like knitting). Another transition chapter in my life. :)
________________________________________

Five Snacks
-Smith’s Potato Chips – Chicken Flavor
-Synder’s Sour Dough– Sour Chives and Onions
-Coffee/Chocolate Cakes – Tiramisu and dark chocolate comes to mind.
-Terry’s Orange Flavored Dark Chocolates
-Bacon Sprinkled Potato Skins

Five Songs I Know All The Words To
-Lucie Silvas – What You Are Made Of
-Alanis Morisette - Ironic
-Josh Groban - To Where You Are
-Gwen Stephanie – Hollerback Girl
-Hikaru Utada – First Love

Five Things I'd Do With 100 Million Bucks
-Invest enough so I have no worries for the rest of my life financially
-Donate some to causes I believe in
-Travel around the world
-Delve into things that I always want to do
-Pamper some well deserving people and of course myself!

Five Places I'd Run Away To
- Bali
- The Mediterranean
- Pangkor Laut Resort
- Europe
- Some magical fantasy world in SciFi

Five I Would Never Wear
- Garish purple polka dots with pink and green stripes whatever.
- Platform shoes
- Scratchy clothes
- Real Fur
- Weird clothes that don’t make sense to me

Five TV Shows
-Desperate housewives
-Korean Movie – Dai Cheong Kam
-CSI
-Charmed - until it got really weird
-Survivor

Five Joys
- Great music
- Good friends, furkid included
- Glorious food
- New experiences
- Enjoying things I love – craft, horse riding, whatever I’m in the mood for.

Five Things To Do, Just For Me, Before I Die
- Travel to each country at least once
- Design a line of artsy fartsy things
- Learn all the crafty stuff I always wanted to
- Lead the kind of life I always wanted to
- Be happy

I'm tagging SiowChin, Joy, Agnes, Lee Anne and Dani. No obligations of course..:)

Pincushions
Michelle asked what stuffing I used for my pincushion. I got one roll of absorbent cotton from the supermarket. In the section where they have cotton wool/buds and stuff. It works well for me.

Alternatively a sponge or polyester fillings you can get from departmental stores (pillows and cushions section) or crafts stores is good too. As long as it hold ur needles well.:) Hope it helps.

Itty Bitty Yadayadas

An itty bitty here and an itty bitty there. :)

Fabric Swap

Fabric goodies! Siow Chin and I did a mini fabric swap. Look what lovelies I got! I heart the pink one! I'm trying to decided what to do with them. One word. Drool :D

Pincushions

I was feeling a fast and fun project and had pincushions in my mind. I swear, I seem to be seeing nice pincushions everywhere, so I decided to do one. I cut the felt to the size I wanted and decided to embroider some flowers on. I couldn't find any simple pattern online so I kinda did a free form one with an imaginery picture in my mind. Then I hand stitched it until I had 2 inches more to go, stuffed it and finished the stitching. Viola! I added the ribbon in there as a hand handle. Yes that is a needle with thread stuck there. I was testing how well it holds needles. Fairly simple project. Took me 3 hours because I had to figure the pincushion design and the flower pattern.

Current Knit Project

This is my current express knit project. The UO Shrug. What you see there is no longer. I frogged it. I realized I didn't have enough of the yarn and was frantically digging my stash for something that'll give me inspiration. I think I got it now. Stay tuned to see how it looks like. :P

The X File

Can you guess what this is all about? It's a secret project. Shhh! If it works out, I'll update, if it doesn't well, it wasn't here in the first place..:P

Have a great weekend!

Versatility is thy Middle Name

Yes, I know Lelah was finished more than a month back and it looked great. I had tweaked the pattern and added 2 extra repeats. While it looked good (on its own), when paired with jeans, it balloned at the hips and looked weird on me. So I frogged it yet again and reduced it to 7 repeats.

Before After

So, while I was doing the usual fittings with the seaming needle still stuck in Lelah. I decided to slide it down to the floor instead to avoid the needle after. Now, I know that Lelah is a very versatile kinda girl. But this seriously tops the cake! Observe.


I did 6 short rows in the front for the bust area. What I didn't realize was the short row works well for the butt too! I thought it was pretty hilarious! LOL So take note ladies, if you are ever knitting a bottom, you can incorporate short rows for a better fit. :D

I wore a cream bicycle shorts for the shot on top but think I should use something bright underneath the lace. Something like below. I used a piece of bright felt fabric at hand.



Talk about versatility! Lelah is a chamelon. Use it as a tube, add removable strap and I get a spaghetti baby doll and slide it down and I get a skirt. Of course, I'll need to sew Lelah a bright petti-skirt of some. I still find this hilarious.

SW thinks it looks better as a skirt. Somehow, I think I agree. Care to give opinions girls?

Next question is, what color should the underskirt be? Bright hot pink? Green? Blue? What do you think girls?

Orangina Completed

I cannot believe this either, but Orangina is actually finished.


After hours of knitting in the car during traffic jams, it is finished. The fussing and fretting about how it might not turn out due to my tweaking unfounded, I'm very happy with how mine turned out. It looks a bit holey in the pic but actually doesn't show that much in the actual wear. I'm really liking this one. Here's the celebratory twirl around. :)





Sewing
Ah! The clear winner from everyone's vote is a DVF Wrap Dress! Thanks for the input
girls! I'm leaning towards the wrap dress too..:D

Next in line is my Lelah fixup. I'm ripping the top part. I made it too long and nice as it is, the hips look way out. So I'm shortening the lace part. After that, it would be some 'express satisfaction' knits and of course sewing! I've a few things lined up already.

More Fabric Shopping!

Mucha Gracious!
I seemed to be at some crossroads of sorts. I want to thank everyone who have been so supportive. Reading your comments helped. You wouldn't know how much it meant to me..:) Thank you.

Sewing

I haven't had time to sew, I was out most of the weekend. I've been pouring through some designs and clothes, figuring how and why things are cut the way they are. I think I'm about ready to start cutting out cheap fabric to test out a few things. I did manage to shop for fabrics. SW was figeting by my side all that time. Couldn't wait to usher me out of there because he was nervous about the amount of fabrics I might buy the longer I stayed. Being amused, I let him after a short while. It was kinda of distracting anyway.

There was this lovely fabric I found 2 weekends ago that I couldn't get out of my mind, so I got that. I wasn't able to capture the exact colors of the material. The background is a dark rick chocolate color and the flower motifs are a creamy cafe latte color.



It is a stretch polyester mix. I was thinking of a wrap dress. But my other half thinks it is better as a wrap blouse. Sorta like this : -



What do you think girls? What should this fabric end up as? A wrap dress, a blouse or it's calling out as something else? Give me your opinions.

Orangina
Orangina is chugging along. I'm at the ribbing now. Won't be showing photos until it's done. Have patience..:)

Spammers

Spammers have been very irritating lately. For those who are unaware, bloggers now have a new function. Go to your settings/comments and enable the "Word Verification for comments". I've just enable word verification so let's see how well it does it's job. The other thing you could do is select that only registered users are allowed to comment. Don't allow annoymous comments. That, as least, filters away some spammers.

Sewing and Orangina

Sewing Knick Knacks

I have been browsing fabrics and patterns for quite some time now. Not too long ago, I was enamoured by Machiko's Simple Chic and Skirt ala Carte. I remembered the cover vividly but misplaced the author's name and ISBN. I couldn't remember where I saw it and couldn't find it again. Then, Joy posted about the books. Yipee! You can't imagine how happy I was. Thanks to her, I finally managed to track it down. And then I couldn't believe my eyes when I found Simple Chic in my local Kinokuoniya! Double joy! Yep, I got the book in my hands now. Now, like Joy, I have to figure out the pattern map.

I also started clearing out my wardrobe. I have a stash of scrapes and a huge pile of clothes I got modification ideas on. I also got myself more fabrics.



The 2 pile of sturdy black and dark blue fabric I got at a steal! It's hard to see, but the dark bluish black one is matte and hangs very well. The other dark black fabric also hangs well and is shiny. They are tagged for some pants and perhaps a skirt. The green fabric....I'm not too sure yet. They are a little thick and it has a shine to it. It was an impulse buy. Any ideas?



See that book on bags with the fabrics? It is my latest addition to my craft books. I was browsing through a Japanese book section when I came across this. How to resist? It's got great embellishment tips and great step by step pictorial guide for each bag.





I especially like these 2 pages. More excuses to go fabric shopping..:)

Orangina

I seem to be losing steam. I no longer have the exuberance I had when I first revived my interest in knitting. It is possibly a phrase I am going through since I can't seem to finish any WIP to my satisfaction. Only time will tell. For a brief period, I contemplated closing down my blog. It also saddens me that Opportunity Knits have decided to close down her blog. She will be missed.

I take my own pace nowadays instead of rushing into finishing line. I have not much time to really sit down and enjoy my knitting and haven't finish anything for a while. Orangina is progressing slowly but steadily as you can see.

I am about 2/3 completed.