Recycling Parting Shot

There's something immensly satisfying about wearing something you knitted and getting compliments for it. (*big grin) I wore Tempting today. It's probably the first time I wore something I've knitted up out in public.

On to other knitty stuff, I've been quite busy taking care of odds and ends. I can't seem to start knitting something new with all the loose ends nagging at me from behind. So for the weekend, I've impatiently done all of it and finally casted on last night.

One, my recycling project. I have finally done the unraveling for all three garments. My white Espirit sweater yarn is drying, chenille is in the washing and the black sweater yarn is waiting for it's turn.

These are the parting shots for the 2nd and 3rd garment. The Chenille is huge! I already have 2 projects in mind for it. A skirt and a jacket coat. The white esprit yarn is going to be a cowl neck shell. The black yarn is destined for a shell or something the likes of it. I just have to find a right pattern for it.



And here's proof that I've been working hard on it.

I couldn't resist these 2 shots since my furkid conveniently stroll next to my recycled pile and sat there. This was only half of the recycled yarn and it's already as tall as her.

Crochet BookMark

Ok, so I haven't been knitting at all. With work and all, I get home pretty late and there are always a hundred and one things to do for the house. My recycling is going real slow too. So last night, after recycling 2 sleeves from the chenille, I was extremely restless with the fact that I haven't done anything with yarn lately except frogging. So I decided to do something quick and fun. I did promise SW a bookmark so ..... 1 hr later, voila!


Pattern from CrochetMe by Donna Hulka

I know the picture isn't that good, it looks better real life. Really! I only have time to take shots at night so most of my pictures are quite dark.

This pattern should take 1/2 hr next time round and I won't even need to read the pattern again. It's real easy. We actually went around looking for beads but it was quite expensive. About RM10 for nice looking ones for the bookmark. I figured, hey I got lots of junk jewellery, so I dug them out. I used my leftover Sirdar Silky Look stash. Can you believe it? It still split though it was crochet. I think I'll probably make more of it.

Having said that, Silky Looks seems to be better with crochet. I'm going to dedicate my Silky Look stash for a lovely shawl, Ginevra from Adriafil. Tell me what you think of it. I have a nice Champagne color Silky Look for it.

On a funny note, the weather here had been horrendous! It's a furnace. My furkid is no longer an ewok. She's been shorn like a lamb. Her thick fur spilled over the floor of 2 ft but 1 1/2 ft and was about 2" high. Phew! But at least she's breathing easier now and not quite so heated up. Her body is still super warm though. I figured, her fur can still grow back, I'd rather not have her overheated.

Here she is warning me, ":"If you ever do that to me again!".

And here she is after, ready for a cool nap.

Recycling forward!!!

First and foremost, I stand corrected by Lyn. (*grins) After checking, I realize that the purple yarn in my new stash is actually called Cotton Candy by Magic Garden. I'll bring one of each along our next meetup if you girls wanna have a look.

To my next subject....Recycling!

This was me, trying to figure out where the seams are to detach the panels of the sweater. This was where I started. I actually cut the seams out cause I couldn't 'pull' it out at all. I later found out, if you can't pull it out, try the other end. It works like magic everytime now.



The first one to go was the sleeve. I didn't think they'd seam the cast off ends too, couldn't get it started so I cut the selfridges out. Now I know better. Then, I unraveled from the wrong end and wondered why the last stitch at the sides is always 'locked' and doesn't unravel at all. Did a quick check on the internet and then tried the other end of the sleeve. The ripping went without a hitch after. Hooray!



And then I realized...oh no! I was so happily unraveling, I forgot to wind it up as I go along, so I got one big pile of mess. How big was the pile from one sleeve did you say? Take a look at my mobile next to it that I used as a gauge. :) *shakes head



Yup, this was me 2 days later, still trudging on with the untangling of the sleeve. It got so bad, I had to untangle from 2 different ends. The larger untangled threads are made into loops and clipped by my pink hair clip while the other end was rolled into a ball so it can squeeze thru the knots and tangles in the messy pile. Everytime SW walks by me, he shakes his head in disbelief. And everytime he does that, I have to laugh at him and at myself too. he he heh



I've completed the recycling of this sweater now. It was an interesting, comical and entertaining experience to me. I have 4 round white piles all tied up and waiting for their turn in the washing pail. Hope you had fun reading it.

I've started on the chenille jumper. I found another garment to recycle. A knitted black sleeveless shell. Will post pictures soon. Cheerios!

Knit Rants

I'm quite depressed by the pathetic range and inflated price of yarns here. Not to mention the almost rare find of good knitting magazines. It is bad enough that we can't use many gorgeous yarns available out there cause we are a tropic country.

Can you believe that none of the major bookstores here are able to get me ROWAN magazine It's a Tape Thing? and Rebecca Magazines. As a matter of fact, none of Rowan and Rebeccas. I can't believe that it will cost me RM250 to bring in the 3 magazines from an online store? I can eat more than 25 meals on that. Argggh!

Calms down after quite a few deep breaths and proceeds to sit down to knit and pour over patterns. Yes, ironic isn't it. Now excuse me while I go bang my head on the wall for a while. Maybe I should gnaw on my liver while I'm at it.

New Stash from Aussie

I'm drooling. Shall I do the Gollum, Lord of the Rings routine? *sneers while rubbing my hands together... "My precioussssss!"



Mom came back from Melbourne and added to my stash. So now I have in my collection



5 balls of Silky Look in Champange... I think. *Gasps horror! After all the trouble I have with this yarn. I'll wait till I feel brave enough first.

8 balls of Punto in purple. Don't I just love this color!

3 balls each of Punto in Blue and Punto in Pink. I really like the Pink.

3 balls of Gedifra, not sure what it's called but it looks like a greyish white, something like a stone color.

Joy to me!

Knitting?

I've been a bad girl. I haven't been knitting at all after abandoning the Red CNY Tube. Instead, I've been oogling over my new stash, learning how to recycle old sweaters and browsing over patterns to see what I wanna knit and how to match it with my current stash.

Recycling have been a little rough going. Mainly because I'm making time consuming mistakes but I'm learning. I'm thanking all the knitters who has kindly posted tips and helpful information on how to go about it at their blogs. It really helps.

Here's a peek at my farewell shot of the sweater I decided to start with first. I have 2 of these Espirits so I thought I might as well. Really nice and soft. Only problem is there are a few places where it has been snagged and individual threads have snapped.



I already have a few pix but I'll wait till I finish recycling the yarn before I post it all. I must say, it's a interesting experience that has already taken me 4 nights of trial runs.

Notes: My Top 3 from my really long Wanna Knit List

1.) A jacket/coat
2.) A doggy coat for SW's small little Gigi
3.) Rebecca Tunic - Probably tunic along with Lyn and Mona Eyeing yarns for it now.

Horrible Red CNY Tube

On the side, this is the Red CNY Tube that I have been working on. I've decided to frog it. 3 knits and 3 purls make for a large ladder at the side of the stitches.



I know the pixs aren't that great. But do you see the white patches thru the tube? It ladders real bad between the knit and purl stitches that no amount of tightening can rid of.

Anyhow, someone commented me that my boobs will feel really warm haha since it has wool in it. After playing with it this CNY, I have to agree. I'll probably make a doggy sweater out of this for SW's cute little GiGi.

Tempting Pixs!

ok ok, so I know this is looong overdue. But hey! At least it's here now yea..:)
I did a Medium size. Notes for wWhat I'd look out for the next time round.

1.) The bust area. I'd probably do a little short rowing at the chest so it fits better. Now that area stretched out more then the rest of the body. Personal preference of mine.

2.) Though Tempting sits well when I wear it without a ribbon, a few decrease stitches would probably make it more fitting.

3.) Ribbons. I prefer softer ones and something more than 2 inches. I got a Turquoisy one that was too stiff, not very nice and the Green ribbon that I like most looks a little too thin to do it justice. Depends on individual preference. :)

4.) This is my mistake. The stitches looked flatten after blocking. I think I'll reverse the blouse before blocking next time round.



Here the shot of me wearing it. I still need to weave in the ends...:) This is the best shot I could get on my own. I'll get SW to take another one of me and post it later.

Crochet Flowers

I finally uploaded all the pictures. I guess I'll share the pics base on the topic each day. Makes it more manageable.

This was the crochet project I did before CNY. This was a very simple, fun and easy to follow free pattern from Georgia. My Thanks to her.

I did a tiny one using 1 thin DMC in purple and some left over pale peachy yarn I had. I brought it to the meet only to lose it. This picture is my only keepsake of it. :)


Not satisfied, I did another one and decided to make it bigger. This time round, I made it with 3 threads. The first two as described and a nice pastel pink, Punto - Pink from my new stash. I also modified the pattern abit. Very versatile accessory. Use it with Tempting, Honeymoon cami, hangbags and stuff....:) Rock On! Think I'm gonna make another one to match the color of my Tempting better.

Resolutions?

Yesterday's post was about a little about CNY. Today's post hehe. I dunno. I have plenty I wanna do but finding time is another thing. So this is more like notes to myself.

1.) Revamp my site. Still feeling about and trying to understand codes. I barely have time for this right now. Trying to feel the right themes for myself now.

2.) I have taken a few pictures in my camera that I still have haven't download so I still can't post those. Need to do that soon.

3.) My mom's back from Melbourne. She brought me some yarn that I'm dying to post a picture of. All cottons, very nice pastel pinks and purples and a couple of Gedifra in a 'stone' color. And oh no! a cream color of that Sirdar Silky Look again! Argh! ooo can't wait to start something, if only I know what hehe

4.) I'm staring at my recycle pile every night cause everytime I want to start, I realize I don't have a camera and need to borrow SW's. Got the camera now. Now my timing is all wrong. Must do this weekend!

5.) CNY tube! I did a simple rib pattern. I don't like how it turned out. Gonna frog it. Dunno what else to do with it. Maybe the doggie sweater for SW's sweet little Pincsher, Gigi. Which reminds me, I haven't post her pix yet.

6.) I crocheted a cute flower, brought it to the last Knit Meet. I wanted to show it but thought I didn't bring it. Went home and realized I lost it somewhere in the shopping center. So I crocheted a bigger flower in Singapore. hehe Gonna take pix tonite.

ok I think I have enough to drown in now. Back to work! I can drown myself in it tonight..:) Later gals!

Singapore Trip Update

Hot hot hot, that's about all that I can say for Singapore. Things were different this year, gramps is no longer with us and I guess we all felt it. All in all, it was a fun but rushed trip. We were only there for 4 days. We got into Singapore late Monday. Tuesday we had the usual ceremonies to perform in the morning. After which we had our family lunch. By the time which all shops were either closed or closing. Wednesday, the 1st day of New Year is, as always, devoted to family. Parents decided to come back KL on the 2nd day of New Year, we were all bushed and on the verge of heat stroke.

My two grouches was that I didn't get to shop at all and the heat. It's always hotter than KL but this year was exceptional. Perhaps it's because they have many more buildings together and less trees, or perhaps it's the fact that I tend to get a throbbing head from too much heat but the glare seems be more intense and reflect everywhere. Even here in KL, many friends mentioned that it was way hot.

There were many good things this year too. I had a nice chat with Emy. It's a shame our timing wasn't right so we didn't manage to meet up. I didn't get to meet any of my friends either, but I had a good time catching up with them thru the phone. I'll probably be making a trip over when the season is not so hot. Hopefully..:)

We had a great time with family, we were all huddling in aircon houses as much as possible haha. One of my aunt made cookies, brownies and pizza, really good stuff I must say, we all got fat there hehe. We saw an uncle who has been paralysed for 3 years take his first shaky step. :D We caught up with all the news and happenings too. Of course, we also had the standard Chinese New Year Steamboat fare. Quite a harvest for so short a trip I'd say!

Happy New Year and Happy Valentine's to all!

Bummed out

Last nite, after a hard day's work, I crept home and rejuvenated by planning my CNY red tube top. I seriously doubt I can finish it in time. But it'll be my companion during the trip down and back. Hopefully, I can find enough time to finish it. After busily planning my top, deciding on the pattern and measuring it out. I happily grabbed my circular needles and cast on while watching American Idols wannabe wailing in TV.

While I was happily at the 1st row. Mr Nylon String decided to break up with his companion of 15 years, the Mdm Wooden Needle. Apparently, Mr Nylon thinks that the Mdm Needle is no longer compatible and wants to find someone err.. something more to his liking. All the stitches they spent cultivating for the past 1 hour were devastated and died as a result. Rumour has it that he was fed up with all the stitches running over him to the needle.

Sigh, to cut the story short. I went back to my knitting tool box and rumaged around. Then I realized that almost my whole collection of circulars are gone. I guess I really can't complain. Story goes, bout 15 years ago, I decided I want to learn knitting. Mom took me to a yarn shop and they unscrupulously (I didn't know better at that time) loaded me with straights and circular needles. When I came round to knitting again 1 year back, I got re-united with the whole set.

These set of Japan made wooded circulars have lasted quite a long time considering the humid heat here. They all just slipped out of their sockets without a by ur leave last nite. Now I'm wondering if they are repairable with ...maybe superglue or would they go unhinged real quick again. I guess I won't know till I try. I'll be shopping a little tonight cause I'm impatient to start on my project.

Cheers all.

CNY Singapore Trip

Ok, so Dad has announced that we will be heading back to Singapore next Monday. I've been prowling around to see where I can shop for yarns. I have only 2 days since 1st and 2nd day of CNY is out and we are probably leaving on the 3rd day of CNY and I wanna make most of it. I can't wait to delve into the shops. My only reference now is Woolworks.

I did a swatch yesterday from the yarn I got from my LYS, Sirdar Country Knits, looking good. It's a rich autumn red that I got for CNY for a tube top. Dunno if I can get it done in time. I have a few ideas knocking around my head now. It's gotta be something simple. Time for me to incorporate a bit of short rowing and simple cabling in my knits. Should be fun to learn from that. I promise to snap pix of my completed Tempting and the swatch I did.

Meantime, I leave you with this random picture I snapped. Furkid looked like she's up to something. I call it the pirate eye look. "Grrr shiver me timbers! Watcha looking at?"

Tuesday Post

Hmmm...somehow, I just don't feel like working. Haven't exactly been knitting lately. Too many things with work and all. Tempting is finally finished. I cast off on Saturday and spent Sunday sewing the sleeves together cause I knitted in one flat piece instead of the circular way as recommended. Blocked it yesterday. Now I just have to buy a nice ribbon and take a picture of me wearing it. heh heh heh

After blocking, I ran helter skelter to my mini stash and grab this and that. Lined it up together and grabbed all my patterns in Q, piled it next to those yarns plus those 2 sweaters I wanna recycle. Stared at the pile gleefully and then I got stumped. Yep, u heard me, I didn't get started. I got stumped. Quite frankly, I didn't know where to start. I gotta hand it to myself. *laugh ruefully. I feel really silly there. So I left it there and did my housechores. The pile is still sitting at home. I guess I'll go home and stare at my pile of knitting stuff a bit longer tonight. :)