Rubbles & spring cleaning

Thank you everyone for such wonderful comments on the bunny baby set. For those who actually thought I had my own baby news to share, hold that thought until I get hitched! :D Now that I've read the title, I do have to agree it was misleading. Sorry for that! For those who wanted to know where the pattern came from, the Bunny hat was from Baby Center. The socks pattern came from IK Summer Knits 2005. For those who want to do this pattern, I think the pattern has to be modified a bit. The bunny ears made the hat top heavy and as a result couldn't stay on her head. So I'm gonna modify it so it fits better. There is something about baby and toddler knits that gets to you. I’m already planning for my 2 nieces in mind.

But one thing at a time. I did promise to put my FOs, WIPs and ribbits in order first. Among other things, I’ve also started a clean up on my Bloglines, some links are broken and I still can’t figure why my list doesn’t show up in my blog. I also notice that after a long break, my writting skills have pretty much detoriated to the point of being jerky. Bear with me ok? I promise to improve. :)

Macrame Belt

I recently got hold of Sweaterbabe's Fabulous & Flirty Crochet and couldn't resist trying out something immediately. This book is definitely a good buy. There's so many great patterns in it. You can even purchase the individual patterns at her website.


Pattern :- Macrame Belt from Sweaterbabe Fabulous & Flirty
Yarn :- Half a ball of Organic Cotton Yarn
Colorway :- Buffalo
Time :- 3 days



This was a quick crochet. The pattern calls for Bullion stitches for that macrame look. Pretty fun to master.

Rebeeca Chevron

Pattern :- Chevron Top from Rebecca 29
Yarn :- 4 balls of Cotton Candy from Artful Yarns in
Colorway :- Jellybean
Time :- 5 days



This one is again a very fast knit. One thing I didn't anticipate was how stretchy the yarn was. Candy is actually 64% cotton 32% acrylic 3% nylon 1% elastic. It drapes well but is really really stretchy. I strung the ribbons through the holes so it covers the front. I think this might be a knit best worn with something underneath it without a ribbon. Still a versatile piece.

Baby Talk

After my post about my self imposed abstinence, I felt reasonably revived to do a spring clean of my little craft corner. I had 2 bags cramped full of swatches, unraveled yarns, WIPs, bag handles and other knick knacks, some of which I couldn't remember how it got there. I ran through my list of WIPs and waitlist, categorizing them accordingly and was revving up my engine when I got intercepted. Quite pleasantly I might say.

Introducing couple T. Couple T is actually my other half's brother and wife. They have never showed any interest in craft let alone knitting except to occasionally make sure the cat doesn't get to my yarns left precariously out in the open when I visit. To cut the long story short, they were expecting a stork to drop them a happy bundle then. Their daughter was born 3 days ago.

So when my bf casually told me they requested for a baby hat one fine day, I was caught by surprise. Seriously, this couple has never ever shown any bit of interest in anything other then good food. Now, I already had the intention to knit up something for the baby although given their disinterest in craft, I was very prepared that they might not appreciate something hand knit. So yes, I was very pleasantly surprised because I know they were a very sweet down to earth couple and the fact that they asked indicated that they'd appreciate it. I was already excited thinking of the possibilities of different designs for a baby hat.

So the next I saw them, I asked what sort of baby hat they would like. His brother promptly said "A bunny hat!" with a big grin on his face. I could only stare at him, then I couldn’t help but smile back at them. Really they are such a cute couple. Hey, it's their first child and they were so excited, I'm not about to say no to a bunny hat. It's a pretty cute idea actually. Then their mother chipped in and said "Oh! And a pair of socks for the baby too please." Hmmmm... socks.

But socks! Oh my... socks! If you haven't notice, I'm not a socks person. In our weather here, you tend to wear clogs and sandals more then you wrap them up with warm woolies. In truth, I'm terrified of handling 4 double point needles at one go. The last try ended in disaster. Somehow my fingers and the needles kept getting in each others way. So I was pretty worried about socks.


a random shot of my furkid wondering why mommy's furiously trying to tackle some yarns and ignoring her.

So my piles of WIPs and ribbits got shoved aside. I had a deadline here. I found the cutest bunny hat pattern ever. As for the socks, I found the baby socks pattern in IK Summer 2005 I had always kept in my mind. And what yarn would be perfect for babies around the equator? Organic cotton yarn of course! I used the Oatmeal which was a nice pinkish cream brown color. See how everything clicks together?



The bunny hat went quite fast. My only concern was the fit. So I made it a bit bigger with a ribbon to go around so they can adjust the size. As for the socks, gosh! The first one took me 3 days of trial and error. First I made it too small, then I made it too long, then I messed up the short row heel, the sock became too bent and etc. I was so relieved when I finished it to my satisfaction. It's mate took me another 1 day on and off. I have to say it was a very cute introduction to socks knitting.



And since the theme was bunny ears, what else but cheerful carrot orange ribbons all around? They are now proud parents of a baby daughter and the hat and socks set shall be delivered within a day or two.

Resolutions? Not Anymore!

During the later part of last year, things were getting busy and I didn't have as much time as I'd like to craft. My stash was getting out of hand, my yarns were everywhere and I couldn't keep up with all the wonderful patterns out there. Mom couldn't sit on the sofa because there was knitting needles planted there growing mushrooms. So, sometime end of last year, I made a resolution to stop purchasing yarn and mags.

Despite a devious crafty little mind going crazy trying to work ways out to circumvent my restraint every now and then, I've managed to behave myself quite well. I'm pretty surprised myself. A rummage through my stash recently was a startling revelation.

My new stash since beginning of this year. Yay!



Clockwise, the 2 balls of blue green yarns you see on your right are Candy from Artful Yarns. The one and only time I succumbed to eBay. Next, there's yummy organic cotton yarn sampler in all their colorways and 1 skein of mulberry silk yarn. The organic yarns and silk was something that I had wanted for the longest time.

You probably can't read the piece of paper there in the middle of the yarns. But it came with the cotton yarns. For those unfamiliar with organic cotton, here's what it reads

"Color grown cotton will not fade with washing; instead the colors become richer and brighter. If the color fades with sunlight, simply wash it and add a little washing soda to brighten it again.

For sampling, the greatest change happens when you place yarn in water, heat to boiling, take off heat and let yarn cool in the water. This can be done in a microwave also, use plenty of water. Try different alkaline solutions for different color changes. Add some washing soda."

And get this... These yarns in the picture are all that I've purchased this year. Can you believe it? Well, neither can I. That's just 2 purchases for the past 10 months. Considering that I've been relatively good, This a little additional to the stash won't hurt....Right?

Experimental Knitting

One of my friends recently started knitting. She's taken to knitting and crocheting like a fish to water. :) I asked for her kind permision to post her very first knit here.



She wanted to do a bikini for her young niece. So after a few basic knit and purl lessons, we went off shopping for yarns. She settled for Sirdar DK Pure Cotton in a nice bright pastel yellow. Isn't it the cutest thing?

Experimentation

I've recently started to dabble in a lot of other stuff these couple of months. Beading was one of them. So, I finally got around to experimenting with beads and wire knitting and made a bracelet.



I made a couple of them. Quite interesting. The crocheted ones weren't as great though, it looked very messy. Have you ever tried to unravel crocheted wire? :) Well, don't.



Pace yourself if you want to try it. Knitting with wire is painful to your fingers too much at one go, it is also quite slippery on the needles.

reVamp

Hello my dear friends!

It certainly had been time to change my blog for the longest time and I finally got around to it. Hope you enjoy the new look.

Life have been full to the brim. There's been some creativity and craftiness but I hadn't time to take photos and blog. Rather then one big entry, it'll probably be more palatable in small doses. So, here's one update.

Claying Around


Some friends and I decided one day to go for claying lessons. Thus we engineered our foray into clay. That was fun! We were all given a tour and explanation on how it is done and then given basic instructions on how to do a simple bowl. Unfortunately, by the time we remembered we had a camera, our hands were all so full with clay, there was no one left to take pictures. We all had fun building our lopesided clay bowls. After we were done, we left them there for the baking and finishing process to be picked up after 2 weeks. So here's my lopesided clay container.



Branching Out


Miss Branching Out was a gift meant for my Aunt in US. I've been dragging my feet on it for the longest time after I messed up the instructions and sat on my wooden needles during a tense moment in CSI: Miami. Yes, one of my wooden needles broke. I was so upset after I didn't look at it for a long time. (*Yes, I do realize it wasn't Miss Branching Out's fault)

After neglecting it in my WIP pile for so long, I jumped when I realized that my deadline was up. Mom was going to US and I only had a few days left before she does. I was definitely out of time. I had to whip her out, fast. This time round I really enjoyed the pattern better then my first time. Kinda sad when I reached the end of the scarf. But anyway, I barely had time to finish blocking it. I had just enough time to hang it on the laundry pole and snap a hurried picture before mom carried it off to be packed.

I wish I didnt' procrastinated so I could take a better picture. This picture really does not do justice to the color of the yarn. It was a beautiful blue with wisp of gold and red thread running through it so that the color changes subtly every 5 inches or so. But I was very glad it turned out so pretty. Anyway, pretty lil Miss Branching Out is now with my aunty.

Lana Grossa Jacket

Hello my blog pals! How's everybody doing? Wow. It didn't hit me until I logged on that I haven't updated my blog since Jan. Bleeah. Well, I have been pretty much busy with work ever since I joined my new company in Feb. Nothing much happened in craft town until recently. Finally finished something worth blogging about 2 weeks ago but haven't had time to take photos and share. So here goes :


This was the Lana Grossa pattern I took on. It was actually a very fast knit that took me ages to finish.


LOL This is my version of it. The yarn I used was Phildar Flirt. Sort of a thick skin slubby yarn. The frills on the collar didn't seat well. Too over done with the yarn being thick as well. So I tried to make it more versatile. The jacket lapels have been modified into ribbings, which is more to my taste. I can wear it with the lapel folded down the way shown in the picture as well as unfolded.



The other thing I did was to replot the sleeves and changed the sleeves cuff. I ribbed it as well and elongated it and added a slight flare to it. The finishing touch was 2 mini buttons and a crocheted button loop. And Voila! Zee jacket is done. Overall, apart from the fact that my mom has snagged it, I'm pretty happy with it.
:)

Tagged

Hi girls!

I haven't much to show. I haven't exactly been productive craftwise. Lots had been happening at my end. For all the peeps who thought I MIAed, I'm truly sorry. There has been quite some upheavals. I've got news though! Things happened rather quickly all of a sudden but bottomline is, I'm moving to a new company! Phew! There are still many loose ends to take care of, but ...:D So I'll still be MIA for a while until things settle down a bit. 2005 was pretty turbulent, so let's hope 2006 would be better.

Sewing and Knitting
As for knitting, it has been just as frustrating. I've messed up Butterfly a bit. Now the front has 86 stitches and the back has 89 sts, I have no idea. And Frilly jacket was ripped again. Thank you too Kitty kitty on the heads up on the sleeves tutorial. I read part 2 but somehow, part 1 and part 3 escaped me until you pointed it out..:)

Thank you girls for such nice comments on the clothes make over and the votes on the Chinese satin fabric. A Line skirt it will be! I promise to post a picture once it is done. I'm working on a mock DVF dress right now.

Oddball Meme
I got tagged by Ruth. So here goes..:)

***Ground Rules: The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "5 weird habits of yours" and people who get tagged need to write a blog entry about their 5 quirky habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list their names.***

1. Sandles - I normally go around with either sandles or sport shoes regardless of what I'm wearing unless otherwise required. I have lousy feet that tend to hurt if I wear fashion shoes and walk around with them. So I need to take care of them.

2. Shopping - I'm really lousy with shopping. Unlike my girlfriends here, I can't shop whole day and I can't shop like them. I tend to browse real quick and wilt after 2 hours of constant shopping.

3. Music - I love music of all sorts except heavy metal and high soprano stuff. Hearing a song that I like sometimes is enough to start me moving subconsciously. Sometimes I get nudges when friends realized I've started weaving and bobbing a little to a song in the middle of shopping.

4. Singing - Yep, music does that to me too. Sometimes at work when I'm too into something and listening to music, I start singing. Once a while, I get looks and nudges too or a "What are you singing?" question.

5. Spicy Food - I've been getting a lot of incredible looks when it comes to this all my life. I can't take spicy food, I tend to gag or choke if it is too spicy. And in Singapore and Malaysia where it is all about hot spicy food, most of my friends ask which planet I'm from everytime they find out. LOL

Hmm who to tag? How bout Doreen, Vanessa, Celia, Michelle and Happy Spider. No obligations of course. :)

Pincushion
I have nothing crafty to show except this.



This was my second attempt at something handmade meant as a gift for a friend. But somehow, it is just not working out and I'm kinda frustrated. My mom took one look at it and pronounced it ugly and old, my other half suggested "Why don't you get her something else." Sigh, I really did want to make her something nice. As for my first attempt, ugh! Don't even ask, I'm too embarassed to show it. I don't understand it sometimes this gift thing simply isn't working out and I seem to be having a designer's block.

Entertainment

For the Chinese, right now, it is normally the time to do a spring clean so that our houses are ready to usher in the Chinese New Year, which is arriving next weekend. While cleaning my room, I came across these drawings I did in the past. Occasionally, I'd get these urges to just draw and I'll just do something that catches my fancy. Though, it's much less nowadays. Since I have nothing else to show, I thought I'd share some for fun.


This one is my favourite for sentimental reasons, quite simply because I have a fascination with unicorns and what they represented when I was young and also, it was my first piece of drawing I attempted.



Later girls!

Sewed Out

Knitting has taken a back seat while I revamp my wardrobe. Partly also because I’m bored with Butterfly and Lana Grossa Jacket had to be ripped back, I think I’ll call it Frilly Jacket from now on. The instructions are a little messy and the charts way off. It’s the actually the first time I attempt a piece with sleeves and that much seaming. Can’t say I’ll enjoy the seaming bit later. Anyways, I was doing the 2 sleeves at the same time. It came out way too big with the instructions given. I had to rip both sleeves. I threw the instructions out of the window after. I’m attempting to map it out myself. If anyone have references to how to map the sleeves, now would be a good time to share..:D please please please!

As said, I have been busying modifying my wardrobe. I think I’m obsessed with it. It’s just so fun to find something that you bought a while back but think would look better if some modifications are made that, with a sewing machine and a bit of basics, you could! And suddenly, I find myself digging out stuff that I bought but put aside because it didn’t fit well or I didn’t quite liked how it looked. I was kinda shocked, the pile is quite… err… high? Ack ack! But I’m having fun. Amazingly, I bought quite a few good stuff 5 years ago that I can still wear but required modification because it didn’t fit well and sewing by hand is just too tedious. Woo hoo!

T-shirt and jeans makeover


The T-shirt was initially a turtleneck, I loved the material, it was very comfy but I hated the turtleneck bit which was bit uncomfortable since I have a long neck. I prefer scoop necklines, it suits me more. What I basically did was to wear it, determine the width and depth of the scoop neck I wanted, marked it and then fold the T-Shirt into half and cut. Then I bought a bit of bias tape and sewed that on. Note though that with T-shirt material, it is advisable to bast it on first before the actual sewing or it will stretch and distort. I’m loving how it turned out.

Oh, did I say the T-shirts came in a set of 3? :D

Jeans


As for this pair of jeans, I loved the way it fitted me, but I didn’t check the seams properly when I bought it. The seams where the pants leg joined weren’t sewed on at all. The sewer must have been daydreaming or something. By the time I found out, which was after the first wash, it was too late. The threads had unraveled and I’ve thrown the receipt away. So anyhow, I’ve seen a tutorial on how to turn it into a skirt 3 years ago, always wanted to do it, but lacked the materials and equipment. No second guesses what happened! Yep, skirt it became. Though, this pair of jeans was boot cut. The shaping made it difficult to shape into an A line skirt.


Sorry bout the photos, that was all I could manage with shaky hands. Not too bad. But I’m still thinking maybe of unpicking the stitches again and try to tack it again. I just might.

Skirt??


Now girls! Opinion please! I just got this really gorgeous fabric out of inspiration. But I’m beginning to doubt my madness LOL. I wanted to do this Foldover skirt from Simple Chic. Mom was saying that because of the stiffness of this material, it would make the stomach look like it is bulging out. Should I consider this pleated pattern instead? The pictures are not clear. The main difference is that in the first picture, the fold starts right at the waist band. In the latter picture, the fold starts about 6 inches lower and away from the waistband. Or should I consider a simple A line skirt instead?

1.) Option A – First Pic
2.) Option B – Latter Pic
3.) Option C – Simple A Line Skirt

Girls?