Merry Christmas my dears.

This is my very first Christmas in Australia after moving here. It's been a long time since I felt Christmas. We haven't settled down truly, we have yet to find our own place. We don't have a Christmas tree to hang ornaments on nor could we offer much to our family and friends or indulge ourselves in all things Christmas. Yet the feeling is there. Perhaps it's because for the first time, I feel that I have a choice, things are falling into place and that I am truly with family. I just had a pre Christmas dinner with my family, and tomorrow we are going on a short fishing trip with family.

I wanted to take a nice Christmasy photo to show you gals when I saw this beautiful rose from my aunt's garden. So here's a gratuitous shot of the rose from the garden for you. Merry Christmas my dear family and friends, I wish you all peace, happiness and joy in your life.

This.. 24...Freaking... Hrs

It’s one of those days when everything hits a record low. One of those “Why the hell did I get out of bed for?” days. Nothing’s gone right, everything came altogether in a bad way and my mood is shot out from the second I lay in bed awake. I’ve heard bad news all the way. I’m tired, grumpy and totally unsatisfied and out of whack. Not to mention that I’ve been having a migraine on and off for the whole week. Even the weather in Melb went out of it’s way to be nasty. A freak storm and for the first time in 20 years, the suburb was actually flooded.

Adding to that, the stupid bag now has to be frogged entirely. It looks really odd doesn’t it? The whole proportion is wrong and I followed the pattern to the T, ignoring that little voice that was telling me all the time something was wrong. Now my throat is swollen with hayfever and I’m just fuming with every stitch I unravel.

I just need to vent. Someone give me a baseball bat and show me a target.

Making an anthill out of a molehill

So there I was happily whining about having no yarns to knit with (because we can’t unpack the boxes yet) and how I need to get some suitable ones for this pattern and that. Hubby pointed out that I have plenty of yarns which indignantly, I denied of course, at which point he gave me a look that said it all.

Huffing, fuming and thwarted from buying the exact yarns I desperately need for this and that pattern, I looked for some loop holes. The yarns are still in the carton boxes buried deep into our unpacked boxes and I can’t get it out, there is currently no place to store them until we rent a place permanently. I have to keep digging the box out and sealing it back on. Tedious, tedious. We head on to Bunnings where I sulkily picked a plastic storage box to store my yarns for ‘easy access’.

Well, once a yarn hoarder, almost always a yarn hoarder. We got me a 50 litre box and I almost couldn’t jam everything in. Alright already, stop giving that look. So there are some yarns still lying in other boxes and I do have yarns. Yea, yea I had to sit on the cover to make it close. Guilty as charged.

What? Ok, ok I haven't unpacked the box of craft books & mags and the 3rd carton box of fabrics.

Yes hubby, I said meekly, there won’t be any yarn purchases until I finish my stash.

Until next time that is. :)

Adrienne Vittadini Lace Ruffle Cardigan

On the personal end, a very good gal pal of mine is getting married back in Malaysia tomorrow. I wish I could be there celebrating with her. I'm wishing her and her hubby many good things to come on their new life together. Congrats sweetie! Missing you lots.

Now for some knitting news. For some of you still guessing, the finished FO is the Adrienne Vittadini Lace Ruffle Cardigan.

Pattern :- Lace Ruffle Cardigan from Adrienne Vittadini
Yarn :- Jaeger Albany (100% mercerised cotton)
Needle :- 4.5mm Circular Needles

I have been knitting a bit since I arrived. And somehow, the Ruffle Cardi got finished (finally). This has been one slow knit. The front, back and sleeves was completed a while back but still hanging off the needles. Rip Rip Rip. I can't remember how many times I had to rip the sleeves or the 2 front panels. Because of sizing and fitting issues. So much so that I dropped it for a while. When I got back to it recently, I have forgotten where I left off and had to relearn the whole blabberdash again. Again, fitting issues. It was too long at the top after binding off and the sleeves could not be seamed to it. Rip Rip Rip.



The finished jacket was was an anti-climax. The fit wasn't quite what I expected and I'm feeling overdosed by this particular lace pattern. I thought it may be because I haven't wash and blocked yet. Well, it's been washed and I haven't a place to block it. Bummer. Anyways, I'm still trying to kid myself that it'll look better after blocking. The front panel is a little too narrow and it pulls the neckline out. And the front somehow is still too long.



My fault really. I forgot to factor in that cotton is heavy and it stretches, throw in lace and ruffles into the equation... well end results above. On a positive note, it's still very pretty with the detailing and all. And it's not all that bad. I like how it looks when I overlap the front like a wrap jacket. I might just sew a button to it. :)

Souffles & a Mini Herb Garden

Moving to Melbourne has been wonderful. So many new things and places to explore. There were a lot of things that we had always wanted try but in KL, most of the time you feel too hot and bothered to do. I thought I might share about some of our experiences and doings while waiting for my next FO(coming soon).

Souffles

Hubby and I have ventured into the realm of desserts and occasionally, main dishes. We had some vintage ramekins in hand and souffles was one of the first desserts we tried.

We forgot to use a knife to slice around the ramekins so that it rises properly instead of rising in the middle like a cupcake. So far, we've tried lemon, choc chip and orange, choc chip and banana, choc chip and strawberries. Souffles anyone?

In the garden

Spring in Melbourne is unlike spring in Perth (where I lived before). I guess we came at the right time. The landscape is like a wonderland, constantly changing everyday as spring creeps in. In Malaysia where they are small and wilt quite quickly. Here, there are flowers everywhere and they are so huge! I should take a picture of the orchids here, it really grows well here. And everyone has roses in their gardens. The colors are amazing big and lovely roses of all kinds! I took a picture of the rose bed in the family garden. Gorgeous colors aren't they? I have to get my hands on some purple roses when we find a place of our own. I just can't get enough of them. And all this has inspired a mini garden of sorts for us.

That's our little mini herb garden we started. I have always dreamt of having my very own herb garden to play around with. Oh the possibilities!!!

Of course, I couldn't resist these either when I saw them in the local plants section. Dahlias! I got a little pot of mixed dahlias and a black dahlia bulb to plant. I hope they turn out well with the heat.

A Finished Knit

And just to peak your interest a little, gals, yes I finally do have a FO to show. Can you figure out which one is this? It's washed and being blocked now and should be ready for show in the next few days. :)

Chapters in our Lives

And so it comes to this. I've been struggling for days to write something….anything. There is so much to share the words don’t come easily.... How do you concise a year that has been so eventful, and yet about to finish within a blink of an eye?

The chain of events that lead to us to this point, finally arrived in Australia, happily married, missing family and friends we left behind, getting to know our family in Australia all over again and taking the first steps into our new life here in Melbourne as I write? This is possibly one of those years forever etched in my mind, filled to the brim with changes. I’ve written many posts this entire year, some funny, a few quirky, others in retrospect, mostly half written and none that made it to the blog and I still feel speechless.

Well, they say pictures are worth a thousand words, perhaps we can start from here. I suppose, it is suffice to say that we have taken our first steps into the future we both want.

Life @ warp speed

Hi gals,

I don't know how to say this so I'll keep it simple. I'm engaged! I'm engaged! And I've been engaged to one very sweet fella for a couple of weeks now! And life suddenly insist on rushing along at warp speed.


For one, there seem to be a million things that needs to be done, traditions to be followed and arrangements to be made. Our registration is happening in 2 weeks and a small family gathering 1 month after. It has barely sunk in and I'm about to blur out.

Two, work picked up and I was sent outstation without internet access. How does anyone do that? I almost died of withdrawal symptoms. Hopefully, it won't happen anytime soon again. With so many things pending, it'll throw everything out wide.

I'm trying to catch up with everyones blog and it's not that I don't wanna drop by and say hi, but I am swamped as it is. Looks like I'll be missing in action for a while until everything's settled. :) Till then, take care y'all ya hear!

Craft Goodies

Hello gals,

Thanks for all the lovely comments. Yes, I'm very lucky to have kitty kitty spoil me rotten that way. Jejune, it's a plush peeps and I can't stop touching it. :)

Also, thank you for all the support and comments on our cat, Mimi. He is in a better place now though he is still sorely missed. We think of him from time to time. Perhaps we'd adopt another kitty sometime in the near future once we are ready to move on. Though it will not be the same. :)

I was going to post about my recent FOs and then I realize that the pictures are not in this machine. So I'm going to post about something else since I have the pictures with me. :)

I joined a craft swap in Craftster called the Sweat Shoppe Swap. It's a swap where each crafter craft out 5 items and send it out to 5 other crafter. In return, you get to choose 5 different items from 5 other crafter and they'll send the items to you. It was fun and crazy. I joined for 2 rounds, which means I had to craft 10 items and will receive 10 items in return. I decided to do 5 beaded chokers and 5 pincushions. For close to 2 weeks, it was nothing but crafting those little babies after work. LOL



I really love the chokers. It took a while to come out with the design. I made 2 rings at the side of the pendants and decided to keep the suede leather thong as it is so it can be tied in a variety of ways. You have no idea how hard it is to photograph beads! I took tons of shots and most of them came out with either too much glare or the color is so off you wouldn't believe it! I think I'd probably make another batch soon.



And these were the 5 pincushion designs I came out with based on the shape and color preferences of my receivers. I hope I'm not spoiling the surprise for them here, all the items has been sent already. I hope they'll get them soon. You should have seen me at the post office mailing out 10 registered mail items. It was madness I tell you! LOL

On the side, I have got to try to update my blog more often. Thing is, I've been doing a lot of things but I can't seem to find the time to take good pictures. I write my posts when I can but I run out of time and gift the items without a picture. That was a couple of booties, crocheted drawstring bags, some beaded goodies, all gone without a picture or mention. And a post just doesn't seem to be the same without the pictures, so the post gets deleted. Even my writing has gone rusty! :| I gotta do better. I'm going to commit to 2 to 3 posts a month on average, 1 post a month at the least if I'm extremely bz. Hmmm, let's hope I can do it. Hey! That's 2 posts for this month already right? :D Let's see if I can top it with 3 next week. :p

My Surprise Gift

As if a gift to shop at Pureknits was not enough, Kitty Kitty sent me a wonderful surprise package as well! This little innocuous package was waiting for me in the post office. I was so giddy with anticipation I opened it the minute I went into my car.

I have no idea how she manage to stuff so much goodies into the box but she really know how to spoil me!

In the package was Clauda Hand Painted Yarn in the colorway Buckeye. And I have no idea how she knew I was hankering for this, Euroflax Linen in one of my favourite colors, Neptune! Two packs of ribbons which I can already think of a hundred ways to use. The cutest keychain Sock Blocker Sock I just have to try very soon and a lovely Jasmine scented candle from Flower Shop.

That's not all she sent! This little Peeps bunny has happily made herself at home at my spa corner and insisted on having her picture taken at her new home. Last but not least, Altoids Dark Mint Chocolate which is not in the picture because hehe we've already started on them. :)

Thank you so much Kitty Kitty! You really spoilt me rotten! *hugs*

In rememberance of Mimi

I was going to post on my FOs, I had written a draft and finally taken some decent photos, but I can't seem to motivate myself right now. My bf's cat, Mimi, got run over by a car and it is still bugging me, so instead, this post would be about Mimi.



Mimi was found as a kitten hiding under bf's brother's car. He was so scrawny and injured. They took him to the vet, fed, cared for and generally made a fuss over him. Yes, Mimi was a he. We didn't know much about cats then, we assumed he was a female due to some miscommunication with the vet and named him Mimi.




When Mimi got to age, it was decided to spay 'her' and the vet told them then that Mimi is a he! We all had a good laugh. By that time, Mimi only answered to that and nothing else though we tried to change it. Mimi was a great cat, he loved to play, was never fussy and very patient though he is shy with strangers. He hates to have his photograph taken. It's always so hard to make him stay still for a shot. Now I'm glad we did.

On that fateful night, we all thought Mimi was hiding in some corner having a nap as usual after dinner. We didn't expect to find him next to the rubbish bin outside the house. Mimi got hit by a car, it was horrible looking at the broken body. Someone placed the body by the pavement next to the rubbish bin outside the house. If not for that, we would not have known what happened




Farewell Mimi, you will be very much missed and will always be in our thoughts.

Knitbuddies Holiday Contest

Kitty Kitty from KnitBuddies recently hosted a lovely little holiday contest which I joined. And she picked me to be the winner! Yay! This is the very first time I join and win something knitty. I won a voucher to shop at PureKnits. (Kitty kitty's favourite online shop) Thank you Kitty Kitty!

I've been wandering around PureKnits at every chance I got and Kitty Kitty is so right. The yarns there are so yummy I still can’t make up my mind. It was so hard to narrow it down to these 3. Only the fact that some colorways are totally out that made it easier. though it still hasn't stopped me from drooling over the other yarns with sold out colors. So, it's come down to

1.) Fable Knits -Pure Baby Alpaca

2.) Tomas Tilli - Disco Lights



3.) Pure Knits - Bamboo Sport



What does everyone else think, which one should it be?

Happy Chinese New Year Y'all!!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

May all the Health, Happiness and Wealth come to you in

the Year of the Boar!!

Happy Belated New Year!!!

I’ve always had a thing with ribbons. Something about them that is just so pretty and versatile. I love to collect them although I never knew what to do with them. Most of the time, they end up crammed and crumpled in a box. Until the other day, an idea struck me. I finally found a happy way to store my ribbons.


Fancy a box of ribbons? Life is a box of ribbons, you never know what color you'll pull out? Happy New Year everyone!