Noro De-stashed: Granny and Scrappy

GRANNY: One Big Granny Square

It's finally completed! I added 4 rounds of single coloured border. I found one ball from my stash (Galway Diamond Yarn @ $3) but actually needed 2 skeins to complete the 4-rounds. Picked up one more skein at the TTC-knitalong this weekend. It was worth the trouble as granny now looks finished!

It was also worth frogging Lizard Ridge!!

SCRAPPY: Noro Leftovers Scrappy Scarf

I felt bad, actually GUILTY, for investing all 20 skeins of Noro Kureyon in the Granny. So, I saved 1.5 skeins for something wearable outdoors. Found the pattern "Scrappy Lengthwise Scarf" on Ravelry and knit away. I actually cast on with softer wool (Rowan Designer DK) and ended up casting off with some of the leftover Galway from Granny. Because it was knit length-wise, I was never 100% sure how long it would be. After blocking, it turned out great!

It's the same colorway as but "the look" is completely different!

And last but not least, the damage from the TTC-knitalong and a re-stashing of more new yarns. Originally, I had 3 must-buys on my list:

- 1 skein of Diamond Galway to finish Granny

- 2 skeins Rowan Denim so I'll enough for the Indigo Ripples Skirt. (I already had 6 in my stash from Rowan membership).

- 3 skeins of Needful Capri to make Waterlily Top. (I already had 3 skeins in my stash).

The following picture documents yarn that was NOT on my list but ended up in my shopping bag:

- 1 skein Cherry Tree Hill supersock (over 50% off)

- 2 skeins Fleece Artist Sea Wool (over 50% off)

- 8 skeins Rowan Felted Tweed ($5 a skein)

- 2 skeins Noro Matsuri (40% off)

Yarn heaven!

Obsessed with Ribbon

While looking at my stash, I noticed a reoccurring trend.

Ribbon yarn.

Red/pink tones (with hints of gold).

Random balls.

Clockwise starting from top left: Berroco Zen scarf, Rowan Linen Print, Louisa Harding Kimono Ribbon, S.R. Kertzer Sari, Needful Yarns Capri, Berroco Zen, Online Linie 96 Cascade.

With the exception of Rowan Linen Print, all of the ribbon yarns were supposed to be made into ribbon scarves. How many pink/red ribbon scarves does one really need?? Well, at least I consistently know what I like. :)

So after stalking on ravelry, I am hoping they can become the following:

Berroco Zen - Scarf or mini clapotis! I already knit a dropped stitch scarf with this yarn before. However, they stretch and get longer and longer as I wear them. I plan to frog and re-knit using a vertical dropped stitch method (i.e. clapotis)

Online Linie 96 Cascade - Crochet scarves?

Louisa Harding Kimono Ribbon - I don't know what to do with this. I'm just going to leave it in my stash but take it out once in a while to stare at it.

Needful Yarns Capri - Plan to buy 4 more skeins to make Waterlily Top

S.R. Kertzer Sari - Might abandon these.

Rowan Linen Print - Cardigan in mind.

No more red/pink ribbon yarn!!

Frogger

Thanks for your comments. The verdict is: Granny won hands down! And so... I bit the bullet and unravelled all 3.5 skeins of Lizard Ridge.

Luckily I don't feel too sad because the big Granny is progressing quite well! (It's still growing)

Unfortunately, Lizard Ridge is not the only recent frogging incident.

As I was knitting Ivy League, I always thought it looked a bit tight and small from the very beginning. Previously, during the ribbing stage, I had tried it on and it fit nicely. I thought things would work out and continued knitting to the v-neck opening before trying it on again. It still fit onto my body... but very snug. I could hardly move or breathe. I think I'll have to frog this back to the ribbing, then switch to a larger sized needle. BOOHOO!!!

There are also a few other projects that have been hibernating or failed miserably. I am going to give up on them too and start fresh!! Here are the pre-frog pics.

1) Jeanie

It was love at first sight, so much that I went and bought the suggested yarn. But the infactuation quickly fizzled. Numerous stichmarkers and figuring out a bunch of charts... I only got to the 3rd row, I don’t like this anymore.-> Plan to make Thermal.

2) Maldi's Shawl

Love the pattern, but the yarn choice was a bad one. I haven't fully frogged this but took the needle out.

-> Plan to make a sweater instead.

3) Twinkle Groovy Sweater

Fun, fast but terrible fit. Looks hideous on me.

-> Plan to make Kangaroo Tunic or a cardigan.

4) Chunky Print Yoke Vest
Also looks hideous on me.

-> Plan to make the same deep-v vest I made for my sister, but for myself.

5) Cannes

Too big.
-> Plan to reknit the same pattern using a smaller size.

It's like Spring cleaning!!

Vote: Lizard or Granny?

Some time ago, I bought 20 skeins of Noro Kureyon to make Lizard Ridge.

I started making one big Lizard Ridge... here it is. I'm not keen on the bright orange, the way the colors pool together and the short rows.

So next, I started experimenting with crocheting granny squares.

So...

which one do you think looks better?

Baby Blankets Everywhere

I made these baby blankets last year but lost the pics!

Both are made from fabric from Fabricland and fabric.com, just a few 1/2 meters of various prints. Both combine squares (large and small) and strips to create squares. They look random, but not really.

Can you tell which one is for a boy and which one is for a girl?

This pink one is for baby Ingrid.

This green one is waiting for a male baby. :)

More blankets on the way!

Care Bear Cooks

This "collection" of kitchen goodies was one of my first sewing experiments. I found a stack of Care Bear fat quarters at Wal*Mart and my little sister C LOVES the Care Bears.

I made 6 coasters, 2 pot holders, 2 oven mitts and 1 apron. They were stored in my "Christmas gifts" box for a few years and I finally took it out when sister C was in town to visit me. It's her early bday present (her bday is in December) but she gets it now because I'm too cheap to pay for Canada Post.Sister B loves Curious George. Does anyone know anywhere that sells 100% cotton Curious George fat quarters?

The Process or the Product?

There are frequent debates regarding the driving factors why knitters knit. Some people find solitude in the knitting process (repetitive zen-like movements or chance to problem solve a challenging pattern ) while others find gratification with the end result (I made this!!).

Lately, I think I've been too absorbed with the PRODUCT. Too many times, I’ve been knitting under strict deadlines to deliver presents which took the fun out of knitting. Other times, I just wanted to make something, anything, just to get rid of stash yarn. More often than not, these were spontaneous choices, poorly planned and sloppily executed. I didn't really LOVE the pattern, but it fit the gauge of my yarn. It's not surprising that the projects didn’t end up the way I envisioned. Frog.

Recently, I re-evaluated my yarn stash. I also re-evaluated all the other crafts that help me kill time - quilting, sewing, jewelry making, cross-stitching. There just isn't enough time to do EVERYTHING. And I don't think I can EVER completely get through my stash. Which is fine, as I am not very fond of every yarn in my stash anyway.

This led me to re-evaluate and prioritize my knitting projects. I wanted projects where I would enjoy the PROCESS, those that were challenging yet not frustrating:

LIZARD RIDGE

I was always intrigued with the ripples, the yarn, the colors,... I was a little bit ambitious with this project - I chose Option 2, one big lizard ridge block instead of the popular multi-blocks version. So far, I'm on ball 4 (out of 20). The ripple pattern is no longer intriguing but I'm loving the color changes!
IVY LEAGUE VEST

I love Eunny Jang's fair isle sweaters, so much that I bought enough yarn for all three of her sweaters in one order. It’s been a while since I’ve knit fair isle and on such small needles. Half way through the waist ribbing and I’m loving it! I almost forgot how enjoyable traditional fair isle could be. I'm a little anxious about the steeking, but I'll worry about it when it comes.

SIDE-TO-SIDE LACE CARDIGAN (VK Fall 2008)

I love lace, but sometimes a lace shawl requires too much commitment - time, sanity, life lines. I love this because it's modern, has enough lace to be feminine and "knit 4 strands together on 4mm needles" to keep the time commitment in check. I haven't even finished the cast on (planning to knit in the round) but here's a pic from the VK Fall 2008 magazine.

I do believe that enjoying the process will enhance the end product.

Dude Surprise Revealed

Here's some knitting at last! Both of these were finished by Valentines Day. One was a birthday gift and one was actually a Christmas surprise-turned-birthday bonus gift. Luckily, he still loves them!

First, these are the Dude's annual birthday socks, which follow these and these. I used 2 skeins of Knit Picks Essential Kettled Dyed but I was a bit disappointed with the lack of color variations. You can hardly tell it's kettled dyed yarn! The pattern is Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Nancy Bush.

And there's this. It's Bisto designed by Martin Storey and made from Rowan Big Wool (my favorite yarn for my favorite guy!)

I made a few modifications:

1) Knitting in the round

2) Ignored the bobble and replaced with a cable twist

3) When I got to the main cable, I noticed that all the previous cables were reversed! All the cables are now “modified”.
STASHBUSTER METER
Dude socks: 2 skeins of Knitpicks Essential Kettle Dyed yarn
Dude sweater: 8 skeins of Rowan Big Wool

Where did winter go? Where did I go?

WHERE DID I GO?

I apologize for the MIA of late. In the past few months, I've been to Vancouver, Hong Kong, Macau, Nicaragua, Miami (20 minutes still counts), Chicago and New York. It was a lot of fun but also very exhausting!

Vancouver

Hong Kong
Macau
Nicaragua (San Juan del Sur)
Nicaragua (Granada)
Miami
Chicago

New York

WHERE DID WINTER GO?

I already received all the Spring magazines - Vogue Knitting (LOVE), Knit Scene (not so much), Interweave Knits (LOVE this issue), Knit Simple (OK)... winter just came and went? I missed it! This is a sad exclamation mark, because I do miss the cold days hiding underneath a cozy afghan.

I'm hoping to spend this long weekend hibernating. After all, almost everything is closed tomorrow Friday and Sunday. And I'm exhausted!

HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAY!

Oh Christmas Gifts, Oh Christmas Gifts, They Are (Almost) All Finished!

Christmas... it's here!

I'm not a religious person, but I love Christmas. To me, Christmas represents the season of warm and metallic colors, twinkling lights, presents under the tree, stockings and Santa, snowflakes, parties and feasts... and homemade gifts.

This year, I decided to be realistic and only commit to 4 knit gifts:

1) Sister B

2) Sister C

3) Mom

4) Dude* (pending)

(I sewed a few items here and there, but those didn't require months of planning).

The sisters will get Monkeys, while I finally finished blocking this for mom!

Little Arrowhead Shawl by Pam Allen

I searched for something not too difficult, not too large, not too frilly/girly, but still looked darn fine!
I used 2 strands of the Elann Peruvian Baby Lace Merino.

The beauty of Ravelry saved me from hours of trial and error for this project. I didn't like the original edging and wanted peaks instead. Luckily, a few Ravelers already made similar modifications with success!

Meanwhile, the dude also gets something. Although I didn't finish it in time for Christmas, it will be a surpise for his birthday (which is in a few weeks). Since he might read my blog, what I will say is that it used up 9 skeins of Rowan Big Wool - my favorite yarn for my favorite dude. :)

STASHBUSTER METER

Little Arrowhead Shawl - 1 skein of Elann Peruvian Baby Lace Merino in Irish Moss (50g/600m) @ 4.0mm

Dude Surprise - 9 skeins of Rowan Big Wool (100g/80m) @ 10.0/12.0mm

Monkeys Everywhere

Here's some Monkey FO's!
Monkey II

I received this yarn from a yarn swap. If you may recall, I knit Monkey last year, which ended up being too big for me. I decided to gift them to Sister C this Christmas. To make things even, I decided to knit a pair of Monkeys for Sister B.

Once I started knitting up this yarn (Regia), I started to fall in love and get attached to it. The sock stuck by me through Chicago and endless TTC rides. Although I considered keeping them for myself, it's now under the Christmas tree.

Monkey III

I didn't really intend to buy this yarn. But the colors, with the bright pinks and deep purples were just calling out "buy me".

I originally started knitting toe-up socks two-at-a-time from a customizable pattern i.e. you fill in the blanks with your gauge, yarn type, length, width, size of your feet. Unfortunately, I filled out the blanks in my head and didn't jot down any notes on the pattern. After putting them aside for a few months, I couldn’t remember which size/gauge I picked and where abouts I’ve knitted up to. It was demovtivating, especially when the sock looked much too narrow to fit my feet. To make matters worst, the colors started pooling. The pooling pattern looked intentionally ugly.

So…. I have decided to rip it and knit Monkey. Since I made Sister C and Sister B each a pair, this one’s for me! The colors work really well with the pattern!

STASHBUSTING METER

Monkey II - 2 skeins Regia 4 Fach Haltbar (50g/210m) @ 2.5 mm

Monkey III - 1 skein Fleece Artist Basic Merino Socks (100g/349m) @2.5mm

Wow, Yarn Takes Up a Lot of Space!

It's been a bittersweet season. After living with my roommate for 3 years, she finally moved out. With the arrival of the ring and the dude moving in, it was inevitable.

On one hand, I will miss her company. Luckily, she will only be living down the street (2 minute walk), so I'll still see her often. On the other hand, I welcome the extra space to organize all my clutter!

After consolidating all my boxes and bags that were scattered in/around/amongst various pieces of furniture/closets/suitcases, it turns out I had more "stuff" than I originally thought.

Here, I present to you my creative space!

This is my workspace, with sewing machine and cutting mat. The left side is for me, the right side for the dude. Cowky, do you see the coasters you made for me on the desk? :)

This shelf houses part of the knitting goodies and all those boxes are actually yarn. It may not look like a lot but the boxes are BIG! There's actually more yarn than shown in this picture; I had to store the acrylics and frogged-until-frayed yarns in the closet. The closet is full but at least it's now all in one area of the home! Alas, all the craft stuff is in one room!

Love vs. Reality

The new Interweave Holidays 2008 magazine is out!

I flipped through it and fell in love with the Frost Flower Stole. I was about to buy the magazine when I became curious and decided to read through the pattern.

It required 3 skeins of yarn of 400m yarn. OK, sounds good.

Then I saw the first line "cast on 992 stitches". I read this over a few times to make sure I wasn't mis-reading it.

Then I put the magazine down.

P.S. I love the design and will likely succumb to its beauty, but it will take me some time to convince myself that I am capable of casting on 992 stitches.

Instant Gratification

I love bulky yarn. Nothing gets me into the mood of Fall/Winter knitting than instant gratification. I love Rowan Big Wool and I love Twinkle's designs. I also love to destash!

Twinkle Best Friend Cardigan

I started the Twinkle Best Friend Cardigan last winter (Feb 08?) but tossed it aside when Spring arrived. My SnB friend, Vero, was also making this, which prompted me to finish mine too! We wore it to the Wednesday SnB like twins! Here's mine:

There are several problems with the pattern. If you follow the pattern, the cables don't blend in with the ribbing. Originally, I knit the M pattern but it was too small and too short, I frogged and knit the L size. It was such a quick knit, I still finished for the weekly SnB!

I had to make some minor adjustments:

1) Modified the ribbing a little bit; according to the instructions, the ribbing and cables would not match up
2) Didn't do the bobbles; didn't want them sticking out of my boobs
3) I added 2 inches of ribbing; the M size proved to be too small and too short
4) Knit the sleeves in the round to avoid bulk

The sleeves are still a bit tight so I will only be able to wear sleeveless underneath the cardigan, but I love how it turned out!

Balthazar Vest

Rowan Big Wool on sale. How could I resist? It only used 3 skeins and I love how it turned out! The pattern was not the most well-written so I strongly recommend reading through the entire pattern before starting (especially the capped sleeve).

My modifications:

1) Since I substituted with a lighter yarn (Rowan Big Wool), I knit the L size to compensate

2) I used K2P2 to replace any K1P1 ribbing throughout

Sloane-Inspired Vest

This was a spontaneous purchase I made this summer in Vancouver's Urban Yarns. The yarn, Rowan Ribbon Twist, was on sale for 50% off, need I say more? I bought 4 to make this pattern (I already had the book in my library).

I originally made Sloane (Sweater Vest) from Lisa Shobhana Mason. However, I was very disappointed by the pattern. Although I knit the S size, my measurements came out to those of XS. However, the vest was still HUGE and completely unflattering. I considered shrinking it without felting it. After some consideration, I ripped it out and redesigned the entire pattern.

I ended up making significant changes, and I don’t think it’s a Sloane anymore:

1) Took in a few inches for the vest to have negative ease

2) Replaced K1P1 ribbing with K2P2 throughout

3) Made the round neck larger, to allow for K2P2 scoop neckline

4) Added increases in the sleeve opening to allow for arm band

5) Knit the entire vest in the round

** It looks a little bit unbalanced on me, I plan to add cap sleeves or ribbing of some sort, or maybe block (those of you how know me, I rarely block anything)**

STASHBUSTING METER

Twinkle Best Friend Cardigan - 6 skeins Tahki Baby Tweed (100g/55m) @ 15mm

Twinkle Balthazar Vest - 3 skeins Rowan Big Wool (100g/80m) @ 12.75/15mm
Sloane-inspired Vest - 4 skeins Rowan Ribbon Twist (100g/60m) @ 12mm

Something Lacy and Blue

Fall is finally here! Fall is my favorite season, the beautiful changing leaves, the crisp air after muggy summers, the deep warm colors of fall fashion, thick snuggly sweaters... before I dive into the warm winter sweaters, I finished this lacy and blue mini-shawl.

Swallowtail Shawl

It took one skein of Misti Alpaca lace yarn:

It's absolutely beautiful and feminine. However, I am disappointed that the pattern did not make use of the left-over yarn (I have about 1/3 skein left) to make the shawl bigger. My pet peeve is big skeins of left-over yarn. The shawl is a little bit small and I wished it was bigger!!

I'm always amazed by the magic of blocking. Just brilliant!

STASHBUSTING METER
Swallowtail Shawl - 1 skein Misti International Misti Alpaca Lace (50g/400m) @ 3.5 mm

Baby Quilts & Little Girl Dresses

Baby quilts and little girl dresses, these seem to go hand in hand.

Over the summer, I made 2 baby quilts...

...one for my gf G's Baby Nicholas...
The bright colored fat quarters looked a bit scary together but I'm happy the color combination worked. It's so happy and energetic! ...and one for the dude's sister's soon-to-be-born baby girl...
I absolutely adore the lavender and white combination.
For both quilts, the quilt top was made from fat quarters I bought at the Creative Festival a few years ago and the back is from Fabricland remnants bin. Both quilts used Warm and Natural craft size batting.

I also made 2 cutesy little girl dresses...

...one for gf H's baby Noelle...
She lives in Hong Kong so baby N can wear this all-year-round! I hope she likes the bee buttons as much as I do.
...one for dude's sister's baby in a few years (?!)...
I was really into it and just couldn't stop at making just one. :)Both dresses used the pattern from Buttericks B3772 and sale fabric from Fabricland ($5 per metre!!). I bought the rick-rack from Walmart and one package was enough to make 2 dresses.

These are quick and satisfying projects!

Goldielocks in Summertime Tunic

More summer knitting FO's...

GOLDIELOCKS TRIANGLE SHAWL

I was eyeing this shawl from the moment I saw it. When I saw SandiPurl's, I knew I had to have it.

The yarn is soft and luxurious but the pattern is BORING BORING BORING and the yarn fuzzy as &@!? which means you can’t see a thing. Although the stitch is easy, I had to keep looking down to ensure I didn't miss any stitches.At one point, I brought this to the drunken SnB (boring projects are best) but then, I was curious, poked around and found a dropped stitch…. 8 inches down. GRRRRR!!!! I eventually wove in an extra piece of yarn to hide it.

Although I would not buy this yarn to knit again (boucle = not fun), the finished product is very soft and warm and I do enjoy wrapping around my shoulders.
SUMMER TIME TUNIC

This pattern was from Interweave Summer 2007. It can sometimes be downloaded for free from knittingdaily.com.

I really like the pattern: it's a very easy knit, just knit round and round. Yet at the same time, it has enough details to make it look good. Some easy patterns tend to look too "home made" but this one isn't one of them! STASHBUSTING METER

Goldielocks Triangle Shawl - Fleece Artist Goldielocks in Mahogany (125g/499m) @ 6.0 mm
Summertime Tunic - 6 skeins of Lana Grossa HP 31 Print in blue-green (50g/115m) @ 3.5/4.0 mm

Anna & Clapotis II

Some things I finished this summer!

ANNAThis was from the Linen Print Collection and I used the same colorway as in the book. I love it, partly because it's knit using 7.0/8.0mm needles but also because I love pink, raglan sleeves are easy to sew and it fits!

For some reason, when I follow Rowan patterns, they always end up too short and this was not an exception. I later went back, unravelled the bottom ribbing and added 2 inches of knit + 1 inch ribbing. If you look closely, the ribbing is upside-down!

Better fit now!

CLAPOTIS II

I saw a Clapotis at the yarn store using this Mirasol Hacho yarn and was intrigued by the colors so I bought 2 skeins. I used the yarn in a few other patterns but the pooling butchered the yarn. I know, I have said many times that I didn’t enjoy Clapotis the first time: it’s boring once you get the hang of it. But only this pattern does this yarn justice. So, I gave in and started the Clap.

I used the tip from other Ravelers and replaced stitchmarkers with a simple purl stitch (which would be dropped later on). With this modification, I actually ENJOYED the pattern.

This time, I intended to make it a little bit bigger, more like a wrap. I ended up buying 3 more skeins. However, despite my attempts to make this a larger wrap, it is still small-ish. It's the same size as the other one!!

But I still love it!

Stashbuster Meter
Anna: 9 skeins of Rowan Linen Print Patons in Peachy? (50g/55m) @ 7.0/8.0mm
Clapotis II*: 5 skeins of Mirasol Hacho in 307 (50g/125m) @ 4.5 mm

* It's not really a stashbuster because I recently bought this yarn :)

Changes & Clutter

It's been a few months... but I'm still here! Still knitting and sewing!

There have been many changes and distractions in the past few months and almost all good ones - the ring, travel, living arrangements, visiting friends ...

Now that summer is almost at its end, I feel like I can breathe and reflect. It's been a summer of clutter - while enjoyable, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the abundance of changes and summer events.

Over the years I've also accumulated lots of tangible clutter - magazines, yarn, yarn magazines, books, fabric, lots of STUFF. Clutter galore, which I realize is overwhelmingly demotivating my craftiness. In the next few months, I'll have the opportunity to purge, reorganize, prioritize and get the mess in order. Hopefully it will revive my creative juices and also make the crafting process more efficient (more pictures and more blogging)! I hope to update this post with goodies soon but in the meantime, you can find me on Ravelry: "kneurotic knitter".

I recently came across a blog entry (quite an old entry, actually) titled "is ravelry the end of knit blogs?" I don't think knit blogs will die, but I admit I have blogged less since Raverly, certainly less disciplined with recording my projects here but I still enjoy the occasional blog entry. And I still enjoy reading other blogs from knitters/quilters/sewers.

In the meantime, this is my current obsession. I don't live in Chicago but I LOVE it:

Sewing Maddness

I've been sewing like a mad woman lately!

Like my yarn stash, I cannot resist sale fabric with nice patterns. After collecting remnants to make small accessories and saving them up for quilts, I dove into garment making. Perhaps it's influenced by Project Runway reruns!

Originally I was not really excited. I started with skirts since they seem foolproof and relatively easy but zippers were still annoying. After making my first skirt, I became familiar with the pattern and made more skirts:

Simplicity 5914 (same as my first plaid skirt)

The only modification was adding a woven lining.

McCalls M5591 (pleated skirt)

For both, I used 100% cotton drapery/upholstery fabric, which is more stiff. This makes the pleats stand out and also no need to add lining. Plus, pleated skirts are all the rage this season.

Next, I experimented with knitted dresses. It's easy, no zippers or buttons, the fit is forgiving, there's no need to coordinate an outfit and it feels great on. I am completely obsessed with this jersey pattern. Can you tell?

Simplicity 3775 (knitted dress)

This one with a gathered (elastic) waist, with round neck and short sleeves.

This one with a knotted/twisted-link-thing waist (although you can't see), with round neck and short sleeves.

And this one, with V kimono neck, long sleeves and a sash.

I still cannot sew straight lines but I can make dresses!

Fat Socks and Skinny Socks

It's been slow, but surely, I have been knitting. While there are a few other projects in the works, I finally finished this!

SKINNY SOCKS
I started & finished the first sock on my bus tour down to NYC (10 hour bus ride one way) a few months ago. And while the pattern is not difficult, the variegated yarn was a little hard on my eyes. I tossed it aside but now finally finished it! Because I finished knitting the first one such a long time ago (I did jot down notes on the pattern, but I completely don't understand what my notes mean), there are a few inconsistencies between the two. Hopefully no one can see except for me! This is Retro Rib socks from Interweave Favorite Socks and I used the recommended Kroy yarn.

FAT SOCKS
When I went back to my parents' place, I found many hideous finished projects from my early days (boxy sweaters, fair isle vests) that I thought were cool at the time but the color combinations absolutely yucky. The yarn was decent quality - Shetland Chunky
... part wool, part acrylic = durable
... chunky = fast!

I frogged them and had all these little balls of Shetland Chunky in various colors. At one point, I envisioned saving them for an updated fair isle vest but when I saw these chunky socks at suggested 5.5mm, how could I not try them? They are from Paton’s new book - Next Steps 4: Socks and Slippers. The book is great, about $6 and has many basic and some not-so-basic patterns.

I whipped these fat socks up in a few episodes of CSI. They would be great for lounging around at home in the winter, or better yet, fast Christmas presents!
Stashbuster Meter

Skinny Retro Rib Socks: 2 skeins of Patons Kroy socks in Paint Box (50g/186m) @ 2.75mm

Fat Chunky Knit Socks: 2 scrap balls of Patons Shetland Chunky (100g/111m) @ 5.0mm

I'm the Spring Santa

It must be a result of the beautiful weather lately. Spring arrived. Torontonians have been extra smiley, less grumpy and you can hear more laughter everywhere. Me too, I've been feeling like Santa. In addition to the sewing gifts, I have a few knitted ones too!

1) BABY BLANKET FOR A&J

You may remember this blanket... From the first Bernat baby blanket kit, I had LOTS of white and blue left over. (Also had orange, pink, green, yellow, lavender, which was made into a blanket for baby Noelle). This one is gifted to her new friend, AJ.

Again, I used the knitting machine, which could only handle a max of 100 stitches. I made 2 separate pieces with varying stripes of increasing length, pieced them together and finished with a crochet border. You can see the crocheted corners need more practice. :P I actually finished the top sometime in January 2007 but only finished sewing the back piece (blue gingham flannel) 15 months later.

Wow! THREE blankets were made from the yarn from this kit!

The sad thing? Guess how much it cost me to send this thing to Hong Kong. $40 CANADIAN for SURFACE mail (that means, it goes on a ship and floats its way to the destination). The post office lady quoted me such a ridiculous $$ for airmail, I have blocked it out of my memory. It was somewhere between $70 and $85. WTF??? I just hope by the time the blanket arrives, the recipient is still a baby...

2) Crochet Scarf for LL

You may remember LL some time ago. I had promised to make her a fashionable poncho. XX months later, ponchos are no longer fashionable and I decided to make a scarf instead - a fashionable skinny one. I originally intended to give her the Galaxy Scarf (2 posts ago) but after knitting it up, decided it wasn't really her style.
After helping crochet the pieces together for Sandi's BB blanket, I felt I could actually crochet. This pattern from Happy Hooker is supposed to be for novice crocheters. I agree! Once I started I couldn't stop! The end result was so pretty, I had trouble parting with it.

HO HO HO!

Stashbuster Meter
A&J Baby Blanket: All blue & white leftovers of Bernat baby blanket kit. YAY!
Crochet Scarf: 1.5 skeins of Katia Firenze (34% polyamid, 33% merino wool, 33% acrylic)

Sew Updates Q1

I realize that sewing garments is not the most gratifying thing. But alas, I have gained so much weight since returning to Canada from Hong Kong that some of my (a lot of my) beloved clothes don't fit. I just spring-cleaned an entire box of clothing, amongst the pile are some BCBG, Vivienne Tam and Cacharel items. Boo. Bye Bye beautiful clothes.

So, I tried to sew a couple of items for myself; one of them I will keep:

A Red Plaid Skirt - Simplicity 5914

I added a lining to the skirt and it's a bit more stiff. The best thing: it fits! It looks a bit funny because I leaned against the wall but it has a nice bell curve.

I did make a few other things but they are not flattering on me so I will not talk about them now.

Instead, guess what I received? My MOO cards! I love them...

... And I put them into good use right away ! I used them as gifts tags!!

PRESENT 1 - Coasters for my friend GLeung

Made from quilt leftovers, I love them! They are so Laura Ashley-esque!

PRESENT 2 - Baby Dress for Hunka Hunka Sandi

My first baby shower for our very own Sandi. You can check out the BB afghan that the local SnB'ers made on her blog. I helped crochet the pieces together. I also made the baby this. It can actually be reversible but I couldn't figure out how to add buttons on both sides without scratching the baby, so I just left it like this. The inner fabric is 100% cotton (comfortable) and the outside is a practical (iron-free) polyester/cotton blend.

PRESENT 3 - Knit-Picks Needle Case for me!

My first needle case was a bit flabby. I learned the magic of batting interfacing, a pretty fabric and voila!! I even made little velcro pockets to put the needle stoppers and the little needle screw mechanism. This is my new favorite sewed item.

And for those who asked about Lady Detective Hat in action... here it is. My boss says it has a little bit of a "homeless" look. :(
Perhaps he could've used "bohemian"?!

Quilt Updates Q1

Quarter 1'08 included many "firsts" for quilting and sewing:

My 1st quilt using the "tying" method (after ripping out previously machine quilting)
You probably remember this pink quilt. It was beautiful... on top. The back was terrible. I was lazy and machine quilted it but the results were less than satisfactory. First of all, the plaid backing fabric magnified any crooked sewing or puckering. Secondly, I did not know any better and used mediocre batting. Since the back was such an eyesore, I decided to re-quilt the project (taking apart the layers and bias) and replace the batting with Warm and Natural cotton batting. Instead of hand-stitching a bunch of straight lines, I decided to piece together the quilt sandwich by sewing buttons at intervals. It took a lot of work but I am finally satisfied and not ashamed of showing you the back!
This quilt measures: 52 X 52 inches/130 X 130 cm My 1st queen-sized quilt!
This is my pride and joy. It's reversible: It was inspired by Quilt: Handmade Style and modified designs for both the front and back. It's HUGE - it fits my queen-size bed. It is machine pieced and hand-quilted.
The front consists of three panels while the back are 9-square blocks with borders. To add a special touch, I sewed a shell-like flower button in the center of each 9-square block.
This quilt measures: 72 X 88 inches /180 X 225 cm My 1st quilt using machine quilting (and satisfied with it)!
I call this the Easter Quilt. Purple and yellow. I bought 4 fat quarters from the Creative Festival a while back and didn't know what to do with it. I also wanted to try machine quilting again and decided a small quilt would be the best option. I had some remnants in brown and yellow (plus the brown bias from the queen-size quilt) and the colors just blended together harmoniously. It took me less than 2 days to finish!
This quilt measures: 35 X 45 inches/ 90 X 115 cm (craft size Warm and Natural cotton).
A few weekends ago, I was in NYC for a business trip. Purl Soho was a must-see and I came out of the candy store with these:
I was disappointed by the colors of Amy Butler fabric; they look much nicer online but I still bought some (the pinks, oranges and yellows). And I accidentally discovered Joel Dewberry (the blue ones). His fabrics are awesome! What do you think? As for the brown and green batch, they came in a bundle I just couldn't resist.

Knitting Update Q1

Finally! It was not my intention to skip updates for an entire quarter but it happened. :( I apologize. It has not been easy juggling a new role at work, going to (trying to go to) yoga classes, knitting, quilting, sewing, cross-stitching and some traveling. But I will try to update more; quarterly updates are just unacceptable!

Of the crafts, knitting has been the least productive, partly because I am still suffering from post-Christmas knitting drain and I still have not received the new Vogue Knitting SS08! Grrr... There are a few VK patterns I have been eyeing online and I am ready to use up the cotton yarns... Where is my copy of the magazine? When my subscription expires, I will not renew it. I much prefer to go to the book store and fondle the newest copy (even if it costs more) instead of waiting weeks and weeks for the subscription. Grrr....

There are few FO's in the last few months:

WISP
I had all these little leftover balls of Madil Kid Seta from this project, where the variegated colors pooled like a disease. I tried to use it in a few lace projects, including River, but the colors were too busy to justify a 16 row lace pattern . Frog, frog, frog and some patience later, I found Wisp, which was an easy pattern that worked well with the colors. I used up ALL the leftovers and coincidently, the scarf is the perfect length & size!

LADY DETECTIVE HAT
I bought the book partly for this pattern (primarily for the felted slippers). For the longest time, I thought buying 2 skeins of Noro Iro for one hat was just too expensive. But then it happened. In the Loop Cafe had a sale. And I indulged. After reading experiences from Ravelry, I ended up only using one skein for a hat. I was short a few yards and used a merino wool on the inside. There are 2 benefits for this 1) I can save the 2nd skein of Noro Iro for something else and 2) Merino wool for the interior feels better for my forehead. I love win-win solutions!

GALAXY LENGTHWISE SCARF
Intended to be a quickie birthday present, I have not yet sent this to the recipient yet. This yarn was from the Lewiscraft close-out. I cast on a bunch of stitches (don't remember how many), knit a few rows, added a drop stitch row, repeated a few times and cast off. It's soft, somewhat fluffy and lacey but I'm not sure if it's my friend's style. Since her birthday was over 1 month ago, at this point, I might make something else for her since it's already belated. I may bookmark the scarf for another birthday.
Stashbuster Meter
Wisp: All leftovers of Madil Kid Seta (about 2 skeins)
Lady Detective Hat: 1 Skein of Noro Iro (75% Wool, 25% Silk) and a few yards of Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in Aged Oak (50% baby alpaca/50% merino wool)
Galaxy Lengthwise Scarf: 3 skeins of 50g (55 m) Bernat Galaxy in Star (77% acrylic, 8% polyester, 7.5% mohair, 7.5% alpaca)

In the meantime, I sewed up 2 clothing items, finished 2 quilts, re-quilted 1 quilt and revisited a cross-stitch project which I started over 1 year ago. Sewing update to come!

Wowsers 2 Months!!

Wowsers! I didn't realize that I've neglected this space for 2 months! Knitting-wise, I have been completely exhausted after finishing the Christmas gifts for 2007. Somewhat demotivated too, until I saw the preview for Vogue Knitting. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I love the bag, I love the wedding dress, I love the abstract art dress, and I REALLY love the chunky blue lace thing with cables.

Although I have not touched my knitting needles in 2 weeks, I have done some knitting since my last blogpost. My life has been a bit hectic so I'm still behind on uploading/downloading pics of my FO's:
1) Wisp from knitty.com
2) Lady Detective Hat from Knit 2 Together
3) Sideways chunky lacy scarf, which was my own concoction.

In the meantime, I have been keeping myself busy with sewing and quilting. Again, no pictures this post but the good news is.... I have finally sat down to quilt this (the last pic) and I am on track on finishing it before its one year anniversary!

If you signed up, please feel free to ravelry me: kneuroticknitter

Happy knitting!!

Belated Wishes and Gifts

Happy Belated New Year!

Belated. There is a trend here as the new year wishes are not the only thing that arrived late.

Late Christmas presents. I was soooooooooo good this year with the Christmas pressies preparation. I started early and was happily ticking off my to-do list... until I got the Wii and the NDS. They are wii-diculous fun but also very evil. Since then, my knitting output has been dismal. Apart from the Christmas FOs for Sister B and Sister C, I only finished ONE out of the five to-do items from the list. BAH.

But here is Sister B's finished Nan cardigan from Rowan Big Just Gets Bigger (which I finished in 2008). It looks great knitted up but I did not enjoy the pattern. The 4 row repeat is simple enough but takes a lot of time since it involves wrapping around stitches (think horizontal yarn overs X 2). It was painful, even for chunky yarn.

Here's a pic of the other Christmas present mentioned in the previous post. It is Lacey, the chunky lace shawl from knitty.

And look, there are these... my own labels! Yay!!! They arrived after Christmas and was my excuse for not mailing out the FO's earlier. :)
Stashbusting Meter:
- Nan Sister B : 6 skeins of 100g (100m) Rowan Chunky Print in Deep End (100% wool)
- Lacey for CLaw: 8 skeins of 50g (55 m) Bernat Galaxy in Saturn (77% acrylic, 8% polyester, 7.5% mohair, 7.5% alpaca)

Oh Christmas Gifts, Oh Christmas Gifts...

Hee hee, I know it's still early... And the progress is looking good for now.

1) Shrug for CL

The pattern is Lacey from Knitty. I used 8 skeins of Bernat Galaxy in Saturn. This cheap yarn is a blend of alpaca which makes it very soft and fluffy. I think I got gauge and I am very happy with the result.

Modifications: instead of picking up stitches for the collar, this yarn was too hairy and I ended up knitting the collar separately and attaching it to the body.
** This one is a secret, so no pics yet**

2) Scarf and Deep-V Vest for Sister C

Both items are kint in Rowan Chunky Print. The scarf is Dixie from Rowan's Big Just Got Bigger. It was a fast and fun knit. I like the fringe... it looks like dreadlocks.
Modifications: The scarf is knit in two separate pieces which are attached in the middle. Instead of using 3-needle bind off, as suggested in the pattern, I grafted the two pieces together!

The Deep-V Vest is inspired by Twinkle's Balthazar. Since the Rowan yarn is a different weight from Twinkle's Soft Chunky, I just cast on and did my own thing. I think it turned out OK!

3) Vest for myself

This is the result of test knitting with Rowan Chunky Print! After much trial and error and re-knitting, I found the perfect number of stitches to knit in the round. I added cap sleeves and decided to keep this little number for myself.
Stashbusting Meter:
- CL Shrug: 8 skeins of 50g (55 m) Bernat Galaxy in Saturn (77% acrylic, 8% polyester, 7.5% mohair, 7.5% alpaca)
- Sister C Scarf: 3 skeins of 100g (100m) Rowan Chunky Print in Swizzle (100% wool)
- Sister C Deep V-Vest: 3 skeins of 100g (100m) Rowan Chunky Print in Native (100% wool)
- Vest for me: 3 skeins of 100g (100m) Rowan Chunky Print in Swizzle (100% wool)

Jury Duty

A month and a half ago, I was called for jury duty. It was not very eventful... I was amongst 300 people sitting in a room waiting all day for a week. During the time there (waiting), I worked on this: Jaywalkers. Isn't it ironic that this was the project I would bring into the courts?

The yarn is Patons Kroy in the Kool Stripes colorway and I used 2.75mm Brittany needles. I actually like this yarn, it's a bit heavier than other sock yarn and doesn't split. Plus, it's cheap! Unfortunately, I'm not as impressed with the Brittany needles. I broke a 2.75mm one! Although they offer a 5 year warranty and send a replacement, it's just plain annoying.

Here's a picture of Summer Wheat which I finished a few months ago.
I also finished a few Xmas pressies. Will show you next time!

Stashbusting Meter:
Socks: 2 skeins Patons Kroy (Kool Stripes)
Summer Wheat: 4 skeins Jaeger Trinity (Corn)

Sew Much More Kneurotic

It's been awhile but there have been lots of progress on the sewing front!

A new yoga bag made from boyfriend's old jeans!
A set of new cushion covers!

A new chair slip cover!

A needle organizer for the knitpicks needles!

A quilt!

Happy Stitching!