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!

I'm back and PINK!

Thanks everyone who has been keeping up and reading my blog, even with the lack of postings. XXOO

Bad news: The data recovery was not as complete as I hoped and I lost about 50% of my files, 30% of which I DO NOT have back-ups. BOO HOO!

Good news: I got a new PINK laptop and it arrived!! WOOHOO!

So, kneurotic is back!

I still need to update my yarn database and details, but here's a few pics of my recent projects:

1) Monkey from Cookie A via Knitty:

This was started on my HK trip in July. I had no yarn so I bought one skein Steinbach Wolle Aktiv Color 100 from Cheerwool. It's not luxurious sock yarn but I liked the colorway and the yarn does soften up after a good wash. 2) Dude Tiger Socks (that match my first socks)

The Opal yarn was on sale for $3 so I got 2 skeins... perfect for the dude! The color resembles a tiger and the dude happens to be born in the year of the tiger. Don't they match with the blue pair in the back? Those were my very first socks.

3) Summer Wheat from Interweave Knits Summer 2007

I used 4 skeins of Jaeger Trinity. I made a few adjustments to the pattern. The main difference is replacing the knitted string with ribbon. It's not expensive ribbon but it makes the whole project so much more feminine.

Hopefully I'm back for good! YAY PINK LAPTOP!

Laptop: R.I.P.

... and I will buy a new one this week. Luckily, the tech guys were able to recover my data (well, most of it) so although it cost me arm and a leg, I now have in my possession my most important files. Phew! Note to self for the new laptop: BACKUP! Once a month!

In the meantime, besides not updating the blog, Ravelry has also not been updated. I started uploading my projects in chronological order (oldest to newest) but because of the laptop issue, I only have the ancient projects in my profile. I don't know how to search for people but you can add me: kneuroticknitter.

I'm still knitting: there's something mysterious, something for Christmas, something for myself, something experimental and something blue. *smile*

I hope I can post pics soon and revive the blog!

Happy knitting!

Laptop. Dead.

Some of you might already know. My laptop is dead and along with it, ALL my photos and files. BOO HOO!! The ironic thing is I turned on the computer that day with the intention of doing a full back-up but before I even had a chance, it died. @#??$*()#!!

Fortunately, the IT guy at work has offered help retrieving the files but since this is a "personal" issue, it's not high on his to-do totem pole. Patience... In the meantime, I have not taken any more new photos but here's still a quick update!

I've completed a few items and started a few new ones!

DONE:
Summer Wheat - pictures soon!
Dude Tiger Socks - pictures soon!

STARTED:
Desperate for some knitting in HK - Monkey Socks
I was in HK and ran out of knitting so I went to the LYS, grabbed the only sock yarn they had (HK is so hot, they don't need yarn socks over there) and started Monkey. I know what the fuss is about... it's a great pattern! The lace panel is easy to remember and the sock is very pretty! If I had to make modifications, I would replace the heel with "K1, Sl1 on one side" to make it more durable.

Christmas Knitting - Nan in Chunky Print
I bought three different colorways of this yarn when it was on sale at WEBS. My plan was to knit 3 of the following pattern: Nan by Rowan - one for me, one for Sister B and one for Sister C.

I started one and although the "lace" pattern is turning out beautifully (so far), I am not sure whether I have the endurance to make THREE. By Christmas. There are a few problems I have encountered:
1) I am knitting the body in-the-round so increases and decreases are not necessarily following the lace pattern. It's not perfectly pretty on the sides.
2) The lace pattern takes forever. To make those pretty holes, one has to wrap the yarn around stitches a couple of times every 2 stitches. It. Takes. A. Long. Time.
3) With too much going on (decreases, familiarizing with the lace pattern, trying to knit right+back+left simultaneously), I screwed up the decreases rows. Instead of decreasing every 4 rows, I decreased every other row. I'm hoping no one will notice. :)

Long story short, I don't think I can do this pattern another 2 times. I can't bear to rip it apart so I will keep the Nan jacket for myself and look for some other Chunky Print patterns for the sisters:

How about this scarf plus a kneurotic-designed vest?

Apart from these, I have more Christmas pressies:
1) Open lace poncho for LL
2) Chunky lace shawl for CL
3) Boucle cushion covers for GL
4) Furry cushion covers for WL
5) Madli shawl for Mom

Back Home!

I'm finally back after 2 weeks! I visited Vancouver for 1 week and Hong Kong for 1 week. It was a whirlwind of eating, weddings and visiting friends. Right now I am a bit dazed and tired and daydreaming... but I did buy some yarn *smile*. Plus, I recieved some as gifts from friends, including from the ever so generous Little Sesame. Thank you Sesame!

In the meantime, there are all these new magazines for the Fall! I can't wait!!

Vogue Knitting
Knitting Simple
Knit.1 (saw this somewhere but site not updated yet)
Interweave Knits

Now, time for soem ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzs.

Lady Peggy

You may now call me Lady Peggy.

This was a LONG knit. I started it back in March, was initially intrigued by the entrelac technique, became bored of the constant turning and knitting, tossed it aside and then grew fond of it again when I needed something easy for SnB-ing (knitting + talking).

I didn't use the suggested yarn, instead I used Noro Silk Garden, which I bought during my yarn binge last year when I discovered Internet yarn deals. NSG was overstock at WEBS and on sale for US$6.79 per skein. At those prices, who could resist? I am ecstatic that the colors I saw online translated well into this pattern.

I followed the pattern most of the time, but completed 43 tiers. For the fringe, I shortened them a bit (using 60cm strands instead of 100cm) and added a few so they were divisible by the triangles. I think this fits petite me better. Otherwise, Lady Peggy would be swallowed up by her wrap!

I am looking forward to using it during the cooler months. In the meantime, where's my prince?

For other Ladys, click here and here.

Stashbusting Meter:
9 skeins of Noro Silk Garden (shade 224)

Linen Print Top

I finished this top a few weeks ago but finally here's the pictures!

I bought this yarn at Knitomatic's Attic Clearance sale. Each skein of Rowan's Linen Print was only $2 and the total cost for the project was about $10. There was a mishap - I knit the sweater in the round and realize that I can't count. The back piece and front piece are not the same size, there is a 4-stitch difference! But I thought... shouldn't the front piece be slightly larger to account for boobs anyway (even if mine aren't that big)? Anyhow, I was convinced and left it at that but reinforced the sleeve edge by picking up and knitting/purling a row. Now it no longer rolls up!

This was my own pattern, and I think it turned out quite well. I love it!

The heat is consuming Toronto, and along with it my urge to knit. I have been keeping up with some projects during Monday Yarnaholic and Wednesday SnB but I tend to wander my eye towards sewing. Here are some of my recent sewing FO's: a yoga bag for JB, some small pillow cases and a few small project bags.

Stashbusting Meter:

4 1/2 skeins of Rowan Linen Print (shade 346 Pip)

Summer in my City + TTC KAL

Although summer is officially 1 week away, it already feels like summer in Toronto. There are parties/performances/free events every weekend in the city and of course I am there!

Three weekends ago: Toronto Open Doors.

Over 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and social significance open their doors to the public for a city-wide celebration. I visited the Gooderham Flat Iron Building, Canada Permanent Building and Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre. I learned a few things from these tours: The when Mr. Gooderham died in 1905, his estate tax paid off Ontario's deficit for 1906. I also learned that the Elgin and Winter Garden are in fact 2 theatres built in a double-decker style. Cool!

2 Weekends Ago: LuminaTO & RAW

LuminaTO is a celebration of the arts and there were a few free concerts, including one which featured Chantal Kreviazuk (she sang 6 songs!!) and Molly Johnson. It was the first time I heard of Molly Johnson and she was awesome! During the festivities, I also went up to Yorkville to see the village turn into a 60's mecca and attempted to visit the new Crystal ROM. There were too many people lined up so I just admired it from afar.

Another gem was RAW (Riverdale Art Walk). I thought Riverdale was a bit dingy and ghetto but there are some very interesting shops! I'm so glad I took the time to explore this area.

Last Weekend: TTC-KAL & LuminaTO

Last weekend, LuminaTO continued at the Distillery and Harbourfront. I managed to listen to some music with a bottle of beer at the Distillery and caught a glimpse of acrobats and clowns at Harbourfront. Awesome music too!

TTC-Knit-a-long. I fell off the wagon... and there were knitting disasters along the way... We started at Passion Knits, which had awesome sales on Rowan, then hit Knitomatic, Lettuce Knit and ended at Naked Sheep.

Whew! What a day! One skein of Fiddlesticks lace, 3 skeins of KSH, and 3 sets of Brittany sock needles later, here's a recap...

North Team! It was a cozy but awesome team!

My co-captain shooting me.

TTC KAL - Knitting on the street car! Previously, I had a few team members get stuck in between the doors of the subway and Cristina was almost separated from her yarn. I could almost visualize the evil, dirty, old subway driver giggling in his work station. LOSER!!! He closed the door not once, but FIVE times on my team members! No more subway, we decided to take the street car/bus on the rest of the journey.

Accidental shoplifing by Rocketbride with evidence.

The crazy mob in front of Lettuce Knit. Many knitters left with sun burns!

Next Weekend: Taste of Little Italy (yummy) and MMVA

As you can tell, with so much activity I have not been spending too much time knitting. However, I have finished a summer top I knitted from Rowan Linen Print... my own pattern. Pictures next time!

Ahhh, the summer here in Toronto. There's just so much to do!!!

Great Excerpts/Free Patterns

I found these gems at Canadian Living. :) Enjoy!

KNITS:

Cabled Cardigan from Twinkle's Big City Knits: 31 Chunky-Chic Designs by Wenlan Chia

Quick Easy Pullover from Never Too Old to Knit, edited by Karin Strom

Aran Laptop Cover from Knitting with Balls: A Hands-On Guide to Knitting for the Modern Man by Michael del Vecchio

Peace Fleece Socks from Knitting for Peace by Betty Christiansen

Wrist Warmers from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

Heirloom Shawl from Patons

Stuffed Elephant from Baby Knits Kit: Instructions and Tools for 20 Snuggly Projects by Sara Lucas

Baby Baseball Tee from Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark

Community Afghan from Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice by Melanie Falick

3 Pillows from Luxury Knitting: The Ultimate Guide to Exquisite Yarns by LInda Morse

Felted Pillow from Felt It! 20 Fun and Fabulous Projects to Knit & Felt by Maggie Pace

Felted Patchwork Rug from Odd Ball Knitting: Creative Ideas for Leftover Yarn by Barbara Albright

Felted Water Bottle Cover from Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas

Toy Monkey from Toys to Knit by Tracy Chapman

Dishcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne

SEWING:

Totes from Simple Sewing: Patterns and how-to for 24 fresh and easy projects by Lotta Jansdotter
CROCHET:

Cupcake/Pin Cushion from Crochet to Go: 25 Chic and Easy Patterns by Alicia Bergin

TTC Along in Toronto

I apologize for yet another photoless blog entry. But this one is important!!!

Saturday June 9th, 2007 is International Knit in Public Day and it's a great opportunity for crazy fibre fashionistas to take over the subways, streetcars and buses of Toronto!!

We have three teams starting at three different locations around Toronto. We will go from yarn store to yarn store to yarn store to yarn store while knitting on the TTC. On top of that you get to meet some really cool knitters that you might not have met otherwise.

Join the TTC along! I will be co-captaining the NORTH team. :)

To find out more information and register at the official TTC-along blog, click here.

Tonight

Tonight we get to scare the "muggles" (coined by Yarn Harlot).

Canadian launch of Yarn Harlot’s new book Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot’s Guide to the Land of Knitting at Indigo on Bay & Bloor.

After Party at the Spotted Dick.

Muhaaaaahaaaaahaa.

7 Random Facts

I have been tagged by Jacquie, Little Sesame, AND Marjorie so here it is! Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves.

1) I enjoyed and felt more comfortable turning 30 than turning 20. I’m more at peace with myself.

2) I dreamt of living in a closet-sized condo since I was 5 years old - large houses scare me, you never know if there’s a thief hiding somewhere.

3) I don’t eat lamb.

4) My first three “best friends” were all boys. I used to slide down mud hills and make dirty holes in my pants.

5) I still have not seen E.T. or the first three Star Wars movies.

6) I’m in love with Gil Grissom from CSI: Las Vegas.

7) I have never joined a knitting class. I much prefer to look at diagrams/magazines/books and figure things out by trial and error. This is how I first learned to knit and this also explains my many knitting mishaps!

I’m supposed to tag seven others but most knit bloggers I know have already been tagged. If anyone wants to play, just cut and paste!

Sew Kneurotic

Being from a Chinese family, I grew up eating a lot of white rice. When my sisters and I still lived at home, my mom would buy rice in 10kg bags and up to a few years ago, the rice was packed in beautifully patterned cloth bags (some cotton, some polyester, always an unknown material). Nowadays, they come in nylon sacs.

Over the years, my mom saved up all these bags/pieces of cloth and when she found out I took up quilting, she gave me her entire stash. The stash was so large, I was only able to bring 9 of these "bags" to Toronto. With some trial and error, I made the following goodies - a yoga mat bag and some reversible environmentally friendly bags.

I also started piecing together two quilts.

The first pink one is a kit I got from the last Creative Festival. It's pretty but I have no idea what to do with it; it's too small for a blanket and too large for a table cloth. So, I have not started the quilting process and just threw it into the closet.
The other one is currently just a bunch of fraying squares. It's my own concoction for a summer blanket.
Knitwise, I've encountered some set-backs.
1) I completely underestimated the chubbiness of my dude's feet. Dude Sock II will need to be frogged to the toes... and it's toe-up socks!
2) I started a shell knit-in-the-round and have reached the neck decreases when I realized the front and back are not the same size! 4 stitches difference, I will try to disguise as a "design feature" but I might be in store for more frogging.

There's a handful of spring/summer projects I want to start but I still haven't received my Interweave! Boo hoo!

My Knit List

Copied from Jacquie, but I re-ordered them. :)

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Bobbles
Button holes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Continental knitting
Darning
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fulling/felting ~ both accidentally & intentionally
Garter stitch
I-cord