Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Third
I was looking for some finishing thrills. And where else to look for it other than my UFO box!
I took out a ribbon tank top that I knitted up for mom over a year ago. The pattern was made up as I went along. It was resting in the basket as I wasn't sure of the amount of ease she prefers around the armholes.
Yesterday, I managed to finish that ribbon tank top. Yes, when it comes to designing, it seems that my brain keeps calling out "simple patterns".
You can't really make out the ribbon yarn unless you see it in person but the texture's very crunchy. I love to hold the garment though the knitting hasn't exactly been fun. You see, the yarn's more like what they call a railroad yarn so extra care needs to be taken to avoid sticking your needle through. I have to say I love the end result though. (Did I say I have enough of another brown/white combination that is originally intended for myself?!)
So that's a 3rd FO for the month of January in 2006! This is indeed a good year for me. I'm setting the goal of clearing out the UFO box this year however much as I possibly can so this is progress for me!
And speaking of UFOs, this lovely baby cardigan was peeking out of the box too! All it needed was some buttons and it would be gifted to my niece, Little P. I have given it a rinse and it's as good as new. Hopefully Ms P doesn't outgrow her knits so soon!
I know I can sew the buttons on today and make it a 4th FO for January...but, let's not overachieve our targets eh? [grin]
In case you are wondering, Mom's shrug didn't make it in time for this festive season.
However, I am confident it should be ready by her birthday in April.
Mr Sockie is crawling along.
But we're nearing the heel turn!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Flash!
No, not my bellybutton.
I'm going slow on the shrug (just started ball 3) and Mr Sockie's companion is also being worked on intermittently. I hope to get to the heel tonight.
So what am I going to flash?
My FOs!
Those in the top are mine. Bottom left: hubby's mostly (apart from the brown sweater that belongs to my sister).
These are mostly garment projects that I have knitted and crocheted over the past years. (Though when I am rearranging these, I realized that a couple are missing -- such as my halter top, my mom's top etc.)
The red acrylic box contains all the baby garments (such as baby mittens, booties), scarves, socks, bags and other misc projects. Oh, and the toys are everywhere else.
I counted that I have less than 20 garments for myself (we're referring to full garments here -- socks, scarves and hats etc do not count). Hubby has 3. Mom and sister: 1 respectively. Alright, so I am going to be more productive and complete more projects this year!
Looking at the photo, I also realized that my colors have been fairly conservative. Mostly shades of pink (no hot pink yet...unless the furry scarf counts!) and blues. I am actually surprised that I only have a white garment, the camisole that I have yet been brave enough to model yet. So that means more color adventures this year!
Flash II!
There's also more yarns in the house!
Well, technically not mine since they are largely for my customers and students. How can one avoid starting more projects when they are surrounded by yarns?! (And we are not even talking about those yarns that I have accumulated for the past 10+ years!) Talk about inspiring colors and yarns!
How many garments have you knitted for yourself to date?
Friday, January 13, 2006
Shrugging
It's very important to commit a chart to memory. Here's why:
The *crime scene* took place at 2 particular rows and they were an eye-sore. To make things worse, they occurred at 2 repeats with double dose as the panel is repeated (see below photo.) I was determined to fix them by dropping the stitches rather than to re-knit those rows. Especially since almost every other stitch has some cabling action that makes rowing work real slow.
This shrug is now moving along quickly though I ended up not knitting much on it today. I popped over my sister's place to visit my cute little niece. Babies really do grow at an amazing speed!
PS. The first photo is more representative of the yarn color.
PPS. This yarn is going to be part of the yarn range I'll be carrying shortly.
After all those modelled shots, I am now so tempted to pull out all my knits to model and re-shoot all my FO photos! Yes, I should be praying for another bout of rainy day so that I can have some fun!
See the photos below? The exact same tank top... *sigh* Looks like I need more lessons in the photography department.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
A half to make it whole
Thanks for all the compliments on Ms Cold Shoulder. It's a really simple design that I developed on the fly during the Taiwan trip which I may publish later.Over the weekend, I discovered more things from my WIP closet.
This one is languishing pathetically in one of the carrier bags with some remnants. No pattern sheet, nor any indications of the needles used. This looked like a case of *I just worked out the pattern and the repeats; and off we go* situation -- in short, no patterns used. But with one half done and cast off, I did what any other knitter would do. 
Just took it out of the bag, knitted the other half and seamed them both together. I also took the opportunity to do an i-cord bind off.
Honestly, I am glad I finished it.
The top still fits! Talk about instant gratification since one half took me slightly over a day from start to finish.
Either the continous rain for the past few days have been a great motivator or the thought of getting some FOs to start the new year has been so overwhelming that I am pushed over the helm to get these UFOs finished bit by bit!
These tops will get more wear from March onwards when the weather turns hot!
With the cold spell lately, Mom's having thoughts of a shrug. Something to provide coverage on her shoulders on her shopping mall trips or medical check-up visits. (Yeah, one thing you don't know of Singapore, we have freezing malls.)
We flipped some magazines and found this. But of course, she wants the sleeves longer, the top to be shorter. She can't see the top so I need to do some doodling to show her. That's Mom for you.
What do we do for our beloved Mom? We just cast on the project straight away!
Mr Sockie is now my companion when I hit the streets. *ahem* He doesn't like to be reminded that he's being *relegated* to the bottom of my tote bag.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Simplicity
What a better way to kick-start the new year than to have FOs! If you recall the mindless project that I was working on, the top is finally completed and just had its shot at stardom.
Doesn't look too appealing is it?
Let's try again...
I think Ms Cold Shoulder should be more upbeat and these photos would have her stamp of approval. Amazing how an item looks so different with some styling.
This off shoulder tank project took me about 1.5 week (the Taiwan trip and some more time back home) from start to finish. It's done circularly so there's no seaming (yay!) It's fairly simple to design and work out the numbers. This is definitely great for beginner knitters as it's hip and you choose the amount of belly coverage.
Mr Sockie is getting upset that Ms Cold Shoulder who is so decidly plain has this amount of publicity. So here's a photo to pacify him:
That's my size 6 socks for your sizing reference.
Sometimes plain & simple knits are just irresistible.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Dyeing fun!
After returning from my trip, I had students calling me immediately for knitting lessons. That was the last week of the year. So I decided to try something else.Little N came over and we had fun transforming this ball of Merino yarn (yes, we do not spare the expenses)
to this:And Little N enjoyed the ball winder part most (we're always casual in this apartment.)I would have loved to show the process, except that in the excitement of doing the dye; we both forgot all about the existence of the camera.I am not sure what plans she has for this lovely ball of yarn but I'm almost done with the first of the size 12 socks.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Wrap up: Baby Knit/Crochet Along (with free baby patterns links)
Thanks to all those who participated in our 2005 Baby Knit/Crochet Along.
It's really nice to see the various projects and the tiny tots and kids who were modelling them!
Below is the list of participants:Below are the free pattern sites that we collated:
Knit patterns
Crochet patterns
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