Crafty update

Nothing much was done on knitting lately. My cabled cardi is still progressing slowly, super slow that I'm still working on the sleeves. Though one of the sleeve is up, yet I still have another sleeve to work on. The back and front of the cardi already been blocked, once I get that sleeve done, I'll assemble them. Need to start new project sooner as the slow progress of cabled cardi has really killing me. Really need to get over it and on for new project. I've done a swatch for new project to come, a simple eyelet sleeveless and deep V-neck top. Hope I can start it once cable cardi is off next week.

These are what I've done over past week ;

1) A finished simple tree motive notebook cover

This is a recycled project, I used mainly recycled materials to do it. Will be a Christmas gift for my sister. For more pictures and details on this finished project, you can move to my album on title : Note book cover #1
2) 50% finished flower motive notebook cover

Another notebook cover to come, a simple flower motive?? Actually I don't really know what should it be called, it's just out of my inspiration and free flow drawing. Doesn't seem much as flower and yet no idea what it is. :)
3) Two A-line skirts

This is a A-line skirt with pleats that folded on both of the left and right side. They're not visuable in this picture. Detail could be found at my album title : front folded pleats A-Line skirtA floral print A-Line with a little body to make it abit fluffy from A-Line pattern. Detail on my album : Floral skirt

Jimmy's comic

If you read Chinese and love comic, I'm sure you must have read some of Jimmy's comics. If you don't, then you need to check this web-site, it's all about his works and lots of wallpapers to download, very nice site. Some sneak view here :

I've been tagged

Being tagged by Mimi on the knitting meme. I guess I don't have much knitting experiences and interesting stories to tell cause I'm a new beginner. Anyway, I did try my best to answer all the questionaires given. ;) And here they are :

1) What is your all-time favourite yarn to knit with ?

Emmmm..... I haven't really experience in knitting all sort of yarns so far. What I knit the most are Acrylic yarn which is cheap and not good in quality. As a new knitter, I'm using cheaper yarn to learn and tune my skills before I invest in them. I guess in future I'll be using cotton contain yarns as they're more cooling to be wear. I got some cotton stash : Online Linie 163, Austermann Pharao Egyptian cotton and Enless Summer Connemara. Will be using one of them on my next cast on, I'm sure they're more friendly to be knitted and more appropriate to wear in hot and humid weather that we've here in Malaysia.

2) Your favourite needles

I like to knit on circular needles as it's more flexible and faster for me to use. I don't need to worry about the missing other needle when I left it with WIPs on the basket or shelves. And I can just chuck it with the WIP and knitting accessories in a box (I'm using a recycle mooncake tin box) to carry it anywhere, anytime to work on.

3) The worst thing you ever knit

I'm going to say it's one of my WIP that I'm most hated and frustrated when knitting it, the "Ocean wave top". It has drop stitches and mistakes almost every line that I've knitted. I need to count and make sure no drop stitches happen on every end of the needle. You can imagine how tedious and frustrated to frog and redo on each roll. And thus make it still remain unfinish till now.

4) Your favourite pattern

I like simple yet elegant knit wear especially those that I saw from Japanese knit book. Would like to knit some of them one day.

5) Most valuable knitting technique

I don't have any special skills or techniques that could make me proud of. I'm still in learning stage, any techniques that I've encouter so far are really treasures to me and I hope to encounter more of them in future. I did learn to knit during my teenage time, but financially not allow me to continue. What I've learn during that time was just knit and purl stitches and they're the key for me to make knitting happen again. I'm thrill that I can knit the whole garment without any personel guidance, I only refer to book and internet resources.

6) Best knit book or magazine

This book, a translated Japanese basic crochet and knitting book from Ondori. Guess how old is this book? ..... Can't? Okay.... let me tell you, it ages more than 20 years old. Yes!! No kidding, I bought it 2 decades ago while I want to learn knitting but never been using it. It's now the most useful reference tool to me. I use it most of the time and I love it cause it's simple and easy to understand. As for the magazine, I'm going to say it's online free magazine of "Kitty". It had made me encounter the interesting hoby of knitting.

7) Your favourite knit-along

I didn't join any knit-along group. If I happen to join, I would like to try socks knit-along group. Knitting socks seem very interesting and I guess it'll be a great experience to try on.

8) Your favourite knit blog

I love all knitter blog that I've read so far, they could be found on my side bar. Like to read the experiences and progress of their projects. And they're the inspiration and resources for me on my projects to work on.

9) Your favourite knitwear designer

No particular favourite knitwear designer in mind. I admired people that could design knitwear, it's not an easy task, as you need to associate the garment to the knit pattern, the appropriate yarn to use, as well as various size to create, that's really not easy. I salute to all of them.

10) The knit item you wear the most

My first knitted object, "Grace", pattern from Knitty. Partly because it's the first successful finished object that I've done and I like the simplicity of this pattern, easy to be mix-match with any bottom. I wear it the most to the office.

11) Who to tag?

I guess most of the knitters that read my blog have already been tagged. So, I'm not going to tag anybody here.

Christmas gifts

Christmas is just around the corner and it's time to start Christmas gifts project, better to start it earlier rather than rushing at last minute. I've been thinking what should I do for this Christmas and these ideas just pop up into my mind one by one. I've been working on some of them thru the week and here they are, in WIPs.

1) Note book cover

I do it on a left over curtain cut off and embroidered some simple motif onto it. It'll be a very simple note book cover and I've diy the note book by using recycled papers that I obtained from computer paper print out.

2) Knitted bag

It was just halfway done and I'm using the Katia bulky yarns that my sis brought back from HK few years ago. The 2 balls of yarn just enough for me to knit the body of the bag to be. I'm working on the handle and will attach it to the knitted section later.

Recycled yarns

Look what I got here, recycled yarns from sweaters that I bought from a reject outlet in town. They're really a great deal, only RM10.00 per sweater and 100% cotton. Wow!! At that kind of price, you can't even get a ball of new yarn from our local yarn store. I know, it'll be a tedius job to unravel the yarn from the garment, but it's worth for me to do so, at least I got a chance to experience the unravel of whole garment and reuse it for other knitting project. I've bought 3 of them in the colour shade of chocolate brown, pink and light blue. I went back to the outlet trying to get more the next day, but they're all gone, I should have bought more. :(

I started to unravel the pink sweater once I got home from shopping, and in just 2 nights of about 3 hours work, I've got these pink yarns all rolled in balls. I guess it'll be in more than 1,200m, just enough for me to do a cardigan. I plan to use it for Arisaig, and I've work a swatch on it. So thrill to find the gauge is exactly the same as the instruction. Good....I can use this yarn to knit Arisaig, but I won't be able to start this project yet. Reason being I'm out of the smaller needle of 2.25mm and I've other unfinish projects to get rid off first. Can't get myself involved in too many projects at the meantime cause I need to work on Christmas gifts knitting, or else I won't be able to get them done by Christmas.

The sweater in chocolate brown and light blue

The pink one already unravel and rolled to balls

Front of cabled cardigan

Yeap....front of the cabled cardigan was done over the weekend and now I'm halfway thru one of the sleeves. Abit lay back on this project as those cable knitting has started to bore me. Anyway, I'll try to finish it by this weekend and hopefully will get the finished object by next week. :)

2 + 1 square sampler Hi-fi set

One of the red heart square hi-fi set has been done over the long holidays. 6 squares joined together using slip stitches and edging with single crochet and picot. The other 2 pcs of the hi-fi set will need 8 squares to complete and I've done 5 of them, another 3 to go. This is a sampler pattern from Japanese magazine "Cotton Friend" Spring 2005 issue. I multiply the numbers of squares and add in picot edging to form these hi-fi set.