sassyknit

Announcing Skyler

2006-12-02T08:28:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to proud mommy and daddy, Lia and Fery! Skyler is wearing my hand-knitted sweater from Erika Knight's book.

Acquirements

2006-07-12T07:57:00.000-04:00

4 skeins of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
1 skein of Rowan Handknit Cotton
5 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Cotton Patine
3 skein of Koigu

Various Denyse Schmidt fabrics and some other with Marimekko fabric on the background

That's all the craft related items that I buy in Nashua and New York. I didn't get to visit all the yarn shops, only one realy big store in downtown Nashua and Purl in Soho. Unexpectedly, Purl is very small, but the yarn is stacked from floor to ceiling. Of course, the choice is not so large but you can find every yarn to knit stuff from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I got the Koigu there, lots of lovely color option. I haven't found LYS around here that carries Koigu. What a shame!

Off on a Vacation

2006-07-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

Quick news: knitted Trellis Scarf 70%, bought yarns on sale at LYS, and cast on for Hot Pants (Rebecca 27) in Framboise Rowan All Seasons Cotton. This cotton is great, I love the texture, somewhat like cotton velour.

I'm off to the East Coast tomorrow morning. Bye now, see you in about a week or so.

On Nothing

2006-06-24T07:25:00.000-04:00

No knitting activity at all after Apricot Jacket is done. It's not my fault I have nothing to knit (Trellis Scarf is conveniently forgotten). I've ordered some yarns from my LYS, but it haven't arrived yet. Why didn't I buy yarns from the internet, you ask? I just prefer my LYS where I can hold the exact yarn. Maybe next time.

In two weeks, I'll be in NYC.Imagine all the shopping that can be done! I want to go to Soho, where there is Purl and Purl Patchwork. And then Habu Textiles and School Products. Of course, there will be some sightseeing. We want to walk the whole length of Central Park, if it's possible. Also the whole length of Brooklyn Bridge. I should prepare my comfortable footwear.

Today, we're going to a friend's wedding. I'll be wearing a dark orange silk skirt and flesh-colored lace blouse with a bustier underneath. The lace blouse has a row of beading on the neckline. I'll be doing my hair up with some pale pink pearls studs. I'll try to take pictures if I have the time.

Happy weekend!

Apricot Jacket

2006-06-20T07:45:00.000-04:00

Click for bigger picture, ignore my jammies

The classic Apricot Jacket, 7 skeins of Berroco Touche, with major modifications. I shortened the sleeves, as you can obviously see. I have to recount the stitches from the original pattern and it worked out well. This would be more wearable in summer than the long sleeve version. The yarn is wonderful for cotton, actually it's cotton and rayon blend. Not too shiny and not too crisp, but a little bit splitty. What do you think of my version of Apricot Jacket?

By the way, why does my pictures always look grainy? Does anyone know how to lose the graininess?

Another One

2006-06-19T07:56:00.000-04:00

Guess what? Our bird move away to give way to another family! A new mama bird is nesting on our flower pot now. She already got one egg laid on Sunday morning. The flower pot must be a high demand place for birds. Words got around that it's a great spot for raising babies haha...

"You know, I have my babies in this beautiful spot with purple flower. Sure, sometimes those big creatures pour water on us, but still it's always nice and sunny, and we don't get that much rain on our feathers. My babies are getting bigger, so anyone can have my old place. It already got a nest too, so you can move right in." -mama bird #1 to other mama birds-to-be.

More Teal Gable

2006-06-15T08:07:00.000-04:00

Green Gable, 2 skeins of Cotton Fleece in New Age Teal

I'm knitting the smallest size plus 4 extra rows for the yoke area. I don't want my Gable to squash me. For the body, I did 3 paired decreases and 3 paired increases on each side. I don't know how long the sweater's supposed to be in the pattern, I use the masurements of my favorite tee and it's about 14 1/2" from underarm to the cast off edge.

This is perfect. Do you think I can wear it in the hot and humid days of summer? Not that it matters now, it's still spring in here.

Sad News

2006-06-14T11:59:00.000-04:00

Our bird is not here anymore. Yesterday afternoon, my husband tried to water the plant. He does that regularly, sometimes the bird just stay in her nest, watching cautiously and sometimes she flew away for a while and then flew back again after the watering is done. It's the same usual watering process yesterday, but this time she flew away with her two baby birds. Well, not baby birds anymore, more like teen birds. They didn't come back.

We don't know what happen to them. I'm hoping that they find a new place, our flower pot is getting a little bit crowded, not enough space for three grown up birds, even the dad come over quite a few times. I'm sure they just move to a bigger and better place.

My Teal Gable is done this morning. Right now, it's blocking on the carpet by the sofa. It fit perfectly before I washed it. Let's hope it will stay that way tomorrow.

Teal Gable

2006-06-13T09:18:00.000-04:00

One Gable on the way

The gable looks very promising, I can't wait to wear it. Meanwhile, I'm interested in this. She always makes wonderful piece with simple stockinette stitch and top down knit. I hope the gauge match the yarn that I already frogged out of Somewhat Cowl.

Trellis Scarf is on hold while I put all of my efforts on Gable. By the way, it's already 45%.

As Promised

2006-06-08T09:39:00.000-04:00

Here's my skirt, the sewing is not so neat, the hem is not finished, and it needs ironing, but I still can model it for you.

Simplicity 4496

New project

For extra pictures, here's my Green Gable all bunched up on the table. When I got home after buying the Cotton Fleece, I just realized that I chose the same color as the knitted pattern. I printed my pattern in black and white (ink cartridge crisis) so no any reference whatsoever with the Zephyr gals in choosing the color. Unintentinally, this is my first time knitting with the intended yarn and color. This project is soothing to the hands and eyes compared to Trellis Scarf. I just knitted a few rows while watching Domino. Choco is hot!

Sewing Magic

2006-06-07T12:45:00.000-04:00

I made a skirt this morning (Joann fabric, Simplicity 4496). Just one quick post, I have to go out right now. Modeled shots tomorrow, I promise.

In Search of...

2006-06-05T07:36:00.000-04:00

.. a new sofa! And the contenders are Lilleberg, Karlanda, Camden, and Shelter. Not all can be tried out though. The Pottery Barn one is only available online, although I already received a fabric swatch. CB2 only have stores in Chicago so If I'm interested to try sitting on it, might as well go to Ikea to try out the other two.

Meanwhile, let me show you Trellis Scarf, 30% knitted.

Can you see our bird's nest in the background?

Mama Bird

2006-06-02T07:26:00.000-04:00

There's a bird that's using our hanging flower pot as her nest. She already got one baby bird hatched and another one coming along. Is this a good omen or what?

Knitting is going steady, you won't see any results this time though because I'm just too lazy take pictures, put it up on Flickr, and put it here. Maybe after some modeled shots. I'll give you descriptions only for now.

I'm making Apricot Jacket (Rebecca 27) with some serious modifications. I just need to sew the sleeve to the body. Trellis Scarf is knitted up to 25%. Those are the knitted stuff, and next are the unknitted.

Baby sweater is neglected somewhere on my closet, I have to finish this before I visit the mommy-to-be in New Hampshire in July. Somewhat Cowl is about to be unraveled when I have the time. It's just not working out for me, I don't think I would ever wear it. Prairie Tunic is also cancelled, also not working for me.

The new Magknits is up. How 'bout this one?

About that New Hampshire trip, we will be visiting a lot of places too. Niagara Falls, Maine, Boston, and NYC! All packed up in one week of driving. I hope I have enough time to linger in yarn shops before my husband lost his patience. I've planned to go to Purl, School Products, and Habu Textiles. I haven't checked on the Boston yarn shops though. Lots of planning to do!

I'll put up more photos as soon as I take it hehe...

Lace Lace and Lace

2006-05-17T09:21:00.000-04:00

I'm speechless, I'm just glad that it's there and it's faultless

Fascinating Trend

2006-05-16T08:01:00.000-04:00

Have you ever clicked on Google Trend? I just found out that it's fun. What else can I compare?

All In A Day's Work

2006-05-12T22:42:00.000-04:00

I refuse to give up on Trellis Scarf, I re-casted this morning. Tonight, I'm few rows short for the first trellis repeat. Everything went well all day during the border pattern and first rows for trellis pattern. Then... tonight when I picked it up again after dinner, I lost one stitch! Where is it? I'm just too tired to try and find it. Lace knitting is quite stressing on the eye, on the mind too for that matter.

I did find that using Inox needles is much more helpful than Addis Turbos, they have more grip on the yarn, just like Master Eunny said on her Majoring in Lace article. I also read somewhere on someone's blog that she used a ton on stitch markers to mark every pattern repeat. Those two tips works great. I must confess that I toke off my markers in the end, that's why I lost one stitch.

I will devote myself to Trellis Scarf again on Monday. No knitting activity this weekend. Tomorrow, I'm visiting J. Crew and for Sunday there's a baby shower. I'm not giving away the 1824 Cotton baby cardigan at this shower. It will be saved for another friend.

Slumping

2006-05-11T15:07:00.000-04:00

Is slumping the correct word for no knitting activity since last week? I've completely frogged the Trellis Scarf-to-be. Apparently there's more than one or two mistakes and you can see it clearly, especially after the trellis lace began. Maybe I should try an easier pattern to start my lace experience. How about Kiri?

The 1824 Cotton that I got from Jackie is already knitted into baby cardigan for a friend. Only one more sleeve to knit. It's a wonderful yarn. Working with it reminds me of popcorn somehow. I still have to find the perfect button for it.

Yesterday I went on a day trip, which meant I drove 20 minutes to Dublin and go to all the places where I want to spend my money on. I was hoping to get a top and a pair of shoes. Alas, nothing was good enough to tempt me. The only thing that I bought yesterday is a headband from Banana Republic that looked similar like this except it's from white eyelet fabric. That got me to think that J. Crew had a lot of headbands in tie fabrics. Those are perfect to tame my unruly bangs. Then I browse around their website and decided that I want to be preppy a la J. Crew! I don't want to be hippie or nautical, just preppy with polo shirts and chinos and pleated skirts. I'm even thinking to knit an argyle top. Isn't that just the most wonderful colour combination ever! I'm still excited with the whole preppy thing, I may sound a little ambitious.
I'll get that J. Crew headband first and we'll see what happens when I really see all of their clothes in person.

Enough preppiness, back to the lack of money spending yesterday. I did spent some money on Target. I got Mrs. Meyer's and Method hand soaps. They smelled so divine! Makes me want to wash my hands all the time. I've tried Method dish soap before in pink grapefruit. Oh, you'll positively smile when you wash your dishes.

Combining the lack of knitting and money spending, I resisted the temptation to go to the yarn shop! It's my punishment for not touching any of my projects. Don't worry, I'm only grounding myself until this weekend. Besides, I got Rebecca 27 from Lori's destashing to dream on for the rest of the week. They have an argyle top in orange and fuchsia, and also the famous Apricot Jacket.

Other non-knitterly things, we received a pair of free ticket to the Columbus Zoo and another pair for CAPA Summer Movies. They're acting as an apology from the cable company because we have a few wrong charges last month. I have a suspicion that everybody's receiving it regardless of wrong charges or not. It doesn't really matter anyway, we have free tickets! My candidates are are Brigadoon, Casablanca, Giant, and The Man that Knew Too Much.

Hope my post entertains you, even though there's no pictures. I'm ashamed to show my lack of knittingness. Well, I'm off to yoga class now.

Ta daaa...

2006-05-08T14:56:00.000-04:00

Ooh, what a big box from my angel!

I just got my package this morning. My heart is still fluttering because I'm just too happy. I'm in love all over again with this Secret Pal exchange. Maybe I'll sign up again for SP9. Oh, I almost forgot, my wonderful angel is Jackie. Please check out her blog. Words can't express my gratitude for you, Jackie! Here's all the lovely stuff that she sent me.

What a coincidence, I secretly want to try some 1824 Cotton

I almost scream with happiness when I saw the scrapbook kit

Save the best for last, One Skein!

Once again, I say thank you! I love everything. I'm considering to bring everything to bed with me tonight hehe...

On the sidelines, I've cast on for Trellis Scarf from IK Spring '06. The beginning border is just done, with a mistake or two. I already frogged a few rows and decided that I'm not going to frog it again since I can't find those mistakes unless I observe stitch by stitch carefully. I promise myself I won't try to look for mistakes as long as the stitch count is correct and every yarnovers are there. Anyway, here's a lovely example of the finished piece. I added three more pattern repeat, so it will be a little bit wider.

Confusion

2006-05-05T21:56:00.000-04:00

I want to make a smock for Tie One On from a Japanese sewing book. I already cut the fabric, do pintucks for the front side, and join the shoulder. Now I'm stuck, I don't understand how I'm supposed to do to hem.

Tonight, my husband's coworker had dinner at my place. She's a certified Japanese translater and even she didn't understand. She doesn't sew though, so she called her mom in Japan rightaway. The mom didn't understand either. I'll just have to do what I think is right, perhaps a bias tape or something.

The translater friend wants a felted bowl too. Maybe I'll go to the yarn shop on Monday or Tuesday. Final thing, my angel sent email that my package is coming soon. Yay!

Quickie Project

2006-05-04T11:40:00.000-04:00

This is sheepy inside the bowl-to-be, next to two cherry tomatoes-to-be

I knitted this bowl from One Skein just in a few hours, felt it in the washing machine, and it's done. Really fast! Now I need one in another colour. I'm thinking Lamb's Pride Bulky in purple or orange.

Sheepy is happy to sit inside the bowl

I also sewed two pillowcases for our futon in black and white toile. No pictures because I'm not completely satisfied with the result.

For My Secret Pal Angel

2006-05-01T13:18:00.000-04:00

Here's my new and improved questionnaire.

Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? High quality is not a must, but natural is.

Do you spin? Crochet? I can crochet.

What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I made my own needle cover but it didn't really work because I just threw everything in my basket.

How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I've been knitting quite constantly for about a year, more or less. But I learned knitting around five years ago. I consider myself adventurous intermediate.

Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, it's here (on my husband's name).

What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Right now I'm in love with baby scents (but no too powdery) and grapefruit.

Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? No chocolate for me. The only sweet stuff for me is Japanese cookies and snacks. Yan Yan, Collon, Pocky, Genji Pie, Caramel corn, or Xylitol.

What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I do scrapbooking and just started sewing.

What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Right now I'm into Diana Krall and Michael Buble, but I'd love to try some new age or easy jazz, or something like that. Yes, my computer does play MP3s.

What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I'm in a stashing mood so anything will do, except for bright primary colours.

What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I've been married since 2004. No pets.

Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wore hats and gloves the most. No scarves unless it's very windy and no ponchos at all.

What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Don't have any yet.

What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Acrylics!!!

What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Baby stuff for a friend.

What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Sweaters, although I hate the finishing process.

What are you knitting right now? Prairie Tunic from IK Spring 2006.

Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes.

Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circulars.

Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? No preference.

Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No, I don't think I need one. I like the process of winding the hank into a ball by hand.

How did you learn to knit? From my mom. She'd been knitting for forever and finally I took some interest and I asked her to teach me.

How old is your oldest UFO? Two or three weeks, the Somewhat Cowl.

What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Sanrio characters, Hello Kitty, Chococat, Badtz Maru, I don't remember what else.

What is your favorite holiday? My birthday and Christmas.

Is there anything that you collect? Paper stuff, crafting supplies, cute Japanese stuff.

What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? None, I just bought them if I found some interesting pattern.

Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? One Skein and Rowan Kid Silk Haze to make armwarmers from the book.

Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Someday, I want to learn to knit socks. For now, I'm quite happy.

Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Not yet. I'm size 5.5 about 8.5 inches.

When is your birthday? August 17.

Imagine...

2006-04-30T19:07:00.000-04:00

Indian Lake on a cloudy Saturday

Fishing went okay. Nothing special with Indian Lake, it's cloudy so I couldn't fully appreciate the beauty of the lake. My husband lost two of his baits. One got stuck in a tree and the other one got stuck on the rocks by the lake shore. He didn't catch any fish, but his coworker did. It's not a satisfying trip for him. As for myself, you can read later on.

I checked out One Skein this morning from the library. Lovely little book, there's just so many possibilities that I have to contain myself. Make everything with just one skein! I can try out all those expensive yarns that I would never even consider buying. I can just imagine Lorna's Laces, Kid Silk Haze, Blue Sky Organic Cotton, Rio de la Plata, Koigu PPM, or any kind of Noro. Oh, my! Thank God my husband almost never read this blog, he don't really have a clear idea how much money I spent on yarn.

Prairie Tunic is progressing quite well. I brought it to Indian Lake yesterday with the result of 8 total rows for the front side. Still along way you think, eh? But that's very good, because I had planned to put it down after finishing the back side. So I congratulate myself for my determination hahaha...

Lost and Found

2006-04-29T10:55:00.000-04:00

My pal got her package! Yay! I'm glad that it got to her safely, even though a week late. Where did it go during the week? We'll never know.

Today we're planning to go fishing Indian Lake. By we, I mean my husband will be fishing and I will be reading or knitting. Maybe I'll take some pictures too.

Happy Saturday to everyone!

Better Things To Come

2006-04-28T11:43:00.000-04:00

An old church in Semarang, Gereja Blenduk

Finally some news on SP thing. My hostess is gonna find me an angel to replace my missing spoiler. I already know who my missing spoiler is, but better not to say who it is. Anyway, I thank you who's going to be my angel! And for Cecily, I will try to find something this weekend to make up for the missing package.

The backside of Prairie Tunic is done. My gauge is way of off, row wise. How is it possible? Stitch wise is ok, but my row gauge is off by 10 rows. Well, I just added few extra rows and just see what happens after I sewed it. So, no pictures because it looks really ugly now. Curled up everywhere and uneven knitting.

My friend just got pregnant. I already checked out a lot of baby knitting books to make something for her. I have some dark grey dk weight yarn. I'm not sure if it's the appropriate baby color, but I don't really like the idea of pastel color on babies. It just seemed too much. Maybe some organic cotton would be nice, I might be tempted not to give it away then.

Dark grey Jaeger merino and Rowanspun aran from Beeknits

Not So Good

2006-04-26T11:25:00.000-04:00

Bad experience with USPS. The package that I sent for my SP last week, still hasn't arrived, even though it said so on the track and confirm. And my other SP (the one who's supposed to send me package) seems to be missing. Where are you SP? Can you guys tell me what to do in this situation?

I've cast on for Prairie Tunic. I've stopped working on everything else, Somewhat Cowl and my smocking. This is not good.