Winter is coming..........

This is from last year, and it never got posted.



.......but I think that I've got it cover so no need to worry about Winterfell and all that.  Since grad school has finished for the year, I find myself with a lot more free time on my hands, and a limited internet connection, which has led to massive TV marathons and knitting.  I think that 2012 is turning out to be the Year of the Slouch for me.  These hip little hats are crazy-addictive, much more than regular knitting.  Last month I managed to finish these 8 slouches of various pattern modifications.  All of course will be going to good homes that appreciate hand-knits and slouchy hats..

Back to work....

This summer I quit my job- I finally had reached my breaking point, found a new job, and told current employer to stuff it.  And boy did it feel good!  My new job as a teaching assistant and lecturer didn’t start up until September, so I had a lot of time on my hands, which equaled out to a lot of knitting time.  Luckily I also have a wonderful supportive boyfriend who doesn’t mind my unemployment status, as long as he gets to come home to a nice dinner.  He also got some knitted goods out of it, so it’s a win-win situation for both of us.  Here’s a small sample of all the FO.  

I completed other projects than socks by the way.  I will say after all this knitting; I have become a huge fan of Zauberball.  The colors are really lovely and they lend themselves quite nicely to almost any project.  My one complaint is that it’s a little wispy, which I suspect will lead to some pilling.  So far the socks are reported to be warm and soft, but a little slick on the tile floors.  I think that I have covered all of my Christmas knitting, and started a few more pairs of socks.  

These yellow ones are my hand-dyed, and I don’t think I’ve seen an uglier sock.  The pattern is my own creation, but the colors just come together in a horrible way that kind of makes it unbearable to look at.  It’s almost impossible to keep going on this pair, but I can just make one sock….

The other pair are my own pattern, using a stitch pattern from CanaryKnits.  I like the look of it, but the YOs make the socks feel a little loose on the leg.  Joining the ranks of the employed again means it will take a bit to get these done, but I think that they will be loved, or at least worn by a grateful friend.

Two Weddings and a Frog Pond

Sometimes people get married

Sometimes people get married and I know them

Sometimes people get married, and I know them, and they want me to knit something for them.

This is happening to me right now- one of my friends is getting married in March, and a cousin is getting married in May. For my dear friend, I started on her project first, but I have a feeling that I won't be able to finish it due to the scale of the project and the face that the wedding is in two weeks! I wanted to make something that she and her future husband would both enjoy, so I decided to turn the wrap into a throw by casting on a lot more stitches in a heavier yarn in purple, her favorite color.
So far I've used up 3 balls of yarn, and I'm about a quarter of the way through. Of course I plan on blocking this out so its nice and lacy, but its become the monkey on back. The pattern is simple enough, but its starting to feel like a chore instead of something I enjoy. The purple is nice and bright and the Yorkie is to help show scale. This is my roommate's dog, who is happy to pose for pictures, since my dog is a little camera shy.

As for my cousin's wedding, I won't be able to fly back to the States for it, probably, but I know that she is doing something with peacock feathers/theme. I've picked out a few shawl patterns that I like, but I am having trouble narrowing it down. The ones I am looking at are Pretty as a Peacock, Gail, and Gwendolyn. Suggestions? I guess this means that I will have to learn how to read charts.....

And then there is the frog pond. The projects shown here are probably never going to get finished in their current state, either because I hate the yarn with the pattern, or I don't have enough. The two hideous sweaters are from a clothes swap and I am currently ripping them apart so I can recycle the yarn into something less.........hideous. (I don't understand Hong Kong fashion sometimes)

Slouching Around

Remember that vow not to start any new projects without finishing an old project? FAIL. I have managed to finish my Traditional Blue feather and fan baby blanket, but that doesn't even out with the three hats that I have started. The blanket is going to be set aside for the next baby of a friend/family member, and its ooooooooh so soft, which will be perfect for baby. I wish I could remember the brand of yarn I used for it.......


So the last week at work was pretty stressful, so I needed some instant gratification knitting, which for me consists of hats, mainly of the slouch variety. Since the purple Spring Beret went over so well, I've been sticking with slouch hats with interesting details that are not too overwhelming. The first one that I have actually managed to finish was the "Amy is Gone" for a dear friend who has left Hong Kong to return to the US. (A cookie if you can guess what her name is) I like this pattern as well, but I think that I need to work on my psso because I think that the stitch is too obvious. You be the judge:



I casted on another variation of the Spring Beret, this time in green, but I am not too wild about since it might come out too bulky overall, but it will be nice and warm. I love the way the color works in this yarn, but its one of those yarns where you have to find just the right pattern to make it work. If it does come out huge, I will most likly felt it and save it for a baby.



I've started another hat as well, this time the Naked Star pattern, which I like, and the yarn I'm using is quite nice- pictures are coming soon, don't worry. Its pretty mindless knitting, but all these hats is good for stocking up presents. The sock yarn blanket is finally progressing, thanks to some lovely donations by some of the local knitting group ladies! Its nowhere as near as I want it to be, but it is lovely and warm- that's what I have enjoyed about this project- you can use it as you make it. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much more to do though, and its only taken me what? a year to get this far?

One day it will me finished....one day................

Return from the West

After a very brief visit to the US to see the newest member of the family, my 4 month old neice, I'm back in Hong Kong to start another year. While I was home, I did a significant amount of gifting of hand knits.

• To my mother went my Milk Run Shawl- I think that it suits her a lot more than myself, and I have a lot of leftover yarn to make something else lovely for myself. I also passed on some of my scrap skeins to her so she can work up something nice for herself.
  
• Frangiflutti was given a home to my chic best friend, and it suits her- she has gorgerous skin and the colors are set off quite nicely against her skin tone
• For my more contemplative best friend, he received an over-sized hat to keep his over-sized head warm in the cold Oregon winter
• My neice got her two blankets, the Ocean Waves and Shooting Star. My mother mentioned that she hasn't seen any of her hand knits on the baby, but I hope that isn't true!

I also managed to rake in some nice gifts as well. My best friend brought me a beautiful golden yellow gabi from her time in Ethiopia. Normally I shy away from yellow for myself, but the effect is quite stunning. Its made from 100% cotton, handwoven, and supersoft. I snuggle up in it quite often. She also gave me this beautiful sock yarn. Apparently it came from a line of yarn where every colorway is named after a feminist. I have no idea what I am going to make from this one skein, but it will be beautiful no matter what. I need to find a ball winder so I can get working!
My mother also let me dig through her stash for scrap yarn or things that she was thinking of getting rid off. I picked so much off of her that I had to take a second bag on the airplane! I also received two books by Margaret Atwood, who is one of my favorite authors. If only I could read and knit at the same time! But alas, when I try, it makes my head spin. I will just have to settle for watching Star Trek and knitting at the same time.
My second semester of my masters program has already started, so I will have little time for knitting between here and March, but I will try to get something done- I seem to keep starting up projects, but have yet to finish anything for a long time. One my New Years resolutions is to finish at least 1 project before I cast on another. Wish me luck!

Ta-Dah!

Here it is folks! My Kate/Milk Run Shawl is finished, just in time for summer weather to re-emerge so that I can just dream about wearing it.....I've moved on to some other winter projects that I would like to wear, if we ever get colder weather, but I am very proud of my shawl. Its not as long or wide as I would have liked, but I was quickly running out of needle space. The ruffle detail was pretty easy to do, but I would have liked it more reversed. Knitting this went pretty quickly since the pattern was easy to memorize and most of it was just mindless knitting. I will probably use this pattern again, just with thicker yarn. It will be good to take on the train, since they keep the air conditioning cranked up, or in the office as well. I still have two skeins left and thinking about making another little winter shrug from it, to match the scarf and socks that I've made over the past few years. I do love my peacock blue alpaca yarn......and so does my roommates pooch. My dog is too scared of the camera, so I use my roommates Yorkie as a fashion model. He always seems to know when the camera is on and comes running. I guess he wants to be just like royalty too.

New Projects:

• Glitter Shrug from Lion Brand
• Lilith by Breeanna Sveum
• midterms for grad school

Now to get busy with all three of these!

Look Ma- I'm just like Kate Middleton

So I have a little bit of a crush on Kate Middleton- always looking fabulous and seems like a nice lady, someone you might want to hang out with. Of course after seeing the photos of her running to the grocery store in a knitted shawl, all of us knitters went a little crazy about it, even giving the shawl its own group on Ravelry. After getting frustrated with, and frogging my ribbed shrug-thingy, I decided that peacock blue alpaca wool would be more suited to making a rip-off of Kate's shawl. After perusing several patterns, I decided it was best to go with Cat Wong's Milk Run Shawl, due to the various options and it looks like it will knit up pretty quickly, just in time for me to wear it to my masters classes and run around grocery store parking lots shouting, "I'm the Duchess of Cambridge, Soylent Green is People!" (Only one of these things will happen) This project also makes good public transport knitting, since the increases are so easy to memorize and then its just knit in stockinette stitch. I started this just a few days ago, and its increased pretty quickly- the other thing I like about this shawl is the tabbed beginning, which makes those ends a great deal more secure and means that there is a little bit less finishing to do, which is ok with me. Here is how it looks today.
In other news, I have managed to finish my Frangiflutti, but I wish that it was thicker and longer. Love love love how the colors in the Japanese yarn I was using turned out. This will be really nice to have once Hong Kong "winter" comes around. If I make it again, I will do a greater amount of increases in the first section, and possibly learn how to read German, since the English instructions were a little confusing.

Time to Level Up Knitting Skills

004, originally uploaded by yummystitch.

A few months ago I received this yarn in the mail from a dear British friend. I have managed to loose the tag fort this yarn, but I do remember her describing it as "the most British yarn ever". Its 100%wool, fingering weight, and looks like your favorite pair of jeans that you have had for about a million years. And it also looks just lovely against my hot pink sheets- a Christmas gift from my roommate.

When I usually get some beautiful luxury yarn, I keep it safe until I find the perfect pattern, so this one has been hibernating for a long time. Recently, through my journeys on the Ravelry pattern database, I found this beautiful cowl and fell in love. I've never attempted to add beading to my knitting, but now seems like as good a time as any to start and level up those knitting skills. After this project, I think that I can add a +5 beading to my stats!