Hello Mojo

The weather is finally cooling down, and knitting's back on the needles! There are endless queue of things on my ravelry but I have had my fair share of knitting accidents in the past months, and just got to get these UFOs sorted out first before I can knit happy again.

Here's the embossed leaves sock started in February with the Regia Silk that have been previously frogged and overdyed. It was almost forgotten until I saw Joy’s recent pair and finally digged it out of the bottom piles. The half-done sock is not only tight-ish, there’s a silly mistake whereby I did the first few rows twice on the third lace repeat before starting the heel…

The Japanese Diagonal Cables is another heartbreaker… (sorry no pics yet but you can see Siow Chin's version here). The construction is certainly interesting and the chart is clear but you really must concentrate! And that is hard when most of my knitting is done while on the move these days, which means my counting is out more often than not… The project has been restarted at least 6 times before I thought I’m finally making some steady progress… and then I realized that it was worked on the wrong needles, I've used 4.0mm instead of 4.5mm… Shame, shame!

So how about some mindless garter stitches? Boo! I’ve inadvertently missed out the first sleeve increase on my Baby Surprise Jacket and knitted on blindly until…


And what else? This Piggle hat intended for Jasmine is turning out baby-sized, so maybe I'll keep it for another baby and start up a new one for her. There’s also a mini-pink Sahara that I’ve casted on in Rowan Handknit Cotton but having second thoughts on the yarn choice... well, it doesn’t seem right for the weather now anyway.


My very long-time UFOs, the Baby Trellis started on the beach last year, and the Jawbreaker Cardigan in Araucania Nature Cotton both need to be taken apart. And by the way, my Lady Eleanor stole has gone “missing” for almost half a year now and still nowhere to be found…

Anyway, sorry to have bored you with all these ughish projects... I will be finishing up my Noro Kureyon socks tonight, and do have a few other unblogged FOs to show you next time.

Well, see you all soon and happy winter knitting!

Long time, no see...

Sorry for the blog-silence. I've honestly been extremely busy and just haven't had all that much to say. Nonetheless, I've never intended to be away for as long as I did and thanks to those who have written worried about me! Life just took over but here I am again :)

Well luckily enough for me and for Jasmine, I was able to cut down vastly on my business travels this year... as she goes through her terrible-twos and is obviously in need of a lot more attention. Knitting will probably continue to be slow for a while. Still and all, my ambitious plans for the summer goes on:

• a Katja, a Frangipani or Little Red Smock for Jasmine
• a Sahara and a Phildar Leafy pullover for myself
• Juliets for both of us and
• a special something for my SIL who has recently knitted me a very nice ribbon top (thanks much Emily if you'll be reading this)

On top, I'll still have a couple WIPs to finish up... maybe not the 2 pair of socks, but the DB Beaded Fair Isle Cardigan for Jasmine will have to be done before she grows any faster, and I've finally started the Japanese Diagonal Cables that Siow Chin made years ago…. Anyway let's see some FO first...

The Provence Toddler Cardigan

Yarn: 250g of worsted Cotton/Cashmere from China

Needles: 4.5mm

Finished Size: 3T

Pattern: Provence Baby Cardigan by Cecily Glowik

This gorgeous yarn is made up of 8 “very fine” 2-ply and I was really skeptical at first… (lace wt cotton - just no way...) But the LYS staff was very sincere and she highly recommended this... Oh well, she's totally right - I’ve never knitted a cotton yarn so incredibly yummy!! Also, the clever lady wound up 4 strands of the yarn into a center-pull cake for me and told me to either knit the wound yarn as sport wt or pick out both ends from the center and outside of the cakes and work them together as worsted - smart, isn't she? :)

Beside making the largest size in worsted weight instead of DK to scale up to 3T for Jasmine, I’ve added one more repeat of the lace pattern and modified the pattern for seamless knitting. The body and button bands were all done in one piece, and the sleeves were picked up straight from the cap and knitted top down.

* * * * *

And totally inspired by the Best Friend Cardigan by Wenlan Chia, came my own version of a vest for Jasmine.

A Pinky "Vest" Friend

Yarn: Chunky Cottons from China

Needles: 5.5 mm & 7.0 mm

Finished Size: 3T

A real quickie, it actually took me way longer to shop for buttons than to knit. I'm not totally happy with the front collar, which is a little too high and it's bunching up between the top buttons. If not for that, I'd have shared with you my pattern notes.

That's really all I did in 5 months, and before I get to see you again here or on Ravelry - Happy Summer Everyone :)

2 years, and counting

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? Rather than to bore you with my "life has been so hectic" speech, I will boil it down to this:

I missed my 2nd year blog anniversary on Jan 31. I didn't forget, but just have no time to post. It's been two wonderful years! And thank you to all for being here and sharing the fun with me. As a little token, I've finally put together my notes for the baby sweater dress and the pattern is now up for free here.

Also, thanks a bunch to Debra and Soknitpicky for the award, you have totally made my day too!

Ok, now that I have these out of the way, I can show you what I've been doing since the last time I posted...

This little scarf for Jasmine is officially the first FO for 2008. The yarn is a handspun thick & thin 30 Cashmere/70 Wool from Uruguay. It’s super plushy and soft - an absolute treat that a very kind friend got for me at a factory closeout for a price that will make you all too jealous so I’m not telling you. But I’ve got 5 huge cones of it so just let me know anytime you feel like having some.

Little Cashmere Scarf
70g of yarn and 6.5mm needles
17sts of 1x1 rib

And the cashmere goodness continues in the same color but this one is made from Mongolian yarn.

Cashmere Eyelet Vest

125g of of 4-ply cashmere/lambswool yarn held double on 5mm

My own pattern

Oh well and this last one is still for Jasmine. The yarn is Peace Fleece, and originally in this color. I was a little carried away with my acid dyeing since the partying and over-dyed it with burnt orange.

Peace Fleece Shorties

100g of Peace Fleece Worsted

I followed the Sheepy pants pattern in XL with the enclosed elastic waistband using some remnants of cashmere wool for the softness and a feather and fan leg cuff to add some interest.

Baby/Toddler Sweater Dress Pattern

NOTE: Errors in the pattern has been corrected and updated as of Jan 9, 2009

Fall inspired, I made this up for Jasmine. Knitted all in one piece, bottom-up with a seamless (and painless) set-in sleeve shaping, minimal finishing, and you can easily size up or down with thicker/thinner yarn to suit your child.

We love the dress length that gave her some extended coverage and kept her snuggly warm without wearing a jacket. Just simply perfect for the playground :)

Size shown: 2T
(approx 26" chest and 18.5" overall length)

Yarn: 250-300g of bulky yarn or use 2 strands of worsted yarn held together

Gauge: 12sts x 18 rows

Needles: US#10.5, #11 and #12 (6.5/8.0/9.0mm) dpns

or 40cm/60cm circulars

Pattern (pdf) available for download here and on Ravelry

Have fun!

Happy 2008!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday and that your New Year is filled with peace and joy and lots of knitting fun!

Obviously, my blogging slump was, not from a lack of knitting content to write about, but rather the opposite. I’ve just been sooooo busy and hardly had time to sit down, and when I did, I have got so much to recap so I procrastinated and then I have even more stuff the next time... Anyway, please bear with me, I shall try my best to make this long entry a less painful read for you (actually, are you still here?)

Summing up: My 2007 just flew by… and I don’t think I have been productive enough vs my stash, but knitting is supposed to be fun, and it surely was for me.

Total # of knitted item: 23. Not so bad… although most are really small knits.

And of all, this one is my absolute favorite of the year:

Sheepy Capri Pants

Yarn: Knitpicks WOTA - Dark Brown 0.6 skein (66 yards)
100purewool Merino 3-ply - Giotto 1 skein (218 yards)

Pattern: Mandie's Sheepy Pants

Needles: 4.0mm & 4.5mm

The yarn is soft as butter and super comfy!

* * * * *

And this is my last FO for 2007 and my New Year present to Ely, our grown-up niece:

Chunky Ribbed Scarf

Yarn: Bertagna Filati Flamm 100% Wool
3 balls or 165 yards in Mulberry

Needles: 12.0mm

Finished size: 4.5" x 70" (17sts wide)

* * * * *

Oh and these are yarns from the dyeing party with Ingrid. It was so much fun! I’m using some recycled DK cashmere/silk/merino from last year, and one of the pink skeins went into the dye bath first and is darker than the other two. Hmmm, I’m really not quite sure… maybe I’ll make some scarves or maybe I’ll over-dye them altogether.

Totally inspired by Ingrid’s success on over-dyeing her red sock yarn, this lot of vermilions was done after I got home…

And Ingrid gave me a cone of her bare socks yarn for Christmas and I've dyed up the first 2 skeins. Just can't wait to do more :)

Next time, I’ll be showing you my New Year projects and some new yarns too.

Till then, happy knitting everyone!

All Things Red

I wouldn't say I had a great time away, but my 3 weeks of blog absence has been rather efficacious. Despite all the setbacks, I finally finished off these longstanding pairs of Oak Ribbed Socks started back in March. Long story short, I switched needles half way (stupidly) and my second sock turned out bigger. The yarn is a millend lot, really nice stuff, so instead of frogging I made 4 socks out of the same yarn/pattern. But while I'm half a sock away from concluding this 6 months project, I lost 2 out of my 5 needles, and these are my favorite set :o(. So the socks continue to marinate until I finally found one Clover #1 set in bamboo here...

These are mine! And Ivy, the other pair is yours!

The bamboos are nice ones too and they did the job perfectly but I still prefer my metals. So if anyone know where I could find a set of Clover#1 (short 15cm) metal dpns, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

* * * * *

And more socks, these are Jasmine’s Sweet Surprise Socks, they finally fit her now and I love them with her Crocs.

* * * * *

And finally, a sneak peek of the super soft and snuggly sweater dress that I made for Jasmine. It's done on 8mm, bottom-up with seamless (and painless) set-in sleeves, and a rolled-neck collar.

I didn't actually planned a teaser but I had an awful time with the photos. Most of my shots this morning either went blurry or murky... so I'll do the details, hopefully with my pattern notes and some better pics pretty soon.

Until then, happy knitting to all of you!

Little Tangerine

Little Tangerine Sweater

Yarn: Angora/Cashmere/Cotton blend from the Beijing LYS.

2 ends of lace weight held together throughout.

Pattern: My own design

Needles: 3.5mm circulars/dpns

Finished Size: 2T

Chest 22-24", Length 13.5"

Sleeves are 8.5" from underarm to wrist

This design is actually an old-time attempt of mine. Originally intended to fit a newborn but somehow the knitting just never happened. That baby is perhaps a teenager now ;op. Well, fast forward to a few weeks ago, I came across my pattern notes while looking for an old address book. I was eager to start a new and the last PS2, and thought perhaps subbing with a sport weight would fit Jasmine.


I first learned to knit using a Japanese book, and most available knitting patterns were constructed for flat knitting at that time. For years, I hated seaming so much that I ended up only knitting my own seamless way and eventually went through the longest knitting slump... So naturally, this little sweater is knitted in one piece, it's a bottom-up seamless design with raglan shaping, and a buttoned-neck. I was pleasantly surprised to even find a short-row collar shaping that I have “unvented” way back then. Absolutely no picking up of stitches at all, and I'm liking it! ;o)

I could perhaps make many more of these. Soon to follow will be my pattern notes once I sorted out my scribblings on the different gauges and sizes. We'll see. Time has a terrible habit of slipping away from me at the moment.

Into the woods...

Jasmine turned two last Wednesday and this is my birthday present to her. We love the results! The yarns are just luscious, so silky, and wonderfully soft that I almost didn't want to be finished with the knitting. And those colors reminds me of a beautiful Autumn afternoon... one of those you'd steal away with a cup of coffee outside your log cabin, and take a walk through the crunchy leaves all by yourself.

Autumn Woods Longies

Yarn: 1 strand of Chocolate Brown Merino 4-ply from China and 1 strand of Handdyed Merino Sock in Lodge (My first purchase from Etsy).

Pattern: I casted on 112sts using the Curly Purly's waistband and also lengthened the rise. The crotch is my own design and the ruffled edging is simply 2 rows of k1f&b before casting off.

Needles: 3.25, 3.75 and 4.5mm circulars/dpns

Finished Size: Waist 16", Hip 22", Rise 10", Inseam 9.5"

* * * * *

Other that the brown longies, I've got one more and the last PS2 project at work...

A little tangerine sweater, my own design...

Think Big...

Acted small, but it's turning out big again...

My almost forgotten baby blue AJ that was finished in June.

Pattern: Apricot Jacket from Rebecca 27

Needles: 4mm circulars

Yarn: 250g of Softy Cottons from the yarn stall in Causeway

Mods: Substituted DK weight for the worsted, I went with the smallest size and shorten the ribbings on the body a little bit, maybe by 20%

Finished Size: Chest 28", Length 16" (Probably a 3T-4T)

A is for absence

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments on my previous posts. Once again, I fear I must apologize for more absence - but as they say, life intervenes. Work has been draining the life out of me and sapping my energy to knit or blog. And I'll be leaving again tomorrow and work the rest of August from our Beijing office... Jasmine will come along with me so this will be a two-in-one working/vacation... and I'll be even busier than ever...

In the meantime, here's the only piece of knitting that I've got done in the past few weeks....

Pattern: Cotton Candy Cap Sleeve by Missa, from The Knitting Garden

Needles: Japanese 15, or 6.6mm

Yarn: I used one strand of a sport weight cotton in cream + 2 strands of lace weight thick/thin cotton in pale pink. Both yarns are from this LYS in Beijing, very very soft pure cottons :o)

We'll leaving tomorrow for almost 3 weeks ... Until then, happy knitting to all of you and please just leave me a message/email you like anything from Beijing.

Bye now, and take care!

Last Minute Knitted "Bibs"

I'm way way way behind on my blogging these day... The blocked internet access (to all blog servers, and even flickr) from Beijing is to blame... But the good thing is, I have more time to knit... Haven't I told you that both Baby Apricot and Claude are done now, and I finished another Ribbed Top out of some Classic Elite Cotton/Silk last week... please bear with me for a bit... I'm hoping for some photos this weekend. Well, right now, I have only got these to show off to you:

Last Minute Knitted "Bibs"

Pattern: Based upon the Bibs O' Love from Mason Dixon
For: Baby Mitchell on his first Birthday

Garter St Version: 36sts (7" wide x 11.5" long)
Cables/Seed St Version: 37sts (7" x 11" long)

Yarn: Worsted Cotton in Mustard and Chocolate. Both from China
Needles: 4.5mm

* * *

Garter Rib Version: 41sts (7" x 10" long)

Yarn: The cotton in cream with beige spots is previously my Apricot Jacket, scored from the Yarn Stall in Causeway Bay.
Needles: 4.0mm

I've never thought I would love making these, but I really really do. But whilst I have enjoyed the stitch variations, nothing beats the pefect fit of the original garter stitch version. Those extended straps on the Ribbed and Cabled ones are simply last minute additions cos they didn't lay flat on the baby in the first place... I have already ripped back a few rows before I started the L-shaped and still I think these turned out long-ish... by about an inch or maybe two.

Love at first sight!

Time flies (again)... it's been 10 days since my last post and I haven't any blog-worthy knitting to show you... Both Claude and Baby Apricot are half-seamed... each has only one sleeve and some part of the body done... I could have finished either one if I manage to focus... haha...

At some point, I thought I could fall back to my CTH socks for sanity, but my second sock is turning out much bigger than the first... that's because I switched to Clover Aluminium #1s (2.4mm) needles from the 2.5mm bamboos that I started with... but still I'm surprised with the outcome of how smaller needles would produce a much bigger sock.... But well, since the intended recipient has a wider and longer feet, I will probably decide which one to keep after she comes over for a fitting session.

Oh, and this is really what I'm here to share... I'm in love at first sight with this sleepy snake from Mochimochi Land...

How fun, and there's also an extremely cute Rainycloud with hanging raindrops available from Anna's shop. Now I just need to go get my hands on some felting yarn.

A bit of everything

First of all, Don and I thank you all for your lovely words on our anniversary. May has been one of the most frantic but prolific month of my year. Aside from my busy-as-usual work schedule, I took a short break and brought Jasmine to sunny Singapore to see grandma and grandpa and many of her uncles and aunties.


In additions to family gatherings during those few days, we squeezed in a playgroup session at Kindermusik, had some good fun at the pool, did some shoppings and I also got to meet up with Erin and Lois for very enjoyable laughter-filled afternoon, well into the evening. Thank you, gals!

I even managed some knitting on her baby AJ while Jasmine catches up on her magazines at Starbucks. It's such a fun trip and I really hope to do that again soon.

Well. and in between all these, I also went through a series of interviews, reference/background checks and negotiations and ended up with a new job offer from an UK firm. And June started with me being in a dilemma over whether or not to switch jobs... my final decision is to stay put but that's another story for another day. Let's get back to the knitty bits now....

On finishing up - I'm all done with knitting for both the baby Apricot Jacket and my Claude... good thing I've already got all the buttons picked out so these will be wearables as soon as seamed. I also bought some silky fabric as linings for Claude but we'll see how drapey it gets before doing that.

Turning over a new leaf- As you may have noticed, a few previous WIP has made their way to the frog pond. Trellis is a must "rip", the yarn choice is just not right, it's not only too thick but rather stiffly too... and I even did the left twists wrongly on both the back and left front. My Jaywalker in Regia Silk has lost its charm but half a sock is an easy decision compared to my half-done adult-sized Apricot Jacket, my gauge is actually tighter than desired but I just failed to face it any earlier... Last of all, the only one project that I might be able to salvage is the Diagonal Ribs and Cables sweater, which turned out too short for me. I'm thinking my helper Loida, who's really petite and this might fit her just right.

The old and new - I'm back on my CTH Oak Ribbed Socks and started Jawbreaker from Interweave Winter '06 with some Araucania Patagonia nature cotton, both in Red for the June/July Project Spectrum. And I'm also slowly getting things updated onto my Ravelry, it's super cool and fun and absolutely addictive... I'm sure you've already heard about it all.

Up and coming - My first hank of Handmaiden Seasilk has arrived and now waiting in queue for the perfect scarf/shawl pattern... And I'm still deciding on my sockapalooza socks but that will certainly be my next pair.

Finally, happy WWKIP day and have a good weekend, everyone!

Just one more... for now...

Just one more pair of soakers... for now and probably ever... if only I could stop myself... it actually make more sense for me to start making her some longies instead. So even if she gets potty-trained by wintertime, we can still use them as pants.

Pattern: Ottobre Soakers (10-24mos), pdf here.
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool Chunky in #123. A beautifully golden ochre with a hint of green. A bamboo-ish color I would say.

Needles: Japanese Size 15 (6.6mm) for the body

and 6.0mm for the leg cuffs.

Gauge: 3.5sts per inch

Verdicts: Very easy pattern, and a really quick knit... Start to finish in just one day. No mods except for the substituting the rovings with yarn,. So how about a little yarn review?

The Araucania Nature Wool is amazing stuff! The kettle-dyed colors are lovely, the yarn is easy to knit with, and softer than other staple wools that I've used, e.g. Cascade 220 or Knitpicks WOTA. And it softens up even more after lanolizing and holds up really well with almost no signs of pillings!!! This yarn has exceeded my expectations for a basic yarn in all ways. It's not merino-ly soft but I wouldn't mind them for next-to-skin wears either. For just $4.69/skein (from WEBS), it's really a steal! Just love it!

Later this week, I'll take you on a tour to my frog pond ;o) and for now, I wish you all a great Mother's Day.

It's shorties time!

We had such a great fun time at the playground. To my surprise, Jasmine was extremely obliging, just see how my sweetie shows off her new shorties...

Pattern: I started with the Curly Purly Soaker pattern (again) in the largest size, and just knitted on without decreasing until about 9" and incorporated a crotch before spliting up the legs.

Yarn: I hank of Cascade 220, plus scrap yarns for the cuffs and the apple tree motif

Needles/Gauge: 4.5mm/4sts per inch

Finished Size : Waist 14"unstretched, Hip 19", Rise 23"

Start to finish: 22 ~ 26 April 2007

Notes: My Swiss darning was just too horribly wonky, so I ended up knitting the apple tree separately and sewn it on instead. It's so much easier this way and I love the results but somehow it does feels like cheating... ;op

Wool is cool!

I got a crazy urge to get started after seeing all those wonderful cutie soakers and shorties out there, and knowing wool is completely natural, breathable, antibacterial, can hold 30% of it's weight in moisture without feeling clammy, and surprisingly, it's even known to be cool in summer and warm in winter. And of course, a handknitted soaker just looks too darn cute on baby’s bum!!

This first one here is done a week ago, but then it got accidentally felted by my helper and shrunk by 20% lengthwise and 10% in width before I had a chance to do my FO shot. It still fits her though but a bit too snugly for night-time.

So I went on to knit another one this week... in the largest size and longer as well. The yarn are leftovers from this, and the Curly Purly pattern is simply the best!!!!!!!

I'm now working on the third pair with some Cascade 220 from Krista last year... hopefully I'll have enough yarn to make a pair of shorties this time.... and I also found some Peace Fleece in stash that might work as well.... Oh, and don't these colors fall just perfectly in line with project spectrum?

Finished: EZ February Baby Sweater

I was really hoping for some modelled shots
but naughty Jasmine just won't oblige...

Pattern: EZ February Baby Sweater from Knitters Almanac
Yarn: 4 balls of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in Gray (Sh 24)
Needles/Gauge: 5mm/4sts per inch
Finished Size: Chest 25", Body Length 12.5" (Both very stretchable)
Start to finish: 20-ish ~ 31 March 2007

Modifications: None except for doing the sleeves in the round. I picked up the underarm stitches from the body, instead of casting on new ones and seaming up, so the sweater is practically seamless.

ETA: To Anonymous and others asking about my gauge - No, I didn't change the stitch count at all. But the thicker yarn works out to 4 sts/inch instead of 5 sts as per the original pattern, and changing that alone seems sufficient to fit my 18-month old. But of course, you'll also have to adjust lengthwise by 20% as you go.

This is my first EZ project, and a really pleasurable, quick knit albeit the messing up... but even that knit-fix was a part of the fun ;o)

Welcome to the Chaos!

Distractions when knitting can be really disastrous. I thoroughly botched the EZ baby sweater this morning out of sheer stupidity!! The body was all done last night and I was contemplating to do the sleeves in the round. My wishful mind went on to unravel the cast on stitches from the body, instead of casting on new underarm stitches and seaming them up later. But god knows how I absurdly went the wrong directions and ended up with this…


Just imagine how cursed and hopeless I was when grafting in the lace pattern proved to be an ambition impossible and I was almost ready to rip it back to the yoke. But then a little voice inside tells me not to give up yet… so I took it to the extremes....


Almost like a miracle, the "surgery" is working wondrously well and I am half way out of this dilemma as I write. Lo and behold! This really makes my day! ;o)