Sew… Sew… Snip…

My goodness… this is an incredibly slow and boring project. I am pretty sure that there must be a more efficient way to to this. There must be a crocheting prodigy somewhere in this universe discovering a mindbogglingly simple technique that would save crocheters all around the world from having to do this…

This is torture… 

Or maybe I just haven’t researched enough?

Lol. I don’t know. I just found this cleaning and securing the loose yarn like this is one hell of a boring job.

Luckily, I have found a new project to do. Remember I told you that my friend is pregnant, and doc told her that the baby is going to be a boy? Yep, Found a great pattern for baby boy, and have a wonderful yarn for it too.

Did a swatch, and had to use larger needles to get an exact gauge with my normal tension. Which is handy because I don’t need to remember the tension, as it just naturally happens like that.

The pattern is Hazel from Rowan. Ribbing is k1p2. And I have to go to bed…

x ❤ x

Did I Say FO?

I did, did I?

I genuinely think that once the main bit is done, I could claim FO. But that’s never the case with granny squares, or in this particular one, granny triangles. Crocheting and joining the motifs is just HALF the work — the easy half.

I always forget about this bit…

Yes. Tidying up and at the same time, securing them to make sure that it won’t just unravel itself when being worn, or washed. I… hate this stage of this project.

It is going to be a boring work, I better scour Ravelry to get a new project to do on the side… Pff….

x ❤ x

While Blocking…

This pattern doesn’t have blocking instruction, but I think I could do with one just to loosen it up and see its shape before attaching buttons. Don’t know if that’s the correct way to do it…

Oh… the Tubular Bind Off is fab! After awhile, I don’t need to keep referring to the youtube video to make sure I was doing the correct move, and it became quite easy to do. The result was a smooth ridgeless, seamless edge. Love it very much, and I think it works wonderfully with k1p1 ribbing.

While waiting for the blocking to finish, I continue on my other WIP.

Remember this cute one I started as a project on the go, when I went to Edinburgh not so long time ago? I tried it, and I have to say that it does not feel too snug, although I am pretty sure that the size is slightly smaller than what was mentioned in the pattern.

Few more triangles, and I will have another FO! Yay for the productive Piggy!

x ❤ x

Tubular Bind Off? Never Heard Of It…

I think, one of the reason why knitting is always interesting is that there’s always something new to learn, even when you have been knitting for more than a decade. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are, there is always a new milestone to reach, always a limit to push.

I do really believe that this is why knitting is really good for one’s mental well being. Not only that it would give someone this sense of accomplishment when they’re finishing something, but also this sense of achievement when they are learning or mastering some new technique. Not only that it gives them focus when doing and following a pattern, but also this sense of purpose in doing so.

Seriously, I think knitted stuff are products of a labour of love. All handmade stuff are, actually… I was so chuffed when I was given a couple of hand made soap when we attended the wedding in Hungary few weeks ago. I mean… in the middle of all that wedding frustration, the bride had the time to make us these?

Damn I should have taken the photos before I took shower with it… have you noticed a pattern here yet?

Anyway… back to my WIP now. After taking ages to finish the k1p1 ribbing… I am so glad it is time to bind off. One step closer to wearing it — or giving it to my sister if it doesn’t fit >_<‘

The pattern called for a tubular bind off. I have never heard of it, so I googled it. I mean, what else can you do? I think we are lucky to live in this day and age, when you could just google what tubular BO is. I can imagine in the old days, people would have to scour the library, or go to Woman’s Institute to get some information about what tubular BO is.

Tubular BO, is also called a Kitchener BO, or Italian BO. The finishing result is a seamless and ridge-less edge. I saw the example on youtube, and it was really pretty finishing. But of course, it would not be as simple as the usual BO I did in the past. Challenge was definitely accepted.

There are several ways to do this bind off, but they have the same principle. Basically, what you do is to create a “tube”, like socks, and do a kitchener stitch in the end — like you do the toe bit of a sock. You could do it exactly like you do sock — which means you need to separate the stitches alternately, and “graft” them with kitchener stitch — hence the name Kitchener BO.

Or you don’t — which means you don’t separate the stitches, and just sew it with different techniques. Like I said, there are different ways of doing it, just google it. It’s worth it…

I do like the result. It does take a while to finish a couple of inches, but once I have got the hang of it… nope… still takes ages.

See you when I am done.

x ❤ x

Anniversary?!

It’s a what?

I didn’t realise that I have missed this blog’s second year anniversary! I just found out that my first post was on the 7 July five minutes ago, and thought… Oh bugger…. I should have done something to congratulate myself. It’s something worth celebrating! Maybe one or two skeins of nice fluffy wool…

One of the very first amigurumi I made

But I have to restrain myself now, really. Although it was totally and utterly worth every single poundsterling, the last holiday almost cleared me out completely. I need to go back to Indonesia to sort this out, and luckily I have already got the ticket and a departure date.

What do you do to celebrate your blog anniversary, though? Some people don’t take their blog as personally as I do, but I know that for some people their blog is very important. It is kind of a lifeline, the only thing that connects them to the world outside their own. Like me…

How about a walk in the fine city of Norwich?

I’ve been living in Norwich for years now, but staying at home and being a little bit more than slightly introvert makes me no friends. I do have friends I made when I was studying in UEA, but they’re not in Norwich anymore, and it is not the same… really. I have my wonderful sister in law, but of course not only that she works, she also has her own life and social circle to go to, so an occasional visit is probably a stretch for her too.

Oh, anyway… anniversary is not the time for whinging. I might find something nice to do at the end of the day to spoil myself cheaply. Maybe a new pattern from ravelry… considering my current WIP is in the finishing step. Who knows?

x ❤ x

This Picky Knitter Doesn’t Like Picking!

I love knitting. We all do. I mean, what would you do sitting down in front of the telly during weekdays while watching a rerun of NCIS? Knitting, obviously! But I have to say that there are some steps when I am knitting a piece of clothing, that I wish I could just skip.

Sewing up is not too painful anymore

 

Several years ago, that would be sewing up and blocking. Nowadays, I deal with sewing up better. I could do mattress stitch relatively faster than I did a couple of years ago, and definitely much neater too. Blocking is not so much a big chore either because after I pin the piece somewhere flat, I can just leave it there and kind of forget about it overnight. No biggie.

BUT… as I learn more about knitting, learn more new tricks and techniques, and knit more, I realised that doing complicated thing is not the bit that I don’t like. Like Kitchener stitch, or three needles bind off — for examples, they are very useful and neat way of finishing, and I love it. It is the small, monotonic step that I wish I could just avoid, such as picking and knitting along the front and neck to make button and neck band.

Ugh!

 

 

And then doing 1×1 ribbing!

My goodness that takes forever. So is my WIP… unfortunately…

x ❤ x

WIP Wednesday!

I can proudly say that I have not yet abandoned my WIP. They are still WIPs now, and none of them has changed status to UFO. Now that the holiday is over, and my DH is back to work, I have the afternoon to myself again and take my time to knit.

Remember the Japanese knitting pattern I’ve got from Pierrot Gosyo? I have to say that I found it pretty easy to follow, and very straight forward to make. I wonder if any of it is because I am doing a St st Pattern, so there’s not much variation in the instruction, but even the shaping bit is very easy to understand…

I think I have shown you the main body part that I have finished a few weeks ago. I have finished one sleeve to now, and on my way to finish the other sleeve…

See? I am not completely abandoning the knitting project 😀 It’s just sloooow, and thus not much progress to report here >_<

I start thinking about blocking them, though. There’s no instruction about blocking the piece before sewing them up together, so I might just do it flat after the whole cardigan is done.

Oh, Bugger!

There are several reasons why I haven’t been around, and for all reasons, I apologise.

I was on a holiday to Hungary a couple of weeks ago with my DH, that is definitely one reason. We were attending one of our friends’ wedding there, and it was my second reason. How?

We went to Budapest for a holiday 😀 

See, I thought it would be nice if I could make something for my friend and his wife, that is handmade and personalised. So, I went on a secret WIP, something that I don’t share here, just in case he saw it and found out what I was about to give to him before I actually gave it to him.

I am not good at keeping a surprise, so I thought keeping myself away from the blog is a better idea than slipping out and telling people about the secret WIP. I thought, it would be better if I share it AFTER I gave it to my friend, so it wouldn’t ruin any surprise. However, I have done one unforgivable mistake 😦

I forgot to take photos of my secret WIP 😦

So, all I can do now is telling you that I made a couple of bear amigurumis for them. Yea… anticlimactic isn’t it? Now since I am back, I might go back to my WIPs, who knows in a couple of weeks I will have an FO…

 

❤