WIP Weekend, and A Some Extra Bit of Something

I always like knitting, and yarn shopping… I mean, really… who doesn’t like yarn shopping? Even my husband does… He could grump and moan, and act like he doesn’t enjoy the whole squealing and whimpering when finding a really nice fluffy wool on offer. He could say otherwise, but I believe that deep down… he loves yarn shopping.

Everybody loves yarn shopping… 

But, not until I have known, and read blogs of a lot of wonderful knitter on this blogging universe that I start paying attention to the beloved LYS. Local Yarn Shop. I believe that you can measure how awesome a town/city/village is from their LYS.

In Norwich, you could find more than plenty. If you happen to come to visit Norwich (Norfolk, United Kingdom that is), you would realise that even though online and big shops offer cheaper options of wool, our LYS are surviving. The easier one to find are in the city — one in the market, one in Pottergate called Norfolk Yarn, and one in St Giles called Crafty Ewe. If you are going further in Magdalen Street, there’s another one which I walked pass a lot but never notice the name.

When I went to Bury St. Edmunds, though… I did have to look really hard to find them. But I did find two of them. They’re smaller than one we have in Norwich, but I think it’ll do for a quick fix to satisfy your yarn high. So, if you are visiting Bury… and you accidentally left your WIP at home. You know you can get a little something-something to keep you going for awhile.

Talking about WIP, though… I think I am on a finishing stage now 😀 Woohoo!

I am trying hard to balance out knitting and sleeping. It is easy to lose track of time when you are sitting and knitting while watching Law and Order omnibus. Anyway… do you watch L&O? Which L&O is your favourite one? I mean, I do like SVU, but I would choose Lennie Briscoe anytime.

Gosh… I am rambling, aren’t I? I better finish it now before I start mentioning other crime drama series that I like.

Until then… have a great weekend, Everyone 🙂

x ❤ x

The Importance of Milestones

I think I should have put a question mark on that incomplete sentence… But do you think it is important to mark a milestones? For example… Apparently, my last entry here was my 200th post. But I was completely oblivious to it, as for me writing is writing and I was just enjoying this while sharing things that I like. I mean, 100th post seemed quite cool at the time, but 200th doesn’t really feel as it has the same kind of importance. Maybe when I reached 500th or 1000th posts it would be worth a celebration? Maybe…?

Or, anniversaries. My husband and I don’t really celebrate that. Sometimes we thought of going on a nicer dinner together, but sometimes we just sit in our lounge — with him playing his computer game, and me knitting, or crocheting, or whatever please me at that time. Maybe when we reached 10 years, or 20 years, then it would feel worth a celebration? I don’t know. But it seems like unimportant for now…

But anyway…

WIP… I think it is more interesting than my random mood of the day. WIP is doing well for now. I felt orange and blue don’t really mix, but apparently for some people it looks cute. I am making this for one of my in-laws.

Their family are really kind to mine, and flooded our house with gifts for my niece. So I think it is only proper if I make something that their baby loves too. And their baby loves Pororo. I don’t know if you have heard about Pororo. It’s basically a penguin in a blue and orange jacket. So, I thought… blue and orange jacket for the baby then…

Talking about jacket, I’ve been thinking of making a matching jacket for me and DH. It is a bit cold in here…

I know it is still summer, but my fingers and toes are freezing. Am I the only one feeling cold here? Am I a little bit under the weather and not knowing it, or something? Because it seems nobody was complaining about the summer being cold, and I am the only one feeling the chill… Am I being picked on by Mother Nature? *gasp*

x ❤ x

Woot Woot WIP…

It is amazing what a knitter can achieve when life is being kind enough to leave them alone with their WIP…

This is the first time I do a baby jacket with hoodie. It seems quite straightforward, although the instruction made it seems more complicated. Also… I am not sure why it needs to be blocked before it is sewn together. Oh well…

The six pieces is done, after it is blocked, and put together, all I need to do is to do the button and buttonhole bands.

I am on fire! Woot woot!!

x ❤ x

Which One is Better?

It is always great when you have an FO, especially during weekends. It does make you feel like you have achieved something while doing nothing.

Previous FOs waiting for buttons

Unfortunately the buttons I have been waiting for haven’t arrived yet. So now I end up with three very cute lacy baby cardigans, without buttons 😦 Oh well… not much I can do about it. I’ve been thinking of doing something else after this, at least until the buttons have arrived.

Talking about FOs… I do really like the white cardigan. I think I like it more than the yellow one. What do you think? Which one is better?

Uhm… Nope!

Girls (and guys), I did try to love this project. But, unlike some of the better project I have made, I couldn’t fall in love with this project.

Yes, Ladies (and gentlemen), I was talking about the cardigan for my mum.

I am not sure if it is the colour that put me off, or if it is the pattern. But, I have gone as far as finishing the right front part, but the piece just didn’t seem right. The shape was wrong, the motif was wrong, and I just couldn’t see how it would be finished properly.

Oh, you know where i am going with this. There will only be two options for this: letting this go… *sci fi music illustration in the background* UFO, or… *horror music illustration in the background* frog it.

I can’t remember the last time I had to frog my work, as I don’t usually end up with horrible pattern. The last time it happened to me with the baby jacket I found out that I just misread the instruction, therefore I didn’t frog it. This time, it didn’t matter how many times I re-read the instruction or redoing the part I thought wasn’t make sense… it just didn’t work 😦

So, frog I did… and the quest to find a new pattern for my mum has begun (again)…

Oh well…

x ❤ x

Hmm… I Wonder…

So, I started this new WIP. I found the pattern from Ravelry — of course. I have to remind you again how dangerous Ravelry is. Once you get in their site, you will get lost in thousands of awesome patterns, and you will stay there for the whole day… none of the household chores would be done. Yes… that place.

I found this pattern, and I love it. So I decide to make this for my niece (again). However, this time I do it for Mum’s request — as if I need an excuse to start a new project. Tee hee.

I didn’t have red wool in my stash, but I did have a bright fuschia baby yarn there. As I have this awesome plan to destash, I decide to use this yarn instead. Mum agreed that it is acceptable for CNY celebration, so I go ahead with the plan.

Right, it is Robin Bonny Babe. But somehow it is not the same with the usual Bonny Babe yarn I used. In the label it is said that it is New Soft Blend, and it was much softer than the usual Bonny Babe I used. And, no, I am not paid to say this.

The pattern is made from top to bottom. I have done it before for my first ever baby cardigan, but somehow I still found it difficult to follow pattern. I think it depends on how the pattern was written, but I also believe that I am still a novice in reading patterns although I have been knitting for 10 something years.

Anyway… Since I have made jackets and cardigans for my niece, it got me thinking… Does she need that many warm clothing? I mean, Indonesia is a tropical country, and it is warm almost all the time. But mum said that babies can’t produce heat like adults from their body, so they need warm clothes to keep their body temperature.

I don’t have babies, so I don’t know anything about how their bodies work. But my mum has four kids, so I take her words for it. But is it true, though? I mean, I don’t mind knitting more for my niece. I just wonder…

x ❤ x

WIP: Baby Blue!

One thing that is still keeping me excited is that the fact that I am going to be an aunt soon. My sister’s pregnancy is already seven month old — I know that lots of people count the weeks, but somehow I can’t remember how many weeks she’s now. Anyway..

baby jacket pattern is so small. When I casted on, i thought… “that’s all?”

It makes me want to knit more stuff for my soon to be born niece.

I found a really pretty newborn jacket pattern free from Rowan website. The pattern is called “Elly“. However, since I realised I would be back in Indonesia about a month or two after the baby is born, I think making a newborn jacket wouldn’t be wise. So, I made the bigger size so the baby would still be able to wear it.

My… babies are small, aren’t they? It’s so quick to make…

And suddenly it’s binding off time…

Can’t wait to finish the project…

x ❤ x

 

FO: Pink Baby Jacket

This jacket finished much quicker than I thought it would take. Well, given that it is incredibly tiny, and that it was mainly stockinette stitch and k1p1 ribbing, I can’t see any reason why it should take longer than it did.

Tada…

Aren’t they the cutest?

It is really tiny though, I am not sure if it fits anything else than a doll. However, I have never hold a newborn baby before, maybe newborn baby is really that small.

The pattern was really straightforward and it was really easy to follow although it was clearly have been translated from other language. I had a slight confusion with sks, which is actually ssk in UK English abbreviation. But that’s probably it.

Best thing about it is that it is wonderfully seamless, so the only time I used my needles is to sew in the extra tail of yarn.

Hopefully my sister loves it, and that it actually fits the baby. Fingers crossed…

x ❤ x

New Project: Newborn Jacket

For my soon to be niece. Of course.

Since I am coming back to Indonesia soon, and visit my family, I thought it would be nice to make something for my sister. Saw her photo and the pregnancy is so big, it is actually freak me out a bit. She’s my little sister FGS.

Anyway, I found this pattern called Bluebell Cardigan from ravelry, and as it happens, I do still have some baby yarn enough for this project. It seems simple enough, and I could finish it before we leave for Indonesia.

The piece is knitted as one piece, and top down using circular needle. Mostly it is just stockinette and rib stitch — which I like, because it mean I could do it while watching NCIS.

Since it is for newborn, it grew really quick. Once I’ve finished increasing for the yoke, the rest is easy peasy. Let’s see how it goes…

x ❤ x

I Have To Say I Am Glad This Is Done…

This cardigan project, I mean.

It has been a little bit troublesome since the first time I make this cardigan, and only now that I realise that it seems that it is going to be slightly too small for me. Is it time for me to go on a diet? Well… I do need to shed some pounds anyway.

So yeah. When I was making these sleeves, I knew that it the jacket is too small for me. So, I did knit these halfheartedly. I fell out of love. And, of course, again, I found some problems with the pattern.

I know that I should have read the whole pattern first before casting on. Remind me again next time that I have to read the pattern before starting a project. This one is a mistake. But hey, making mistakes is a part of learning, isn’t it? And… it gives me a chance to try on the new techniques Laura from keepingupwithlaura. The Lifeline.

It helped me a lot when I had to (again) unravel billions rows. It saved a lot of time picking up, and saved me from dropping stitches. Thank you 🙂

Well. Now that I am done with the knitting bits, I am… blocking it. You know what? I’ve learned how to block from someone who came to this guest too. See, it is great to have a blog like this. I have got a lot of people coming and generously advising me with knitting tips. I hope one day I would be able to be as great as these people that I could share my expertise to fellow knitters and crocheters.

I’ll be back when the blocking is done, and lets hope it is not too small for me. *fingers crossed*

x ❤ x