Little Purl of the Orient

2 Scarves

No chance to knit a stitch on Flo during the action-packed work trip. Instead, I have 2 other FOs to share that was meant to be used in Seoul but I ended up bringing my old Clapotis instead. The weather in there has been fantastic while I was there and I ended up not using even the Clapotis.

First is the Lacy Baktus (the pattern, an adaptation by Terhi on the original Baktus, is avaiable here). Knitted with 1 skein of Madelinetosh Sock in the Butter colourway with 3.25mm needles. How I love this yarn. Soft and squishy but not overly so. I definitely need more of it. And I'm sure I'll use lots of this scarf this winter, starting next week as the temperature is forecast to drop.

And it could be worn longways like that too which I really like.

Here's the other scarf. A Silk Kerchief (link to pattern in pdf) knitted with 2 balls of Noro Silk Garden in #47 originally meant for mitered mittens. Figured that I would make more use out of a scarf than a pair of mittens in Hong Kong weather.

Once again, the photo credit goes to my 9-year-old daughter, JY. Someday, she's going to thank her mother for putting up a knitting blog and giving her lots of opportunities for taking photos, :D).

Flo WIP

While packing for my work trip tomorrow to Seoul, I simply can't find a decent sweater to wear. So I dug out this Flo WIP started I-don't-know-when. The parts are at various stages of progress, can you stand it?

Partly knitted, partly sewn. Cuff half done, some ruffles completed and I just couldn't wait to see how they would look so I just sewn them on first....

Yes, I knit in such a disorganized manner. Sometimes even I wonder how I can get the knits completed but amazingly they do get done :)

And I think I just might be bringing the ruffles to knit over there. I'm sure they'll help me go to sleep in the hotel.

Knitting on the go

Mid-term break for my girls starts today. Husband and I are taking 2 days off work and we are off to Disneyland Hong Kong with the kids and in-laws to celebrate JY's birthday.

We also had a magnificent, fun-filled barbecue party at the country park with a few of JY's classmates yesterday. It was the first time we organize a proper birthday party for any of our girls.

On the needles is this rustic Silk Kerchief in Noro Silk Garden #47 (I need to check). Hope to finish it soon for the work trip to Seoul next week. The temperature should be cool over there. I have a Lacy Baktus on the needles too, in a completely different colour tone, will decide which to use.

Many thanks, too, for your compliments on the Noro tank top. The wonderful colours of Noro are indeed good for the knitting soul.

Noro Matsuri tank top

With the extreme humidity easing these days, I'm slowly getting my knitting fingers back.

The simple tank top in Noro Matsuri is done! And I wore it to Mongkok today with JY to get stuff for her birthday barbecue. It goes well with the green cardi that I bought last summer but never worn. It always seems far too bright to go with the other things in my wardrobe.

It feels so good that I didn't run out of yarn too.

And thanks to JY, the budding photographer! She's got a great eye for shots, doesn't she?

Venue: Train station platform

Pattern: Adapted a pattern from a Japanese pattern book and converted it top down

Yarn: 4 balls of Noro Matsuri #3

Needles: Clover bamboo #8 circulars (4.5mm)

BTW, I finally found the way to file a Help Ticket with Typepad, now your comments should be notified to my email. I always appreciate hearing from you all!

Scrap Management

I've been procrastinating this post for a while because I haven't the time to take decent photos, but since it is Scrap Busters Month at Sew Mama Sew, I thought it seems now is a good time to share my scraps projects too.

The first time I came across this term 'Scrap Management' was while I was searching for samples of postage stamp quilts on Flickr. I love quilts made out of scraps, somehow it seems more fulfilling to me than making quilts out of new, pristine fabric. And I do dream that one day, I'll have a truly scrappy postage stamp quilt.

I am attached to scraps and leftovers, be it fabric or yarn. And I have a problem disposing them, even if their size is next to nothing. So I find the idea of Scrap Management very useful. And Management is really what I need.

For the fabrics, those in stripes (e.g. those I got when I trim the quilt top) will go to the stripes bag. Hopefully, they'll grow up into a string quilt like this. Interested? You can find a tutorial here. Want a smaller scale string scraps project? Mai at Mairuru, has a great tutorial to make patchwork strings. Love it!

Leftover fabrics that are not long and thin will be cut into 4-inch squares, then 2-inch, then 1-inch. These itsy bitsy 1-inch ones are really so small. To prevent me from loosing them, I sew some of them together, and they grew even smaller especially when sewn up with a quarter-inch seam. Not yet decided what to do with them. They are much too small for a postage stamp quilt.

A few months back, I had the impulse to start an all-pink pinwheel quilt out of existing stash. It didn't make much progress, it is still looking like this. I still love it, what I lack is time.

Then I have some assorted 4 inch squares bought from Ebay long ago. I've been hesitating putting the squares together as I don't have a design wall to lay all of them out. So I'm organizing them into 16-patches and see how they will go together eventually. And before I knew it, I assembled a quilt top! It still has to grow some more, husband is liking it and wants it to be Queen-size. Well, one day, some day.

For yarn, the DK weight ones are being made into mitred squares. I'm not feeling the love for it right now, maybe I will just make 16 to assemble as a floor cushion for the living room.

Yarn of any other weights are knitted into 4-inch squares and assembled into what is known as 'Scrappy' now. It is growing but slowly. One square added now and then. And thanks for your comments, a border there will be!

Do you love scraps and leftovers like me? If yes, what are you doing with them, it would be interesting to know your projects and ideas!

**There is one problem about comments, I'm not getting the email notifications anymore after the migration to the new Typepad. I've checked and I did choose this function in my settings but it is not working. Has any other fellow Typepad users have this problem too? I would appreciate any help, many thanks in advance! And I don't even know how I can send a Help Ticket to Typepad anymore.**

A Little Closer

Scrappy grew a bit bigger.

Found a few balls of dark red yarn and I've still got lots of boucle dark grey yarn too. Not sure if I should add in the dark colours at this stage. Or maybe do a final round of dark squares later on.

Any suggestions?

Should I add a border too?

Here's 3 balls worth of Noro Matsuri #3. Thought I was going to run out of yarn and the fingers just went faster. I'm sure you know that feeling too. One more ball to go!

Scrappy

Nothing much going on the crafty side except for knitting squares out of scrap yarn and oddballs. Brainless and good for clearing away those bits of leftovers lying stuffed here and there.

How brainless is it? I just begin with 1 stitch and do a bias triangle by increasing 1 stitch at each end of every row until the side is 4" wide, then decrease until all stitches are gone. And I'll end up with a 4" square. This bias-triangle-square is also a swatch. Count the number of stitches at the hypotenuse (the bias side) and you can work out the number of stitches to cast on for a bottom up square using the Pythagoras theorem! Which is actually using the formula 'a squared plus b squared equals to c squared'. I'm not good at explaining math, maybe someone can help me out?

I've wanted to do a scrappy nine patch, like a knitted nine patch quilt.

Then it seems that I've quite a bit lots of reds/pinks and greys, so I've decided to do one in this colour scheme. With the dark colours in the middle and radiating out into light tones. Let's see if it'll work, I've knitted some more squares out of this bowl of pink yarn.

Sometimes, I just combine 2 or 3 strands of thinner yarn together (good for using up those sock yarn leftover). Sometimes, I made a garter stitch square, sometimes moss stitch or stocking stitch, depending on the mood.

This is how it looks now. I'm sewing in the squares as I go, not going to think or plan too much, this is meant to be a brainless and scrappy project at the end of the day.

Lilac FBS

A quick hello! I have been off the radar because of a bout of flu at home, involving the girls and I. Then the girls' school was suspended because of flu outbreak, on top of that I have to cover a colleague at work who is on vacation. I'm left with little energy and haven't crafted much since.

This lilac February Baby Sweater is finally done though. It is my second time knitting this pattern and again I'm making it in stocking stitch for the main part instead of gull stitch.

Thanks to your votes. Choice #2 edged #4 which is also very popular. So #2 will be, they are beige fabric covered buttons I bought in Shanghai. This is a gift for my friend, Eva's baby who will be born soon.

I'm still trying to get my yarn fingers back, and also my machine foot. Maybe the best is to let nature takes its own course. The fingers have been a little more active these 2 days, I'm warming up by knitting squares out of yarn scraps and leftovers, can you believe it!

With no new crafty thing to show you, I'll post the photos of the 2 bags in Echino fabrics I bought back in June from Yunisacs on Etsy. I love them to bits, very well sewn and I was lucky to have caught her removal sale during that period.

Shall try to pop back here again soon! Have a great weekend!

Cream Nani iro Top and some knitting

I finished this top yesterday. The pattern is #1 from this book. ISBN 978-4579111497. Inspired by this and this. The neckline turned out super wide, wearable but I'll have to keep watching at my shoulders. I might just undo the binding and add a pleat at the back neck like the top in the second link.

As for knitting, I'm still working on the FBS for Eva's baby due in September. While I work on the sleeves, do give me some opinions on which button to choose. 1, 2, 3 from top to bottom and 4, 5 from left to right. My husband has cast his vote for 2, the beige fabric covered one. What about you?

I started this for bus knitting. The pattern is from a Chinese edition of a Japanese book that I bought recently in Shanghai. There are lots of lots of obvious mistakes in there.

I have just 4 balls of Noro Matsuri #3 recently added to stash. After a false start from the bottom up as written, I've re-started it from the top down because I'm not if I would have sufficiently yarn. I've even picked up one armhole band just to see how it would work.

# Everything I do, I do it 2 times – Nani Iro top edition

In the past, I always packed up my sewing machine every time I finished using it and tucked it in the nice nook in my bedroom under the shelf. These past weeks, the machine has occupied the far end of the dining table and has almost become a permanent feature there. I just don't want to break the momentum. And I've been sitting in front of the machine whenever I have time these past weekends so much so that my elder daughter is starting to complain that I'm not joining in their activities. There are a number of projects done but I don't know where to begin. I find myself gushing even when I think of them.

Then, just when I wanted to post, Typepad didn't work last night, so I'm filling in the words now.

I decided to start with the latest project. This batwing of a top.

The fabric is from the new Echino double gauze line called In the Woods. The pattern is design from this Nani Iro book ISBN: 978-4579111831. While I was sewing this, my husband couldn't resist his comments, saying how could one wear such a baggy top, etc. The comments continued whilst during the photo shoot. Don't worry, I'm used to such comments and have since learned how not to take them to heart. Thing is, I like it and to me, it's good to have a nice, breezy top to wear instead of a piece of fabric kept in the box. I'm sure this top is perfect for the beach or a day in the park.

And I conquer my inner fear of cutting into my 'nice' fabric. Having said that, before I cut into this Echino, I still needed warming up by cutting and sewing a pair of board shorts, similar to these but longer, for my husband with the double gauze fabric bought in Shanghai recently. Despite all his funny comments for my work, he immediately wore the shorts I made him, saying they are the most comfortable thing he has ever worn.

I did make a 'sample' of the same pattern last week in a linen blend bought in locally in Shamshuipo. I still remember buying this with my friend, Maryann and was telling her how this watercolourish print reminds me of the Nani Iro fabrics.

Of course, I had the encouragement from Joy, the sewing guru in our knitting group. And her advice that the neckline would be kind of wide from her earlier experience and taught me to take in 1cm at the fold when cutting the front and the back.

And you know what? I even wore the linen top to work last Friday (casual Friday). Nobody realized it's a 'homemade'. Phew.