January 2008 – Knitting Box

Two sided

The front

… and the back.

A while back Terri mentioned on her blog that a friend of hers is going to China to work in an orphanage for a month. Terri had the idea of knitting some socks for the kids, and I put my hand up. However it turned out that what the orphanage needed was knitted soakers/pilchers for the disabled kids to keep them dry at night. I didn’t mind making soakers, so here’s mine that I sent off to Terri. Hope you get it in time, Terri!

I used my leftover yarns for these, mostly Elle Pure New Wool DK (lovely, lovely yarn I bought from Lincraft a few years ago when I just started knitting, but they don’t stock it anymore now), except for the yellow one which is Paton’s Fireside 8ply. As you can see, the front and the back are very different 🙂 This was not planned from the beginning, but rather a result of me underestimating how much yarn would be required. But as they say, it’s not a mistake, it’s a feature. (Something I adopted back in my computer programming days… 🙂 ) I started off the front side with just a ball of the blue yarn and half a ball of the yellow from stash, thinking that would be enough to make the whole thing. But no no, I ran out of the blue and yellow not long after I finished the front side. And as these are scrap yarn, I didn’t have any more of those colours and so had to improvise and pick different colours. But I actually think they look quite cute in the end, I hope the kids will like them anyway!

Pattern info: Terri sent me a pattern (from the orphanage?), but I diverged from it quite a bit. I added a casing at the waist (the 2×2 ribbing) so that I could insert an elastic band. I thought about adding elastics for the leg openings as well, but was worried about making them too tight, so I only added some twill tape ties. And I added stripes to amuse myself.

29 January 2008

Transformation

Before…

During…

After.

The magic of lace blocking still amazes me everytime!

Pattern: “Qiviuk Webs Tam and Scarf” from Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007. I made the narrow scarf.
Yarn: Exactly 1 ball of Grignasco Bambi in, um, red? (sorry, lost the ball band)
Needles: 3.25mm

I blocked this using my new lace blocking kit that I bought from Natty Yarns in ebay a while back. I love it! Makes blocking this scarf so much easier, especially for the straight edges, I don’t need to use a gazillion pins to pin them out anymore!

This was a fun knit. Enough lace for my lace fix, but not too much that it drove me bonkers.

Well there you go, first FO of the year, done and gifted.

18 January 2008

New look

I’ve gotten rather sick of my blog theme and banner, so it’s time for a new look I think. The old one had been there since when I first set up the blog, more than two years ago. I’ve been wanting to change it for months, but procrastination got the better of me. Hmm, doesn’t it always… So now, new look, makes me happy. If you can’t see it, you might need to refresh your browser. I think I’ve got the kinks ironed out, but if you do find any problems, please let me know!

While you’re here, let me show you the socks that I was making for Annette. They’re done, and they fit! 🙂 Well, still a little loose actually. But I meant these to be more of bed socks, for her to wear when the weather gets colder, so I think it will fit her well then.

I finished these back in December, but only just got a chance to take photos. The yarn is Socks That Rock medium-weight in ‘January One’ colourway that I had left over from another project. Hardly a stashbusting project, but it feels good to be able to use even the odd leftover balls 🙂 No particular pattern, just toe-up socks, 36 stitches a round on 2.5mm circulars, short-row toes and short-row heels.

I’m glad Annette likes them. She was even willing to put them on for the photos, on a hot summer’s day! I love my bub.

11 January 2008

Hello again!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and new year! Our family had a quiet one this time. We’ve had a Christmas get-together with my parents the week before Christmas, just before they left, with hubby’s parents, and some family friends as well. We spent Christmas day by ourselves, and even on new year’s eve we didn’t feel like venturing out to join the crowds. It was good just to relax at home. I got this pile of books to entertain me.

Thank you so much for your kind comments on my last post. They mean a lot to me. Don’t worry, I’m okay, and I’m ready to look forward to what this new year will bring. Here are just some things that I’d like to do this year.

— Knit more. Last year was rather slow, knitting-wise, for me. The only things I made for myself were socks. Not that there’s anything wrong with knitting socks (I’m totally an addict now)! I just didn’t have time for anything bigger. But several talented knitters with their fabulous sweaters are enticing me to knit jumpers or cardigans for myself, so I want to make time to knit at least one or two this year.

— Having said that, I will still sew. Last year I got a chance to develop my sewing skills, and I want to keep going. I’ve been wanting to make a quilt for Annette, and after forever admiring other crafters’ gorgeous quilts, I think it’s about time I jump in and do it.

— Yarn diet. Yep. I had never imposed a yarn diet on myself before, mainly because I thought my stash was not that big. Oh, pardon me, the noise you just heard was the sound of my husband roaring with laughter. Hello! Time to face reality! I kept putting this off, saying to myself, after this purchase I’ll go on a yarn diet. But now it’s for real. I won’t be buying any more new yarn until I’ve made a reasonable dent in my stash.

— And finally, I’d like to have more hours in a day so I can do all the above. Heh! But wait. Annette is starting preschool two days a week this year, so more time for me me me! Yay!! Excellent.

10 January 2008