oh baby 2

well as it turns out, my US 7 addis are a little too short for the baby love blanket... wait a minute. 80cm is 31.5 inches... that should be long enough. Hm... but how come when I measured last night it wasn't long enough... maybe my addis are only 60cm... i don't have it on me, so I can't know for sure. But I converted cm to inches last night and it wasn't long enough for the Baby love blanket....

Having to do such a large piece takes sooo long to knit one row. It's a good thing it's just garter... pretty no brainer.

i didn't stop to count the last stitch, but i think i may be on 100 ish stitches by now, or close to it... ONLY 100 more stitches to go!! Maybe I just just fudge it by scrounging it all up, and it should be ok... hm. I'd hate to have to go out and buy a whole new set of needles just for this project... although i'm not adverse to do that.

look at this cute baby item!! A Day to Night Soaker

Sudoku one more large square down

i got soooo bored with knitting my faux noro scarf that I thought I'd spice it up by trying to finish that one last grey square of my sudoku afghan. so i frogged the caplete that i hooked up, and used the remaining greys to finish the one tiny square.

it was enough... and i used that one square's finished momentum to break out the rest of the 8 color squares and finish one large square.

Let me tell you this, it takes a lot longer to combined the squares as opposed to just hooking up the squares.

well it's now 4 large squares down, and 5 more to go!! i'm almost, almost there!

i really enjoy starting new projects!!

oh baby!

In response to the baby boom... i have put on my needles this Baby Love Diagonal Baby Blanket with some Peruvian Highland wool I was going to use for another project that I ordered... but since I haven't gotten around to that project, I thought I'd just go ahead and cast on for the BLDBB with it.

Thus far it's a nice soothing knitting project... you just do a YO after the first 3 K and continue until you have 207 stitches, then you start decreasing... sooo easy.

Even though the peruvian highland wool is 100% wool... thus i think it's handwash only, not really practical for a baby blanket... it's soft, and warm so i'm going to go with it!

i have yet to decide who will be the mother-to-be who will be receiving this blanket.

Chevorn Baby Blanket!!

Tested out the Chevorn stitch on large needles and double strands... I rather like it. I think it would be a nice baby blanket. plus on such large needles, it makes the knitting go by fast. that is the kind of instant gratification i like!!

Baby Boom!

It seems lately as if everyone I know is pregnant... with this onburst of babies soon to be here, what's a girl to do but to try to knit/crochet up a suitable baby item for the mothers to be.

i'm going to have to start thinking up of great ideas!!!

I think this stitch in these colors looks great! A chevron stitch for baby blankets... brilliant. Plus it's easy to sub colors and yarn! so simple yet so brilliant!

Officially it's a Clapotis!

Project Started: June 22 2007
Project Finished: Aug 25 2007
Materials: US 7 Addi Turbo Circular.
Yarn: Appliance from GeeYouKnit.etsy.com (a fellow craftster.)
Skeins used: 1 full skein, and 1 partial, with plenty left over!!!

With the ends weaved in, it's officially a Clapotis... and not to brag or anything, someone just said that it was their current favorite clapotis thus far out of the WHOLE knit along thread! Yay!!! that's my first compliment like that!! :: glow:: hehe.

This is the second Clapotis that i started, i abandoned the first one cuz i ran out of yarn... I had abandoned the project for awhile, and finally when all the others started to post their finished pictures, it made me also want to finish it.

I finally finished the project in taiwan, but didn't weave in the ends. Even though i only had 4 ends to weave in... i still had it on the back burner until today. Having the ends weave in totally makes it complete some how... it's weird how weaving in the ends completes the project.

I'm going to look around for some yarn to make another clapotis with... i really like how it turned out... it's a nice scarf/shawl thing... i think maybe esther would like something like that.

I finally brought my SWS from my magic yarn ball swap to china... where my FBB instructions are. I might hook that up since i have the handles for it.

I am currently working on the block stitch scarf out of sempre... i am getting quite bored of it... it's moving too slowly right now. i need a quick project, or maybe one that lets my attention be distracted...

sigh, i'm so A.D.D. sometimes!!

Never!!!!

My sister got the copy of Never Knit your Man a sweater... and the Noro scarf also caught her eye, and she emailed it to me. It's pretty simple... and I knit some of it up already. I've got about a few inches already... I am using the Filatura di crosa Sempre... it's a stripping yarn. With the 36 CO, it's at the right length for it to strip perfectly... I don't know who i'm going to give this scarf to when I'm finished with.... Maybe by the time I have finished it, the giftee will present itself.

Progress pic

I have yet to weave in the ends for the clapotis... it should be pretty easy since there's only 2 strands to weave in... yet, I'm just totally putting it off.

Tada!!!!!

I have finally finished knitting the Clapotis, and dropped all the stitches, but not weave in the ends yet...

I LOVE IT, in it's unfinished state... BUT i'm sure going to weave in the ends so that I can really use it, instead of parading it around my brother's room, and complemnting myself. hehe.

I don't know what my next project should be... besides finishing the sudoku afghan.

on the last last leg.

I am on the last section on my Clapotis, and the decrease section is so much fun... It's way different, plus it's going a lot faster for me because I am not using stitch markers, but the purl method. Plus I have the whole ktbl, k3, ktbl part down that it's much faster. Who knew using stitch markers slows one down so much. I am flying thru the last section... I think I'm going to take this with me back to taiwan to try to finish... then I can give it to my mom, if she wants it.

I need to finish the last square of sudoku afghan... i think i'm just going to ask my sister to buy me another skein of the light grey... i don't want to substitute it with a different shade of grey... sigh. But i don't really want to wait for it to arrive...man, Should I try to hook up a different color all together? Perhaps I should frog that caplete I made to see if I have enough Gray... it might just be enough! Here's to hoping... i'm frogging tonight!

I think for my next project, i'm going to work on mittens... super cute no? I think I'm going to make mittens for my swap partner...

swap partner

I got my partner for the Hello Kitty & friends swap. My partner does not like hello kitty. well what i mean is, it's not listed as one of her favorites. she lists, domokun, that bread guy, tarapanda and tissue-san. so all those hello kitty items that i got earlier, i don't think i will put into the swap...

I have to be super creative as these characters are not the cutesy ones... shall have to think hard on this one.

task zero!

I have finished all my squares except the one lone light grey square.

:: time elapse.. went out of breakfast.. ::

Went about sewing together one large square last night. I couldn't push myself to make a second square...am now 3 large squares done, and 6 more large squares to go!! I know these sudoku updates are a bit boring, but... i need to do this to keep myself motivated.

how to assemble the squares now that you've finished hooking them up!

task one: gather all the squares.

task two: make 9 piles of squares with one color per pile... you will have 9 piles of 9 small squares.

task three: decide what color represents what square by following the chart.

task four: with chart on the side, sew up the 1st pile in according to the chart. Assembling the squares one by one. When finished with sewing the squares, using black yarn, and sc in each loop leaving a 3 chain for each corner.

task five: repeat task four until all 9 squares are finished.

task six: sew up the 9 large squares in similar fashion as the smaller squares.

task seven: sew in all the necessary ends, and cut.

Congratulations! Give yourself a pat on the back! You are finally complete with the Sudoku afghan!!

so on the way...

I am on the last two Avocado squares until I complete all of the squares, except the lone light gray square that i don't know where i'm going to scrouge up the yarn from. Then it's all the assembling... which I think I would be able to get done 2 squares per night or MORE at a time. I am so on my way!!

I simply can not keep a secret.. i was working on the squares and blurted it out to my dad that i was making him something for father's day. i suppose it was meant to be a surprise... le sigh. I am such a big mouth.

I got tired of doing squares, so I picked back up the claptois once more last night, and have finally finished all the straight rows, and is now onto the decreases... exciting times are ahead. I am soon... ok...maybe not so soon... to be finished with that. I think after i'm done with this clap, i'm going to give it to my mother...i think she would like it. The colors seems like colors she likes... the bright motherly colors. she could use it as a scarf, or a shawl or lap blanket...what a great gift to brighten up anyone's day.

I have thought to start Vicks' Hogwarts scarf... I must say, i dislike dpns...i rather just like circs... though i should get those interchangable ones, so i don't have to keep buying them. le sigh. if you peoples want to get me an xmas gift... please note, i'd like knitpick's optional circs... you can follow the link. or of course more yarn! like Vanna's new yarn... it's on sale at joanns for 2.99.

anyway a bit off topic. so vick's scarf. i thought i'd get a start on it... but thus far on the dpns... stockingnett the whole time is sorta boring... i sorta want to change it up... maybe make it a rib, and just make it the gryffindor colors? it was be stretchy... but not the traditional hogwarts scarf. I don't know if that's what she's looking for. I sorta want to just knit it in the straight, that way i don't have to use the dpns... Maybe i can find a shorter circ to work with.

thus far there has been no progress on anyone else's xmas gift... everyone might end up getting bought presents after all. tis much easier, doncha know!

I'm in the home stretch!

9 green
2 gold I'm not going to use this gold... I'll just use the yellow.
9 sparkle White ...I scrounged up enough white sparkle!...
9 lavender
9 Cranberry
8 Gray maybe a new color?? or just one more different gray.
1 Sempre Col 10 I don't think I'm going to use this one.
9 Colonial Blue
9 Buttercup
7 Avocado
9 turquoise

There you go ladies & most likely no gentleman. I am on the last possible color... the Avocado. I just hooked up the rest of the turquoise...while watching Episode 1-3 of Devil Beside You. I'm in the home stretch!! After this will just be sewing together the large nine squares, and then weaving in the ends. Only 4 1 more hours, for the small squares... I might get it all done before I head back to Taiwan next week for my grandmother's birthday!! (If I'm ambitious enough.)

The only thing standing in my way is the Gray... I can not find enough Gray in my stash of the same color to make the last square. i am totally bumming... i have gray's of other color, but not the same... and now it won't look right unless I get the right gray.

Someone I know is having a baby... I have been looking at Baby Blankets... trying to decide which is the best one for me to knit. Nothing too complicated, or that will take long to make, since i only really half like her, but i have been wanting to make baby items for awhile..and i think a baby afghan would be nice. I guess i like her enough

ok, it's the taiwanese father's day... I didn't make the deadline for the afghan. It's a good thing I have a backup. the Belt. I think it's a good hold over until I finish the afghan... although with no deadline pushing me, i'm less likely finishing it... hm... come on. I can do it!

I managed to read DH in one day... on full day. apparently i don't have much work to do, so... i snunk in reading time. while i was reading it... a lot of phases popped into my head as really good t-shirt designs.

am heading into HK on Friday... have joined another swap... the hello kitty & friends' swap. Will pre-shop. this way... i will not send out late. I hate sending out late.

My sister started knitting...she's only doing garter stitch & is on the first 3rd or 4th row, but it's a start!

Progress picture!

Finished 2 large squares tonight... I now have a pattern, and now I am more familiar in how to make it. 7 more large squares to go!! The assembling the squares isn't as hard as I thought it would be and it's actually going by really quickly. I only wished I had all the necessary yarn for all the squares.

The afghan is surprising large...

Almost!!!

Got back last night, and have taken an inventory look at my Sudoku Squares... only a few more left!! 17, I think... I frogged the white beanie to make the extra squares, and then I laid out all the colors for the square to see how assembling the squares would be. I have thus far decided to sew it together using the mattress stitch? I think that's what it's call that is...

I sorta worked on 3 of them to test it out. Then I tried to read the rest of the directions to see how the squares are assembled... Hm. I think I shall try to finish up one square tonight.

After all the possible squares are hooked up, I would have missing one white one, and one gray one... unless I sorta just fudge it, and use other yarn... I am debating whether to use a different yarn, and just do the white one over again... sigh. But I really don't want to add 9 more squares... what's a girl to do? Maybe someone can send me one skein of the white sparkle...so I only need to make one more instead of 9 more??

OK. so I might not get the afghan done in time for the father's day gift (8/8/07) I had hoped... so I bought my dad a belt on the flight over from the Duty Free. I think he would like it, it's a rather nice belt. I was going to give it to Eric for his birthday, but I already got him the bedsheets, so I'm going to give my dad the belt.

woo-hoo!

July sock Club from Pick Up Sticks arrived in my mailbox... I heart it. I heart the color... it's the apple green color that i love... asparagus. Enclosed the pattern is a real complicated looking cable knit... When will I ever get to that level of sock knitting??

Yesterday I started the buttercup yellow of the sudoku afghan. My mother commented that the afghan was rather large, and that it would be hard to wash. I hadn't realised that! Hm... well it's too late now, I'm more than half way done, so I'm going to go ahead and finish it. I rather think my dad will like it... it will be a nice piece to hang at the sofa in China for them chilly nights.

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