You have got to be kidding me

Blah

This is a picture of the current status of my neon green jumper. It's not going well at all. I've tried it on and it's too small for me. This project will be adjourned until further notice. I am actually having second thoughts about knitting in general. That is how dissatisfied I am with how things with my knitting are going at the moment.


In other news, I have lost the memory card that contains many pictures of my ongoing DIY projects and photos of my trip around Sydney with my friends. Of all the things that I have lost in my life thus far, this one tops the list for being the most depressing loss ever. (Coming close in second is a silver bracelet with my name engraved which was given to me as a birthday present years ago)


On a happier note, I am currently enjoying the country life in Albury, NSW, Australia at the moment. This is the second week of my 6-week clinical placement. I was planning on posting some projects that I have photos of but for some reason, my Internet connection is awfully slow here and it takes me ages to load a single page. I'll definitely try to write up blog posts on my trip here and some recent DIY projects, but no promises!


Meanwhile, hang on tight and I'll write again really soon! xx

Because I'm a greenhorn

Knitted Neon Green Jumper: Attempt #1

This is a picture of my first attempt at knitting my neon green jumper. I frogged the entire piece and started from scratch after taking this photo because it was not the size that I wanted. Yes, I followed the gauge but for some reason, there did not seem to be any no positive ease, as the pattern promised. I also didn't like the loose stitches, so I switched to using smaller needles (i.e. 4mm) to knit a larger size (i.e. S). During my second attempt at knitting the jumper, my stitches became very uneven for some reason. Perhaps it was a reflection of the stress that I was undergoing at uni. 


Over the weeks, I have knitted, frogged, knitted, frogged and knitted the jumper from scratch. I am currently on my third attempt (knitting in size M with 4mm needles) and everything is looking good so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in the hope that everything stays this way. If I had to frog the entire piece again, I'm probably turn green like The Hulk and chuck everything in the bin... 


P.S.: Oh yeah, that Butterick pattern happened to be lying on the table because it's a sewing project that I recently completed... Hopefully I'll be able to write a blog post on it soon...


x

It's official: I hate plastic knitting needles!!!

This is the second time that I've broken a plastic knitting needle. I'm not even a tight knitter!!! >_<
So, now I'm working on my panda hat using double-pointed needles of 3 different sizes. Good work.


P.S.: I'm knitting as fast as I can! (That's when I have the time...)

WIP: Panda Hat

I started this on a whim and obviously did not think the pattern through. You can't see it but it's a real mess on the wrong side of the work because I didn't think about whether to use fair isle or intarsia knitting. This is also the very first time that I'm using double-pointed needles!!!


I started this last weekend and haven't been working on it since I took this picture. Uni work is consuming me at the moment! Hope to finish this soon so that I can write up the proper pattern and share it with everyone. *GASP yes, I came up with the pattern on my own! :D


That's all for now! I need to get back to uni work!

WIP: NERDS

I am currently knitting another pencil scarf. This is for a friend of mine who will be going over to Pennsylvania for an exchange for a semester. I feel so excited for her because she will be able to buy things from amazon.com and enjoy free/very cheap shipping.


Of course, that is just a very tiny part of the great thing about going for an exchange in Pennsylvania. You didn't really think that I am that shallow, did you?

HIATUS

It's the time of the year again! No, I'm not talking about the impending Christmas. I'm talking about my upcoming end-of-semester examinations! So please excuse my absence for the next 3 weeks. Yes, sadly this blog will be experiencing a 3-week hiatus. I'll be back with a refashion tutorial. (^_^) I PROMISE.

Meanwhile, here's a little sneak peek of what I have been working on. I know I should be studying but I still need to take breaks in between right? This is what I do during my breaks. It's the BEST way to de-stress, apart from listening to He's a Rebel by The Crystals.

By the way, I'm using the circular needles that I bought on eBay...

 See you soon!

Almost finished: Mary's Summer Bag!

I've been working on Mary's Summer Bag from Knit Picks for quite some time and I'm glad to say that it's almost done!

This is my first knitted project that I did using circular needles and it's really interesting how it all worked out. I wasn't really used to it at first - the stitches were a little tight and I had to adjust the stitches in the round to continue knitting. But it was all worth it because I wouldn't need to sew up the sides of the bag at the end! (^_^)

I'm knitting the smaller version because I didn't want my whole bag to sag if it's too big since the stitches are kinda floppy (or maybe it's  just me?) I used Patons Smoothie DK in this ranbow colour  because I wanted my bag to look like a groovy hippie bag. I think it defnitely fits the bill of a hippie bag not only because of the colour, but because it's handmade!

Hopefully I'll be able to post the picture for the end products really soon. Go, hands and needles, go!

I may not be blogging, but I've never stopped knitting

That's right.

My fingers have never stopped working those needles and yarns despite my long absence here.

I made a right mitten to match with my Young hearts scarf using a pattern I found in the neighbourhood library.

I started knitting the mitten with much hesitation as I wasn't very familiar of the terms like "shaping thumb gusset" and "turn your work around". I was doing well until I reached the part where I was shaping the top of the mitten when I realised that the mitten was too long; I started decreasing my stitches a little too late. So, out of frustration of how the whole mitten turned out (I also made a couple of other mistakes along the way), I took a deep breath, pull everything out and redid the mitten.

I have to say that I am still not entirely satisfied with the mitten, especially the part where I picked up one wrong stitch after finishing the thumb and continuing with the rest of the mitten. But overall, I still feel that it's a good attempt. :) However, I have to confess that the pattern that I used was supposed to be a glove, one with all 5 fingers. But knitting the thumb itself was already an uphill task, I didn't think I'll have the patience to do the other 4 fingers.

It was only after I was finished with the right mitten then did I found out about this great article to learn more about and to practise knitting mittens. Perhaps I wouldn't have had such a difficult time trying to figure out the pattern in my head and wondering if I should start knitting the mitten.

In addition, you may have noticed that the pictures and this entry have only been talking about the RIGHT mitten. What happened to the LEFT one? Well, the thing is, it's still not done...

Addicted to knitting

I have been addicted to knitting ever since I started picking them up in May 2008. After my first unofficial project, the beret (maybe I'll talk about that in the next post), I have been feeling rather listless. It just seems weird not to start on an official item and I couldn't do anything at all without thinking about knitting. I think I'm already addicted to knitting!

So I'm really glad that I bought my yarn from Spotlight on Thursday to start on my first official project - Young Hearts scarf. It's actually a simple design that I came up with using purl bumps to show the hearts. I'll probably post the pattern and the finished product once I am done with it. (^_^)v

The yarn that I used is Patons Smoothie DK, 100% acrylic but the texture feels just like cotton and is very good to work with for this pattern. Most importantly, it's 100g/200m for only S$4.95! And I just can't stop drooling at the bubblegum pink that seems good enough to eat! Though I know acrylic isn't really going to keep me warm enough during the cold months in Australia, i just couldn't resist the colour and the texture of the yarn. So i guess I'll probably use the scarf during late Spring or early Autumn. Hee hee.

Hopefully I'll have enough extra to make a matching hat to go with the scarf!

I have many other projects in mind, like the pencil scarf(really cute and geeky!) and the besotted scarf. But for the latter I'll have to master cable first before I really get on with it. As these are the scarf that I am really going to wear in Australia, I want to make sure that they are perfect. I guess right now I do have a very good excuse to knit stuff that I am never going to get to use in hot, sunny Singapore since I am leaving to study in Australia next year!

After these three scarfs I think I will probably move on to either socks or hats. Maybe even a bag! But I wonder when will I gain enough skills and knowledge (not forgetting courage and money) to make a pullover or a jacket. That will be really really cool.

All right I think I am starting to yak aimlessly about my knitting. So I better go off and get on with my knitting!