Monday, July 31, 2006

KOOL AID

I bought Kool Aid for the first time last week! For dyeing my knit picks' sock yarn. Even though I know it's a common drink amongst the kids (maybe adults), I have never had it. So before I begin my dyeing project, I decided to try it once. I tore open a packet of Kool Aid, mixed it in water, took a drink, and spit it out. It tasted terrible to me. I told my husband about my Kool Aid experiment and that's when he said, " you DiDn't add SUGAR?"

Okay, lesson learn - Always add sugar to Kool Aid mix if I want to drink it.

Other than that, dyeing yarn with Kool Aid is a lot of fun. Here are the results:







This is what it looks like knitted up. Can you tell which pattern I am using here? Answer will be out in the next post.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Baby Trellis

There was something small items that hindered me from knitting them - I thought they were too delicate for my *giant* hands. Hence, all my FOs were adult scarves and sweaters. Last week, I broke down the barrier and started on a baby sweater and socks. And yesterday, lavender Trellis was officially completed.


Specs:
* Pattern : Trellis by from Knitty.com
* Yarn : 2 Skeins of Cascade Sierra in Color #29 from Threads
* Needle : Ebay Bamboo circular in US 7 for body, US 8 for cast on and bind off
* Started : July 19, 1006
* Ended : July 24, 2006


Overall this is a fast knit because it is small! I do not like to deal with any thing more than the 2 sticks on my hand when I am knitting, therefore I skipped the cable holder. For all the future Trellis that I might knit, I will knit the all the pieces of the body in one piece to save time.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

My Lady Eleanor

Lady Eleanor came into my life when I saw this and this. I fell in love and the next thing I know, I ordered this book from Amazon.com. One thing lead to another, I purchased Noro Silk Garden in Skein Scene at $6.50 per skein (if you know me, I would not have worked on this project if the yarn is at retail price.) This is my first entrelac project and it is not as difficult as it looks. If you know how to knit and purl, you can do entrelac. The only thing that bothers me is the constant turning of the project. I tried reverse knitting (aka knitting back backwards) but purling is just faster for me. My Lady E has short tassels instead of the long fringes because at 9 skeins of yarn, the stole is already a little too long for me. I do not wish my lovely lady to sweep the ground. Take a look at my lovely lady...


Specs:
  • Lady Eleanor from scarfSTYLE by Pam Allen
  • 9 skeins of Noro Silk Garden 217, less than 1/2 skein for the tassels
  • Cheap Bamboo circular needles from ebay in US9

New Skin

I am currently experimenting with different skins that are available on the web.

Friday, July 21, 2006

My first Sock

I have knit and frogged Calla Lily socks from Sundara's Petals Collection more than a couple of times using cheap bamboo and plastic DPNs. Frustrated, I went to my LYS a couple of days ago to buy Addi Turbo US1 and also pick up a card on how to knit socks on one circular needle. I am in love with Addi - smooth knitting and flexible cable. I have to say that I prefer to work on socks using the magic loop method rather than messing around with DPNs. Or maybe I just need better dpns to work with.
As for the yarn, it is a dream to work with and Sundara is a genius with colors. Every row I knit, I hold up the sock-to-be and admire the colors. Take a look at it.

I am also working on another project, started the same day I started the sock. My friends are expecting a girl this coming September, I think a lavender Trellis using Cascade Sierra would be a great baby gift, don't you agree?

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

This is Lady Eleanor at the beginning of the seventh ball of Noro Silk Garden 217.
I tried to get YoYo to model the shawl but he wasn't interested.
YoYo wearing Branching Out in Noro Big Kureyon #12, as you can probably tell, he is not a willing model.
I have not weave in the ends yet because I have not decided if I want to lengthen it or frog it to make something else. I bought 4 skeins of this yarn and only used up one for this scarf.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Virgin Blog

This is my first web log ever. Even though my husband help me to set it up, I think I can do it without him :)