Lacy Baktus

Pattern: Lacy Baktus
Yarn: Handspun Yarn from Yarn Chef Bamboo Merino 50/50
Tools: Addi Turbo 4.0mm
Duration: 18/01/2010-23/01/2010
Ravelry Link

I have a few favourite indie dyers, one is Sundara I mentioned before, and other one of them Katy from Yarn Chef. I've bought quite a number of skeins from her, and recently started buying some fibre from her Yarn Chef SPIN. She dyes very beautiful subtle semi-solid yarn which makes the final product so wearable yet unique. If you have time, you should go and take a look, and you won't be disappointed. :)

So this is the fibre I got from her some time ago. Roving with 50/50 Bamboo Merino at colourway "Junior High Dance". I am particularly in love with how the colour gradually changes from blue to red then to purple. And I know, when I saw the fibre, it should be spun n-plied.


I spun the roving using one of the most beautiful spindle I've ever purchased. A flower shaped glass spindle from Butterfly Girls Design. Oh my god, why couldn't I resist those clear blue stuff? I haven't yet taken a picture of the oh-so-gorgeous spindle, so I have to leave it to next time. Anyway, it's a 1.3oz top whorl spindle.

This is the yarn. See? How lovely it is? It's about 208m long and DK weight.

I've thought a lot before I choose the pattern for the yarn. I wish it will be a scarf, with minimal amount of lace so it would not hinder the beauty of the colour. And then I looked at my ravelry queue, yes, I can work on a lacy baktus orignally planned for a fingering weight yarn! And it works well!

Honestly the scarf isn't long enough to wrap my neck and tied at the front just like the pattern picture shows, but it should be ok and it looks so cool. Maybe I will wear it for the CNY if it's cool enough!

My First Ishbel

Pattern: Ishbel
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Night Blossom
Tools: Addi Turbo 4.0mm
Duration: 22/04/2009-28/04/2009
Ravelry Link

Sundara is one of my favourite indie dyers and it was terribly difficult to get any of her yarn. I got a chance to subscribe to half of her Seasons Collections and I went for an Autumn and Winter. Night Blossom is one of her Winter Collection and I really, really love the dark shade of purple and red and make it so elegant. It required quite a lot of courage to wind the skein and decide the best pattern for this oh-so-gorgeous yarn. I am so afraid that the good yarn would be ruined by a slightly carelessly chosen pattern.

I kept on searching and suddenly remembered one of the hit pattern on ravelry, Ishbel by Ysolda Teague. AND, THAT IS THE ONE.

Beautiful yarn and beautiful pattern, resulted in this:





A skein of sock yarn is more than enough to complete a S size Ishbel, and it's sort of warm and nice and beautiful. Adequate to wrap my neck and make me look really smart. It's quite a easy pattern and I highly recommend anyone to get your hands ready and cast on!! I am pretty sure that I will do one in laceweight and L size after I saw my friend's mother's day present. It's just so gorgeous.

Mini-Sweater

Amy and I has been purchased from Eat.Sleep.Knit. for a number of times and we reached a milestone in the Yarnathon! We shared the little present from Erin and I got the yarn and pattern for a mini-sweater. It's cute.

It's made using a small amount of sock yarn and US2 circular needles. (Yes, I am a big fan of magic loop) I used up almost all the yarn except for a total of 3 inches for weaving in. It's just a 2 hour knit and should make good ornaments!

The colour of the yarn's really good although it's a little bit off in the photo under light bulb and the feeling of knitting it is so nice. A smooth and fast moving yarn, I enjoyed knitting it so much. I asked Amy to check what yarn it is! I hope we can know. :)

Embossed Leaves

Pattern: Embossed Leaves in Favourite Socks
Yarn: Handdyed Superwash Sock II from Simple Scarves
Tools: Knitpicks Options 2.75mm 100cm Circular
Duration: 13/04/2009– 20/04/2009

Following Maeby, these are the second pair of socks that I made. And it's gracefully modelled by my fatty feet. :)

I had a very enjoyable moment dealing with these socks, partly because of the fact that I learnt a new skill - Knitting 2 socks at a time. Level up! I know I know, it's not something new and not something worth noting for most of the more experienced knitters, but I just wish to share with you my happiness. :D I think next time, maybe I can try knitting 2 mittens at a time, or maybe 2 sleeves at a time?

The yarn was purchased from one of the most lovely indie dyer Mabel. She is a cheerful Malaysian girl who married and moved to Switzerland. Her handdyed yarn are lovely and the colours are so wearable. Again, I am not much a pastel colour girl but her colours really catches your eyes. You may always wish to take a look at her yarn. If you spin, I think her rovings should also worth a look, but I have no idea as I do not spin. :) She is also a responsible and responsive seller! My friend had a lost parcel from her and she followed it up nearly immediately and contacts were kept between my friend and her. Finally the box was returned to Mabel and she immediately sent it again to my friend, noting that she was willing to refund if the parcel was really lost. My friend was in no way upsetted. That's what a good seller means.

Back to the socks. They are lovely, and I knitted one half repeats as stated in the pattern, and as you can see, it fits! I have to admit that my feet is much smaller than most Westerners, which means that I can make a pair of socks with less yarn, is it a good thing? Maybe next time I should try to knit a pair of toe up socks so that I can knit a longer tube and have less left overs. For your information, I only used half of the 100g skein for my last pair of Maeby. This time, I have not weighed the left over yet, but I think at least I should have ~20g leftovers. Is it normal?

I am going back to crochet now, and working on a cresent moon shawl. I hope I can finish it within 2 weeks.

Mohair Stole

Pattern: Handmade　ニットスタイル
Yarn: Diakeito Diagenie 75g
Tools: Addi Turbo 5.0mm/ Japanese Crochet Hook #5/0
Duration: 07/03/2009– 12/03/2009

Ravelry Link

Close up of the frills.

I got the book some years ago and fell immediately in love with this scarf. (Although it's referred as a stole in the book, it looks and works like a scarf more) In particular I love the gradual change in colour of the mohair yarn in different shades of pink which never be too cute for anyone. It's worth noting that pastel colours, especially pink is simply not my colour and I try to avoid any of it. But this colour, is gorgeous, and I like it.

It's a very simple scarf, and somewhat boring for many people. It's somewhat constructed by knitting a rectangle in stock stitch and then crochet a border to add the interest. I love doing stock stitches as I can do it anywhere and anytime. :) mindless knitting. And it shows the colour well.

The result was great, but the mohair's itchy.

Maybe I should wear a turtle neck underneath. Sigh. Beautiful roses do have thorns.

Crochet Japanese Lace Shawl

Pattern: 上質素材のレース編み ショール・小もの・ベスト by 雄鶏社
Yarn: Yarn Chef 100g
Tools: Clover Crochet Hook 1.5mm
Duration: 18/11/2008 – 03/12/2008

Ravelry Link

I have been the fans of Yarn Chef for quite some time and this time I got a skein of her 2-ply silk lace weight in lime green. When I received it, I was so amazed by the softness of the yarn and the subtle colour change of the bright lime colour. But then, wait, what can I do something wearable using this bright colour? I am sort of a dull girl and go for earth colours for my clothes...

Um, maybe I can try to crochet a shawl. A shawl is something that I would put on my body with bright colours, and if I do crochet, the large amount of holes. I hope it would balance out the oh-so-bright colours.

So here comes the results:

Stunning!

I think it comes out to be better than I expected. It perfectly fits my favourite sweater in teal colour, which is my current favourite. My friend said that I look slim in this photo, umm, I have to agree. I look approximately 20 pounds less. :)

The yarn was a little bit splitty at the early stage, and then when I continue and get hold of the yarn, it becomes much better and I can crochet like wind. The softness and smoothness of the yarn really gave me very good experience and I could not help myself in buying more. Oh My God. I now have many spun sugar from Yarn Chef and Silk Lace from Sundara, which I believe they are using the same base yarn. AND, I highly recommend Yarn Chef, because it’s such a good bargain for the spun sugar, and you should also look at her fingering weight series. The colours are REALLY nice!

Knitted Shawl by Hitomi Shida

Pattern: #12 Triangle Stole by Hitomi Shida
Yarn: Hamanaka Extra Fine Lame
Tools: Addi Turbo 4.0mm 80cm
Time：22/02/2009 - 03/03/2009
Ravelry Link

During blocking

sparkling yarn!

I've been long time astonished by the works of Hitomi Shida by their elegance and beauty. I have not picked up the needles for any of the works because of 1) time, 2) wearability, 3) concentration. The works are so beautiful but I always wonder if anyone would wear them in a normal occasion. Finally, this shawl came to my eyes, they are nice, simple, elegant, and at the same time wearable.

The yarn sparkles a little bit, and is DK. If I have to do it again, I would possibly switch to thinner yarn and smaller needles. It's a little bit too heavy.

I learnt new techniques this time, knitting borders for shawls through knitting one edge stitch of the body with each row of the edge. It comes out to be nice. I was so satisfied with the results.
I love Japanese patterns because: (list again, well, engineers like lists)

1. They are systematically chartted using standard symbols which I learnt from my teacher. I can foresee how the pattern would come out just by looking at the chart, so attractive right?

2. They are easily accessible in Hong Kong. We can order our books fairly easily through our LYS - Tailor & Alternation, and they are cheap compared with the US books we have to order from US and the shipping is really killing.

3. Patterns are more fashionable and the trend in Hong Kong is quite similar to the one in Japan. The clothes are very wearable in general.

4. Crochet patterns are JUST GORGEOUS. Well, possibly not that relevant in this post, as the shawl is knitted. :) But I like the crochet pattern books in Japanese so much more than those from US. The motifs in Japanese pattern books are also far more than granny squares. If you crochets, I highly recommend you to get any copy of those pattern books and have a look. Once you can manipulate the charts, it's easy, and a new world's there for you.

Maeby

Pattern: Maeby by feminsty
Yarn: dkKnits technicolor dream toes – Graduation Day
Tools: Knitpicks Fixed Circular 2.25mm 100cmTime：14/02/2009 - 21/02/2009
Ravelry Link
Yarn - Graduation Days - Shows my gown colours. Becky's really a genius!

This is the first pair of socks that I knit!! Although I have done several baby boots in the past but the construction is far different to adult socks! Maeby is designed by feminsty on Ravelry and was distributed freely to subscriber of Dkknit’s sock collection - I wool dye for ewe sock club. How generous!

I used the January skein – Graduation Day for the socks, and through magic loop, a new skill I just acquire, to make my first pair of socks!! I feel myself much upgraded! LEVEL….. UP!

It’s a fast knit, the lace pattern is not difficult, and the lace section can be finished within a day after going home from work. You can see how fast it is. I am somewhat decreased the speed for the second sock due to second sock sydrome, but I finally managed and work it out! Next time, I would try to knit 2 socks at a time. :)

Clementine Shawlette

The Clementine Shawletter has been waiting on my queue for quite some time and yet I have so many projects in hand and could not kick a start of it. I got a good chance this Christmas and decided to start knitting it for my friend Amy, for her loss of bag"s" of yarn in mail during the holiday seasons.

The pattern is simple yet beautiful. The short repeats of the main body makes it a perfect TV project. The little knot at the very beginning is lovely and make it convenient to tie the shawl around your body even with heavier yarn.

I chose ColourMart Cashmere 2/7NM DK Weight for this project in a pink colour. The outcome is soft and squishy and warm. I wish it can comfort my dear friend a little bit and COME ON! LET'S BUY MORE YARN!

A footnote for my Hemlock Ring Blanket. It's finished and we just need "some" blocking, some aggressive blocking actually. I am still looking for a possible place to block it.

ISE6 Finished!

Pattern: 素敵なかぎ針編み
Yarn: Nine Colourful Deer 100% Cotton
Tools: Clover Crochet Hook No.3/0
Time：20/04/2008 - 10/05/2008

This shawl, not scarf, is made for my ISE6 pal!

It's soft and lovely! I was quite surprised with the texture of the yarn and wonder why they can make such a good quality yarn with that price! (~HK$8 / 50g)

The pattern is fast and the result's perfect! I hope this would fit my pal's black outfits she normally wear to work. :)

Robin 帽子

花樣：Robin by Kim Hargreaves
毛線：Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4 ply
工具：Addi 兩頭直針 2.25mm, Addi輪針3mm
完成時間：22/02/2008 - 25/02/2008

Pattern: Robin by Kim Hargreaves
Yarn: Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4 ply
Tools: Addi DPN 2.25mm, Addi Turbo 3mm
Time：22/02/2008 - 25/02/2008

太累了，中文後補吧！

This pattern was purchased as a kit from the Kim Hargreaves web site from UK. They were arrived 5 days after my order and wrapped so beautifully which made my brother so jealous! I felt like unwrapping a gift box from my very best friend when I untie the ribbons in the box.

I ordered 2 kits and one book "Heartfelt" from the website and all of them are so gorgeous and left me nil disappointment. The yarn's nice, and the patterns are simple yet elegant, which were really MY STYLE!

Anyhow, I gotta report the FO. It's beautiful, the yarn's nice, but, it's too small for me, I don't really understand. Does it mean that my head's far too bigger than normal people? My SIL, whose head's much smaller than me, would become the recipient of this project. And, me, gotta find another beret pattern which can accommodate a big head...

Since the pattern's simple, the FO is so wearable that people can just go with it in any clothes. Kim's patterns are mostly in this style, very simple, but really show the beauty of the yarn. I strongly recommend everyone to go to her website and have a peek. You would surely in love with them like I do!

手套

花樣：Maine Morning Mitts by Clara Parkes (The Book of Yarn)
毛線：Noro Silk Garden
工具：Addi 雙頭直針 4.5mm
完成時間：21/02/2008 - 22/02/2008

Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts by Clara Parkes (The Book of Yarn)
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden
Tools: Addi DPN 4.5mm
Time：21/02/2008 - 22/02/2008

這是我第一次作的手套，也是我第一次用這個毛線。我只可以說，我不會再用這毛線了！因為雖然這個叫作silk garden，所以用料也比較高貴，可是對我來說這真的是不可以接受的扎人。而且我還找到了一個顏色不能配上的結呢！

This is the first pair of fingerless mittens that I made, and my first exposure to noro yarn. I must say, I would not use this yarn again. Although silk garden was claimed to be more delicate and decent and luxurious, it is still unforgiveably itchy and unmatched knots were found!

可是，這花樣很美呢！而且用的時間很短，只用了兩晚就完成了。這真是最好用來送禮的東西呢！
Well, the pattern is great, lovely, and easy to do. It spent me approximately two nights to finish a pair, and the result was good. It is surely a nice last-minute knitted gifts!

Column of Leaves Scarf 2

花樣：Column of Leaves Scarf
毛線：Sublime Yarns Cashmere Merino Silk DK
工具：Knit Picks Options 可轉換輪針組 4mm
完成時間：02/2008 - 02/2008

Pattern: Column of Leaves Scarf
Yarn: Sublime Yarns Cashmere Merino Silk DK
Tools: Knit Picks Options 可轉換輪針組 4mm
Time：02/2008 - 02/2008

這個花樣之前已經打了一條給朋友，覺得真的好漂亮，所以忍不住為自己也打了一條。這個花樣真的非常細緻，而且難度也不高，打了一兩個重覆後已經不用再看著圖樣來編了，真好！

I have done this pattern before, and cannot stop from knitting another one for myself after seeing its beauty. This pattern is so decent and not difficult at all! I can memorize the whole stuff after one or two repeats! hurray!

這毛線的顏色雖然看起來灰灰暗暗的，但其實當中帶了很少的光澤，我最喜歡就是這樣的感覺了！而且摸起來也很滑，軟軟的，很舒適呢！

Though the photos may show the yarn to be a little bit too dull, but it is actually with a minimal of shine from silk. I love that feeling! And it's soft and smooth, and nice!

2007 Finished Objects 完成品

Somewhat, I engaged this year, with needles and hooks. :) And here's a wrap up of all the FOs.
這一年，我和織針連上了。讓我回顧一下今年的成品。

第一次的Lace Crocheting
Column of Leaves Scarf
五月群編會－夏天的小外套
小朋友糖果外套
媽媽的背心
下田直子的拼花手袋 Motif Handbag
ISE5 Scarf
鉤針披肩Crochet Shawl
短外套Margaret
Ruffles Scarf 波浪圍巾
Bubble Scarf 波波圍巾
Bubble Scarf 2 波波圍巾 2
十二月群編會 Joey's Knitalong for December
媽媽的披肩 Stole for Mum
綠色的圍巾 Green Scarf

綠色的圍巾 Green Scarf

花樣：Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
毛線：Knit Picks Andean Silk 250g
工具：Knit Picks Options 可轉換輪針組 5mm
完成時間：10/11 - 30/11

Pattern: Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk 250g
Tools: Knit Picks Options Interchangeable 5mm
Time: 10/11 - 30/11

雖然它的名字是「男子的開司米圍巾」，可不是為了男孩子而編的哦，也不是用開司米作的呢～這毛線有23%的絲呢。看起來有點光澤，但低調，結果成為了我的至愛呢，平常用來上班也很合適。
Although the pattern's name is called "Men's Cashmere Scarf", it's not knitted for a man, nor using Cashmere / cashmere. :P This yarn contains 23% silk, and looks a bit shiny with it, yet subtle which makes it to be my favourite. It's so well fit for me to wear to work.

花樣其實就只是一行高針，一行則是一針高一針低的，非常簡單呢。唔，看來我仍是喜歡這種簡單的東西呢。
The pattern is extremely simple, with one row purl, and one row and alternately one purl and one knit. Umm, it seems that I love these kind of simple things. :D

媽媽的披肩 Stole for Mum

花樣：Stolen Moments Wrap by Amy Swenson
毛線：SkiYarn Flopsy 200g
工具 ：KnitPicks Options 輪針組 8mm
完成時間：10/12 - 30/12

Pattern: Stolen Moments Wrap by Amy Swenson
Yarn: SkiYarn Flopsy 200g
Tools: KnitPicks Options Interchangeable Circular 8mm
Time: 10/12-30/12

這披肩是為了媽媽而編的，因為她近期看著我其他的成品都看得紅了眼呢！:)
This stole is knitted for mum to stop her from staring from all my other knitting. :)

這毛線是在家附近的毛線店減價時買到的，有差不多六折的折扣呢！這個披肩（30cm x 180cm）只用了我150元港幣呢，超化算的！
I found the yarn in a blowout sale in a LYS, with about 40% discount for each skein! And I finally made the whole stole (36cm x 180cm) with only $150HKD, so attractive!

這花樣很簡單，但這毛線秋天的顏色卻令人覺得好有趣呢，紅紅啡啡的，不禁令人想起了秋天（雖然現在已是冬天了）。
The pattern is simple and repetitive, yet the yarn's autumn colour added details to it, with orange and brown scattering everywhere in it's soft, nice touch. It reminds my of the autumn red maple leaves!

在除夕的晚上送給了媽媽，她好喜歡呢！新年快樂。
It was just given to mum at the night of New Year Eve, Happy New Year to all!

十二月群編會 Joey's Knitalong for December

花樣：群編會
毛線：九色鹿竹白色約７０克
工具：Clover鈎針日規６號
完成時間：4/12 - 31/12

Pattern: from Joey's Knitalong (Chinese)
Yarn: Nine Colourful Deer Bamboo White 70g approx.
Tools: Clover Crochet Hook Japanese No. 6
Time: 4/12-31/12

其實這個圍巾只進行了兩天，但中間就在其他不同的圍巾中給纏著了。
Actually the crocheting work continued for only 2 days, but I stopped for several weeks in between..... Obviously got sticked to other interesting projects.

這個花樣其實相當容易，而且用的時間很少，可惜我想我選錯毛線了。這九色鹿的竹線是太重了一點，就是我整型後，也不太看得到花樣呢。唔，不要緊了，因為，我想我也不太喜歡這花樣呢。
This scarf is a very easy and fast one. However, I got the wrong yarn. The bamboo yarn was too drapy and the shape of the pattern did not come out well, even after blocking. Umm.... anyway, I do not like much the result of the pattern.....

Bubble Scarf 2 第二條波波圍巾

Bubble Scarf 2, originally uploaded by cynthia.kwok.

花樣：抄路邊攤的
毛線：不知名在路邊攤買的
工具：不知名12mm直針
完成時間：15/12 - 17/12

Pattern: copied from roadside stalls
Yarn: Unknown, bought from the same stall
Tools: Unknown 12mm Straight
Time: 15/12-17/12

This is the 2nd scarf I knit using this kind of "bubble yarn". Does it look like marshmallow? I really wanted to swallow it right a way.
這是我編的第二條波波圍巾。是不是好像綿花糖呢？看得我好想把它吞下肚子裏呢。

This one knits differently from the 1st one, and I used a pair of 12mm straight to knit it in garter stitch. Very simple, easy, and fast, again.
這條和第一條有點兒不同，我用了１２ｍｍ粗的直針來編，全低針，非常簡單，而且很快呢。

The result is just lovely, and when I put it on, it just like a old girl pretending to be young. umm.... but it's still lovely. Let me think what shall I put on with this scarf first.....
雖然是這麼簡單，可是出來的結果好好看呀。可是當我掛上自己身上的時候，有點兒像老女人扮年輕呢。待我好好想一想該怎樣配好了。

bubble scarf 波波圍巾

bubble scarf, originally uploaded by cynthia.kwok.

花樣：抄路邊攤的
毛線：不知名在路邊攤買的
工具：Aero 3.5mm輪針
完成時間：12/12 - 14/12

Pattern: copied from roadside stalls
Yarn: Unknown, bought from the same stall
Tools: Aero Circular 3.5mm
Time: 12/12-14/12

這種線從上年開始就流行於香港的街頭。在上年季尾，我也買了一團想玩一下，可是完全弄不清楚該怎麼放那些小球，結果就放棄了。
This yarn has been really popular in Hong Kong since last year, and I've bought one for fun at the end of last winter. However, I couldn't figure out how to put those little bubbles and decided to leave it alone.

今年再接再勵，買下另外兩球，再在路邊攤看了很久該怎麼作，回到家再不停的試，結果我終於成功了！
I tried this year by buying another two balls, and stared at the sample scarf at the roadside stall where I bought them, and then tried it repeatedly at home, and FINALLY I got it!!

在傷風中完成的圍巾，要用，也許要先消毒一下才可以了。
This is a scarf completed during flu, maybe I gotta sterilize it before using it.

Ruffles Scarf 波浪圍巾

花樣：Lion Brand 的 1-Ball Scarf
毛線：Kid K693 Lace Wool 100g
工具：Knit Picks 可轉換輪針組 4.5mm
完成時間：8/12 - 8/12

Pattern: Lion Brand 的 1-Ball Scarf
Yarn: Kid K693 Lace Wool 100g
Tools: Knit Picks Options 4.5mm
Time: 8/12-8/12

這圍巾只用了一天就完成了。
This scarf was finished in one day.

花樣非常的簡單，只用簡單的下針就可以完成了，特別的只是毛線。雖然織法非常簡單，也很快就可以完成，但成品非常的漂亮！如何使用這種毛線，可以參考這兒，或這兒可找到錄影。
The pattern is nothing, it's just a garter stitch scarf with a special yarn. The knitting is very very simple, and fast, and the result's just gorgeous. The way to deal with this yarn can be found here, or a video instruction here.

我不慣穿這種太女性化的東西，而且紫色是我嫂嫂最愛的顏色，所以這條圍巾很快就會被送走了。
I am not that used to this kind of feminine thing, and purple is my SIL's favourite colour, so I am giving that away.

當我在捐血站的休息室等朋友的時侯，拿了這個毛線出來織織。那兒的工作人員看到我在編這個東東，就過來問我這個是怎樣做的。對呀，我覺得這個看起來真的很有趣呢，我身邊的親友也有不少人在看過成品後買了毛線了！
I knitted at the waiting room of a blood donation centre while waiting for my friends, and staff there just come up to me after sometime and feel so interested in the scarf in progress. Yeah, it's really interesting to look at, and easy to do! My friends and family members are so fond of it and three of them have already brought the yarn and ready to cast on!