Many FOssss

It's been a long time since the last post... I have been knitting non stop as usual and just started to go back to my sewing machine recently. Not for apparels though, but to sew knitting project bags. LOL!

Below is a quick sum up of all my knitting FOs during my MIA period:

 

NO 1: Free Rapunzel Hat

Ravelry notes here. Actually I am not really a note taker. So I apologise for the empty notes section. But you can find more pictures there. I dun wan to bombard this post with too many photos of each project.

 

The braids actually is the same length dun let this photo fool u. I think I worn it a bit slanted. I love this hat! It is really warm and cozy and the earflaps were perfect for protecting my ears while we went for a snow play trip at Flagstaff in January.

 

 

NO 2: My Central Park Hoodie

Ravelry notes here. I Love the cables! This is really more easy than it looks. I went to Joann to purchase this book The Best of Knitscene: A Collection of Simple, Stylish, and Spirited Just for this pattern. (Using my coupon of course...)

I used Lionbrand wool ease in chocolate color and my super addi 5mm circular needles. I got the addi turbo circular needle in a yarn shop in Flagstaff and was shocked when I saw the price tag of $16+USD just for one circular. I was too embarrassed to pass it back to the staff so I just swiped my card for it. I though clover needles are already the high ends and never knew that there are even more higher priced needles out there. What a country bum I am. But after using it for the first, I swear that the money is really worth it! The cable is very flexible, ultra smooth joints and smooth needles. LOVE it!!!.  

I also went youtube and watched a video tutorial on how to cable without using cable needle. It's really simple and the cabling went faster without the constant reaching out for the cable needle.

I also choose to add 2 crochet loops to the bust front and sew on 2 togas for closure.

 

 

NO 3: Hubby Valentine Day Socks

 

Ravelry Notes here. My first trial in knitting socks. Why the boring color choice? Cos it is for my boring husband work socks. LOL! He is in the military, so only black is allowed. The foot length is a bit short due to my laziness to measure his foot properly beforehand. It still fits him but a bit snug. I used Premier Yarns Serenity Sock Weight Solids and is my first time knitting with merino wool. It is so soft and squishy and definitely a delight to knit with. It's the experience with this yarn that started the impulses purchase of merino wool from yarn.com and knitpicks.com.

 

I will be knitting up more socks for my hubby since socks are the only handmade stuff that he is willing to wear.

 

 

NO 4: Allen Abate Sweater

Ravelry Notes here.

 

A simple sweater for my little boys using yarns from my gigantic stash. I just want to find an excuse to knit with my addi turbo circulars. A very fast and mindless knit for the instant gratification in between big projects I had on hand. I also have adult version of this sweater in my library but haven found the perfect yarn for it yet.

 

 

NO 5: Equinox Raglan

Ravelry Notes here.

This pattern is from the book I brought for the CPH. I read reviews on the Lion brand amazing yarns and wanted to try knitting with them. The colors are awesome! I used the glacier colorway but I only purchased 4 skeins. Hoping that I can squeezed out my size with them. I used up every bit of my yarn and the top turns up to be ok. But if the hem rolled up too much, it will seem a bit too short. So I got to keep pulling and tugging at the hem. I am thinking of simple crochet along the hemlines with a contrasting yarn to stabilize the hemline. What do u think?

 

Okok, I think I will stop here. I still got a shawl, cowl, socks and vest finished but unblogged. Will save it for the next post then.

 

Ohya for the sewing portion, I have made a few project bags for myself and my etsy shop. The fabrics are my loveliest collection of quilting cotton in my stash that I couldn't bear to cut into.

I brought them years back from SPOTLIGHT in Singapore. They are a super cute birdy quilt cotton collection. I only had a yarn of it but sufficient to make 1 for myself and 1 for the shop in each design.

 

 

They are fully lined drawstring project bags with inner pocket slots x2.

Simple and cute designs. You can find them here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Desirmode?ref=l2-shopheader-name

I am still working on more project bags as well. Stay tuned for them!

 

Meanwhile my active WIPS:

 

A sock

 

A crochet blanket

 

And I am thinking of casting on another shawl... Oophs... So sorry hands, you got to continue the workouts I planned for you...

 

Thanks for stopping by:

Cya!

 

XOXO

Ashley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FO Allen jiffy coat

Having his breakfast.

 

It time to knit up something for my little boy before the year starts to warm up again.


I wanted something that knits up more quickly, so I choose this Jeffrey Coat by Laura Savastinuk.
The hoodie and the waistband designs really get to me. So cute!

 

Yarn used: lion brand jiffy yarn in denim color. 4 skeins.
Needle used: 6mm circular throughout. Magic loop method for the sleeves.
modifications: from my experience with the anise jacket previously, I really dun like moss stitch at all. So I used garter stitch for the hems and the buttons band. Changing to garter stitch also helped to speed up the knitting process. I also shortened the length of the coat by half inch cos didi is on the smaller side.

A very fast knitting project, talk about instant gratification! And there is always positive comments on his new coat whenever we went to school.

One thing for sure though, I will never ever knit with jiffy yarn again. It is soft yes, but the fluff is so rough for my fingers! My right hand fingers are red and sore after finishing the coat. And broken skin at my pinky finger whereby I control my tension of the yarn.


A wip pic. C the waistband? The busy print and the fuzz helps to hide my mistakes. Lucky me.

And I did make some errors in the waistband twisted stitches portion. Somehow 1 extra stitch appeared in the midst and messed the nice texture up. But the forgiving fluff n frizz of the yarn kind of 'hides' the error so I just carry on...

Maybe I should knit up another one for big brother aidan as well, and of course, no jiffy yarn ever. Maybe knitpicks or cascade yarn instead... Hmm...

This knitting mojo really powerful, so expect more knits to appear here! I even started to crochet a single sized ripple blanket for my boys.

Thanks for stopping by:
XOXO
Ashley
 

FO crochet speedy scarf with free pattern

I CUT MY HAIR!!! Super nerdy now....

 

I had a very simple crochet scarf pattern to share with you all today. This is a really speedy project that finishes within 3 hrs and is a great stash busting idea as well! Note: I am not a crochet expert, so this is a really basic pattern. And if there is any 'error' please do not bombard me... Thank u!

 

Materials needed

Super bulky yarns in different colors
(I used lion brand thick  and quick in red, black and eggplant)
Crochet hook
Darning needle for weaving in ends  

Instructions
Chain 130 with color A.
Row 1: Chain 1 and sc across to end.
Row 2: Change to color B. Chain 3 and dc from 5th chain from hook across to end.
Row 3: Change to color C. Chain 1 and sc across to end.
Row 4: repeat row 2
Row 5: repeat row 3 and bind off
Weave in the ends.
Add tassels fringe to the bilateral ends
Mine is around 6 inches in length.

 

 You can play around with the color choices and add more rows to the scarf to get your desired width.  
I like it thinner as I got shorter neck. Hahaha.   A speedy and trendy crochet scarf. I am loving it. How about u?

 

A super blurry shot of my chopped off ponytail by the hair dresser...

 

Thanks for stopping by.

XOXO

Ashley

FO: The Elder tree shawl for my mum

 

Tadaa! The shawl for my mum...

Pattern used:  The Elder Tree Shawl by Sylvia Bo Bilvia

Material Used: Lion Brand Heartland Yarn in Yosemite colors.

Needle: 5mm circular needles.

 

This elder tree shawl pattern  got a much more intuitive chart, that can be repeated forever, and that means I can make it as big as I wanted it to be! And the chart is easier to memorise, so halfway through the lace knitting, I had already memorized the chart and just knit on without having to refer to the pattern again n again.

 

 

My super messy hair. (consequences of not going to the salon for 1 full year.)

Can't wait to chop them off soon.

 



As this yarn is much thicker, the shawl knits up pretty fast and I am able to finish it within 3 days. And tis shawl is soft and snuggly with no itchiness. The wool of Andes lonely tree shawl do gave me a slight itch when in contact with the skin. I might be a bit sensitive to the wool content. The downside of acrylic shawl, is that it doesn't block as well as the wool one. So there are different pros and cons of the yarn content.

 

 

A lovely accessory to keep the chills away. Actually, I am not the kind of accessory person. I got 5 earholes with 0 earrings on. The only ring I wear is a gold ring I had when I got married. Yup, I am too lazy and can't be bothered to accessorize myself. But the shawl is another thing. It is the only accessory I looks forward to wearing now.

 

 

Argh! I really love this shawl. Maybe I should knit up another one for myself in other colors again! LOL!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by:

Ashley

 

 

 

 

FO: The Lonely Tree Shawl

 

My first try with shawl knitting... And I fall head over toes with it.

 

Pattern used: The Lonely Tree Shawl by Sylvia Bo Bilvia

 

Yarn Used: Knit Picks Wool of Andes in Red. x2.5skeins.

 

Needle: 5mm Circular knitting Needles.

 

This shawl knitting is really addictive. Once I casted on and started on the charts, I just can't stop knitting and looking forward to the end of chart C. As I used a thinner worsted weight yarn for it, the shawl turns out to be a lot smaller than expected after I finished chart C. I am so tempted to continue with Chart D to make it bigger but I was afraid that I dun have enough yarn to finish it. Nevertheless, this smaller shawl looks lovely after blocking and I casted on another one immediately after but using the eldertree shawl pattern instead.

 

 

Knit pick wool of the andes yarns are so warm and cosy! I still have a few skeins of navy, white n grey remnants. Still deciding on the knitting project for the yummy yarns.

 

 

 I just brought a matching shawl pin from Joann last weekend. Can't wait to wear it tml morning when sending Aidan to school.

 

I had finished the second shawl and planning to send it back to Singapore as a gift for my mum. Singapore tropical weather isn't really suitable for warm wear but the shawl would be a nice accessory for my mum whenever she had to make a trip down to the cold hospital for her check ups.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by:

XOXO Ashley

 

FO: Hermoine Fair Isle Cardigan

Pattern used: Of Hallows and Horcruxes by Megan Murray
Yarn used: Knit Picks Wool of Andes In grey, white, navy and onxy
Size: 32 Bust
Needles: 5mm circular

At first I tried knitting with Lion Brand wool ease worsted weight yarns. Knitted all the way to 1/3 of the colorwork portion and it turned out to be super big and loose, and I frogged that n dumped them into the rubbish bin. Yes, threw them away instead of unraverly them to reuse the yarns... Y? Who ask the 'clever' me to go n weave in all the ends including the colorwork area so that makes it super tedious if I was to try and unravel them. Luckily is wool ease... Hahaha...

After throwing it away, I learnt my lesson and went online to purchase the Knit picks yarn instead.

 

I choose the easier method and used did increases at the single color rows instead of the raglan increases. With my very poorly planed increases, (cant even remember i increased how many at which rows as i just anyhow increase till i got the desired no of stitches at the end of the colorwork) I am so glad that the cardigan ended up ok and not too out of shape.

 

 

Overall this cardigan is warm and cosy, luvs the fair isle design and the front pockets but i hated how wide the sleeves are at the upper arm portion. The wrist part is very fitting which makes the loose top part even more weird.

 

 

The buttonholes are steeked which again is new to me. I am really glad that during this winter i have learnt so much new knitting techniques from knitting all the projects... I crochets around the portion to be cut first before i cut the stitches as the kiasi me is so scared!

 

(Kiasi is pronounced as ki-a-si. Is a dialect and means scare to die... Timid... LOL!)

 

So nice isn't it, to learn some foreign language here on my blog. HAHHA!

 

Ok. That's all for today.

 

Thanks for stopping by:

Ashley:)

FO: Fairy Tale Hoodlet

Another knitting project... You know, it's the cold weather that's causing all this knitting mojo going on... My sewing machines are upstairs gathering dust only. I bet when the heat wave strikes, I will be back upstairs sewing again.

Pattern used: woodland hoodlet by tiny owl knits
Size: Small
Yarns used: Lion brand wool ease thick n quick in egg plant 4 skeins
Needles used: 9mm.

A super cosy and sweet hoodlet that consists of cables, bobbles and tassels. Took me 3 days to finish this pc. The instructions call for provisional cast on, with no idea what's that about, I just did my usual long tail cast on method assuming that it makes no difference... Happily I knit and knit and knit until I went to you tube provisional cast on and had a panic attack when I learnt the difference... Unwilling to restart the 75% knitted bodice, I decided to just go ahead n finish it, the most will be having a ugly seam line down one side....
Thankfully, I played around the cast on n managed to un ravel the long tail portion of it and get back the loops onto the needles for the Kitchener stitch seaming.

 

It seems that the small size is still too big for me as I had to shorten the bodice width by 3 inches ut the hood part I followed their measurements n ended with this super roomy hood. If I ever gonna knit this again, I will definitely shorten the length of the hood as well.

 

 

This deep eggplant color is really nice...

 

The cute tassel at the hoodie back... Too cute, Cant really wear it outside without gaining too much attention here in phoenix... HAHAHA!

 

Got to crop all the pics cos I am wearing a shorts. Too lazy to wear matching apparels and that's so me...

As usual, there is remnant yarns again so I knitted this braided headband.



Pattern used: Braided by Jen Geigley
I used 6.5mm needles for this.

Lovely... But I got to wear contacts if I ever wanna wear this out.  Which will be very rare cos my eyes are very dry, so contacts are only for those fancy parties or big events. Sorry headband!





That's all for today...

 

Thanks for stopping by:

XOXO

Ashley

FO: My 'Lopi' Vest

The holidays are over! And Aidan is back to pre school again. The blogging mojo is back! Haha... Just spent nearly 45mins shooting all the finished knitting projects. First on the list is a colorwork vest I finished way back in last year oct? Can't remember...

 

 

Pattern used: Létt-Lopi Vest by Védís Jónsdóttir (Free pattern!)

Yarn used: Lion Brand Wool Ease in Dusty Rose, Light Pink and Brown heather.

Needles used: 5mm and 4mm Circular knitting needle.

 

 

It's really fast and simple cos mostly is mindless stockinette with a touch of stranded color work. The arm openings are just stockinette as well, thus there is a bit of curling there, but it looks nice to me. I made a mistake... Again... Can u guess what it is?

...

...

Yup u got it! The colorwork section looks a bit lengthy right? I knitting this in the XS size and while following the color work chart, I didn't notice the (this round only for l and XL sizes) beside the charts. I only found out about I finished the whole chart... Oophs. Closed one eye and carry on.... Heehee...

 

 

The hemline and neck line consists of moss stitch and I youtubed a stretchy cast off technique for the neckline. I am not sure it's becos head is bigger than average or what cos the stretchy neckline is a still too tight for me. Needed to give it a real tug to get it over my head.

 

Theres' also a bit of waist shaping to give the vest a more flattering look and I love the yarn, its getting more and more softer and comfy after every wash. And is washing machine and dryer prove. Last but not least, it's cheap! Well I only buy them when they are on 50% off or uses Joann 50% off coupons. So that makes them at a mere $3usd per skein. The cashier of Joann was so shocked when I passed her 20pcs of 50% off coupons I collected and she said it's her first time scanning so much coupons in one purchase. Extreme Joann couponing... LOL!

 

Sob... Looking at the pics, I really did gain quite a bit of weight... Y oh y did I munch so much on the holidays snacks... The cold weather really makes one hungry more easily, isn't it?

 

That's all for today... Expect more posts to come since I finished all the photo shootings today.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by:

XOXO

Ashley

 

 

 

 

FO: Aidan Birthday Sweater

First of all, happy 2014 to all of you. Last month had been a great and busy month, we celebrated my husband birthday, Aidan's birthday, our road trip to Flagstaff for snowplay, Christmas and so on. And not to mention the many completed knitting projects I managed to sneak into the busy month. Still lazy to take nice enough pics for the blog, the other projects posts will got to wait. Now let me show u a handsome boy who just turned 3 last month.

My elder boy Aidan in his Dinosaur Bday Sweater:)

 

Pattern by: Diplodocus by Kate Oates

Raverly Link: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Sewashley/diplodocus

Materials used: Lion brand wool ease in 3 colors: Navy, white and blue Total I used 3 skeins for this sweater total cost: $9usd. (I got the yarns on sale at Joann 2.99usd each)

Size 5mm circular knitting needles. The sleeves are done using magic loop method.

Duration taken: 2 wks of knitting on and off.

 

During the Christmas party n birthday party in his pre school class.

 

Aidan is so into dinosaurs ever since he watched Jurassic Park, and his everyday to do list includes watching dinosaurs videos and movies on his 'big' ipad. So this sweater pattern was chosen for his bday present.

 

Technique used are: stranded colorwork, short rows, knitting in the round and picking up stitches. My first experience with the short rows, I just you tubed a short row video tutorial and learn from there. Dun really like the experience though, cos it is quite confusing but luckily I managed to knit through it. HAHA!

 

Aidan recognized the dinosaurs and that the only reason he allows me to pop this sweater over his head. He is quite resistant towards tops other than cotton tees material. His school teacher even complimented on his sweater! I am so happy when she said to my son: 'I like your sweater!' Who wouldn't love some compliments on their handmade items? That really adds on to my knitting fever...

 

 

We had a great month, how about you?

 

Last but not least, let me introduce to our new friend: Mr Snowman

 

Our family first snowman says Hi to all of you and wishes you all a Happy New Year ahead!

 

Got to go...

XOXO

Ashley

 

 

 

Completed: Fair isle sweater

Finally picked up my laptop n get to blogging.... And now introducing my lovely n cosy fair isle sweater.

 

Simple and nice design and moreover the knitting pattern is free! Who doesn't love free stuff?

 

Knitting pattern used: Afmæli - 20-year anniversary sweater by Védís Jónsdóttir

Yarns used: Lion brand wool ease grey heather 5 skeins, frosty white 1 skein and dark grey 1 skein. I got all of them on sale at 2.99usd each at joann so in total, this sweater costs me 21usd. Whee!

Needles used: 4mm and 5mm needles.

I am falling in love with lion brand wool ease yarns, it doesn't empties my pocket, is warm n cozy and fast to knit up. Maybe cos I haven got the courage to spur on those expensive merino yarns yet so I don't really know the quality diff of the yarns. And further more, a year and 3 months later, we will be moving back to the hot n humid tropical Singapore, so all the coldwear knits will be stored away then. Sad. Yes very sad. I really enjoy the cold weather here and love knitting the cold wears.

 

 

 

Ok back to the pattern, I was shocked initially when I downloaded the pdf only to find less than 1 page of instructions and 1 page of chart. I was like: huh? it's a sweater? n the instructions are so little? shouldn't it be long n winy?  

But after starting this project, I realized just how easy it is to knit. The fair isle portions are the most exciting and satisfying part. For the sleeves I used magic loop method as I came to dislike dpn now. Magic loop method is so much faster. My stranding skills have improved a lot and is neat n tidy now.

 

C? A huge diff from my previous projects. LOL!

 

 

I learnt a new seaming technique called the Kitchener stitch for the armholes. Sounds confusing but after watching the tutorial on youtube, its really easy as long as you follow the 'rhythm' . And the end result is seamless finishing look at the armholes. Awesome! Whoever invented that is a genius.

 

 

I love my new sweater, I had it on when I went for the black Friday moonlight outlet shopping at 3am and it kept me warm n cosy throughout the shopping trip. Brought lots of stuff that night for myself n the boys. How about you?

 

Thanks for stopping by:

XOXO

Ashley 

Completed: Moose Isle Hat

I was looking through raverly hat patterns and this cute moose hat grabbed my attention. I had to knit one of that straight away. So I popped by Joann store and brought lion brand wool ease yarns in the colors needed.

Its's my first time trying fair isle knitting. And I fall in love with it straight away... That explains my latest finished fair isle sweater for myself n a ongoing dino fair isle sweater for my boy.

PS: I am having problems with uploading pics into my flickr and on my blog... So pardon the shitty FB pics.

Materials used:
1 skein of LION brand wool ease in choco
1 skein of Lion Brand wool ease in Fisherman
Some remnants of Everyday yarn in red (that I used for my honey comb cowl)

I used 3.5mm n 4.5mm circular knitting needles and used magic loop method for working in the round.

For the pom pom I used the Clover pom pom maker which I brought years back in sg.

While working with the colors for the moose portion, I viewed some youtube technique videos for stranded colorwork. I tried to learn the technique of knitting with one color in each hand, but my left hand is still quite clumsy especially the tension part.

 

Pardon me for the super messy and ugly wrong side. I only noticed the correct yarn changing method while knitting my fair isle sweater thus this hat is really a first time anyhow try at strande colorwork. And because of the anyhowness, the different color yarns keep twisting n tangling. And the tension is very different thus some floats are a bit too tight. I also made a terrigible mistake of weaving the float at the same stitch for many rows causing bandings to occur. So many mistakes in it, but that how u learn right?

 

Anyway the right side of the hat still looks ok. And I love my new hat. I even used the remnant choco yarn to knit a simple pair of fingerless mittens so I can match with the hat:)

 

 

I haven blocked the mitts yet and the other side is still missing somewhere in the wardrobe. LOL.

 

 

The red trimmings really pops. Ohya, I am wearing the fair isle sweater for the pics. Will blog about it in the next post:)

 

Thanks for stopping by:

XOXO Ashley