Joy of Knitting 織哉

2009-12-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

Dunchess Ecstasy

This is the name I picked for

the burlesque doll I made for Alan.

She enjoys her first Chirstmas Eve party, and obviously had too much of the drinks towards the end of the part. But still, she's adorable. =)

My first attempt to knit a doll. The most challenging part is to shape the breast (still don't like the effect that much), and also the hair -- I didn't expect the styling is so difficult. I guess it will be easier if I just want a simple approach of hair-coming-out-from-the-same-spot approach. However, as a good burlesque performer, Dunchess Ecstascy deserves something better.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T23:00:00.001-08:00

I Spun It

This is what my first spinning teacher told us after 3 hours of learning how to spin on a spindle -- made your first spinning project into something, so you 'll remember it!

And this is what I had done. Well, not a recent project, consider that I had taken my first spinning class like a year ago. But I finally made it into something. =)

2009-12-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

DO NOT ERADICATE COMMUNIST WOOL!

I found this notebook during my trip in China past summer. I always find the communist propaganda art work are naively cute. It is something about the bluntness of making a political statement that make it really laughable and lovely. I imagine that they can work with any themes -- but I mostly appreciate this one as it is fiber-related.

2009-12-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Netbook Cover

I made this netbook cover before I went to China during the summer. This is the first time I used my handspun yarn for a finished project, and the comments on this cover are crazy good. I found the owl embroidery on etsy -- it was a patch work for a card, but I like owl, and I stick it on the cover.

Making of this is easy. I just knit a long rectangular, sew up the sides, added crochet edging and the button holds. If I would have done this again, I will probably do the circular tube and use invisible castoff to finish the closed end of the cover.

2009-11-28T22:48:00.000-08:00

Top-down Cardigan

This is an example to prove that how I am becoming a knitting nerd.

Since I heard about the new top-down knitting method to make a sweater, I can't wait to try. I found this pattern in an old issue of knit 1, and BAM -- here I am finished this cardigan in a week. It's not that I am desperately need a new cardigan, but I just want to know how this method work. And it's really amazing -- and I'm so happy to learn some new skills =)

I brought this yarn randomly in China, and they turn out surprisingly good for this pattern !

Scooter

2009-11-19T21:56:00.001-08:00

Scooter
Originally uploaded by joylamyy

I'm getting my scooter decorated in knitting theme...and here's the first step. More to come, which actually involve knitting =)

2009-07-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Twisted Lock Alpaca Farm, Sunland, CA

I was so excited to find out that there is an alpaca farm just 15 miles away from home. Last Saturday we went to visit their open days. The alpaca were all so cute. I met Ron and his family who own the farm, and they are all very nice people. Also, Lorainne, who owns another alpaca farm in the Valley. She shared a lot of knowledge with us about alpaca, and most importantly, the spinning of their fibers =).

We got two bags of fiber from Ron. I'm spinning the raw suri alpaca for the first time. They are kind of dusty, and made my hands really dirty after I spun them. The softness of the fiber was tricky too, as when I tried to hand-card them, the fibers tend to fly all over the place. I'm so looking forward to see how the lace-weight yarn turn out when they are plyed and washed.

Check here for the photos

Alpaca = 羊駝 or some says, 「草泥馬」 =)

2009-06-23T10:24:00.001-07:00

I want to touch it more....

This is the alpaca lace I've dyed last weekend. When I was winding them into balls after drying, I can't stop admiring the softness and fineness of this yarn. Therefore, although I have started like 3 knitting projects already, I added one more.

I'm not a lace-knitting fans -- since it is rather a time consuming process and usually the lace patterns are too feminie for me. I did an extensive search on Ravelry to look for the perfect pattern -- and here's the one Cobeweb Lace Stole

And why I have to write about this? because the yarn is soooo soft!! Even after few wash and risen during the dyeing process, it's still super soft. I like the feeling how it slip on the needles, and just make me want to touch it all the time. Thus, even I'm suppose to do the analysis for my work, I can't help to take 15-minutes break (constantly! haha!) to knit few rows. It just feels so good to touch it, and now I know how Jati feels when he plays with my yarn =)

2009-06-17T15:50:00.001-07:00

Home-made Single-row Wool Comb -- For Icelandic Wool

I've never used a wool comb (nor drum carder, hand carder etc) before. It's until I started to prepare my first fleece for spinning that I borrow my friend's St Blasie double-rows wool comb. After using it for few days, I finally realized that I was using the wrong tool for this fiber -- instead of double-row, I should use a single-row comb for Icelandic wool !! According to Susan Mongod, ' a double pitch comb (with two rows of teeth) will catch and hold the fine thel fiber as waste', epsecially for Icelandicl wool that most of the the finer/softer fiber gathered in the under coat.

I don't want to spend another hundred plus dollars on the Viking combs that I'll probably only use once or twice a year (or years). Plus, I found out that people DO make their own wool comb, according to the DIY group on Raverly. Therefore, I decided to make myself one. And it's easier than I thought.

Here's what I used:

a box of 4cm long nails
peices of scrape wood in the backyard (I think they are peice of the bottom wood rack for shipping)
two 2' clamps
4 nails that are long enough to connect the handle to the board
Tools incluidng an eletric drill, strong glues, sand paper, a giant clamp installed in the garage table that help to stablize the wood while drilling.

And here's what I've got =) Finished the whole things in 3 hours including cutting the woods in right sizes, sanding them down, drilling wholes and glueing in the nails. Total cost: around $10 (since I didn't really pay for the woods! just the nails and small clamps)

Useful references:

1. Ravelry DIY Tools group (viewable for Ravelry members only, go to www.ravelry.com for detials)

2. Christ Lansdown $15 Wool Comb instruction

2009-06-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

Preparing Icelandic Wool

My journey of preparing wool from fleece for spinning begins here with a piece of

Icelandic sheep fleece that Hans brought me from his trip to North Carolina. He was away 3 weeks for a business trip and I stationed at home to look after the house. At first I want him to just bring back some roving, but he thought that it'll be nice for me to try some new things. So here I got a big piece of fleece -- and they DO smell like sheep. Sommer the German Sephred and Jati the big cat were both so excited to smell and see the fleece.

A friend I met in spinning class volunterred to show me how to do the washing process. We met up at the house and had our little experiment on washing the fleece. It was less intimidated than I though -- although the process is LONG. At first I thought that I would just send the rest of the fleec to a mill so that thye can process for me. But to think about how much it will cost ($200 to process a piece of $20 fleece), I don't think it's worth it. So somehow, I decided to wash the wholething myself. In retrospect, there are many things that I would have done differently. However, it's a good experience and I'm glad to learn some new stuff in the process.

What I've learnt:

- process of preparing fiber including washing the fleece to get rid of the dirt and lanolin (i.e. the 'oil' in the undercoat); combing the fiber to get the fine vegetable matters and 'dandruff' of the sheep away -- and this fleece I got had a lot of dandruff in it

- felting the fleece in the process of washing made the combing process really messy and annoying.. I tried to hard to separate the undercoat...

- washing with small container seems less efficient but more effective to get the dirt out

- how to use a wool comb, and evenutally, made one for myself (see here) !!

Washing them

Drying

What I would have done better next time:

- know the nature of the fleece that I'm dealing with better

- save the water to water the plants in the garden from the very begining

- separte the wool more before I put them into the water, which would made it easier to separate in the combing process!!

Useful resources to read more about preparing Iceland Sheep Fleece:

Tounge River Farm -- All About Icelandic Fleece : with info of how to wash and comb

2009-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

My PVC Niddy Noddy

Working on limited funding, I rather spend my money on nice fibers than tools that I can make. I heard about making a PVC niddy noddy from my spinning teacher before, and here I am finally made one. It's about time. I research a bit on internet and find this page very useful. I used the measure here (18 inches) so that I get the 2-wrap-as-a-yard reference easily.

This thing is very easy to make. All I need to do is to cut up the PVC pie with a wood handsaw in the garage, and collect the pie with T-joint, and that is. I didn't even try to glue the joints as Hans suggested. I can twist the joint easily and it's better for storage.

Picture on the left: materials ready for making a niddy noddy -- including PVC pipe cutted up in one 18 inchese piece , four 6 inches piece and 2 T-joints; Picture on the right : that's how my niddy noddy looks like. Ta-dah~

2009-06-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

More fibers, can't stop!!!

This month is the spinning month. I've got so many fibers from the LA spinning guild meeting. And during the past weekend, after we attended Shady and Erin's wedding up in Santa Barbara, Hans and I went up to Solvang again. This time, I got myself some very nice 64 Merino dyed in multiple color. Hans insisted I go back to the shop and asked about the meaning of '64'. As usual, the shop owners were super nice and they

explained in detials to us how the number represent the softness of the wool. The lady even showed us some of their highest quality wool (120? 150?). In short, the higher the number, the softer the wool is. I think this is one of the reason why I love this guy so much, cos he encourages me to go two steps forward and learn new stuff. He has been very encourage in my spinning adventures.

So here's what I've got --

Sandlewood

Riverstone

I want to make a shawl or something like that with Sandlewood. It's spun up

gorgeously~~

2009-06-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Oh, my sweet boyfriend....

Hans came back from his long business trip to Germany. On the way home, he stopped by North Carolina to see his sister and friend. And when he came home, he brougth me this -- a big piece of Icelandic fleece~~

It does sleep VERY MUCH like a sheep. A lot of cleaning work is needed to be done. But I'm so excitied to see how this will turn out. It may take me years to do that, but it will happen, somehow~~

2009-05-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Spinning Llama.....

I guess I'm trying to dance before I learnt how to walk here...After a few try with wool, I'm spinning llama and mohair mix -- those the the tons of fiber that I've brougth from PA. When I see that there are pieces of fiber keep poking out and also sticking on my clothes, I know something is not right. It turns out that this is something so difficult to control that make me feel so furstrated with the wheel. I don't want to developed a bad relationship with the wheel, so I stop spinning this.

Looking at the other 3 lbs of the same kind of fiber, I guess I really should learn how to walk first.

2009-05-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

Learning how to spin on Asford Traditional

In the spinning class, Anna loan me her Asford Traditional so that I can practice at home.

I finished spinning the first yarn project, with the fiber I brought in PA, in 3 days.... =)

and start knitting a neckwarmer with it. Super cool!

2009-05-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

MY FIRST SPINNING WHEEL - Majacraft Pioneer

It all happened so fast. Two months ago, I was still looking for classes so that I can learn how to spin with a wheel. And then the next thing you know (from this blog) is that I had my very own spinning wheel.

Long story short - I found a class in Burbank, met a very nice instructor Anna and classmate Jamie. Anna taught me how to spin and they both very helpful in giving me suggestions on what kind of wheel will be good for me. And last weekend, when my friend Joy was visitng (yes, another Joy, so many happiness around!!) I took her for a day trip up in Solvang, so that I can visit the famous spinning shop there. The shop owner was super nice, she explain in details what I need to know about choosing a wheel and let me try on a few. I didn't brought right there because of the cost concern....honestly, with the uncertain about the funding situation in summer, I shouldn't really spend few hundred dollars just like that. But the trip was rewarding , since I final know what I really want.

So one day, when I was checking out my yahoo mail, I found a member from the LA spinning guild post a message that made me jump up from the chair -- she's selling her Majacraft Pioneer. How lucky I am....since most people don't sell their spinning wheel, and those who sell it may not be the one I want. So I took the chance, met the owner (and also make a crafty friend in the area!!), and brought home my very first spinning wheel.

(below) Wheel arrived home the first night

I love this wheel. It feels very sturdy. It's designed in the way that there are lot of potential to expand through accessories -- which means I can spin a lot of different kind of yarns with it.

The only thing I don't like about the wheel is the color. Therefore, I stained it myself. It's a task a lot more challenging than I expected...manipulating the oil-based wood stain is very tricky. It's still drying...but it's looking good so far =)

(below) Drying wood stain under the sun...looking better now

2009-04-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Fiber crazy during Easter...

Hans and I went to PA to visit his family during Easter. I found out that there's a sheep/goat/llama farm nearby, so I proposed a fieldtrip for the family. Everyone went with me, which is something I really appreciated.

the farm, the chicken, the goats are cute, the llama are super cute. The llamas all came to us when we approached to the gate, and acted all friendly....at least that's what we thought they were, until the farm owner told us that this is how they protect themselves. And the male llama was all ready to spit on us....

And then, something devastating happened....I brought $100 worth of roving...wait, it should be 'super-gorgeous-roving'. Not just that they are so soft, with mixture of wool, mohair and llama wool (?), but also the combination of color made them so gorgeous. With 4 large plastic bags of roving, can't even hold them on with my two hands.... I realized that I have to learn how to spin on a wheel.

Falling in love with another activities that involve different skills may not be the smartest thing to do right now. But I just can't help. It just feel so great to see my hands creating something.

So I found a class in Burbank, and I'm going to try it out. spinning on wheel. And I make myself pratice on the drop spindle everyday~~

2009-03-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yarn Shop Review - Yarn Unlimited, Santa Monica, CA

I had been living in LA for 4 years now, and unfortunately haven't been visiting too many local yarn stores yet. One of my goal this year is to visit as many as possible.

The past Saturaday, Hansi was going to the West side for work and we were meeting friends over that side afterwards, so I took the opportunity to explore the yarn stores in that area. The cool part is that I do that all by walking -- very unusal in LA.

When I first walked into the Yarn Unlimited, I was a bit intimiadated by its 'silence' -- there were no customers nor staffs in sight. But the radio was playing, so I imagine someone should be there. Earlier that day I went to Skein in Pasadena and got the pattern for Norah Gaughan's Ellis, so I was trying to see if there are any good substitute yarn for my new project (I don't really like the color of the Berroco Suede that called by the pattern).

After I browsed for about 5-10 minutes, there was a lady showed up behind the counter and finally asked if she could help me with anything. I asked her few quesitons baout Berroco Suede, which they only have singles left. She was not really helpful in general, especially when I asked her for alternative suggestions. Finally I decided to keep explore by myself (I don't want to just leave the shop after walking 15 minutes there~~).

In general, I like the store 'down-to-earth' setting. They have a lot of selection on the 'basic' yarns (i.e. wool, cottons etc) -- and carry many colors too. There were some fancy/playful yarn, and I almost got trapped by the $35/hank 'Oriental' (safely escaped later...). I was more impressed in the 'back' of the store, where they stock almost every color of Sugar'n Cream cotton -- very impressive. The 'Candian $3.99' rack at the back is also interesting. I think I might go back there to shop when it's time for winter knitting.

Although they do not have fancy/hip/stylish decoration in the store (which is always fun to look at, but also means the cost is factored into the yarn), I do like the shopkeeper. During the later part of the shopping experience, another shop keeper (a male) came back, and I had a better experience with him. He's more helpful, and told me that they can order more Classic Cotton for me. I like when he joked when he showed me the color color sample booklet -- 'there are 120-something color, hope there's enough to choose from'.

At the end, I chose some Takhi Classic Cotton for the Ellis project, and 2 balls of German yarn on the 50% off section -- which I somehow fall in love the way how those 2 colors look when they are right next to each other. The pricing are quite reasonable in this shop. It's a good one to visit if you have a particular project in mind, to find what you need.

2009-03-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

My First Spinning Project

I took a class in at the A Mano Yarn Center past Sunday. The instructor John was a super nice and articulated teacher, who was able to explain the process so clear enough that I can suceesfully spinned my first yarn!

I am very happy with the resut, even though they are all uneven (over-spinning?). I'm glad that I develop a 'closer' relationship with fiber through working with roving. They always looks like a mystery to me, and now I know how to 'draw' them off gracefully and easily without struggling.

Here's how the yarn looks like on the spindle.

And now, I'm making it into something. This is what John had suggested, and I agree with that too -- the first time is always memorable (no matter how the quality is like!!)

I'm turing it into something.

2009-03-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Oh, my owls!

The rumors are true. This is one of the fastest sweater knitting pattern I had ever encountered. Since I learn the 'tube-method' of making the body with circular needles instead of the traditioanl 'front-and-back', I only make sweater with this method (even the pattern doesn't). The most interesting part of this pattern is that it ask for kintting the sleeves and the body together in one big circle -- which I found a bit challenging to do with on circulr needles and

cound't figured out how the arm-hole is supposed to be close. I used double-point needles to help, especially at the sleeves section. And I 'beautifed' the armhole after the sweater is finished.

The sweater turnout very pretty , beyond my expectation. The only thing I can do better with this project is to choose a better yarn. I use elann.com peurvian highland chulky for it -- the color is super, but the texture is rough -- and it was not spun that well. At one point of knitting, the yarn broke. I guess we all have to go through a period of learning that cheap yarn has its limit.

Having said that, the sweater fits so well, and it looks so cool. However, I probably would not touch this sweater if it is above 60F outside....good that the forecast say that there are still few more cool days before the heat wave arrive.

The pattern can be downloaded for free here

2009-03-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

Knitting arrived Paris.

The hat made for Miyuki, and my 'recycled' vest based on a pattern from Vouge Knitting...I think it's 2007.

Looking good =)

2009-03-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

Curtains that make me proud

I espeically like this one as it shows the texture of this yarn very well...a bit shinny.

Although I'm supposed to be working really hard on my desk to prepare for the exam tomorrow, I can't wait to see how it looks like when the curtains were hung. So after I finished a first draft of a paper outline, I ran out to IKEA and got some curtain rod and rings.

I was amazed by how nice they look...the way how the sun shines through the laces...definitely one of my proudiest knitting product ever.

2009-03-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

Sheer Café-curtain Panels by Annie Modesitt.

Hans' kitchen looks so boring. I always want to have more decorations for the poor windows. Although I never underestimate the work that required in knitting a set of curtain, I still overwhelmed by the amount of stitches I need to put into these curtain. But hey, it's going to make the windows pretty for long time. Here's just the part I for the mega project of III (or even IV) set of curtains for the kitchen and living room. I'm going to make (hope it's not false promises) another identical set in red for the other side of the window.

They are still in the process of blocking, picture of final 'on the show' status will be posted later.

One more note, the cotton yarn I used for these curtains were purchased from a garage sales on our street. The lady sold us a bunch of cotton yarn (around 40-45 skeines/hank) for all the cash we had in our pocket (just $17) -- I love gargage sales.

The pattern for this curtain is from the Interwave Knit, Holiday 2008.

2009-02-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Kusha

I heard about metallic yarn for a long time. But this is the first time that I actually see and touch it. My Kusha-kusha scarf kit-78 arrived today. It comes with a roll of superfine merion wool and a row of silk/stainless steel blend. I know that I'm totally not suppose to start a new knitting project right now, consider that I'm doing my second qualifying exam next week, and I'm already knitting a curtain for the kitchen. But this yarn is so gorgeous that I can't wait to start knitting them.

They are superfine. I'm basically knitting thread. I think I can only see the effect of the stainless steel when the fiber is getting longer and bigger. However, just the idea lof having a「不锈鋼頸巾」around your neck is super cool already.

2009-02-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

Rainbow Spiral Throw....when will it be done???

Another long-term project -- spiral throw.

I always want a funky blanket to keep me warm when I'm sitting on a sofa reading.

When Hans and I went on the road trip in December, I was optimistic that I can finish the knitting in the 10-days trip, while we were driving and chiling in the mountain. I guess I under-estimiate the magnitude of this project. It's still not done yet, but it's close....

2009-02-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

A lace wrap for Anna. A pattern from Kntty.com, Juno Regina.

So far, this is the piece of knitting that I had spent most time on -- closed to 9 months. And the interesting thing is that this piece travel with me across the Pacific, 2 times, during this period.

It feels really good to finally finish this. And i found this very nice article on how to clock this as well on the knitty.com website, and made it looks really nice.

I promised to knit something for you 2 years ago~haha~~so Anna, here it is, my belated birthday + Christmas present to you =)

The block process is actually pretty painless. I tried this new wool wash things, and it smell really good with real lavender oil in it. The lady in the yarn store where I brought it said that it is good to keep the oil in natural fiber.

Step 1: soak it in warm water, with the fiber softener. I was surprise how much color came out from this yarn...well, the product of chemical dyeing from China. I rinse it few time until the water is clear. Empty the sink, squeeze gently out the excess water, and get ready to dry~

Step 2: roll the wet warp with a big dry towel. Sit on it. Jati tried to help, but he end up playing with the yarn most of the time.

Step 3: Pin the wrap on the matteress, make sure it's laying straight and the mearsurement is right. Also, try to open up the lace pattern (let them lay flat). Let it stay overnight until it's totally dried.

For details, see Eunny Jang's instruction on blocking laces knitting.

2009-01-25T13:19:00.001-08:00

Knitter can do anything ... a Knitted Brain

A knitted brain...check out the story here

2009-01-25T10:59:00.001-08:00

I just found out this pattern on raverly...this is hard-core...do I want to make one???

2009-01-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

The Flappy Hat

Inspired by the hand-knitted products in the movie ‘Zack and Miri make a Prono’, I want a hat with pompom and ear-flap for my DC inauguration trip. Although it turn out a bit different from what I expect, but it’s surprisingly good.

This hat is basicially knitted in 2 pieces and then joined together. It's started with a circular edge, continue using the caston yarn to knit the bottom part of the first piece first, change to another, finish shaping corwn, and then work on the other symmetric piece. The two piece will be jointed together and created a chess-board like transition of color.

Yarn A: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick - Taupe
Yran B: di.Ve Teseo - red-orange

Use US10 circular needle, CO 58 with Yarn A,
joint yarn carefully without twisting
row 1 - Pm at the begining, P 29, pm, P29
row 2 - 6 - All Purl
row 7 - k29, put the remaining 29 on another set of needles
continue working 29 sts, k on WS, p on WS unitl piece measure as 4 inches, end with RS.
change to Yarn B, k1 row, p1 row, start crown shaping as follow:
RS- *k7, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times , k2 (26 sts remain)
WS - purl all
RS - *k6, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times, k2 (23 sts remain)
WS- purl all
RS - *k5, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times, k2 (20 sts remain)
WS - purl all
RS - *k4, k2tog*, repeat *3 times, k2 (17 sts remain)
WS - purl all
RS - *k3, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times, k2 (14 sts remain)
WS - purl all
RS - *k2, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times, k2 (11 sts remain)
WS - purl all
RS - *k1, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times, k2 (8 sts remain)
WS - purl all
RS - k1, *slip 1, k2tog, psso*, repeat*, k1
put the remaining 4 sts on stiches holder for finishing.

Woking on the 29 sts on the other set of needles with Yarn B.
k on WS, p on WS unitl piece measure as 4 inches, end with RS.
Change to Yarn A, k1 row, p1 row, shape crown as above.

Make ear flap (Make two):
CO 15 with Yarn B
row 1 (RS) - k1*p1, k1 rep from * to end
row 2 - As row 1
These 2 rows form moss st.
Work in moss st for a further 4 rows, ending iwth RS facing for next row.
Keeeping moss st. correct, dec 1 sts at each end of next and following 4 alt rows, 3 sts.
Work 1 row, ending iwth RS facing.
sl1, k2tog, psso and fasten off.

Finishing:
1) join two piece together , beging with shwing through the 8 sts on holder from the top of the crown and work towards to the edge.
2) Use the joint of the two piece as centre, attached ear flap on both side.
3) This is optional, but I made a contrast edge with Yarn B by using single corchet around the edges of the head and along the earflaps.
4) Make a 32 cm long plait and knot ends to form a 10-12 cm long tassel. Attach plaits to fasten0off points of earflaps.
5) Make a 7 cm diameter pompom and attach to top of hat.

2009-01-12T22:27:00.000-08:00

Glass Cozy -- made by leftover cotton...trying not to have my fingers burnt when I enjoy my hotwater/ tea

2008-12-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

Knitting a short-row scarf for Hansi, with a very pretty hand-dyed yarn we brought from our road trip to the north Cal and Oregon. The yarn shop in Eureka called Boll Weaver is a super cute place with so many gorgeous interesting yarn.

Date started: 28 December 2008

Date ended: 31 December 2008

Pattern: a modification based on the short-row scarf we saw in the shop

co 18

row 1 - knit 17, W&T

row 2 - p all

row 3 - k 14, k2tog, W&T

row 4 - p all

row 5 - k 12, k2tog, W&T

row 6 - p all

row 7 - k 10, k2tog, W&T

row 8 - p all

row 9 - k 8, k2tog, W&T

row 10- p all

row 11 - k6, k2tog, W&T

row 12 - p all

row 13 - k 4, k2tog, W&T

row 14 - p all

row 15 - k 2, k2tog, W&T

row 16 - p all

row 17 - k2, W&T

row 18 - p all

this is the end of one traingle. I start a new traingle with all pull stitches, to create a contrast in the pattern. To start a new one triangle, on RS, pick up (with purl stitches) where k2tog happened. Together with the stitches on needles, there should be a same number of co stitches again.

flip over, on the WS, it's knit stitches again. repeat row 1-18.

knit as many trainagle as you want for desired lenght, then cast off.

2008-11-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

Knitting in Zack and Miri

Watched the movie Zack and Miri make a porno with Hansi the other day. I was suprised by how many cute knitted hats and scarves I found in the movie! And when I do a little google search online, I'm glad to find that there are other knitting meniac found that same kind of bonus amusement in the movie (it is in itself a funny move, so it's like double happiness).

I'm planning on making one of the cute hat on Miri I saw...the one she wore when they found out that the studio the rented to make their StarHor movie was ablohsined.

Here's other knitting friends' blogging about the movie~~

http://harks.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/zack-and-miri-knit-a-scarf/

http://zackandmiri.com/iphone/crew.html

2008-11-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

Waffle Scarf - for Alan

Alan's going to New York again for his Jazz Big Band training...so here's little something for him before he take off~

2008-11-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it's been 2 years since I last post my knitting products on the blog. It's not that I quit knitting, just that grad school is getting serious and I'm so desperate to get out of it. Anyhow, here's some catching up posting....

Rosa's 2007 b-day : this is wha I made for her -- a

nerdy scarf. The double knitted scarf turn out to be come really thick and kind of heavy. Lucky that she loves it, a lot. I used the pattern from kintty.com for it. Click here for the pattern.

2008-11-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

JoyVest

Chulky Cabled Hoodie Vest - My first original knitting pattern!

Inspirtation: VK International Fall 2003 -- there was a pictures of Daryl Hannah wearing a super cool white-ish vest jacket knitted by bulky yarn. I remembered that I brought that magazine because of the cover, and later found out that the pattern was not actually inside the magazine (!!). Years later, I saw this magazine again -- still liking the vest -- so I decided to 'build' the pattern my self. And here it is...it is different from the magazine, but I'm so proud of my first knitting design pattern. The tricky part is that I've never knitted a hood before, so I need to do a lot of reading to get to that part.

This is my first time to put a design together, so there are still a lot of rooms to improve.

Basically, it is a vest knit from the bottom to top in circular needles, to save time. Also, to avoid the potential thick seams that might result from joining chunky yarns together. In the pictures, I tried to do some decrease to ‘shape the waist’, but it turn out not that successful. Therefore, I did not include that in the pattern.

If you like this, and if you can successfully make one from this pattern. Let me know, I’ll be so happy =)

Finished Measurements

Chest: 36 inches

Length: 22 inches (from shoulder to bottom, not including hoodie)

Materials

Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick – Taupe; 4 skeins

Recommended Needle Size and tools:

1) 1 US #13 circular needle – 32 inches long

2) 1 US #17 circular needle – 32 inches long

3) Stitch markers

4) Stitch holders

5) Yarn needle

To Set up…

Use needle #13 to CO 76

Row 1 – k1, p1 – establish 1x1 rib

Repeat single rib for another 5 rows (totally 6 rows)

Row 7 – change to needle #17, [*k1, pl, repeat * 9 times, k1, inc 1], rep [] 4 times – 80 sts, ready for the body and cable set up.

Cable set up

	Forming the front	Forming the back
Rnd 1	k14, p2, k8, p2, k14, (pm)	k6, p2, k4, p2, k12, p2, k4, p2, k6, (pm)
Rnd 2	as rnd 1
Rnd 3	k14, p2, C4F, C4B, p2, k14	k6, p2, C4F, p2, k12, p2, C4B, p2, k6
Rnd 4	as rnd 1
Rnd 5	as rnd 1
Rnd 6	as rnd 1
Rnd 7	k14, p2, C4B, C4F, p2, k14	k6, p2, C4F, p2, k12, p2, C4B, p2, k6
Rnd 8	as rnd 1

Repeat Rnd 1-8, until there are 5 honeycomb formed.

Prepare for neck shaping, place the back 40 sts between two markers on stitch holder.

With the front 40 sts on the needle, prepare to work on neck shaping as follow.

From now on, the piece will work in back and forth.

Right front Neck Shaping

Row 1 (RS): K14, p2, k4 turn (leaving rem stst on needle)

Row 2 (WS): p4, k2, purl rem sts

Row 3 : (dec row) knit to last 8 sts, k2tog, p2, k4

Rep row 2 and 3 until 12 sts remain, ending with row 2. Then work even, keeping sts in patt as set. Until front measure 21.5’ from cast-on edge, ending with a wrong-side row

Shape Shoulder:

(RS) keeping patt correct, bind off 6 sts at beg of next row.

(WS) Work 1 row

bind off rem 12 sts.

Left front Neck Shaping

Joint new yarn, work on the 20 sts that was left on the needle

Row 1(RS): k4, p2, k14

Row 2(WS): purl to last 6 sts, k2, p4

Row 3: (dec row) k4, p2, slip 1 as to knit, k1, psso, knit rem sts

Rep row 2 and 3 until 12 sts remain, ending with row 2. Then work even. Keeping sts in patt as set. Until front measure 21.5’ from cast-on edge, ending with a right-side row.

Shape Shoulder: same above

Back Shaping

With RS facing, return to rem 40 sts still on needle. Rejoin yarn, and starting with a knit row. Work back and forth in rows in as patt established until back measures same as front to shoulder shaping, ending with a purl row.

Shape Shoulder: continuing sts in pattern, bind off 6 at the beginning of next 2 rows. Bind off 8 sts at the beginning of next 2 rows. Keep the remaining 12 sts on stitch holder.

Joint shoulder seam. The body of vest is done.

Hoodie:

With right side facing and circular needle, pick up knit 26 sts along side of neck evenly from the middle, knit 12 sts from the stitch holder, pick up another 26 sts along the reside of side of neck.

Work in stockinette sts until hood measure 11 inches from beginning.

Keep sts on needle, use Grafting/Weaving/Kitchener Stitch to joint two side horizontally without seam. (check here for video demo of Grafting)

2006-05-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

Yarn for bidding at ebay!!

For auction winner, I will send you the pattern for the scarf on the picture below, featured in the latest issue of the Rowan knitting magazine (Spring 2006).

2006-03-30T23:38:00.000-08:00

Summer Knitting~Praire Tunic

During my trip back home during the Spring break, I found this nice and cheap cotton yarn from China which is really good for summer knitting. It's a very funny experience to buy yarn there as they sell it by 'Chinese' kilogram, which I still couldn't figure out how to convert to the KG that we usually use. But it's really cheap, RMB 15 (around US$2) for a big skein. Anyway, with this nice patter from the Spring issue of Interwave Knits, I'm making some good progress =)

2006-01-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

Progress of my Colchique~

It takes much longer than I expect, and it's still far from finish. However, I'm making some good progress with the help from the knitalong ~~thanks to Marji and Linster for thier very helpful tips~

Here's the picture of my progress. To understand the illustration of the left sleeve is a bit challenging, however, it's finished eventually. Next, I think the collar, button hole and how to seam them all together will be the next detour~~Afterall, this is my first sweater project that is soooo close to finishing~~

2006-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

A hat for cold weather in Chicago
For the new year eve of 2006, me and George went to Chicago -- for celebration and also for his research as he need to get some historical documents on the Philippines at the Northern Illonis University. When you get used to the warm weather in LA, 55F is cold already. Thus, the freezing point weather in Chicago is SUPER cold for me~~This is one of my 'preparation' for this trip and it's really useful~

Measurements: Fit head circumference 50-55cm
Yarn Used: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted Weight (MC= Chestnut Heather 179; CC=Black 153; 80% Acrylic 20% Wool; 85gms=180m)
Needle Used: US size 4 and 6 circular needles
Pattern: Use Size 4 needle, cast on 120 sts with main color (MC). Join for circular knitting. Work 3 rows of k1, p1 rib. *Change to CC, work k1, p1 rib for 2 rows, change back to MC, work 2 rows of k1, p1 rib* Repeat * until work measures 15 cm.

Form this point onwards, only knit with MC. Change to US Size 6 needle, decrease crown as follow:
K 2 rounds
(K18, k2tog) 6 times (114sts)
K2 rounds
(K17, k2tog) 6 times (108sts)
K 1 rounds
(K16, K2tog) 6 times (102sts)
(K15, k2tog) 6 times (96sts)
(K14, k2tog) 6 times (90sts)
(K13, k2tog) 6 times (84sts)
(K12, k2tog 6 times (78sts)
(K11, k2tog) 6 times (72sts)
(K10, k2tog) 6 times (66sts)
(K9, k2tog) 6 times (60sts)
(K8, k2tog) 6 times (54sts)
(K7, k2tog) 6 times (48sts)
(K6, k2tog) 6 times (42sts)
(K5, k2tog) 6 times (36sts)
(K4, k2tog) 6 times (30sts)
(K3, k2tog) 6 times (24sts)
(K2, k2tog) 6 times (18sts)
(K1, k2tog) 6 times (12sts)
(k2tog) 6 times (6sts)

Cut yarn, thread through remaining stitches and fasten off. Darn in loose ends.

2005-12-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

The semester just finsihed last Friday~~once I finish the last paper, I can knit as much as I want ~~ Haha~~ Yesterday my friend showed me this cute yarn store in South Pasadena -- Skein (Address: 1101 E. Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91106). The owners (I think) are Chinese couples, which is very good cos I can speak Cantonese to them =P. There are tons of patterns that you can sit down and browse around. I promised my friend to knit him a sweater, that's why we were there to look for yarn. At the begining, I was just asking him what color he like and found certain pattern from internet to let him chose. It turn out that he became sooooooo involve ..... taking me to a yarn store and spending long time to look for the right pattern and color of yarn at the store. However, I really enjoy the process cos it's really nice of him to take me there. Otherwise, a person like me who do not have either car nor driving license, it's so difficult for me to look for good yarn stores~~ After a long discussion, here's our pick -- Louis!

The yarn indicated on the pattern is Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran/ Matchmaker Merino Aran. Turn out that both of these yarns are too expensive (a skein of Extra Fine is $10.25, 50gm/95 yards, 16 skines needed, i.e. $164+tax!! no way.....) so we found a cheaper alternative instead -- Nature Spun Color 133 Blue Fog ($7.25/skein, 100gm/245 ards, 7 skines)...mmm....not really cheap cos the internet price is just $5/skein on average....but since I'm not paying for the yarn anyway, so it's not a big problem =P

Do you think I can finish the whole piece in 10 days?? We'll see....

2005-12-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

I found this free pattern from knitty.com and think that it will be a good Christmas present for my boyfriend (the guy in the picture is my housemate, who's my volunteer model~). Basically it is a very easy to knit project. Since my gauge is always tight, so I use the # of stitches for M-size to acheive a S-size finishing.

The most challenging part is to pick up stichese for the armholes and neckround 2x2 ribs. This is my first finished-to-wear project (I've tried to make a sweater before but gave up in the middle =P) and the result is suprisingly good (at least that's what I think~haha~). The neckround look a bit too small and weired, but my mode said 'it's tight but not uncomfortable'.

Here's the link for the original pattern: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTpetrol.html

Time spent:
3 days, 5 hours on average each day, i.e. 15 hours in total to finish

Materials I used:
MC = Lion Brand Yarn Wool-Ease (Worsted Weight; 80% acrylic + 20% Wool) Color # Black 153 (4 skiens)
CC = Lion Brand Yarn Wool-Ease Color # Grey Heather 151 (1/4 skiens);

#6 and #8 interchangable circular needles

Notes and Adjustments made from pattern:

I don't like the armhole ribs look too long and too lose, so I changed to size 6 needles when I make the 2x2 ribs. Also I just knit it until 1.25 inches, not 1.5 inches as stated in the pattern. For the neckround, I think 1 inch is just right.
I made a mistake when I was banding off the armhole ribs because it's too tight. So I used size 8 needles to band-off instead.
Picking-up stitches is kind of tricky. When I was making the armhole and neckround, I didn't knit the first stitch so that the edge look more regular. But when I try to pick up stitches from the edge, it's too lose, so I have to pick up from the inner-row. For the neckround, I have no problem to pick up right on the edge.
Pay attention when working on the front. Except the part where you need to shape the armhole as well as the neckround at the same time, also pay attention to the ribs. When I tried to seam the shoulder together, I found that the rib pattern of the front and back didn't match so I have to re-do the front all over again =( At the end I didn't follow all the decreasing for armhole as stated on the pattern, just stop decreasing when the pattern match with the back (but still follow the instruction for shaping neckround).