let the FO parade begin..

one of the things i've finished while on my blogging hiatus is The Little Colonnade by Stephen West. just in case you didn't know, Stephen West is a superstar in the knitting design world. i've heard so much about him and have admired his designs but haven't tried out any of his designs because they weren't free and they always looked really complicated. however, after my clapotis experience, i was more confident with my knitting skills that i decided to take the plunge.

i wanted a simple but statement scarf to wear in the fall. i have this skein of soy silk that i was saving up for a nice shawl and decided that i wanted a simple pattern to use it with since the color is already very eye-catching.

i apologize for the photo quality, this was the only photo i could find of it in a skein.

i didn't have a yarn winder then and i had to hand-wind the skein - something i do not recommend with this yarn. you would definitely need a swift and a yarn winder for this. the yarn kind of sticks, if you know what i mean and when it sticks, it tangles and it becomes kind of a mess. no joke, it took me about 2 hours to hand wind this.

if you're a Whovian like me, i believe you would agree that the color kind of looks like Cybermen. don't you agree? if you're not a Whovian, what are you doing with your life? start watching, NOW.

and because the color reminded me so much of Doctor Who, guess what i was watching whilst knitting this scarf?

this scarf was pretty easy to make - very easy to memorize and also intuitive. it took me less than 2 weeks to finish. i highly recommend this pattern to a beginner shawl knitter because its fairly easy to make yet yields such a beautiful pattern that makes it look more complex than it actually is.

i wish that ravelry had a section or a designation for designs that would let you know if the pattern was ok for a beginner, intermediate knitter or experienced knitter. i know that after you knit a pattern, it asks you to rate the pattern however, if i were an experienced knitter knitting a complex pattern but that's something i'm used to - i could label it easy no? i don't know, just a thought.

its not a very warm scarf so its definitely a fall/spring scarf but it is very pretty. i've gotten many compliments everytime i wear this scarf and people can't believe that i knit this myself!

2 years..

i can't believe its been 2 years since i posted on this blog. its insane. i've been very busy, with school and work. and i honestly haven't had much time to knit these past 2 years let alone blog.

2011-2012 was my last year of university and along with going to school full time, i also started working full time (6 days a week). hence the no knitting and no blogging time. but now, i've finally graduated university and i'm working a normal 9-5pm m-f job. this equates to more knitting time and more blogging time. i haven't finished much projects these past 2 years but i have finished some and i'm planning on posting them asap. another downside of not having time to blog is also not having time to take pictures of finished projects. i'll take pictures as soon as i can so i can update the blog with the projects i've finished. currently on my needles is a hat for myself. a wurm in tanis' gorgeous dove colourway. here's a sneak peek...

i told you..

...that there was no point in resisting.

my prof sent our class an email today to let us know that she's extended the deadline for our major paper from Mar. 22 to Apr. 26...

and i breathed a sigh of relief coz that meant that...

I COULD KNIT!

i realized that i didn't really need a ball winder to knit right now (although i would like one ASAP *hint hint*). not all of my yarns are wound in skeins. i do have a couple that are in balls, ready to be knit.

enter my knitpicks essential solid in glacial..



when i bought this yarn, i originally wanted to use it as a contrasting colour to a skull and bones patterned sock. on the knitpicks website, this colour looked more white but when it arrived, it was mint. like imagine mint chocolate ice cream - its that minty. so i scrapped the idea for the skull and bones socks and left this sitting in my stash, not knowing what to do with it.

i'm not a huge mint fan - just in mojitos and my chapstick but that's it. but with yarn or clothing? not at all. but this yarn has grown on me. its been sitting in my stash for about a year and each time i peer into it, this yarn kinda smiles at me. its such an optimistic colour - don't you think?

so tonight, i logged onto ravelry and checked out what other knitters have done with this specific yarn and i saw that someone had made a kai-mei sock out of this colour and it looked fantastic. by chance, i own a copy of Cookie A's Sock Innovation where the pattern is. so as i started flipping the pages to get to Kai-Mei, Sunshine jumped out at me.

i thought it was meant to be - a happy minty colour with a pattern named sunshine.

and so i cast on, and as the leafs were winning their game against carolina, i started ribbing.



to be honest with you, i kinda forgot how to join in the round, it was a pretty embarrassing moment for myself but i soon got back into the groove.

i also think that i chose this pattern and this yarn for a reason - things are looking pretty optimistic here in leafnation. with tonight's win in carolina, we're 4 points out of a playoff spot. that's the closest we have been in a long ass time. tonight's win is the 31st win of the season and that beats last year (we only won 30 games all season). and that makes everyone in toronto, well everyone's who a hockey fan, just a smidge happier and more optimistic for a playoff berth. you'll never know right?

and so i send some optimism out to you, my darling readers.

its st. paddy's day tomorrow, grab something mint-y (or a beer!).

withdrawal

it is march once again.. and along with spring and daylight savings time..

CRUNCH TIME STARTS..

i honestly believe that each university department has a meeting where they figure out how many students they share in their classes and plan it so that everything is due at the same time..

SHAME ON YOU PROFESSORS...

and so, when i finished my clapotis, i told myself that i will not cast on or knit anything until all my papers, assignments and exams are done...

but i am going through withdrawal.

when i'm taking a 2 minute break from researching/reading, i log onto ravelry and browse through projects and patterns..

then the 2 minutes turn into 5 which turns into 20...

i think its a blessing that i don't own a ball winder as the only thing stopping me from casting something on right now is the fact that i would have to spend at least an hour hand winding a skein into a ball.

so.. so far, i've been able to resist the urge to cast on.

but we all know, that in the long run, resistance is futile...

i've caught the clap!

a clapotis, i mean!

i joined ravelry on feb. 16, 2009. from clicking away, like a child on a sugar high, i somehow stumbled upon the pattern page for kate gilbert's clapotis.

i fell in love in an instant.

i thought it looked so beautiful and classy yet modern and youthful at the same time.

at this point, i had only been knitting for about a week. and even though there were some encouraging comments about how easy and fun it was to make, the comments about how it was complicated intimidated me. i instantly queued it and promised myself that the moment i felt experienced enough as a knitter, i would cast this baby on.

and now, a year later, i have my own clap. i completely understand the addiction that knitters have for this project. it is something that is quite simple to make and makes a beautiful looking garment.


don't you agree?

i followed saraknitty's mods and used my last skein of viola yarn in a beautiful denim blue that i am absolutely in love with.


i love the random bits of undyed spots in the yarn, especially when its at the dropped stitches. this pattern was totally made for hand-dyed yarn as the pattern absolutely displays all the intricacies and different shades of the yarn.

another mod i did was instead of having a bajillion stitch markers, i purled the stitch that would be dropped, makes for a less confusing project, trust me. i learned this from the "how do you pronounce clapotis?" ravelry group.


i'm totally in love, can't you tell?


i can't wait to wear this to school tomorrow!

what has me smiling lately?

THIS!

i've been drooling over the kindle ever since the first one came out but i was hesitant. i love the smell and feel of books. but the idea that you could have your entire library in a tiny little device was really appealing to me.

i couldn't do anything about my want for a kindle for the first 2 versions of it since it was only available in the US. Justine, a knit night friend, ordered it online and after receiving it, found out that you couldn't purchase anything from the kindle store as they required an American credit card. so she ended up returning it.

finally the kindle 3 came out and was available to purchase internationally (i find this hilarious since canada is just north of the US, i hardly count that as "international"). but i'm a broke student so i couldn't really afford it when i have school books to buy and a car to gas up.

my mom, one day in november, walks into my room, gives me her credit card and says to me "kai, go order your kindle." i was so ecstatic. i ordered it and waited 2 months for it because they were on back order.

according to the amazon website, i was supposed to receive my kindle around the first week of february but last week, i come home from school and there it was on my desk.

its like christmas all over again!



i also bought a pretty red leather case for it. i got it used (i saved about $10) since i figured, leather only looks better when its aged and used. the case looks awesome, looks unused!



i haven't done anything but read since i got it. i'm so addicted. i've finished 2 books and am halfway through a 3rd but i have to do school readings too. there's so many free books available online, especially if you're looking for classics. ManyBooks.net is my favorite, as it has a ton of selection and you can even choose which file format you want to get.

i'm currently reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. i read it as a kid and loved it. and now i have to read it for my 19th Century US Social History class to write a paper on.

is it so weird of me to be so giddy about a gadget? coz i am.

merry christmas mom!

yesterday, i mentioned that i was blocking my mom's shawl.



and no, i don't hate the disney princesses, i used my little sister's old foam boards as blocking boards. since we've had our basement finished, we had no use for the foam boards and i didn't wanna spend money to buy blocking boards so i used these instead.

i feel so proud, i feel that this is some advanced knitting skills that i'd acquired now. knitting a lace shawl and blocking it. i feel like a pro!

the shawl was dry yesterday but i decided to leave it for another couple of hours and took it off the boards today instead. i dunno why i decided that, it was just a whim.



i am more than happy with the results.



i'm so in love with the edges and points of this pattern. it is so beautiful.

i would totally recommend this pattern to a beginner lace knitter. the pattern has both charted and written directions. it is so easy and the result looks so elegant.

i've snuck the shawl in a plastic bag and placed it in my mom's luggage. she's going to montreal and i want to surprise her with a fashionable scarf to wear.

i hope she likes it!