Indulging too much in my hobby? Maybe.

Project: Slouchy Hat

Yarn: Evoke Blue-faced Leicester 10ply/Lightweight aran in Rosa

Pattern Source: Bernat

I literally just finished knitting a matching beanie for my scarflet, using a Bernat pattern. I really like the pattern created by the cabling. It's probably one of the coolest looking beanie designs I've come across that use straight needles; unfortunately, most probably because I didn't use the specified yarn, the beanie actually turned out a bit smaller than average... :'( I guess I'll just have to give it to someone else.

Also on my needles at the mo, is another Anthro-inspired scarflet for my mum. This time, I'm knitting it in Katia Dulce in brown (col 11). I tried to post a pic up, but for some reason I'm only able to add photos to the top of the post. Weird.

I ordered Knitting Little Luxuries by Louisa Harding the other day, so hopefully I will get it next week! There is a problem though - I've tried looking through so many online yarn shops for Louisa Harding's line of yarns, but very few stock them, and those that do don't stock a large range. I still haven't been able to find a reputable online store that sells Kimono Angora, which is what I need to knit the Juliet scarf in the book I ordered. Her Spring/Summer pattern book, Belle, is also on my wishlist, but because of the yarn sourcing problem, I might have to give it a miss.

Another completed project!

Project: Anthro-inspired Scarflet
Yarn: Evoke Blue-Faced Leicester 10ply/lightweight aran in Rosa
Pattern source: Kim Seio (Ravelry)

I just finished knitting up the Anthro-inspired scarflet by Kim Seio. Isn't it so cute? I added an oversized flower-shaped, coconut-shell-textured button to it too, which I think adds to the cute factor. I actually quite like the pattern on the reverse side better than the front, and wouldn't mind wearing it as the right side. The edges are curled though, which is a problem. I have read on some other knitters' blogs that they block this scarf... I've never blocked anything before (well, none of my previous projects required blocking), so maybe I should skip this. It wasn't in the pattern anyway. (I wonder if I can just squish it between 2 books or something for a while :P)

I should probably mention that the BFL yarn I used ended up to be pretty nice to work with, and knitted up into quite a soft fabric, which feels nice against the skin. The colour - gentle pink and brown hues - is quite pretty also. It's going into my list of favourite colourways for sure. Oh, and you can see my first attempt at a centre pull ball in the picture as well :) It sure does it's job well, so thanks to whoever came up with this ball-winding method.

Tangled up!

I decided today that I was going to start knitting my Anthro-inspired scarflet. Partway through unravelling my new skein of BFL yarn and winding it around my hand into a ball, I decided that it didn't seem like it was the correct way to do it. This is only my second time working with yarn in a skein (the first time being the pink lace-weight yarn - and you can see from the picture in my last post how that turned out!), so I don't really know what I'm doing. So I hopped onto my laptop and did some Googling. Of course, I found out that I was indeed doing it wrongly, and consequently had to unwind my ugly deformed ball of yarn. Anddd now I have a pile of tangled loose yarn in front of me that I have to form a centre pull ball out of. Wish me luck.

Yarn, glorious yarn!

I received the yarn that I ordered online from The Yarn Cafe this afternoon. It's a hand-dyed Bluefaced Leicester yarn (lightweight aran/10 ply) in Rosa ($20/100g). With this yarn, I'm going to try my hand at making the Anthro-inspired Scarflet by Kim Seio (Ravelry). There's a group on Ravelry that focuses on knits inspired by Anthropologie - an online store that sells womens clothes, accessories, bags, and homewares. This brand seems to be pretty popular among knitters, although I had not actually heard of it until I came across this scarf pattern.

The lovely yarn shown above is another purchase I made from the same shop a few weeks ago at a textile arts festival. This one - also hand-dyed - is called 'Drift' and is composed of 20% bamboo/80% superwash merino 4ply, in Raspberry ($24/100g). I actually like the look and feel of this yarn much more than the BFL. I guess that's the problem with buying yarn online - you don't get to touch the product and see it up close, so you don't know if it's the thing you have in mind, until you actually receive it. Locally, there are no specialty yarn shops available that I know of, so I have no choice really.

For the record, this year's textiles expo is the thing that got me into hand-dyed yarns. Hand-dyed yarns are much more expensive than commercial yarn, but I appreciate how each skein is unique, so no one can ever have the exact same shade of colour as you. Also, if you're going to spend time and effort knitting up something, you might as well make it that little bit extra special.

At the expo, I also bought a skein of Haiku, a lace-weight yarn made of 40% silk/60% mohair in Evening Pink, by Alchemy Yarns of Transformation ($30/25g). I bought this with the intention of knitting the lace scarf the stall displayed. When I tried making it, however, the number of stitches stated in the pattern didn't produce the right width measurement. I tried knitting with VERY loose tension, but even then, it didn't look right, and the loose tension made the design look really gappy and unattractive. As such, I decided to unravel what I'd knitted, having to cut off long lengths of yarn that were too hard to untangle, in the process. And now it's just sitting in a bag, waiting for inspiration to kick in.

Another purchase made that day was a ball of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn, 70% wool/30% nylon ($24.70/100g). Interestingly, it's a 'sock yarn', but I've just noticed, while reading the ball band, that it's actually a single-ply wool yarn. Why wonder it's so thin! I've tried Noro Silk Garden before as well, and, to be honest, I don't like either very much, the sock one least. Silk Garden would actually be quite a nice yarn to work with, if it wasn't for the fact that it was speckled throughout, from start to finish, with what looked like bits of wood, straw, and some sort of dried spiky weed. What do the manufacturers store their yarn in? A garden shed? Initially I thought that maybe I was just unlucky and selected a bad egg. BUT, I found a similar problem with the Kureyon sock yarn (though the problem was not as bad)! Another let-down with the Kureyon Sock is that it feels very rough, not unlike knitting with brown string. So why did I buy the sock yarn, I hear you ask? For the simple reason that the pattern calls for it. For the above reasons, I've pretty much lost interest in knitting the lace scarf. That, plus I've sort of stuffed up the lace pattern at the beginning :P

I'm surprised that no one else seems to be having any problems with this yarn. Or maybe they don't mind it. Some people like working with fibres that have 'texture', if the oohs and ahhs of admiration coming from the expo stalls featuring Habu textile yarns is anything to go by. Some of these yarns are lovely and a lot of the patterns using them are gorgeous... but stainless steel? Seriously? That's what I call fashion over function (unless you're going to use it in the kitchen).

I bought the above yarn, Bamboo and Pearls DK (70% Bamboo sourced viscose/30% Pearl sourced viscose) - a new 2010 Spring/Summer yarn by Sublime - a few months back, after spotting a gorgeous 3/4 sleeve top with bow feature, in the Bergere de France Origin' pattern book. The original patterns calls for Bergere de France Bambou yarn, but I thought that since the cost of the yarns are similar, I might as well buy one that I've wanted to try for ages (and hopefully it will knit up to the same tension!). How special does PEARL yarn sound? I am a bit obsessed in the allure of pearls, so when I first read about this yarn, I was super excited.

I had a hard time picking out a colour, but I eventually settled with Thai Tea, because I thought it would be nice to knit with a natural looking colour. I sort of wish I had chosen a pink or a purple now. The yarn has a nice sheen to it, and looks like it will knit up with a nice drape. In case you're wondering about the little packet of lollies in the first picture, it came in the parcel with the yarn :P

Recently completed knitting projects

Project: Arm warmers
Yarn: Lincraft Cosy Wool (100% wool)
Pattern source: Lincraft Winter Yarn

I finished knitting these arm warmers yesterday. As you can probably tell by the photo, one arm warmer is a bit darker in colour than the other. This is because I actually started knitting the first arm warmer last year, and when I got around to doing the second arm warmer just recently, I was unable to find more of the same yarn in my stash (although I'm pretty sure I bought enough yarn for both last year!). As such, I had to buy another ball, which is obviously from a different dye lot.
These are pretty warm, and I love how the cuff is flared. My sister did comment, however, that they look a bit like workers gloves! Never mind that she wants me to knit her a pair as well!

Project: Beanie for Him in 1x1 Rib
Yarn: Patons Jet (30% Alpaca/70% Wool) in shade 1
Pattern Source: Patons Beanies in Merino Totem DK & Jet 12 ply

Shown in the picture above is the beanie I recently finished knitting for my dad. This is the most masculine colourway I've worked with so far - it's good to know there are guy-friendly colours available out there, besides your typical solid black, greys, and blues. An easy knit, I finished this beanie in about 2-3 days. The result was a thick, soft beanie.

I've recently also completed a batch of cute-as beanies for the premmies at a local hospital. Hopefully the sizing is okay and the hospital doesn't have any rules about not allowing embellishments on the beanies, etc. It's a bit weird that the hospital foundation's manager wants to meet me, but I guess that way I'll be able to get instant feedback.

An article I read in a knitting magazine a while ago about KasCare's 'Knit-A-Square' project really caught my eye. I'm really interested in contributing to this worthy cause, but I think by the time I get to knitting items for this charity, Winter in South Africa will be over already :P I guess there's no harm in starting now and stocking up on things to ship off next year. Check out the charity's official website at http://www.knit-a-square.com/

Winter for some reason, like Christmas, evokes a feeling of charity in most of us. For me, when the chill sets in, I think about the 'Little Match Girl' story, and am reminded of how many real life children there are out there stricken with poverty, and without clothes to keep them warm through the cold seasons of the year. As I am not financially able to support the needy, I intend to use my hobby of knitting to do so. I encourage all knitters to do the same.

First blog post!

Welcome to my Knitting Tearoom! This is a place dedicated to my love of food, knitting, and other crafts. So sit back, relax, have a cuppa - who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to start a knitting or culinary journey of your own!