Of pies and dresses

Having finally managed to find a supplier for Australian bush spices and get my hot little hands on quite a few of them, I decided that today was the day I tried them out. I also wanted to improvise a dish, rather than spend ages (which I tend to do) flipping through recipes books and getting distracted by every yummy picture I come across. For lunch, then, I made a vegetarian pot pie, which consisted of a creamy potato mixture, mushrooms, and a tomato relish with a bit of spice and tang. I don't know why the puff pastry (shop bought) didn't puff up fully, but the dish was otherwise quite alright. While the individual elements tasted good, I think they probably didn't go extremely well together, since they have their own characteristic flavour, and the tomato relish was quite robust in flavour. Next time, I'll either omit some of the spices from the relish, or make the potato mixture more plain. Here's some piccies to tickle your tastebuds:

No cheesie toasties for me, coz I'm sick at the moment, and didn't want to exacerbate my cough.

Back to my knitting, I finished knitting the whole back of my Gatsby dress last night :D I only have 3.5 balls or so left for the front half of the dress, and frankly, having started with 10 balls, I'm a bit worried.. The online yarn store, from where I bought the yarn originally, doesn't even stock Rowan yarn anymore (if I am remembering the name of the shop correctly), and even if I can find the yarn from a different shop, the dye lot will be different, so I may potentially end up with a dress of 2 different hues of blue :'(






The bind-off instructions for the neckline was a bit weird.. Normally, patterns just ask to BO stitches at the centre and then decrease along the neck edge thereafter, but this one called for 2 lots of BOs at the neck edge after the main centre BO, which requires yarn to be cut and joined a few times. Of course, in my case, I just left a long end and secured this through a few stitches at the back, before bringing it up to use again for the next row.






The little lace details keep the design an interesting knit, except I'm not sure of the value of having the eyelets under the bust line. The knitted fabric is most certainly opaque enough to be worn on its own, but I'm not sure it would look that good with a spotty row of naked skin showing through... I guess if it looks bad, I could thread a matching ribbon through the eyelets or something.





I actually did knit a gauge swatch this time (haha, I know, surprise!), but....don't you reckon the dress is looking a bit narrow? Even the double-rib waist band, when manually stretched across my waist, reaches its elastic limit when thus manipulated. I hope I still end up with a wearable dress when I finish the whole thing!!

Sick days = more knitting days

So I've been sick since last Thursday, and the fact that I've been sick in bed/moping around the house for the past few days means that I've been able to get more knitting done (not that I'm glad to be sick or anything, but it's nice to know that I can still be doing something productive/fun when I'm too sick to do much else). It's good to be able to catch up with my knitting, as I've had done a few errors here and there at the start with the hem, which sort of put me off a bit. Of course, I promised myself to aim to reduce WIPs and UFOs, so perseverence is the key. Anyway, I took a few pics, so you can see what I mean:

Back Hem Take 1:

Spotted an error (dropped stitch or incorrectly corrected dropped stitch - a ghastly huge loop that stuck out like a sore thumb, either way) while I was knitting the st st section above the ladder stitch lace panel. Tried to create a "life line" and rip back, but didn't quite work out, and the yarn was all twisty and knotty when I was unravelling, so I ended up having the use my sewing scissors to cut the knitted fabric, which took ages to do (mainly because I've been watching dramas while knitting), to remove all the yarn until I got back to just the hem bit :( I think I wasted at least 1 ball of yarn, which is worrying for me right now.

Take 2: I focused this time, without watching dramas, and made sure I kept my wits about me.

...et voila! Parfait!

I've almost finished knitting the full back of the dress now *phew!*. This is where I'm at:

I shall continue this tomorrow, after I see the doctor, and hopefully get this baby finished soon!

Good thing before my cough and overall health got really bad, I attended Bill Granger's instore book signing for his latest release, Bill's Everyday Asian last week. Lugged 2 books from my Bill collection with me to get signed too! I would have liked to take my whole collection along to get signed, but the books (8 altogether, excl. newest) are wayyyyy too heavy for my one man band. Oh well, I'll eventually get it all signed, a few books at a time!

As always, Bill was very chatty and lovely, and this time round, I actually got over my nerves and started a foodie conversation with him :) It's so nice to be able to exchange opinions on things with one of your fave cookbook writers, and to get cooking ideas from him, that aren't from the books. Got a pic with him too, which was great :)

I eat Asian food often enough, but I don't dabble in Asian cooking much myself; however, I will definitely dip my toe in, just to try out Bill's interpretation of various Asian cuisines :)

Go, go, go!

FINALLY finished knitting the other hem! It took me longer than expected to finish, because I realised I had knitted 2 pattern repeats too many for the back hem. I must have lost count, while mindlessly knitting away.... Then I noticed that for a 'corrected' stitch in the middle somewhere, I had looped the stitch on the wrong way and it stuck out like a sore thumb (even my non-knitting sister could spot it!) *oops*, so I had to rip it back to half way and go from there again.

I'm about to pick up stitches along the top of the back hem to knit the next lace panel for the back skirt. I'm a bit confused about the wording - "pick up one stitch in the space, then pick up a second stitch in the purl bump adjacent to the space" :S. Wish me luck!

More pics..

Just finished knitting the back hem for the Great Gatsby dress! :) I think I will knit the front hem now, since my 4mm interchangable circulars, which are called for for the rest of the skirt, are buried beneath my clothes somewhere, with a WIP...

Great Gatsby Dress

I finished knitting the tension square for the Gatsby dress today, and as usual, (when I could actually be bothered knitting one - I know, I know, but bad habits die hard) the vertical length seems a little longer than 4", so I have to keep a mental note to tighten my tension. Indeed, the pattern does specify that the design is knit with negative ease. Anyway, I am knitting the back hem at the moment, and thought I'd post a picture of my progress :)

On a roll!

My poor, sad little neglected blog! Here I am now to provide some little updates before the blog closes down on me from a prolonged period of inactivity!

I finished knitting my Belle wrap, by Louisa Harding (Source: Knitting little luxuries), tonight! I didn't keep track of how long it took me to make it, as I started it last month-ish and did little bit every now and then between other things. I even took it with me when I went interstate for a little holiday, and did manage to squeeze in a few rows of knitting there! I'm sure, altogether, it wouldn't have taken that much time though.

I knitted this using Classic Elite Duchess (a bulky weight yarn) in the colourway, Blue Blood. I have used this yarn to knit 3 previous garments and love it to pieces, because a) it knits up fast, and b) it's so thick, soft and warm, and well spun, without having any 'halos' or splitty-ness. I normally like to use the yarn recommended in the pattern, but Louisa Harding yarns are so hard to source outside of the States, and even online! I did manage to buy some of her yarn on an online store for another project in one of her other books, so I'm looking forward to knitting with that.

Back to this garment. It is a lovely little design, and although I'm not the biggest fan of cables, probably more due to the fact that I manage to always get gaping holes in my cables, than because of their look, they just *work* as main design elements, and I simply adore the cable edgings! They add tactile as well as visual impact. If there is anything I'm not 100% happy about, they are the 2 rows of double yarn-overs running alongside the central panel. They create HUGE, somewhat uneven, holes, and the twisted yarn that forms the holes aren't very neat and 'clean'. I used circulars to knit this piece, so maybe the holes would be more even had I used straight needles? I didn't think it would matter though, since people knit whole sweaters on circulars, with lace patterns and what not.

The fit was also something that I wasn't totally happy about. At first, I thought the fit would be a bit restrictive, as it's a pretty short length, but it ended up being loose (in the picture in the book it fits snuggly around the model). As it's a 'one-size-fits-all' type of garment, I suppose it was designed for the average American woman, but, unfortunately, I do not fit in that category. When I find a 6th M-O-P button at Spotlight/Lincraft, I might untack all the buttons and attach them further in. I might actually attach another button or two on the reverse side of the buttonhole band, so that I could wear the wrap in different ways, using the buttons and yo holes to secure it. hummm it is Spring now though, so I probably won't get to wear it until next Autumn anyway...

Now that I'm on a roll, I thought I should start another knitting project, before I get lazy. I know I really should be commiting more time to finishing off my other WIPs and UFOs, but my stash is really getting out of control, and projects which I haven't start, but have bought yarn for, are taking up wayyy too much storage space. Hence, I have decided that I will start working on the Great Gatsby Dress by Mari Lynn Patrick, to coincide with the movie adaptation of the book that is coming out soon! I have a funny feeling that I have already posted something about this design before, but I suppose that just gives you an indication of how slack I am with my knitting projects. For this dress, I am using the recommended yarn of Rowan Yarn Classic Silk Wool DK in Denime.


It's almost 1am now and I have decided to knit a tension square (well, before getting distracted by this blog post!).

and can I just say, this yarn is smooth to handle, feels so wondrously soft, and, as you can see, it has a beautiful, lustrous sheen, due to the 50% silk component. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy knitting with this yarn!

A Chance.

My blog is looking quite lonely and empty, so I decided it was time to pop on briefly to give it an update.

I received a notification in the mail yesterday about a new knitting competition that is being run by the Australian Country Spinners. Monetary prizes aside, one lucky entrant will be selected to partake in designing a limited knitwear collection for Autumn/Winter 2012 with ACS. How exciting is that?! Being a knitwear designer is one of those things I've fantasised about, but knew it would probably never eventuate; so this competition, if anything, is a good outlet for my crazy, creative side to go full-out wild with designing (probably not something I would have thought about being able to do in the past, but I think I've exposed myself to sufficient designs, actual completed projects, and endless inspiration from knitting mags in the past year or so to boost my knitting confidence a tad), and gives me the opportunity to say, 'hey, at least I've tried', even if I fail. And I will end up with an original design of my own at the end - so there's no loss really :)

I've got until the end of July, but with all the assignments and exams coming up, it might just be enough time for me to pump out an original design - hopefully! So I'll have to put all my knitting projects on hold.. I've just finished knitting my 8th premmie beanie last night, after not being able to knit for several weeks due to assignments :( My target for this Autumn/Winter is a minimum of 20 beanies to donate to the hospital, so I'm *almost* half-way there! This year, I've decided to knit a few different sizes to accommodate for the different head sizes, and so far I'm sticking with the floral theme.

I've also recently received some Sublime extra fine merino yarn in the mail, which is to knit a cute bear-ear-beanie for one of my music teacher's 11-month old. I was going to start that last night, but I haven't quite decided whether I should knit the size for 6-12mo olds or the size for 1-2yos. Any ideas how fast baby heads grow? I will probably end up knitting the bigger size, as the baby has a pretty big head and I'll want to extend the wearable period of the beanie.

Over the past few months, I've been receiving quite a bit of yarn in the mail - online yarn shops are both a blessing and a curse :P Knitting addiction aside, how easy is it to spend past your budget with this sort of convenience at your fingertips? Obviously, as mentioned before, I'll have to put my projects - both queued and in-progress ones - on hold for the time being, but I cannot wait to finally knit the adorable 'Beauty' puff-sleeved cardigan by Purl Alpaca Designs; the Gatsby dress from Interweave; and I am really wanting to finish the shawl I've started knitting from one of my regular UK knitting mags. I recently bought another knitting magazine, also a UK published one, for the Parisian-inspired designs advertised on the cover. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. It also made me realise that if I could possibly ever cut my addiction to buying knitting magazines, I would save more than $50/month!

Reading the introduction to Joanne Chang's "Flour" cookbook has inspired me to follow my baking dreams again. I was on the verge of signing up to a Wilton Method cake decorating course, but the distance for travel required was a big deterrant for me. Then there's also the option of doing the baking and pastry course at Le Cordon Bleu interstate. But that would require a total change of environment and lifestyle for at least 9 months, plus they require you to do 2 years of work experience afterwards before you can attain the diploma. I've gotten so used to my current work place and grown to like all my colleagues, that to start all over again at a different place, in a different state, would be quite a big thing for me. Not to mention that it would mean quitting my current studies and moving away from family. The main thing though, is that when I first thought of doing the diploma, it's for interest-sake only... I don't intend to make a living out of it. Although the thought of being able to make a living out of creating delicious cakes and pastries that people will thank you for is lovely indeed, I don't think I have the guts and perseverence to make such a radical lifestyle/career change, like Joanne did (Harvard degree in maths and economics to pastry chef! Respect.) so I don't know if this going-back-and-forth with knowledge attainment in different areas is really worth the time and money. When you hit a certain age, every year - nay, every day! - really starts to count. If only I could be given a sign to let me know what path I should choose to follow! So many interests; so little time in life.

Knitting in the round!

Success! I have finally gotten my head around knitting with dpns! Well, actually, it's not like I ever had problems with it per se. I've always just been so scared of knitting-in-the-round and the prospect of failing that I've always been deterred to try my hand at it. My purchases so far this year have included the deluxe set of KnitPro Symfonie Wood interchangeable circulars and a set of their sock knitting dpns - I was determined to overcome my irrational fears. But it was knitting for the premmies that gave me that extra push to try working with dpns, because I wanted to knit seamless beanies for them this time, so that they'd be more comfortable to wear. So yes, yesterday I said to myself, "This is it! You're going to knit a beanie right now in the round!" - and that was that. It's not so bad afterall! The lesson learned is that I should not let the 'what ifs' in life stop me from doing things that I want to do. The next barrier to be overcome is cooking with meat! As much as I love baking, I feel like I should be able to cook a whole meal. I'll set myself a deadline of 8 months :P

Thoughts.

I'm in the middle of writing an essay, but I was clicking around on Facebook and for some reason decided to click on the page of a friend's friend who passed away in recent months. Someone had recently left a message on his wall, telling him that he still feels that he's there, and that he misses him everyday. His sister commented on the post. She must always check his page. She must miss him very much.

I had been to the same school as them both for a few years, quite a few years back, and although he seemed like the type of person I'd like to befriend, it never happened, because I'm the passive type when it comes to socialising. Fast forward several years and we were all at the same university, with mutual friends. Although we all recognise each other by face, none of us acknowledge the other even with a smile. I guess I am guilty of looking through or past people who I am not officially acquainted to. Gone are the days when strangers meet the eyes of passersby and smile - society has changed, and I have simply changed with it. I figured that since we have mutual friends, we were likely to cross paths in the future. More years passed by, and one of them married a friend of mine. How small the world is, I thought. Surely it wouldn't be long until we were finally introduced to each other. A few months later, he was.. gone.

How strange life is. How short and fragile. Two siblings of mine had at least one friend who passed away in recent years. My own aunt has terminal cancer and the doctors are just hoping she'd see it through to her birthday this year. They aren't optimistic though. Her birthday is on March 21. I almost died myself on two unexpected occasions in the past 2 years, but managed to pull through. I'm sure a part of me had died though. Misery and despair does that to you. It ages you a lot too. I feel like a grandma already, and according to people around me, I act like one too, with my old fashioned ideals, attitudes and hobbies, as well as my love for the fashion of the 1800s and vintage styles in general (that has always been true for me though).

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that in this unpredictable world that we live in, where anything can happen at anytime, we have to be constantly prepared. To do that, we must dig deep inside ourselves, and identify what really is important to us. Only then can we be at peace with ourselves and know how to live with no regrets.

Okay, back to my essay now. Giving a sermon was not my intention, sorry!