I am sure by now that those who follows me on Twitter as well as those who has seen the status of this cardigan on Facebook would know that I am knitting my dear ole hubby something.

Alex has been complaining quite a bit that most of my knitted/crochetted items goes to someone else. His status as my other half obviously has earned him nothing. So after all the grumbling, I decided to make him something wearable. To set the record straight, I did knit him a beanie and a scarf which he says he cannot use it at all in Malaysia!

Due to that, I made a order to Cucumberpatch for this particular yarn since it was on sale!

A mixture of viscose, nylon and angora actually made this yarn rather wearable in Malaysia although the angora bit traps a bit of heat but in very cold offices and perhaps even Genting Highlands, this cardigan would be perfect! Alex’s colour is Mocha while mine (since the yarn was on sale! ) is in Lavender.

The pattern that I am attempting is a lovely simple beginner friendly pattern by Mary Townsend and if you’re interested in making one for your man, it is here:  Rogers-esque Cardigan . Since the original pattern was named Rogers-esque, I’ve decided to name mine Alex-esque!

Due to the overwhelming assignments for the past month, I haven’t been progressing much on the fibre arts side. But since last weekend, I’ve completed two assignments; one presentation and one report, I decided that should be rewarded with a little time off from the usual crazy pace of the post-graduate.

I had some bulky yarn from the Hanoi trip, so decided that I should turn that into something and proceeded to make Alex a man scarf. When buying the yarn, Alex suggested a misty grey colour which I suspect is really indicating that I should be making him something … 3 months later, voila! Alex’s Man Scarf

Look at how bulky the yarn is. The needles are 10mm and I decided to keep it simple thus using only two type of stitches; stockinette and also garter. Recently I have also switched from knitting English (throwing; yarn on the right hand) to Continental (picking; yarn is on the left hand).

The photos are taken using my new cell phone camera. Will blog about the new toy right after I’ve completed my last assignment!

… especially when I have lots of assignments due!

I’ve have 3 group presentations up and the slides are still no where near the finished one and I have two individual assignments due with 2500 words each. Truth be told, I am really feeling the strain of this post graduate. Cannot imagine the time when I need to write my thesis. That will be a killer.

But anyway, from the distraction I found a really cool video about speed knitting. Take a look see. She holds the Guiness record for fastest knitter in the world! Enjoy!

My sister in law recently delivered a baby girl. Actually, Hannah was born  on 29th January (same as Sila’s) 2009 and my in laws will be going to Caveland’s area to visit her. We didn’t know what gender the baby was because they didn’t want to spoil the surprise. Therefore upon hearing that it is a girl, I got to work!

Don’t mind all the extra ends that is sticking out, will weave them all in when I finish the whole thing

A Closeup of the shells. Totally love the texture of this yarn

The shells from another angle.

Yarn : Jaeger Aqua in Muse (3 skeins) ~ 345.0 yards (315.5m)
Purchased at Cucumberpatch UK
Pattern: Magia Do Crochet - Baby Shell Cardigan

It is still very much a Work-In-Progress rather than a finished item. I am still contemplating on whether I should leave it sleeveless and also I am wondering what buttons to use. Also just realised that to be really baby-friendly, the buttons have to be of a certain size to be choking hazard-free…

My colleague was in the midst of doing a scrap blog for this wife (since it’s Valentine’s Day this Saturday) and he introduced this program that was available for free. Well like they said, the rest was history…

As much fun as scrapbooking/scrapblogging is, sometimes, I feel using a simple border and let your photos speak for themselves has more satisfaction.

Finally. After a long knitting session, I finally had my first hand-knitted wearable! Without further adieu, may I present to you my Heart Break Camisole!

The cami on the hanger.

The cami modeled by yours truly.

I used I-cords straps instead of the intended crochet straps. Also i did the oopsy-tie straps. Hopefully no one pulls it off!

Just want to show a picture on the progress of my camisole. From top to bottom the whole thing measures 16 inches!

I’ve been working on this off and on. Memang a bit lazy to complete the whole thing. But made good progress since the whole thing is almost done except for the straps.  Still contemplating whether to do crochet straps or the I-cord straps!

You must indulge me a bit here. With a new camera and yarns, how can a girl resist flashing her stash shamelessly on her blog eh?

A dear colleague of mine was in America for 4 months and he was kind enough to hand-carry back the full stash of yarn that I order on the Elann website to help me save on the shipping from Canada to Malaysia.

The smallest of the lot(2 skeins) was this Elann.com Pure Alpaca Fina. If you can see the inset of the picture shows the details of the yarn. Alpaca yarns offer amazing yardage (50 grams=167 meters). Most probably due to the nature of the yarn having very narrow fibers.  Despite it being so light and airy, the yarn offers a lot of warmth. Definitely not suitable for the Malaysian weather had it been a thicker weight. In fact, this is slightly too warm for outdoors. would work for air-conditioned rooms though.

Next is the Elann.com Peruvian Quechua. This is an Alpaca blend (Alpaca mixed with Tencel: similar to cotton. This yarn is slightly thicker than the Navy Blue yarn, but somehow it feels less warm. The cotton must have increased the breath-ability of the yarn. Although it in the picture it looks brown beige,the yarn is the colour of rustic gold.

The main bulk of the lot came from this yarn. Elann.com Sonata; a 100% cotton yarn in sport weight. The colour is called Coffee. Very aptly named indeed. It is the exact shade of the coffee beans. This is also the only yarn that I bought with a project in mind. Wanted to make a little cute cardigan for myself; either crochet or knit!

Although not part of the same purchase, San carried back a little something from the Lion City for me. My first experience with Bamboo Yarn! The yarn is slightly different from the rest of the yarn that I have worked with because this yarn is similar to a ribbon yarn where it’s more flat rather than round. Imagine the normal yarn to be like the yellow noodles we normally eat but this ribbon yarn is like kuey teow! But it is still very nice to pat. Smooth silky finish and feels very cool on the skin. Too bad I have only one skein of this (cannot afford more, too expensive).

yes and this time the parcel is sent from Penang. A fellow knitter (from Ravelry)  on the island wanted to de-stash and kindly offered me her very beautiful Elann Lara yarn ( mercerized, combed, double gassed cotton) from USA (although the yarn had a Made in India label)!

Isn’t it a beauty? The colour stated is Antique Blue. Tentatively, Alex has claimed that I must make him something with this manly coloured yarn! That man can really tickle me with his demands!

Yes, I am calling my latest project the Heart-break Cami for obvious reasons (for the oblivious, refer the previous post! ). I was really contemplating what I should be making with the yarn I got from Cucumber Patch. Alwayas wanted to make wearables but never really had the  courage  to venture into it!

Anyway, I’ve only started a bit and realised that I cast on too many stitches. Resulting the final product to be way to large for me; although I must admit I have been getting prosperous lately. Maybe it’s the emotional eating. What to do. Had to frogt the whole thing and begin again. So I started last night and up to this morning, this is what I had!

Let’s see how this turns out! Keeping my fingers crossed. I need all the good luck I can get!