More small stuffs

After the disappointment with my capecho, I needed a quick fix of something. Something small, quick and preferably pretty.
So I made this

Neck Warmer
Pattern: None, just a strip of garter stitch
Yarn: Itaca Alessandra. 90% Wool 10% Cashmere
Needle: 12.00mm straight
Comment: I've been thinking of what to knit with the single ball of pretty yarn I got from Florence ever since I bought it. I have a bad habit of buying single balls of yarn just to own them, without knowing what to do with them most of the time. This turns out pretty cute, no? I'm not sure if it'll get much wear, but I am loving it. And the pom-pom, oh how I adore those pompoms ;).

One other UFO turned FO

Booga Bag
Pattern: Booga Bag
Yarn: 3 skeins Noro Kureyon
Comment: My SP gave me the yarn and pattern for this bag, and I cast on straight away. However, it took me months to get around felting them(by hand, no less!), and another month to attach the handles. I'm worried that it wouldn't be strong enough without a lining though. Hands up if you want to help me line it! Just kidding, I think I'll stick to carrying light stuffs in there, like yarn. And now I want to do more felting!

Happy Chinese New Year, wish you all a prosperous year ahead! I wish I could be home to celebrate it with my family, I miss the preparation, the food, the company, and of course the red packet!

up and down

WARNING! This post contains some horrible real-life situation pictures with extremely bad lighting and helped only slightly by photoshop.

So, I just finished knitting the second sleeve of my VK Norah Gaughan's Capecho, put it on, and here's how it looks like.

See those horrible bunches?
Even worse

I'm not so sure whether that side of the pentagon is supposed to dangle just like that.
And the back?

Strangely short and bunchy (blocking might solve this one, but not sure about the length).

So I tried a different style by pulling down the front and make it sort of like a crossover thing.

Not as bad but it practically makes my front looks flat, not a good sight.

Then I tried it upside down.

The coloured version will blind you, I swear.

And I have pentagons running down my stomach and hang just there.
The back

Much longer, no? Which doesn't really make sense since it's the same thing turned upside down.

So, now I have a few options:

1. Put the whole thing into a ziplock bag and hide it somewhere so I won't see it for another year or so.
2. Frog it and knit something else less...intriguing.
3. Put my trust in Norah Gaughan and actually knit the collar and finish the whole thing while praying hard it'll turn out ok.
4. Try frogging some of the pentagons and mess around with it and try to make it right.
5. Find somebody bigger than me with much more patience than I do and give it to her.

What do you think?

Oh, in case you're wondering, I did get gauge.

The Perfect Day

with the perfect scenery....

Maybe I've been waiting for this day for over a year to finally take my FO picture, remember this?

No, the dot on my forehead isn't some freakishly big pimples

Bulky Cabled Cardigan

Pattern Source: Glampyre
Yarn: Rowan Polar, 6 x 100g
Needle: Addi Turbos 8.00mm 80 cm, 5.5mm 60cm
Comment: This is actually my official last FO from 2005! I have no idea why I waited so long before posting it, but maybe I AM waiting for this day. My friend woke me up early (by early I mean before 9) to show me the snow outside my window. I was naturally pissed off but then I looked out my window and saw this
Totally worth being woken up for, don't you think?
So, back to the cardigan, it was a quick and fun project, and I don't think it looks bad at all. The thing is, it's not exactly a comfort garment. I've found out that my skin is sensitive to anything other than merino wool for animal fibres. So the alpaca content in the yarn makes it a little itchy. It's also white, which means I have to be a little more wary than usual while wearing it. It's also a bit short which doesn't go well with my body type. Oh, and the yarn sheds like crazy.
All in all, I'm happy with it, and will try to actually wear it more often, and actually wash it.

As for WIPs, I've been working exclusively on my VK cover "capecho"(hate the word!). Those pentagons are addicting!

This is my progress picture from a few days ago. I've now finished all the pentagons for the body and am working on the first sleeve. Hopefully it'll be done by next week. Whether I'll wear it or not is questionable, since my reason for choosing this project was purely because of it's interesting construction. Well at least we know I'll wear it for FO photoshoot ;), apparently the daffodils are coming out soon!

back to sanity

I'm finally back again at London, which means life is back to normal, where everything is self service.
Going home was good, I got to shop and eat A LOT, but the best part of all was probably getting to see my adorable nephews. And getting this

My new toy, Apple MacbookPro 15.4". Pretty cool, huh? My dad was trying to force me into buying the 17" version, but it was just too intimidating for me. Especially since my old notebook was a mere 11". I haven't got around learning all the cool things I can do with it yet, but I'll just take my time and have fun with it. Oh, check out the little box at the background, I got a new iPod Shuffle too! I own an iPod Video which is great, but it's just way too bulky for my less than occassional workout session.

Oh, and we have an FO too!

Le' Slouch
Pattern Source: Wendy at Knit And Tonic
Yarn: Phildar Impact No. 3 1/2, 100% Acrylic
Needle: 4mm 40cm circular
Comments: I was worried I couldn't pull off the look, but I think it looks okay, not that I'm going to be wearing it anyway. Since I used thinner yarn and smaller needles and have bigger-than-average head I cast on 90 sts instead of the required 68 sts. I'm loving the seed stich, real neat.

After finishing it last night, I cast on for the little cardigan thing on the cover of the new Vogue. Here's my first pentagon

It really was super easy to make. I used the pure alpaca yarn I got from Florence and size 5mm needle. I, as usual, was too lazy to swatch, but I think it will turn out fine even though I use thinner yarn and smaller needle. I'm hoping this would be a quick knit, as knitting in parts makes the progress seems much faster. And the colour is also Project Spectrum appropriate.