A New Toy

The last 2 weeks had been crazy - I could not blog or knit very much & I really miss my normal life. We had an exchange student from Reunion Island staying with us & we had so much activities going on & I was driving around like a mad woman ! Anyway, she left on Sunday & life is slowly returning back to normal.

I don't have any FO to show except this .....

Guess what's inside this little pouch .......

..... it's my new toy - an iPod Touch, the funnest iPod ever & it is ! I have wanted this for a long time & when the new version was released with a speaker, I knew I had to have it. The opportunity arrived last Saturday when Myer had a 10% discount off all iPods & I immediately dashed there to buy one.

As it's the latest model, accessories were not available so I knitted my own pouch ! I love it ! I used my favorite yarn, Zen Yarn Garden seawool (I still had a little left over) & chose the Crossover Rib pattern (I had wanted to knit this stitch for sometime) from Sensational Knitted Socks - I love this combination of yarn & pattern & it will look great on a pair of socks but unfortunately I don't have any seawool in my stash (sigh.....)

I cast on 40 sts with 2.5mm dpns & knitted it in the round. Did a 3 needle bind off except for 6 sts so that there is an opening for the ear piece (although I don't think I will need this as I can use the speaker). That's it - my own iPod Touch pouch !

It's Official Now !!!!!

Yes, I have been set up as a designer in Ravelry - this is really exciting ! I received the email yesterday & for the past 1 hour this morning, I have been playing around with the set-up & now it's all done.

You can find me in Ravelry as Ann Lim when you search the pattern's page or search for my pattern, My Grape Vines. I have to change the original name, Climbing Vines as there is an existing pattern in the same name. It's a free Ravelry download !

I am having so much fun that I think I will go & add another free pattern.....

I Had To Bring Them Home .....

....... 7 balls of undyed natural cotton & in 4 ply (I know there are 6 in the picture as I had already used 1). I went to Spotlight with my daughters who needed some cross stitching supplies & I ended up bringing these home. I love the feel of cotton & it's perfect for a pring/summer project. I bought the whole lot (7 balls left) & at that time, I didn't have a project in mind. But my mind was working all the time as I drove home & by the time, I got home, I knew what I wanted to knit - a circular vest !
I have missed knitting my Pi shawl & wanted to do another circular project. This vest has been in my mind for a while & I knew the cotton will be perfect for it, so I casted on immediately ......

...... it was like a dream came true - the cotton is lovely to knit with (although a little splitty) & the knitting in the round is so meditative. I wish I could knit forever ..... the lace pattern is coming along very nicely & I have just finished casting off for the armholes & then continuing knitting in the round for the front .....

As I am using a 4 ply (the pattern is for a 10 ply), I had to knit more rounds but I don't mind as I love it. I want to knit a pretty lace border to finish it off ......

In the meantime, I have just finish one of my socks ......

..... love the design & I will be sharing this pattern once I get set up as a designer in Ravelry - wow, this sounds too good to be true - me a designer !

Another Pair Of Socks But .....

...... it's my very own design. This is the first time that I actually knitted a sock without any pattern or tried to modify a pattern - I knitted this pair of socks from stratch & I love it.....

It took a bit of work & time to figure out the position of the stitches & the cables. It's a simple pattern with two 6 stitch cable running up the sides of the foot & then joining the leg with another pair of cables.

The pair of cables on the legs look great as one leans to the right & the other to the left. As I knit my socks from the toe up, I see the cables climbing up the leg and they remind me of the grape vines that I have in my garden & the way the vines twist themselves & climb up the poles - that's it, these are the Climbing Vines Socks !

Yarn : Handmaiden Cashbah (Blackberry)

Needles : 2.5mm Harmony dpns

I am so happy with the finished sock & it fitted me perfectly. This has given me the inspiration to create more and I did. I have started another pair of socks in my own design which will be my 1st pair to kick off the Southern Summer of Socks KAL. I joined this KAL last year & enjoyed it so much that I am back again this year & with 1 goal - to knit socks of my own design. Here's a little peek on my 2nd design ....

My Yosemite

Pattern : Yosemite (knitty, Spring 2008)

Yarn : Cashmere/Merino from The Knittery (as it's a discontinued yarn, can't remember the colorway)

Needles : 3.5mm Harmony circulars

I cast on this project early this year & became a little bored knitting the body as it took forever, so it was left in my knitting basket for a few months until I recently pick it up. As I made a promise to finish my WIPs before I cast on new projects, I had to finish this. I did !

And I am so happy with it after all the modifications - no collar, just a plain rib neck band & cap sleeves ! It's also the right time to wear this vest in the cool evenings of spring. I love the feel of the yarn - so soft & warm.

Now that I have a FO, I can cast on a new project which I have been wanting to for a while. Ever since I knitted the February Lady Sweater, I have been looking for another top down pattern & found this book ....

.... most of the patterns in this book are knitted top down & I know that this will be the right book for me. I bought it from Book Depository & it arrived within a week. I had a hard time deciding on which pattern I want to knit & at last settled on this ......

..... it's the Slinky Rib but I had substituted the plain 2x2 rib for a lacy mock cable. I love the technique & the instructions in the book are so clear & simple to follow. The yarn that I am using is Bendigo's Allegro - a 100% superwash merino - which is knitting up so well.

I also cast on another pair of socks ......

..... sorry for the blurry pic - it's the Seaweed Socks , a free pattern from Wendy Knits. The colors are gorgeous, another creation from Irene at Jolly Jumbuck.

As today is October 1 & the start of Southern Summer of Socks, I need to cast on another pair of socks to celebrate this KAL - I am having a hard time deciding on the pattern (I want my own design) & the yarn ....

.... again lovely yarn from Irene - on the left is cashmere & on the right is silk - which should I indulge in ?