Anglicare Knit In 2009

Another 12 months had passed & once again, I went to the Anglicare Knit In at the Government House. This is the 4th year that I have attended this event but this time I had to go alone as Lydia (daughter #2 who is the knitter) can't come as it's a school day. Last year's event was held during the winter school holidays & Lydia enjoyed attending the event. For the past 12 months, she had been knitting away & finished these ......

.... 6 strips for a blanket. She decided to do strips instead of squares as it's much faster but she still keeps the square pattern as she changes colors after every 60 rows. The stripes looked great & it's a pity that she can't hand them in personally.

Anyway, I managed to meet up with some knitting friends when I was there but the crowd was much smaller than last year. I guess the weather did not help as it was raining & cold. But still it was a good crowd ......

As usual, we were all well fed & entertained & this year, we even had belly dancers .....

It was great to see the squares being sewed up into blankets & they were hung all over the balconies .......

As I was leaving in the afternoon, I caught a glimpse of a finished blanket that a lady was holding up & recognised it as the stripes that Lydia had knitted. I managed to take a picture of the finished blanket so that I can show it to Lydia .....

Well, I will be back knitting squares next year & I hope it will be during the school holidays so that Lydia can attend. In fact, she has started knitting her strips for next year !

2 FOs !

Remember this ? I was upset when I frog the project but I think the yarn is now put into good use. It is the right yarn for a pair of socks for my husband ......

..... he loves the socks & they were on his feet immediately after I cast off & I had to make him sit down so that I could take some pictures of the socks.

The yarn is Dream In Color Smooshy in the Deep Seaflower colorway & I used the Retro Rib pattern for the leg as my husband has skinny legs. It's an easy to remember 4 rows pattern & it looks great.

I also cast off another project which I have been working on for the past few months. It has taken me so long as I was knitting it without a pattern. Last year, I bought 9 balls of Moda Vera Mousse (30% soybean, 70% wool) from Spotlight for $27 as I love the color, a dark grey & I knew that I wanted a vest. So I have been searching for a nice vest pattern & Talia was the closest that I could find that matches my requirements. But I don't really like the stitch pattern so I decided to use Talia as the template & put in a new stitch pattern. I had to rib out my knitting a few times before I am happy with this ......

..... cables ! I am really happy with the results & was glad that I had enough yarn to finish it. The vest is so warm as the yarn is quite thick. I used 6mm needles which knitted fast but hurts my hand as I am not used to knitting with thick wool. I will not use this wool again as it's not a nice wool (very splitty & hairy) to knit with. Take a look at the back .....

I have already worn the vest a few times & I think I will be wearing it a lot this winter ......

I Have Never Play This Game Before .....

..... so this is the 1st for me as I have been tagged by Bells.
So here it is ......

What Is Your Current Obsession?
Making beaded stitch markers & row counters. Now that I have found the perfect one, I simply whip them up as & when I need them & I think I have too many now.

What Are You Wearing Today?
It's 8am & I am still in my pjs !

What's for dinner last night?
I had vegetarian pasta with creamy tandoori sauce & the rest of the family had baked peri-peri chicken with the pasta (I am the only vegetarian in the family & I had to watch all of them eating the delicious chicken).

What's the Last Thing You Bought?
I have been good & have not been shopping for a while so I guess the last thing I bought must be groceries.

What Are You Listening To Right Now?
Not music but the howling wind as it's stormy & raining now.

If you could go anywhere in the world in the next hour, where would you go?
Canada to visit all the great yarn stores that I have been reading about.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
I moved to Perth about 8 years ago & I feel that I have been living here forever. It's so clean & green & I love winter. When I was in Singapore (my birth place) early this year, I can't wait to come home after 2 weeks.

What is your favourite colour?
Blue.

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
Jeans as I love wearing blue & jeans are really comfortable & versatile.

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was still back in Singapore & life was really hectic then. I should have moved to Perth but had to delay the move as my only sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer & we were going through all the treatments. I was trying to manage 2 families & there were so much going on. My sister passed away 2 years later & then I moved to Perth to recuperate.

Describe your personal style?
Simple & comfortable as I am mostly in my jeans & cotton t-shirts with flat shoes.

If you had $300 right now what would you spend it on?
Yarn & more yarn. I am so in love with merino/silk blend & will love to have more for my stash just in case the world's supply runs out.

What are you going to do after this?
Meeting a friend for coffee & donuts.

What inspires you?
Creativity. I love crafts & admire the creativity that emerges from people's projects.

What are your favourite films?
I don't go to the movies & usually watch dvds at home. I love Pretty Woman & Shall We Dance as I love watching Richard Gere !

Who's work/designs are you inspired by?
Top down designs by Wendy Bernard & Stephanie Japel & of course, knitting in the round guru, Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Do You Collect Anything?
Yarn, knitting bags, dpns & fridge magnets from all over the world (which cover 2 fridges).

What makes you follow a blog?
To enjoy bloggers' creativity in their works.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
Nothing yet but I do enjoy 1 thing everyday - sitting down with a good TV drama & KNITTING !

What's one thing you dream of doing?
To go on a world cruise.

Well, that's it & I am surprised that I quite enjoy this little exercise which really got me thinking about my life. I will not be tagging anyone so I am off to change into my jeans & meet my friend for coffee & donuts .... yummy!

WWKIP 2009

I managed to find a couple of hours to pop into this fantastic event organised by Helen . It was great to meet up with so many knitters & get to know them. We were wearing badges with our names & ravelry names & it was fun walking around & recognising familiar names that I "know" on ravelry.

I also managed to meet up with Irene of Jolly Jumbuck with her gradual dye socks which I knitted for her. The gorgeous colors were peeping through her see through boots .......

Although I was there for a while, I managed to knit a few rounds on this new cast on .....

.... it's the Featherweight Cardigan in 2ply merino/tussah silk in a rich wine color. I have been hiding this gorgeous yarn in my stash for a while. It's from one of Zen Yarn Garden clubs that I joined sometime ago. I love the yarn & it's like knitting with fairy floss !

I Needed My Sun Glasses .....

when I was knitting this ....

My daughter, Lynette suddenly decided that she wants a scarf & she went thro' my stash & came up with this yarn that I bought years ago at a sale at Yarnivorous. I tried to convince her that there are nicer yarn in my stash but she just love the colors of this particular yarn.

Wow - look at all those bright colors ! This is the 1st time that I have knitted with such a colorful yarn but thank goodness it was really nice & soft to knit with. I was very tempted to stop knitting as the colors were too glaring but I had to carry on as Lynette wanted a long scarf.

I am sure you find the design of this scarf familiar - it's Abertay ! Again I tried to convince her that the pretty design of Avertay will be lost in all those colors but she insisted. I really have no choice but to knit the lovely Abertay in a sea of colors !

I managed to finish the scarf in 2 weeks & I have to admit that it turns up quite nicely or maybe I got used to the colors ......

During that time, I also managed to finish another pair of the Spiralucious Mitts....

In fact, this is my 4th pair, knitted with Dream In Color Smooshy (Deep Seaflower). I think this is the 1st time that I have knitted the same pattern for so many times. The pair is for the canteen manager's daughter so that she will stop wearing the ones that I knitted for her mum. It's a great pattern & I love it but I don't think I will be knitting another pair for a while.

Now I better get back to designing the next sock for the Spring Sock Club !