Yummy Cupcakes!

photo from chile con yarne

I have found my next baby project. Look at this cute Cupcake Hat! I love knitting things for babies and I am always on the look out for baby patterns. I wish that it would cool down soon so I can knit because my collection of baby patterns is starting to build up and I haven't even made a dent in it. Sometimes, I think that I enjoy finding and collecting the patterns more than I like making them. My recipe collection can attest to that!


photo from blue rose knits


photo from good to be girl

99 cents Scarf

Even though the humidity is making me wilt, I pulled out my needles. I sat around all weekend eating popsicles, watching movies, and knitting. I finally got the right size needles for the yarn that I bought in Japan. Size 15! The biggest ones I have ever bought. I am not sure that I like thick and thin yarn. This is the first time I have ever knit with it. The problem that I have with it is that the stitches or pattern doesn't show up. It's bulky and messy looking. After trying a bunch of different ways, I ended up doing a rib pattern, boring, I know. But it's the one I hate the least.

Oh Granny!

Just fooling around with some granny squares. Not sure what I will make out of them. They are a good crocheting project to bring along my commute on the subway. Let's see how many I can make until I get bored of it. Out of my experimenting, I made a hexagon by accident.

Sigh of Relief

I just finished a custom engagement ring and I can finally send it off. Now, I can take a deep breath. This customer had been very picky and it was hard to find the diamond he wanted in his price range. You know how people are, they want it as cheap as possible, but the highest quality possible. This was a very nice radiant cut diamond (1.25ct). Quite a large rock! I am sure his girlfriend will be very pleased. Making engagement rings always gives me a sense of joy and satisfaction. I hope they live happily ever after in wedded bliss.

What flavor Pocky are you?

what flavor pocky are you?

[c] sugardew

Thanks to Amy from ...And Knitting for the link. I have never seen this kind of cookie before. I am disappointed that I don't get to be a Pocky flavor. I love Pocky with the crushed almonds.

Good to be Girl

I recently came upon a knitting blog called Good to be Girl and I love the things Amy makes. She just made a very cool scarf. The colors are very cool and refreshing. It reminds of ocean breezes and the waters of the caribbean. Nice to look at since it has been over 90 degrees and SO humid here in NYC.

Take a look below.

Baby Cardigan

This is another one of those forgotten projects. I have 2 friends that are pregnant (both boys) and this was intended for whoever gave birth first. And then I was suppose to crochet another one in a different color for the other baby boy. The babies are both here. Whoops!

This one is almost done. I just have to finish the sleeve and then the other sleeve and sew on the buttons. I will try to find some time this weekend. Time is a not a luxury I have these days.

Renderings on Fabric

Look at my new t-shirt. My cousin,Valentine, hand-draws, dyes and sews each one of these t-shirts. Valentine is a very talented artist. The renderings on the t-shirts are amazing. It takes a few hours to render each t-shirt. She recently had a sample sale at Art Fiend and I bought this one right away. Purple is my favorite color and this one has a mix of purplish hues. My photo is not doing the color justice.




These last 3 photos are from her Look Book, professionally shot. (not like my crappy photo skills)

CORAL REEF SEA


FLOWERS


JELLY FISH/CORAL

Updated Log Cabin Blanket

Here is my progress so far. I can't go any further until I buy some long circulars. I started off with straights because I didn't want to wait until I bought the right needles. Now I am stuck. I have the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend, so this will have to wait.

Log Cabin Beginnings

The granny square crochet blanket is done! I will post pics of that later. So, I started a new project last week. I have been wanting to make a Log Cabin Blanket ever since I saw it on Mason-Dixon Knitting and La Gringa Tejedora. I ran into some trouble when I was picking up stitches and Kay came to my rescue. I have never picked up stitches before and thought I was doing it wrong because the new color showed up on the old color. And I didn't know that there was a front and back to the blanket. Turns out that I was doing everything correctly(Kay said so). She said that there is no avoiding the lines of new color running through the old color. Who would have thought that I could get something right the first time?! Wish I knew that before I frogged the thing a thousand times.

This is what the back looks like.

Illustration Friday 6/21/2005

Here is my first submission to Illustration Friday. The theme this week is BLACK & WHITE.

Marker on acid free paper

No time for yarn

No updates on knitting. I have been busy preparing for the Renegade Craft Fair. Not getting enough sleep and working like crazy makes me cranky. It is next weekend, June 25 and 26, 10:30am-5pm, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY. I still have lots to do and I am trying not to panick. I always get this way before a show, but this will be the first outdoor event that I have ever done. So, there is a bit of trepidation on how the whole thing will turn out.

My sister, Joanna (Oiyun), will be coming from Boston to help me with the Renegade Craft Fair. She is taking a day off just for me. What a good sister she is! So, I made her a few pair of earrings to thank her. I whipped these up at 2am last night. She is always joking that she works for jewelry.

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Fluttering

Look at what I got in the mail today. My aunt sent me a shirt that she embroidered a butterfly design on it. Look at the antennas on the butterfly. Those are real freshwater pearls. I didn't know that she was so crafty.

Neglected

I have neglected this project for so long. I just checked the archives and I apparently started this crochet blanket in November 2004. Yikes! It was suppose to be for my friend Sam's birthday. But between the holidays and my trip to Asia, it got set aside and forgotten. It has been an eyesore for me every time I go into my closet. It looks at me accusingly and makes me feel guilty.

I was itching to start a new project today, but decided to just finish the blanket to clear my conscience. This crochet blanket pattern is one giant Granny Square. Pretty easy once you make the granny square and then it's just double crochet all the way. The pattern is from Lion Brand yarns. I used Lion Brand Chunky USA and made up my own color scheme. Since, it is for a guy, I stuck to blues and greys and added an off-white. So far I have added 3 more rounds to the blanket. I still have ways to go, but at least I picked it up again. Now, if only I can finish it before another projects lures me away. Hopefully, Sam will get his present on time this year.

ETA: This was finished and gifted.

99 YEN

In January, I was in Kyoto, Japan and happened to stop by a few 99 yen stores. Our equivalent of a 99cent store or dollar store. Wow, what a world of difference it was. Some were just like convenience stores, that sold prepackaged foods and even fresh foods. And the other stuff wasn't junky cheap crap either. I had so much fun wandering along the aisles and looking at all the different products they sold.

At one of the 99 yen stores, I found a section devoted to knitting! Knowing that my suitcase was already packed with Japanese food(candy, chocolate, mochi, dried seafood snacks, cookies...) that I was bringing back to Hong Kong to share with my relatives and hopefully have some left to bring back to New York, I chose from the knitting products carefully. I ended up buying 6 balls of yarn that was different hues of purple (dark to light) and the yarn was thin to thick. Bamboo needles no.12 and no.15 and double pointed no.6. And the pink things are point protectors. Everything was 99 yen and with our American dollar, it was like less than 99cents each! There was a huge selection of 100% wool, but I sadly had to walk away from it. Next time I have a chance to go to Japan again, I am bringing an empty suitcase.

Gift of love

I have been trying to come up with a Mother's Day gift for my mother. No, a knitted item would not be appreciated by her. She doesn't even understand why I like to knit. She thinks that I am wasting my time and I could be more productive doing something else. And there isn't really anything she needs.

My mom LOVES jewelry, with a capital L. The woman just can not get enough of it. So, being that I am a jeweler, I thought I would make her jewelry. She is always saying that I don't make her anything or that it takes forever before she gets something. Back in high school, my father was against me going to art school, but my mom was on my side and convinced my dad to let me apply. So, I have always appreciated her emotional support for all those years.

I have heard that semi-precious stones have all sorts of healing powers and brings certain luck to the wearer if worn next to the skin. You have to have the stone touching your skin. Rubies are suppose to bring wealth and money. That would the perfect stone for my mother. The Chinese loves anything that brings wealth or health. I decided to make her a ruby bracelet. I chose small round ruby beads and used 18k gold to wrap the beads and then to make the gold clasp. After that, I polished the gold with rouge to bring out the gold shine. I love how it came out and I am very proud of it. It is a gift of love. Handmade by me, with meaning/love behind it. And it is also going to be given to her on time! (I am the queen of procrastination and have been that way all my life, so she will be impressed.)

Haiku

Emily wearing her Haiku with her Aunt Lisa. 

I know, I know! I am a little late in posting about Haiku. I finally gave it to Little Emily in November 2004, during their annual Thanksgiving feast. This was my first garment that I have ever knitted. She turned 2 years old in July and I intentionally made it a size 3-4, so she can grow into it. This is why it looks huge on her right now. The poor thing was so shy and frightened of us! She wouldn't smile and looked like she would cry at any moment. Then after playing with her, she begun to warm up to us and by the end of the night, she never left our side. When that cutie pie smiles, she lights up the room. Her mother is pregnant again and this time it will be a boy. Yeah!!!More baby knitting.

I used Plymouth Encore DK in Butterscotch Tweed. I pretty much stuck to the pattern, except that I added a double crochet edge to the bottom of the cardigan. It gave it a more finished look.






Close up of Bee buttons. 

I bought these cute bee buttons at Michaels (craft store). There isn't one locally here in NYC. I got them when I went home to visit my family in Boston.

Bzzzzzy!

I have been so busy lately that I haven't had any time to devote to knitting and crocheting. I have a half finished baby sweater that I was crocheting. My jewelry business is taking up all my time. I just got back from Boston after doing a 9 day, 9am-9pm show. I am so exhausted. It was a good experience. I have another show coming up in a week, so I am scrambling to replenish my inventory. There is no resting for me until after the 2nd week of April. It's hard work running a small business by yourself. I am learning along the way. The road can be quite bumpy. :-)

Welcome Home

I have been away for a long time. My mother, husband and I traveled to Hong Kong, Japan and China. And what a trip that was! I am so glad to be home in my own bed and surroundings.

I brought a knitting project along and was surprised that it didn't get confiscated by the airport police. We flew out of Newark airport(New Jersey)because Continental has a direct flight to Hong Kong. 15 hours!!! So, I risked it and brought my knitting on board in my carry-on. I had heard that Japan was very cold this time of year(Actually, they have similar weather to ours here in New York), so I wanted to have a new scarf to wear, but couldn't finish it before I left for my trip.

I have never done any cable knitting before and was inspired by Fluffa and her amazing knitting skills. She had given me a couple of tutorial links on cable knitting and off I went with needles and yarn in hand. I chose to make Toddle from KNITTY, but I made it longer to fit me (the pattern is for a child's size). I love it. The scarf is warm and cushy (sorry, that's the only way I could describe it). The lattice pattern makes the scarf very thick and all you want to do is touch it and squish it. The yarn I used came from the Manhatten Yarn Riot 2 years ago. It's called Mexico Merino Superfine by Filatura Cervinia (100% Merino Wool). It's grey and it has a nubbly texture.



The actual color is more like this. I didn't use the flash on the above photos because the lattice pattern didn't show up in the picture.

Yarn Buys

Yarn Explosion 

This is what I bought from Smiley's Yarn Sale. It was so crazy this year. I had to wait in line for over 30 minutes in the lobby of Holiday Inn just to get into the ballroom where all the yarn is. They were letting people in by the dozen. I spent about 1 hour and 15 minutes buying/choosing my yarn while people shoved and grabbed. Honestly, they were acting like the stuff was for free. I waited in line to pay (the line wrapped around the ballroom) at 2:45pm and I didn't get to the register to pay until 4:30pm. They had ONLY one cash register!!!

I met a lot of nice ladies while waiting in line to pay. Plus, we were watching eachothers baskets while we took turns to browse some more or people kept putting things back. I, on the other hand, added to my basket as the line wound around the ballroom. I know I over bought, but I couldn't help it. If I had to spend so much time there waiting to get in and out, I wanted something to show for it. I ended up with two BLACK trash bags full of yarn. You get the white bags for regular purchases and you know you are in trouble when they give you the black heavy duty trash bags. I couldn't even carry them out of Holiday Inn. I didn't know how I would have gotten to the subway, so I hailed a cab. Taking a cab is something I almost never do, but this was a emergency.

Now, I have enough yarn to work on a bunch of projects I have been meaning to tackle.