Progress Report

Work has been crazy. Not only is there a lot to do, there are so many different things that it is difficult to keep track of what's next. Thankfully, projects are being done one by one. I am really looking forward to take some time off for 4th of July. Yay!

You might not think that I knitted much with work being so busy. Well, not true. Actually, I found that knitting after work relaxes me. I think I've gone past the anxiety for new knitting projects. I'm enjoying being in the moment with whatever that's in my hands. I'm finding that calm meditative experience, which is why I picked up knitting in the first place.

Anyway, here are some pictures and words on my knitting progress:

That's "Violets" with 15 rows of violets completed. I even managed to do three rows of knitting at last week's S&B WeHo. Luckily they were just plain stockinette rows. Nothing fancy. But I won't be taking "Violets" to S&B again. Not a good idea. LOL

This is the LTK Afghan Square Eight. It is named "Rose Fabric". It's quite easy to knit with only 30 stitches across. I also tried knitting this at S&B. Another bad idea. I was really fascinated with how it worked that I did not know what was going on around me. LOL

This is a close-up of "Rose Fabric". I can definitely see why this stitch pattern got that name. All those little rose buds.

This is LTK Afghan Square Nine in progress. It's the first square in Section II, Mosaic Patterns. The name is "Horizontal Chain". I did not like knitting this way at first. The fabric felt a bit stiff. But as I watched the pattern form, I got more excited and interested. This is my first real two-color knitting project that's not just stripes. I'll have to take it to someone and see if it is done right. But blocking will make it better, right? :-) After this one is done, it's back to "Violets" for the finish.

Kerry's two-color sock has a mate! Yup! They are done and given to the intended recipient. It is a happy ending. :-) Don't they look great?

Here's an "inspirational package" from my mentor Ted. A sample pack from Heirloom Knitting. It also came with a sample pattern to go with the yarn. To be honest, it inspires and terrifies at the same time. LOL But I must tell you that I woke up the next day thinking about knitting with it. Good sign, right?

The package contains yarn so fine that I get so nervous whenever I handle them. One is Mohair and the other silk. Took me a long time just to find the yarn end of the silk yarn to take a comparison photo with a lace weight yarn. See picture below. The red is KnitPicks' Shadow that I am using for "Violets". The white is the silk yarn from Heirloom Knitting. Silver coin is One Thai Baht. I think it's about the size of an US nickel. Sorry. I couldn't find any US coins. My partner used them all at the store. :-)

Isn't that out of this world? As Ted gently stated in his letter, I am not ready for it yet. BUT, it will inspire me to work on acquiring the skills to take on the challenge. Oh yes, I will fondle them often, THROUGH THE BAGS, and imagine myself knitting one of the finest lace ever... Ahem, earth to Jason. One step at a time. :-)

Oh just to let you know, in July Ted will be knitting the Wedding Ring Shawl with yarn so fine like this. That's on top of knitting The Princess Shawl. Sheesh! I'll be a nervous wreck just watching on the sideline. LOL

Correction, 9:00 pm: I have forgotten about the unfinished Valentine's Heart Pillow that was knitted using Intarsia. So, I did do color knitting before. LOL I wonder why that completely slipped my mind. Hmmm...

Knitting did happen!

I realized that I was missing a few photos in my last post. You might wonder if there was knitting at the S&B WeHo at all? Well, here:

And yes, that last one is of our famous Sachi helping Laurie Ann knit her first sock. You see, knitting did happen last Thursday. It was hard to focus, but it DID happen. :-)

There are more photos on Ellen, Sachi and Laurie's blogs. But I have to warn you. "Scaralyn" is not a pretty picture. LOL

The first time...

... ever I saw my face... IN BLOND WIG!!! YIKES! I'm sure you'll figure out which one is yours truly in the picture below.

I went to my first WeHo S&B meeting last Thursday. I had been thinking about going for months, but the thought of driving in the usual heavy traffic put me off time after time. Then I met Sachi through the blog world. With a little prodding from her I finally decided to brave the traffic and head out to meet the other knitters in the area. Well... actually... I made my partner drive. LOL Hey, it's my first time! I didn't want to get all flustered from fighting through the traffic. I'm a nervous driver! :-)

I did get an email earlier in the afternoon from Sachi, with a little warning. It was Laurie's birthday and it was going to be "wig night". (Oh oh.) Be prepared to wear one even if I show up wigless. Well, ha, I didn't take that seriously. I went wigless and as you can see, I didn't stay wigless. LOL I was so wrong to think that they would take it easy on a newbie. LOL

By the way, being an extreme introvert, I was too shy to approach the birthday girl to wish her a happy birthday. So Laurie, if you happen to read this little blog, "Happy Birthday!!!"

It was a blast! Of course, the fact that there wasn't a decent mirror at hand, I had no idea what I looked like. Here's one picture of me that just might give you nightmares at night. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw it. Oh gosh, just to think, there are a few of these photos of me floating around out there in the blog world. Oh lordy!

Oh, Sachi, since you kept your promise by posting a lovely picture of me. Here's one of you. hehehe Actually, it is a great picture! Unfortunately I did not think to bring my camera. I will not forget next time. Watch out!






Here are a few more pictures of the fabulous people:

Thanks Sachi, Ellen and Mr. Larry for the Kodak moments! :-)

Now that you've seen some incriminating photos of me. May I ask you please to erase those images from your mind? LOL In an attempt to help you see me in a better light, I present to you this old photo of mine:

The twenty-something me. At least 20 pounds lighter. Wouldn't you rather remember this face instead of "Scaralyn"? Oh, I forgot to mention, that's the name that Darcy fondly gave my alter-ego in blond wig. LOL

Hmmm... the twenty-something me had a really bad perm. Well, how about this. Let's go back further in time. I don't know what age I was when this photo was taken. This is me at my mom's hometown, Yi Lan, in Taiwan. Wouldn't this be a better picture to remember? LOL

What's Kerry knitting?

Kerry in Australia doesn't keep a blog. He told me he was working on socks for friends and I just couldn't resist asking for pictures! One of these days he'll get sick and tired of me screaming, "PHOTOS, PHOTOS!" :-) Anyway. I forgot to ask what pattern he was using for the two-color-knitted sock at the bottom of the picture. BUT, the top sock is Broadripple done with yarn hand-painted by Dave. I think they are just fantastic, don't you? :-)

Chevron Lace Scarf completed

Chevron Lace Scarf is finally done. After blocking it turned out to be twice as long as I originally thought it would be. The fabric rolled into a spiral while knitting, and I didn't take that into consideration when I eye-balled the length of the scarf. I'm glad that I made a decision to wrap it up so I could ship all the items in time. It could have turned out to be ridiculously long. Anyway, it's blocked and ready to go with the other items. Oh, the fabric is super super soft after web blocking. Nice.

"Violets" progress

9 rows done, 9 more rows to go. Well, that sounds misleadingly simple as there's one more violet added to each proceeding row. So, that's 45 violets done and 126 more to go. Hmm... maybe I didn't need to know that. LOL

Ted's modification is working really well. The right and left sides now look more balanced. I am also using a lifeline religiously. I move the line up after completion of each row of violets. It's already saved me a few times.

It took a bit of getting-used-to again when I picked "Violets" back up. It's just a big switch from working with worsted weight to lace weight. I can't wait to get to the Running River pattern which I've never sampled. Also, I will have to deal with joining yarn ends when the first ball of yarn runs out. That will be a first too. Lots to learn.

More Dulaan Knitting

1. Simple blue hat from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. Knitted with Rowan Big Wool. This one is a quick knit.

2. "Bobbi" from Cathy Carron's Hip Knit Hats. Knitted with Brown Sheep Yarn. Total of 90 bobbles in the medium hat pattern. My first time knitting bobbles. Really made my hands hurt. LOL It's also my first time knitting top-down hat. Her instructions are not very clear. At least not to me.

3. Chevron Lace Scarf, a pattern from Knitter's Edge, a paid membership website co-founded by Tricia Schafer. Knitted with Brown Sheep Yarn. Tricia knits samples for my LYS. The last time that I saw her there she did a little promoting for her website. The pattern is cute and easy. Lots of mistakes in the pattern though. After a few failed attempts I realized there were mistakes in the instructions. After correcting the pattern it worked beautifully.

All yarn donated by Gerald. Thanks again! :-)

What a great find!

Misocrafty's Sock Resources