Alice 愛麗絲

Alice was planned to be knitted up right after Cassandra, but Alice was busy with her life and so she didn't come out until a few days ago.

It was a very quick knit, even for me, who had a four-month knitting break. I could have finished it in two days, definitely less than three, but when I started the leaf border, my stitch count was off. I had more stitches on the first half of the triangle, and I couldn't fix it unless a visit to the frog pond. Besides, the garter stitch main body makes any fixes glaringly visible. So, I ripped back to row 10. Yes. 10. Row 10.

It took me another half day to re-knit the garter stitch body, but the leaf border was easy enough and it was finished in no time.

Alice used up almost a whole skein of cotton silk blend yarn. Only a little was left. No modifications were made, except the way I did the ssk: slip 1, place slipped stitch back to left needle, k2tog tbl. That way the stitch definition was great for it resembles exactly the k2tog.

Selbu Modern 色布配色貝雷帽

Selbu Modern was 2011-1 KAL project of Taiwan Knit Along.

And that was way back in Jan or Feb.

Scarlett asked for a hat in pink and magenta and Selbu Modern was a perfect match. I knitted to around row 30 and found the whole knitting really miserable. 

I used the tubular/invisible cast on featured in Interweave Knits Fall 2008, and tried to hide my float while knitting to avoid snag. I had had tension problem with stranded knitting, and thinking back now I wasn't really concentrating while working on it. Crappy results. Decided to rip. And then the weather got warm.

More than six months have past, with much cooler air, I started knitting again. Especially after two successful stranded berets, I thought, why not finish what I started? So, Selbu Modern was officially ripped and re-started.

This time I used tubular cast on with Judy's magic cast on. Way easier than IK Fall 2008 tubular cast on. No fuss at all. The only set back was the ripped yarn was so crinkled like ramen... but of course it got better after using up the quantity for the first 30 rows!

After finishing the pink Selbu Modern, I think I know why I was not able to concentrate the first time. The pattern has been updated and although I didn't compare the versions side by side, I was sure the newer version was better.

Delighted, a second Selbu Modern was cast on, for Sebastian. The yarns were the same type as the pink version but in yellow and blue. And I found that the newer version of the pattern was written and colored exactly like how I was going to knit Sebastian's Selbu Modern! Seriously, when I re-started Selbu Modern and before getting out the pattern, which I downloaded again from Ravelry instead of going through my hard drive, the color combination was already decided!

Seba and I really liked the colors, although it's kind of more Swedish than Norwegian!

Béret Généreux 大方配色貝雷帽

Beret Genereux was the 2011 4th KAL for Taiwan Knit Along.

I With the permission of Isabelle Allard, had the beret in mind for quite while, but never got to pick up the needles and yarn. Even when I was helping on the translation, doubt was still lingering in here about whether or not I would knit it.

This was the first project I made after the four-month stop on knitting. And I ended up knitting two berets. One for Sebastian and one for Scarlett.

It's not my first stranded knitting, but I had always had a problem with the yarn float. Since the pattern called for worsted weight yarn, I figured it might also be a good project to destash all those fingering weight yarn I have. An off-white merino fingering was used double-stranded to pair with a blue jean/various colors variegated sport-dk weight wool yarn.

It was really interesting to knit for the brim was corrugated ribs and I tried a new tubular cast on: Tubular Cast On with Judy's Magic Cast On. The colorwork chart was so easy to follow that it took only one night and one morning to finish!

After a successful stranded come-back knitting, I cast on for a second beret, pairing the same off-white merino fingering double stranded with the same type of sport-dk weight wool yarn, but in magenta/various colors variegated.

The first beret was knitted during a weekend, but the second had to span into the week, but still, it just  took two more nights after work and dinner & etc to finish.

Scarlett and Sebastian were impressed by the colorwork! And I have yet to take pictures with S&S wearing them!

Cookie A Socks Cookie A 設計的襪子

Although it seems almost impossible but I have been abandoning my blog for six months!! Actually, I've been also kind of abandoning my knitting for about four months, only occasionally I continued to knit Mandala II for my aunt.

Before I went on a hiatus on updating the blog, I actually had three pairs of socks done, all of them were Cookie A's design: Hedera, Pomatomus and Marlene. And all of them were knitted with Knit Picks' yarn: Stroll and Stroll Tonal.

Marlene was the last project I worked on before the four-month break from knitting, but I still have to take pictures of them.

So, here they are: Hedera in Knit Picks Stroll Burgundy




The leg length was shortened, shorter than I used to like, for after wearing and washing the socks grow....






These are Pomatomus in Knit Picks Stroll Tidepool Heather:




Knit Picks Stroll are quite nice to work with. Stroll Tonal's even better! Really nice quality and equally nice price!

More Hermione's Every Socks 妙麗日常襪第二彈

As promised, I knitted all 4 colorways of my Kertzer On Your Toes 4Ply with Aloe Vera leftovers into Hermione's Everyday Socks. And here they are!

Mother's Day 2011 100年母親節

This is Cassandra. Marie Adeline Boyer's latest. It's not done yet, not quite, but it will be. Real soon. I promise.





MA's Cassandra is my saviour. I was suffering from a nasty cold and was too tired and weak to knit anything. When I saw MA modeling Cassandra on Raverly, my eyes widened immediately for I have just the yarn and cause for this pretty shawl. It is a real pick-me-up! Years ago I bought 2 cakes approximatley 250 grams of these hand-dyed fingering weight 80/20 cotton/silk in apple green and planned to knit into a summery top, which never happened, of course. And I'm almost sure it will not happen. For they are even better if knitted into this lovely Cassandra! So, I fished the cakes of out my yarn chest, assembled my Knit Picks Harmony Wood Interchangeables with US6 needle heads and cast on. I was so quick, even I haven't been knitting the same overall patterned shawl for quite some time. And I am now 7 reps out of the 8 reps chart B called for.



Leaf motif


Leaf motif, you can see the buds!


As to the yarn, I really don't know the brand and such. It was dyed by a local knitter here. She bought undyed yarns in bulk off eBay UK and hand painted herself. I don't even know the yardage. And I'm too lazy to calculate! Anyway, 2 cakes 250 grams is suffice to a simple short sleeve top. It is very loosely spun with 5 strands of 2 plies. Have to be very careful while knitting so as not to pick up any single 2 ply strands, which will then stick out real ugly. Although wet blocking does not change the size of the finishing shawl, but it will help smooth out uneveness and loose picked single strands. That is the single not so good thing I can say about this yarn.

Godric's Hollow 高錐客洞帽

OK, remember I said I was so inspired and would like to knit everything I saw in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I? Well, after Hermione's Everyday Sock (which did not appear in the movie) it's this inspired beret/hat, imitating the one Hermione wore in the movie while accompanying Harry to visit Godric's Hollow on Chrsitmas Eve.



S&S in their coats and raincoat and Godric's Hollows ready to go to Kindergarten.


I picked up the mulberry colored leftover yarn from grandma's. My aunt was looking for odd balls to put together as a vest for her granddaughter, while helping her out, I picked out some leftovers: 2+ balls of worsted wool in mulberry, some variegated worsted wool in plum/salmon pink & etc., some variegated worsted wool/angora blend in pink/gray/yellow & etc., and 1+ball of purple angora/acrylic/cashmere blend. These can be knitted into berets or mittens or even both!


Recently I've been reading Kate Davies' blog and was so excited about corrugated ribs, so I decided to give the beret a twist. But these are pure wool yarn and they're itchy, so lining should be applied. I read about bi-color turn up hems on Ysolda's blog and brim lining on Kate's, and went to pick out some leftover lace yarn and cast on.







The berets were a quick knit using worsted weight yarn, but the brim aren't as elastic as I thought. No matter, the twins still love them a lot. I love them a lot, too!





I knitted the berets in adult sizes. I can wear them, too! So, they can wear them for a while!