Little Purl of the Orient

Another tunic-vest

A knit completed in the wrong season. The weather is once again hot and humid and not at all suitable for a woolly vest. JY, being the ever so appreciative recipient of handknit garments, seems not quite aware that wool shouldn't be worn in summer. She jumps on an opportunity of an ever so slightly cooler morning to put on the vest that I recently finished for her.

You might notice that the middle tassel is not properly done at all and is coming undone, I'll have to fix it. The pattern is from this Japanese children knitting book. There's another sweater and a neckwarmer in there that JY wants me to knit. I used 6.5 balls of blue light worsted weight yarn bought from Beijing last Easter. Each ball is not 50g but something like 62.5g.

It is a straight forward, trouble-free knit that was done mostly in the bus. Just double ribbing and garter stitch. JY likes it a lot and so does MIL who has asked me to knit her one in exactly the same pattern and in the same colour. I'm not sure it will look becoming on her so I must really think of something.

The sun is still shining

When I left the office last Thursday, the sun was still shining. And how refreshing it was. I just wanted to go back and see my kids before they go to bed, and give them a hug and a kiss.

The devastation in Sichuan, China from the strong earthquake on Monday is unfathomable. The death toll is expected to go up to a staggering 50,000. Entire towns got grazed to the ground and only 20% of the populations in those towns survive. Yet what the survivals will face is unimaginable, without family, clean water, food, cover or medication.

It was reported that over 5 million people will become homeless. That is equivalent to more than the whole population of my hometown, Singapore. The images of the crying Sichuanese hurt, heartbroken, and hungry are just too heart wrenching. On the other hand, it is so encouraging to see the relentless rescue efforts of the Chinese government.

And the heartwarming humanity of mankind. Aids are arriving into Sichuan. The least we can do in the comfort of our homes is to donate generously.  Please give no matter how little to a local charity that you can trust, to help the living to live. And pray and send some good thoughts their way. Also to the neighbouring Myanmar (Burma), where Cyclone Nargis killed 100,000.

Let's let them know the sun is still shining.

This and That – Part 2, Project Spectrum edition

I've been clocking 12-hour days at work for the past 6 months. And this is starting to take its toll on me. Time with husband has increased a bit because I commute home with him now that my working hours are matching his. However, I'm not spending as much time with my daughters as I used to and every weekend is very precious now, even a quiet afternoon of colouring and drawing is very much cherished.

You might have noticed my appearance here has been getting scarce. Not only that, my unread Bloglines has stayed well above 3000 for quite a while. But I still do knit, albeit now always in mindless stocking stitch, garter stitch or ribbing. Sometimes, when the adrenalin stayed high after a day's work, the soothing clicking of the needles really do help calm my nerves and help me go to sleep.

For the bus and for bringing-everywhere knitting, I now have this Gathered Scarf in green Araucania Ranco, a gift from Joy. It is sock weight yarn so I've modified the number of stitches and row to achieve a similar effect as written for a DK weight yarn. I'm loving the different shades of green and not minding one bit it is knitted in small needles (3.6 mm and 2.75mm). JY likes it too and this will go to her when finished. It will take a while though.

For the at-home knitting, I'm immersing myself in some Habu goodness. I've finally cast on the Kusha Kusha scarf in Terra Cotta and Brown from Olga who's been spreading the Habu love and showcasing some fantastic Habu knitting. My husband has already 'booked' this scarf and it'll go to him when completed. Yes, it's kinda orangey-reddish-brownish and not quite a guy colour but yes, he'll wear it, and has been asking for his 'zen' scarf. And opening up to this Habu knitting is scary-crazy, all you can think of next is Habu-Habu-Habu. Try it and you'll know what I mean.

Speaking of Olga, she sent my little CY a scarf too. And I can't help marveling at the fascinating construction. The pattern is from Knitting New Scarves.

Now that everyone in the family has or is going to have a new scarf except myself, maybe it's time to go cast on for one more.

This and that

Thank you for the Japanese tunic love. Seems that such longish vest is la mode right now and I have another on the needles, this time for JY. It is almost all done.

The pattern is from a new old Japanese kids' knits pattern book which I really like and have been hunting for a while. The pattern is written for knitting bottom up but as the yarn was bought last year in Beijing and not replenishable, I'm just converting it top down so that I could adjust the length should I run out of yarn. It is easy to do that because the vest is basically made up of 2 rectangles, double rib for the bodice and garter stitch for the bottom.

Some this and that FOs from a while back that are not blogged.

A Thorpe(pdf) for JY, which turned out a bit too big, meant for the Paris trip but she wore it only once or twice. I used 2 balls of chunky Japanese yarn and some orange Jaeger Como for the contrast. And pompoms were added as per JY's request.

Another hat for CY. Just simply top down according to Barbara Walker's tried and tested formula in Knitting from the Top Down, knitted in Knit Picks Andean, a gift from P. And I just couldn't resist adding a crochet flower, pattern from the above said Japanese book.

Last but not least, mitts for JY all the way from Olga! If I'm not mistaken, the pattern is from this Japanese Nordic Knitting Book showcasing some interesting knitting techniques. I bought myself the second volume and can't wait to experiment with it. More photos from these 2 books here and here.