Little Purl of the Orient

Very small cables and chunky ones too

The chunky cables belong to Morris in the making. Pattern from Rowan 34 and is available here for free (but incomplete! I had to ask Joy who has the magazine for help). Dear CY whispered to me the other day to knit a sweater for daddy's birthday in mid April and why not? It's a great idea and hope I'll finish this chunky knit soon.

The very small cables belong to these Druid Mittens.

Pattern: Druid Mittens from Vogue Knitting Fall 2008
Yarn: Fine Cashmere blend from Beijing used doubled.
Needles: Clover 2 (2.7mm) bamboo dpns

Love the cably goodness

The Druid Mittens are finally finished. I brought them to Seoul for the work trip as planned but the weather there last week was incredibly nice and I didn't have a chance to use them. Nevertheless, I'm sure they'll come in handy one day. It's always good to save them for a snowy day. Or I could take them out and wear them once in a while at home, for fun :O).

This is really Duck Soup!

Duck Soup is done! And I like it. It's a simple and well-written pattern that is extremely easy to follow. I made the largest size written for 4-year-old although CY is coming to 6 this July. Hence I'd to lengthen the body substantially, and is easily done since it's a top-down pattern.

Initially, I'd second thoughts on using this yarn for CY as the colour is not quite a 'kid' colour. I decided to give it a try and it turns out surprisingly good. The Beaverslide yarn is so full of yarn-y goodness that I took out my shade card just to stroke and dream of what else to order and knit. Just a thought though as our flat is currently not short of yarn, so to speak.

Yarn: Beaverslide Fishermen Wool, Dusty Clover, 3 skeins (just had to break into the 4th for the last few rows)
Button Loops: I-cords in Fleece Artist Sock yarn leftover from this pair of socks.
Needles: Clover #11 circulars (5.4mm)

CY is as usual the reluctant model but this jacket got her approval as it has the most important criteria in a garment to her: a hoodie. It should still fit her this fall.

Almost there ...

Just somehow lacking the little bit of something to cross the finishing line.

There is an almost Duck Soup. All but done except for the grafting of the hood and ends to weave in. Even the buttons and the i-cord loops are sewn in. Really like how the Beaverslide yarn is working for this hoodie. The colourway is Dusty Clover, originally bought to knit the Tweedy Aran Cardigan but didn't get gauge. I still have 4 more hanks left and will certainly queue for a Mrs. Darcy's Cardigan for myself.

Then there is almost Druid Mittens which is lacking just a few more rows on the second thumb. Must get these done in time for next Monday for the work trip to Seoul. BTW, would greatly appreciate if anyone has any yarn or shopping tips for Seoul. The work schedule is extremely tight and I would most probably have 1 night for any private errands though including shopping for kimchi and dried seaweed for my girls.

Almost Noro Entrelac Scarf (pdf link). There should be one more tier or so to go before all the Noro is used up. Next question is, should I fringe or should I not (in another matchy yarn and not Noro though)? The colourway of this Silk Garden is #268.

Hello March (Already?)

1. Green plant 8, 2. Earth 7, 3. Rocks 6, 4. Green 5, 5. Green 4, 6. Stones 3, 7. Stones 2, 8. Green 1, 9. Avril Brown Vest

Can't imagine it's already March. To kick off this year's Project Spectrum, here's a mosiac of various plants, stones and rocks from the Kadoorie Farm and Tung Ping Chau in Hong Kong. Despite being famous (or notorious) for being a concrete jungle, there is stunning nature to be found in this metropolitan city if you care to look. And how glad am I of that, work has come full force after the end of Chinese New Year and it's wonderful to have breathers like these during the weekends. And best of all, my kids just love the nature.

Therein the mosiac you'll find a vest too. The wintery Avril Brown Vest is finally done after too many moons than the pattern would ever warrant. It is simple garter in 2 pieces, a squarish rectangle and then a long rectangle sewn together. There are crochet borders which quite had me in but (gauge problem) in the end was ok. The yarn is a kit I ordered directly from Avril, Kyoto. I knitted it with 8mm needles. And the pattern is from the Avril 'Kawaii' book.

Here's a closer look.

Preferring to have an enclosure for this vest, I found an old dragonfly brooch which serves its purpose well.