:: Drumroll, Please ::

WOW!

Thank you sooo much for your generous comment! I was busy and neglected this post for a while, so much knitting going in my little studio daily these days, makes my head spin, but certainly it will be worth the wait I hope!

So many eager participants, I really wish I had more to give away, but only one and it is going to Kelly Maher aka tragicheroine, Congratulations to her and the yummy package of Spud&Chloe is on the way to her in Canada.




As a consolation to my readers here is some eye candy, which I always find exciting to share as they are very inspirational.
Junya Watanabe, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dries Van Noten. They are not fresh, but the best!

photo courtesy of Livejournal community ru_glamour

:: spud&chloe giveaway ::

First, I need to thank all of my readers and supporters, I am so happy you loved Grecian top! I must admit one of mine is going to live with my mother, who is actually very hard to impress, but she loved it so! So now all need to get to knitting as I can't wait to see more of them knit up in the wild! Now onto a new adventure!

Trifecta Scarf - I think this was a project I was pushing through my holidays. Knitting it everywhere I went, even on that darn Red Line (I was once stuck for an hour and a half underground!) but having a blast at this stitch pattern!

I was told more detailed photos of the scarf will be posted shortly on the Spud & Chloe website.

But here is my swatch so you can see the details. It is in the different yarn that the original sample was made and is just scanned in the photo below. You can also make it into a shawl if desired, just add more of those repeats.


This line is utterly amazing, all is machine washable and oh soooo soft! I want to thank Sylvia who offered this amazing opportunity to work with this yarn and the company!
So in gratitude to all this I want to announce a little giveaway!

Spud & Chloe Fine yarn enough to make Trifecta scarf in the colors of the original sample as well as the printed pattern for it!
This yarn is 80% superwash merino and 20% silk. Yummm!

I can't wait to see someone knit this up and have full Spud & Chloe experience. I missed TNNA this June, but I heard that their display was one of the most creative in the show.. so sorry to have missed it, but caught a glimpse on it on various blogs.

In fact, I want to continue working with this yarn, even though it is fine and tiny needle eat up your time, but it is so much fun, that it doesn't even matter!

So in order to get your crafty hands on this, please leave me a comment by midnight, 26 June, Friday (linked to your blog or your Ravelry name) so I would have a way of contacting you. Then will determine a winner out of a hat!

:: Grecian Top finally here ::

A while back, almost 2 years now I think, I have finished this top I made out of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, it was a designing attempt for something summery, simple, but enough detail and flair to be interesting. At that time I didn't happen to take any notes on the process and it was when a whole lot of knitters started requesting this pattern. I tried to resize it from what I had to work with and last month I actually bit the bullet and have re-knit the whole top from a different yarn, but having learnt so much more since way back when the original was created, the pattern turned out quite pleasing!

And now I am so proud to present Grecian top [Ravelry link] to all of you, readers, knitters and lurkers :D

It is a top down design that involves minimal sewing, trimmed with applied cabled edging and the pattern is offered in 13 sizes and comes with options of 2 sleeve lengths and 2 variations for hem.

You can make it cap sleeve or elbow length and have your hem either slightly curved or straight.

To fit bust: (28, 30, 32, 34) (36, 38, 40, 42, 44) (46, 48, 50, 52)”
Finished garment length: (20.5, 20.75, 21, 21.25) (21.5, 21.75, 23.25, 23.75, 24.5) (24.75, 25.25, 25.75, 26.25)”

Yarn
Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy (34% hemp, 41% cotton, 25% modal; 154 yds 140m/50 gr 1.75 oz; #8, turquoise.
or
Habu Textiles XS-24 20/12 bamboo (100% bamboo; 80 yds 73 m/28 gr1 oz; color 1;

(654, 700, 747, 794) (840, 887, 934, 1000, 1040) (1100, 1150, 1200, 1250) yds

Needles
3.25mm circular needle 24”
3.25mm double pointed needle (or 2 circular needles in same size)
2.25mm double pointed needles
OR USE NEEDLE TO OBTAIN GAUGE

Other materials
crochet hook size B or C
scrap yarn in same weight
removable stitch markers
tapestry needle

Gauge
28 sts and 36 rows in 4” over washed and blocked St st swatch on larger needles knit in the round

For those of you who may find doing applied cable edging a challenge, I have updated the tutorial on it! So it would be easier to knit through thinking that you have some back support. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to email me to address on the sidebar.


I want to thank all of knitters who encouraged me and never stopped bugging me for the pattern! It has been nominated for Official Sexy Knitters Club KAL a while back, hopefully you are still passionate about this project!

Also my dear friends, who made suggestions and made this possible [Vanessa, Alexandra, Priscilla, Mac]!

Casey, Jess, Mary-Heather for featuring it in the Spotlight on the Ravelry pattern page!!!!!

Hope all of you enjoy it and Happy Knitting!

On Ravelry

Non-Ravelry members can purchase this through buttons below

wonderful photography by Vanessa/coloursknits

:: sofie dillon ::

she is a photographer, some knitwear shots, that may be old, but good and inspirational.

:: Akomeogi Tunic ::

I want to share a great joy of mine, of being published in Interweave Knits magazine, this is my second design for them and I am really pleased how it turned out. I want to publicly thank Eunny Jang and Lisa Shroyer for dealing with my difficult situation at a time to have this out of me. This experience was utterly amazing, because I took so much from it, being challenged to be presented with a wonderful opportunity at the most complex time of your life is something indescribable, but this is what you call life . As trying to motivate yourself regardless that things that needed to be done and testing self-discipline no matter what. I didn't come out all bright and shiny, some tasks failed, some I persevered through. And here you can see the outcome. I am going to write more about Petal Halter with a tutorial later. But for now, I give you Akomeogi Tunic, which in translation from Japanese means "folding fan". To be honest, I had the sketch and yarn for this garment since June 2007. But what all of you get to see in a finished project is a bit processed from this original sketch.

And here it is, photoshoot from Interweave Knits Summer 2009. I am so grateful to the editors and stylists and the photographer who took so many details pictures.




photo courtesy of Interweave Knits website

And yesterday, as Knitting Daily presented their galleries, I saw it being modeled by many different ladies: ages and figure and ease.
So head over there and make a judgement for yourself.


On a personal note, I learnt that I enjoyed working with linen yarn to such extent that I have acquired a new object of desire. Linen in all kinds and weights. It is perfect for sticky and changeable DC summers. This particular design reflects my taste and my desire for knitwear to carry, some are very wearable and plain, but some boutique pieces that retail for hundreds and hundreds with an oomph to them, the unusual that every woman has and yet to express it. I love expressing mine through what I wear, this is not just a cloth to cover yourself, but also reflect on how you feel. I love fashion and everything about it, it is again a theatre, just a medium for others to percept your real self.

And now, I remember I have Louet and Lin-net linen to play with, hmmm! Possibilities are tasteful!

:: chanel fall 2009-2010 :: we are dolls::