The Eid holiday (pronounced 'eed') celebrates the end of Ramadan and falls this weekend. To take advantage of the five day break we are heading off to India to stay on a coffee plantation in Kerala for some much deserved R&R. We are staying here. I'm so excited!
I've packed a few balls of cotton yarn and my crochet hooks (can you believe it, me with the crochet hooks! I'll get over myself eventually, I promise) and I'm planning baby bibs of all things. I wanted something nice and simple to take along with me. I'm not sure how much I will get done really, but we will see.
See you all in a few days with lots of photos of tropical Kerala for sure!
Eid Mubarak!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Stash Enhancement.
I don't have much knitting to show off at the moment. It doesn't mean that I haven't been knitting (don't be silly), I just don't have much to show off. So I thought I would show you some of my new yarn instead. All of this comes from the birthday splurge I had back in August.
Firstly, there's little beauty!
She's called "Miss Pink!" and was hand dyed by my best friend Zena on some Knit Picks Bare Merino Fingering Weight. "Miss Pink" was part of an amazing birthday package that Zena sent me full of lot's of goodies. Zena does good parcels, really good parcels. As this yarn was a special gift, I want to make something for myself out of it. I'm not thinking socks, I think Miss Pink deserves to be shown off, not hidden on my feet. I'm thinking either gloves or a hat (I will go somewhere cold eventually). Any suggestions?
The rest of the yarn I'm going to show off today is from a company called sKNITches. I visited this website a while ago via a link from Ravelry and really liked their colourways. Have I mentioned that I really love variegated sock yarns, despite the fact that I rarely knit socks and I rarely like adult garments knitted in variegated yarn. They just looks so pretty, all wound up into a skein. Anyway, sKNITches only does limited dye runs and they always sell out really quickly, so when I got an email to say that they had just stocked up, I knew I had to get in quickly. This is what I scored!
Firstly we have Big Tryst in "Brocade". Big Tryst is a sport weight yarn in a blend of 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. It's a really bouncy yarn, and nice a smooth.
"Brocade" is described on the website as "regal lilacs, gold and yellow wheats", in other words, purple and yellow. It reminds me of pansies. I have two skeins of this colourway.
Also in Big Tryst, is one skein of "Blushing Brown" ("golden, light caramel, pink blush").
I'm not so sure about this one. It looks much prettier in the photo than it does in real life (ah the pitfalls of online shopping!). I think I need to see it knitted up.
Next we have Kettle Drum. It's made up of 60% Merino, 30% Bamboo and 10% Nylon. This yarn is still quite springy, but not as much as the Big Tryst. The bamboo content gives the yarn a cool touch.
This colourway is called "Quartz" and it's really pretty.
Last but not least is Velocity (50% Merino, 50% Tencel) in "Grey Cell Green".
I think this yarn will have a nice drape when it is knitted up. Is that a good thing for socks? It makes me think they would fall down. This doesn't bother me as it is unlikely to become socks anyway. I chose this colourway, because I thought it might suit some boy baby clothes for all of the boy babies my friends keep having. All of these yarns are superwash, which makes them perfect (if not too special) for baby garments.
Okay, here's a sneak peak of what I have been up to lately.
Yep, it's crochet! He's going to be an elephant, name Phelie. He's actually a bit further along now than this photo shows. I had been wanting to learn how to crochet for a while now, but it required me to sit somewhere quiet with my learn to crochet book to figure it out which just wasn't happening at home. A few weeks ago I went to Jakarta (Djakarta?) Indonesia for four days for work, so I took some yarn and my books with me and at night time, alone in my hotel room, I was able to sit down and concentrate. And guess what? I can now crochet! You would be so proud Yasmin! I'm pretty excited about this. So many more fibre possibilities......
Firstly, there's little beauty!
She's called "Miss Pink!" and was hand dyed by my best friend Zena on some Knit Picks Bare Merino Fingering Weight. "Miss Pink" was part of an amazing birthday package that Zena sent me full of lot's of goodies. Zena does good parcels, really good parcels. As this yarn was a special gift, I want to make something for myself out of it. I'm not thinking socks, I think Miss Pink deserves to be shown off, not hidden on my feet. I'm thinking either gloves or a hat (I will go somewhere cold eventually). Any suggestions?
The rest of the yarn I'm going to show off today is from a company called sKNITches. I visited this website a while ago via a link from Ravelry and really liked their colourways. Have I mentioned that I really love variegated sock yarns, despite the fact that I rarely knit socks and I rarely like adult garments knitted in variegated yarn. They just looks so pretty, all wound up into a skein. Anyway, sKNITches only does limited dye runs and they always sell out really quickly, so when I got an email to say that they had just stocked up, I knew I had to get in quickly. This is what I scored!
Firstly we have Big Tryst in "Brocade". Big Tryst is a sport weight yarn in a blend of 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. It's a really bouncy yarn, and nice a smooth.
"Brocade" is described on the website as "regal lilacs, gold and yellow wheats", in other words, purple and yellow. It reminds me of pansies. I have two skeins of this colourway.
Also in Big Tryst, is one skein of "Blushing Brown" ("golden, light caramel, pink blush").
I'm not so sure about this one. It looks much prettier in the photo than it does in real life (ah the pitfalls of online shopping!). I think I need to see it knitted up.
Next we have Kettle Drum. It's made up of 60% Merino, 30% Bamboo and 10% Nylon. This yarn is still quite springy, but not as much as the Big Tryst. The bamboo content gives the yarn a cool touch.
This colourway is called "Quartz" and it's really pretty.
Last but not least is Velocity (50% Merino, 50% Tencel) in "Grey Cell Green".
I think this yarn will have a nice drape when it is knitted up. Is that a good thing for socks? It makes me think they would fall down. This doesn't bother me as it is unlikely to become socks anyway. I chose this colourway, because I thought it might suit some boy baby clothes for all of the boy babies my friends keep having. All of these yarns are superwash, which makes them perfect (if not too special) for baby garments.
Okay, here's a sneak peak of what I have been up to lately.
Yep, it's crochet! He's going to be an elephant, name Phelie. He's actually a bit further along now than this photo shows. I had been wanting to learn how to crochet for a while now, but it required me to sit somewhere quiet with my learn to crochet book to figure it out which just wasn't happening at home. A few weeks ago I went to Jakarta (Djakarta?) Indonesia for four days for work, so I took some yarn and my books with me and at night time, alone in my hotel room, I was able to sit down and concentrate. And guess what? I can now crochet! You would be so proud Yasmin! I'm pretty excited about this. So many more fibre possibilities......
Friday, September 19, 2008
We came, we saw, we knit!
Last weekend was the first ever meeting of the Abu Dhabi Stitch'n'Bitch (we are still discussing what our group's name will be). There were five of us, which I was very happy about. I was worried that I might turn up and be on my own! Unfortunately due to Ramadan, the cafe we planned to meet at was closed, so we had to make do by sitting in the near-empty mall.
Here we are....
From left to right the girls are :- Kundi, Eva, Lindsay and Sydney. Yes, we were sitting the wrong way around, using the back of the bench as a make shift table! Kundi has been knitting since she was 6 years old, Eva (with the fab Baby Surprise Jacket!) is a long time crocheter but started knitting recently with the birth of her son. Linsday is relatively new to knitting but is already producing some amazing work and Sydney is a non-knitter who stumbled on some of our blogs and decided to come along. We have vowed to get her knitting too!
We had such a great afternoon and all of the girls were really nice. It was so nice to meet some fellow knitters and it is definitely going to become a regular thing. Next time there will be coffee and comfortable seating, I promise!
We didn't get a whole lot of knitting done, but I did manage to sew in a few ends on my socks for Nanny.
Pattern: Sweetpea from Knitty
Yarn: Essential Sock Yarn by Knitpicks in Riverbed Multi.
I like the patterning that the increases and decreases make. I think that is was attracted me to the pattern. The slip stitch heel was also interesting. It makes for a slightly thicker fabric in that area.
I'm not altogether happy with this yarn though. It's cheap, so I can't argue with that, but it seems to lack elasticity. These socks have quite a snug fit. Once I get them on my foot, they fit really well, but getting them on is a bit of a task. I'm hoping that my grandmother has slightly skinnier feet than me.
The only modication that I made was to reduce the number of decreases on the toe by half as they were looking a bit too pointy for my liking. The result is quite a short toe, but I think it works.
And just to prove that I actually knit two socks, here's a photo of the pretty effect of the special cast on that this pattern calls for. If you have calves like mine, the effect is kind of lost by the time you put them on, but for ladies with slender legs, the effect is quite nice!
Here we are....
From left to right the girls are :- Kundi, Eva, Lindsay and Sydney. Yes, we were sitting the wrong way around, using the back of the bench as a make shift table! Kundi has been knitting since she was 6 years old, Eva (with the fab Baby Surprise Jacket!) is a long time crocheter but started knitting recently with the birth of her son. Linsday is relatively new to knitting but is already producing some amazing work and Sydney is a non-knitter who stumbled on some of our blogs and decided to come along. We have vowed to get her knitting too!
We had such a great afternoon and all of the girls were really nice. It was so nice to meet some fellow knitters and it is definitely going to become a regular thing. Next time there will be coffee and comfortable seating, I promise!
We didn't get a whole lot of knitting done, but I did manage to sew in a few ends on my socks for Nanny.
Pattern: Sweetpea from Knitty
Yarn: Essential Sock Yarn by Knitpicks in Riverbed Multi.
I like the patterning that the increases and decreases make. I think that is was attracted me to the pattern. The slip stitch heel was also interesting. It makes for a slightly thicker fabric in that area.
I'm not altogether happy with this yarn though. It's cheap, so I can't argue with that, but it seems to lack elasticity. These socks have quite a snug fit. Once I get them on my foot, they fit really well, but getting them on is a bit of a task. I'm hoping that my grandmother has slightly skinnier feet than me.
The only modication that I made was to reduce the number of decreases on the toe by half as they were looking a bit too pointy for my liking. The result is quite a short toe, but I think it works.
And just to prove that I actually knit two socks, here's a photo of the pretty effect of the special cast on that this pattern calls for. If you have calves like mine, the effect is kind of lost by the time you put them on, but for ladies with slender legs, the effect is quite nice!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
It's still on!
I've had such a blonde moment! Organising our first Abu Dhabi SnB to be held in a cafe, in the afternoon, during Ramadan! Der! For those who don't live here, during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim people are fasting during the day, which means that most cafes and restaurants are closed until about 6pm.
Never fear, it is still on! Because of the late realisation that the Caribou cafe will probably be closed at 3pm tomorrow afternoon, we will still meet there and then decide what to do from there. I have a few back up plans brewing in my brain. So please still come along. We will still have a great time.
I hope to see you there!
Never fear, it is still on! Because of the late realisation that the Caribou cafe will probably be closed at 3pm tomorrow afternoon, we will still meet there and then decide what to do from there. I have a few back up plans brewing in my brain. So please still come along. We will still have a great time.
I hope to see you there!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
I love visitors!
Having visitors is great! It revitalises the soul. Especially living over here with no family and friends living close by.
Last weekend, my cousin Judith, her husband Darin, and their two kids Joshua (ten) and Isabella (eight) came to stay with us on their way to Germany. Darin has some family living in Germany and is also planning to run the Berlin marathon, as you do!
We took them to see all the sights of Abu Dhabi, and a few in Dubai. Here's some photos.
Joshua and Isabella are such good kids and they really seemed to enjoy the cultural stuff as well as things like the camels and dune bashing. We had such a fun time. I hope they are having a great time over in Europe.
Last weekend, my cousin Judith, her husband Darin, and their two kids Joshua (ten) and Isabella (eight) came to stay with us on their way to Germany. Darin has some family living in Germany and is also planning to run the Berlin marathon, as you do!
We took them to see all the sights of Abu Dhabi, and a few in Dubai. Here's some photos.
At the camel farm during our desert safari.
Me with Mrs Camel.
A camel kiss for Joshua!
Desert sunset.
Fun in the sand.
Camel ride for Isabella and Josh.
At the Grand Mosque, only recently opened for visitors.
Josh on the big carpet.
Us inside the Grand Mosque (yes, that is me on the right!).
Desert sunset.
Fun in the sand.
Camel ride for Isabella and Josh.
At the Grand Mosque, only recently opened for visitors.
Josh on the big carpet.
Us inside the Grand Mosque (yes, that is me on the right!).
Isabella and her Henna Tattoo (don't worry, it's temporary!)
Joshua and Isabella are such good kids and they really seemed to enjoy the cultural stuff as well as things like the camels and dune bashing. We had such a fun time. I hope they are having a great time over in Europe.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
It's my birthday and I'll buy if I want to!
There's been a few shopping confessions of late in the blogging world. This one in particular made me want to fess up to my own recent indulgences.
First there was the book sale at Knit Picks. 40% off everything! Knitting books in bookstores are basically non-existent here so online shopping is my only outlet to feed my knitting book addiction. Here's what I got.
You'll notice that two of these books are actually crochet books. I have the other Lucinda Guy books, and I just love looking at them, so I had (HAD!) to buy that one. Also, since I finished the Tetris blanket, I have all this left over worsted weight yarn in a multitude of colours just begging to be crocheted in to Amigurumi. The pattern called for two balls of each colour, so I bought three balls of each, not wanting to run out (you understand) and for all of the colours except those I used on the border, I only used one ball. That's a lot of left over yarn!
The crochet books (and my desire to learn how to crochet) lead me to realise that I don't own crochet hooks! So online I went and before I knew it I had bought a complete set of hooks. During this process two Berocco Norah Gaugan booklets managed to also hop into my shopping cart. Whoops! I'm now waiting (impatiently!) for this package arrive. I love parcels!
The third online shopping expedition come about when I got an email from the people at sKNITches saying that they had new yarn in store. I have looked dreamily at their online wares before (hand dyed sock yarns in luscious colourways and interesting yarn blends) but had always been disappointed by the lack of stock. So this time I had to get in quick (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). This little shopping trip ended up being a big shopping trip and the result is that my stash of sock yarn grew by six balls, each ball being enough for one pair of socks. "But you don't knit socks Charmaine!" I hear you say. That, my friends is a minor point indeed. This package also has still not arrived. I'll be sure to show it off when it does. Did I mention that I love parcels?
So I was thinking about all of this indulgence and how it made be feel. Of course I was having fun, but did I feel any shopping guilt? I decided that the answer was a resolute NO! For starters, it's my birthday this month so I think I am entitled to buy myself a few birthday pressies. Secondly, I work hard and I earn my own money, so if I want to buy myself something every now and then, I bloody well will!
Having said all of that, I have decided that I should tighten my belt for the time being and make sure I use some of these books and yarn that I have bought. Let's see how long I can last!
Speaking of knitting from my stash, I finally have some photos of the finished Seascape. Here it is artfully draped around my shoulders.....
.... and here it is artfully draped over the ironing board!!
Pattern: Seascape by Kieran Foley on Knitty
Yarn: KnitPicks Shadow (100% Merino) in Grape Jelly (One and a bit balls)
Modifications: None, other than I did nine repeats of the central chart rather than the recommended six, to give a longer scarf/stole.
This will get packaged up to go to my Aunt Didi as soon as I finish knitting some socks for my Grandmother. Both will be belated birthday presents. Yes, you heard me right, I am knitting socks. Photos of those soon.
First there was the book sale at Knit Picks. 40% off everything! Knitting books in bookstores are basically non-existent here so online shopping is my only outlet to feed my knitting book addiction. Here's what I got.
You'll notice that two of these books are actually crochet books. I have the other Lucinda Guy books, and I just love looking at them, so I had (HAD!) to buy that one. Also, since I finished the Tetris blanket, I have all this left over worsted weight yarn in a multitude of colours just begging to be crocheted in to Amigurumi. The pattern called for two balls of each colour, so I bought three balls of each, not wanting to run out (you understand) and for all of the colours except those I used on the border, I only used one ball. That's a lot of left over yarn!
The crochet books (and my desire to learn how to crochet) lead me to realise that I don't own crochet hooks! So online I went and before I knew it I had bought a complete set of hooks. During this process two Berocco Norah Gaugan booklets managed to also hop into my shopping cart. Whoops! I'm now waiting (impatiently!) for this package arrive. I love parcels!
The third online shopping expedition come about when I got an email from the people at sKNITches saying that they had new yarn in store. I have looked dreamily at their online wares before (hand dyed sock yarns in luscious colourways and interesting yarn blends) but had always been disappointed by the lack of stock. So this time I had to get in quick (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). This little shopping trip ended up being a big shopping trip and the result is that my stash of sock yarn grew by six balls, each ball being enough for one pair of socks. "But you don't knit socks Charmaine!" I hear you say. That, my friends is a minor point indeed. This package also has still not arrived. I'll be sure to show it off when it does. Did I mention that I love parcels?
So I was thinking about all of this indulgence and how it made be feel. Of course I was having fun, but did I feel any shopping guilt? I decided that the answer was a resolute NO! For starters, it's my birthday this month so I think I am entitled to buy myself a few birthday pressies. Secondly, I work hard and I earn my own money, so if I want to buy myself something every now and then, I bloody well will!
Having said all of that, I have decided that I should tighten my belt for the time being and make sure I use some of these books and yarn that I have bought. Let's see how long I can last!
Speaking of knitting from my stash, I finally have some photos of the finished Seascape. Here it is artfully draped around my shoulders.....
.... and here it is artfully draped over the ironing board!!
Pattern: Seascape by Kieran Foley on Knitty
Yarn: KnitPicks Shadow (100% Merino) in Grape Jelly (One and a bit balls)
Modifications: None, other than I did nine repeats of the central chart rather than the recommended six, to give a longer scarf/stole.
This will get packaged up to go to my Aunt Didi as soon as I finish knitting some socks for my Grandmother. Both will be belated birthday presents. Yes, you heard me right, I am knitting socks. Photos of those soon.
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