Jaywalker - First Sock is done!

Finally, my first sock of Jaywalker is finished --- it took way over one month, because I changed my needle size from JPN #1 to JPN #0, and I lost my needles so I had to wait till my mom sent another set of dpn for me...

I especially like the heel...



It's so cute! I can't wait to get them done!

Valentine's Day Gift

I wanted to make something simple for my husband. So, I made a very simple scarf with garter stitch.
I used three different yarns --- Noro's Silk Garden (201), Rowan Kid Classic (831) and Cascade Yarns Indulgence (506).
It came out very light for men's scarf --- less than 100g!

Now, I am working on my son's sweater for Valentine's Day (which was supposed to be a Xmas gift, by the way), but I don't think I can finish it... oh...

Flying Fish?

I recently received a question about "flying fish" from a couple of knitters...

I am not sure which symbol it means, but if it is the symbol with fish's face up to the top, it should be either "twisted stitch" or "strand increase". This twisted stitch is often used in this type of sweater to emphasize the cable/rib lines.

If you have a moment. please visit ABC's of Knitting by tata & tatao. On the left column, you will find "Basic Stitches" section under "Illustrated Basics" which is listed at the fifth row from the top. When you click it, you will find the table of major Japanese knitting symbols and brief descriptions. When you click the illustrations link on the right, you will come across the illustrations of "how to make" that stitch. This is well made and worth taking a look!

Hope this will help...

Ishi's Knitting

I received some messages regarding Ishi's sweater. She was working on a couple projects from Toshiyuki Shimada's book, and everyone loved them!

And now, she was leaving a little memo about her sweaters, and one of the knitters in the same knitting blog group (she is an administrator of the whole group! lot's of work!!) translated her message into English, so I am leaving a link to this translation.

Hope this will help everyone!

My Winter Goodies

This winter is almost exceptionally warm here in new york, but we still need a set of gloves and hat. So, I made the whole set of these goodies for myself---



Pattern: Elf cap from handknit holidays

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay color F and #33; 1 skein each

Needle: US 10 1/2

Note: I love this pattern!! The yarn is double stranded. It's very warm and easy to wear. I needed to adjust the pattern a bit because the gauge was off, but not too complicated.




Pattern: Ruffles Gloves from Loop-d-Loop

Yarn: Jaeger Luxury Tweed (Sh:821) 2 balls

Needle: JPN #2 & #6

Note: When I was knitting the fingers, I lost my needles, and had to use longer (probably 12" long) needles to finish it... It was extremely difficult to knit these tiny fingers with long needles. Overall, I like this pattern alot! It looks complicated, but not too much, and I had fun knitting this great pair. I used the yarn the book called for, and I am very happy with the way they came out.




Pattern: Hand/Wrist Warmers

Yarn: Rowan Soft Lux 1 ball

Needle: JPN #6

Note: I made this to put these over the gloves (too much?). I made them a lot longer than the pattern says and I am happy with the result. These come in handy!




Pattern: Nicky Epstein's Flower Pins from Handknit Holidays

Yarn: Merino Fur & boucle from New Zealand

Needle: US #8

I totally love this!! I am wearing this everyday~ It's such a nice accent to your hair! Many friends like this and ask how to make --- it's very simple and beautiful. Again, great design!

Now, I go back to my Union Square Market Pullover from IK Fall 2005. I have determined to finish up the project on the needle first before working on the next one.... tough decision...

christmas gift to my son - elf socks

I wanted to make a same irregular rib raglan sweater for my son, but I didn't have enough time at all, so I ended up knitting this cuty elf socks for him...




This is knitted with Alchemy's Reservoir. my favorite, favorite yarn!! I bought this yarn a couple years ago, and I never see this again... I wonder this is discontinued...

The yarn that I use for my son's rib sweater is 50% wool & 50% yak. I bought this at school products, and this is just so soft! Hopefully this will be done by valentine's day~

christmas gift to my husband

Here is the photo of a sweater that I made for my hubby---



Someone may notice, but this is Teva Durham's Irregular RIb Raglan with Toggle from Loop-d-Loop. I loved this pattern, and knitted this for a while, and realized it may be too big for my hubby, not because he is small, but because I knitted this kid classic too loose...

I have a tendency to knit loosely, but since this pattern says one size fits small woman to large man, I was a bit scared if it would come out too small for my hubby (who usually wears Large-X Large size).

Anyway, he tried this on on the christmas day and turned out too big, and now I have to fix it, but I totally lost my motivation to do it, and it's been sitting on the chair for more than a month...