Chic or Chic: Op. 16 Cowl Pattern

Hello knitters!

I'm now blogging while listening to some French children's song.  It's fun!!!  But don't get wrong, Cowl Op. 16 is absolutely for adult.    I had some difficult time deciding on what to do with the Morasol's Hasa yarn.  

The tweed of the Hasa yarn is favored by some knitter friends.  Sweet! 

Here is some info of Op. 16:

Material: 2 Skeins of Mirasol’s Hasa with Color way #2210

    

Tools: Circular needles US# 8 with 32” cord.

                  2 Cable needles

                  Stitch Markers (Optional)

Size: 71 (73)cm circumstances; 19 cm tall

Gauge:   18 stitches x  24 rows = 10cm x 10cm

In fact, due to the irregular spun of the yarn, it is necessary to arrange some extravagant, or I should put it, some unsubtle pattern for the cowl.  That's why I have the big cable, the "big X" designed for the center part in front.   Something 'overstated" would be a good choice.

How about the back?  I have something totally technically and graphically different for the other side of Op. 16.

Hope you like the wavy pattern as well.  It enhances the elegance of the cowl and make it more "chic".  

It was fun to do a lot of ssk (Skip, Skip, Knit) for this cowl. What a good practice!  I did it also for testing the needle tip of the Turbo Click set.   Two relevant blogs are listed here: 2 Weeks After and Finally I got the Turbo Click.  

Anyhow, I hope you all like Op. 16 cowl pattern, which is now available on Ravelry and Etsy.  

HAPPY KNITTING

Labor Day Yarn Review on Cascade's Longwood

Hi Knitters,

How's your Labor Day weekend?  Mine's quite boring.  Really hope to do something outdoor.  But before I step out of my door,  allow me to make one announcement and review on the yarn Op. 15 is made of.

Labor Day weekend special.  Everything is on sale on both Ravelry and Etsy. Price already changed for you.  No need for coupon.  Hope you find something right for you.

All right, review time.  About the Cascade Longwood.  It's a new release this year.  So soft to touch as it's made of100% superwashed merino.  And the color way #12 was exactly that i was looking for.  Longwood is made in China, and it is not cheap in terms of price.

Inspired by an outfit of Brown Eyed Girl in their MV "Kill Bill,  I originally planned to knit a poncho with four balls of it.  And I casted on two hundred something stitches.  As the label of the yarn suggested, I used US #8 needles.  I guess Longwood just doesn't get along too well with needles in that size.  The gauges doesn't look too good to me.   It should go with smaller needles.   And that's why I later switched to #6 and #7 Cubics while I did Op. 15.  

Moreover, I felt much more comfortable knitting Longwood with bamboo and wooden needles.  Perhaps it's not too slippery on those needles?  

One thing I do like to point out: you'd better not make any mistake while needle with Longwood.  I had undone the would-be-a-poncho and found it quite difficult to knit with the same yarn again.  It's not impossible.  It was just not a pleasant experience.   I always had my needles insert "inside" the yarn.  See the ply....  So loose........I mean it happens to some other yarns too.  It's just a shame: poor manufacturing with very nice material.

Anyhow, I managed to finish Op. 15 with a skein of Cascade's Longwood.  It is wonderful to wear the hat on.  Speaking as the wearer, it's  super comfy.  But Longwood is just not my favorite new yarn of this season.  I have returned the remaining three balls which I didn't use at all to the yarn shop and got some store credit refunded.  Wanna know what I got?  Stay tuned and 

HAPPY KNITTING

Happy Independence Day 2013!

Happy July 4th everybody,

I'm so happy to make two announcements:

1)   I bought 3 balls of yarn for only $22.72 yesterday.  Tax included. Wahahahahaha
2)   By typing in "2013JULY4THYEAH" as the coupon code to get any one of my pattern in Etsy,   you will get a 40% off.  Yo ho!!!  Expires on July 5th 2013.

 One of the three balls I got is a ball of intense rainbow color yarn...got powered up by hope instantly.  

Yes, as you can see, this is Mochi Plus yarn from Crystal Palace Yarns. Spun in Taiwan.  But I don't know where the wool came from.   There are also Mochi Mini and Chucky Mochi available in different weights.   By the way, first time dealing with Taiwanese yarn.  

This ball of yarn is made of 80% of Merino Wool and 20% of Nylon.  And knitters are told that the knit made of Mochi Plus is ok with both hand wash and machine wash.    Well, dear knitters, I insist on hand wash.  I consider it in a very reasonable price for its modest softness and stunning sharpness of appearance.  Will tell you more about this yarn once I start working.

With one ball of Mochi Plus, I will probably make a quick baby hat.  Not confirmed yet. 

The "busy" model of these picture is my dear white cat.  Haha, now you know why I have never knitted with black yarn.    And no, she's not Mochi, the follow guest is the real Mochi:

Anyhow, whenever you are not too busy in knitting,  come visit my facebook page for updates and more fun.  

HAPPY KNITTING!!!

Bobby Blue 100% Merino

Hi Knitters,

I'm so happy to have a chance to try my hands on the very popular Malabrigo yarn.  This skein is a 100% merino yarn.  So SOFT..... Now I know why people love this yarn so much.

The softness of this yarn makes me decide to knit on a stitch pattern that I didn't do before, something suitable for intermediate knitters, requires k2tog, yo, sl1, and psso....Sounds chanllenging?  I promise you will totally immerse yourself into knitting with this yarn.  

Among the various choices of color, I picked the one I love so much, Aqua.  But the yarn company  cutely name it Bobby Blue. Funny.

But before knitting, I need to make the skein into a ball.  Honestly, I hate doing it!!!!!

Almost forgot to mention:  This yarn is kettle dyed.  
Anyway, Op. 11 hat is on the go! Go go Bobby!!!

HAPPY KNITTING

Op. 10 Scarf Knitting Pattern

Hi Knitters,

Op. 10 scarf knitting pattern is now available!!! Hurrah!!! Please feel free to check it out on Ravelry and Etsy.

I tried to make a sharp contrast, in terms of the density of the pattern, of this kid-sized scarf: first with intense stitch and the second half with some simple lace patterns.

Op. 10 is good for knitters who wants to challenge themselves to become an intermediate knitters.  Yeah...by learning more techniques, you will have more fun knitting.  Op. 10 is apparently a good choice.  I enjoyed knitting this scarf so much.   Techniques you need to know:  cast on, bind off, knit, purl, yarn over, k2tog, skp, slip stitch.  

 And of course, as I told you before,  I love the Sublime yarn.  Kiss kiss kiss....

Obstacles? Yes.  Posing the scarf for photography was not easy. It gave me headache.  How to make this scarf look good?  How to show this beautiful scarf its best to the public, and make people fall in love with it even though  they cannot touch it at the moment?   And with reference of some knitting pattern collection, I finally got relieved by placing the scarf on a piece of floral cloth in dark background color.  Hope you like it.

HAPPY KNITTING

Encore! Sublime Extrafine Merino yarn in YELLOW!!!!

Hi Knitters,

I'm working on Op. 10 scarf right now.  The first half is made up by Noro Yarn and Patons Yarn. Just finished the first half of it. Wanna preview?

Op. 10, as I promised, knitted with the yarn ball "arranged" from a skein of Noro's Iroha.  Made of 50% of wool, 40% of silk and 10% of Nylon, Iroha in purple gave me a sense of warmth.  But I didn't sweat due to knitting it continuously for 2 hours.   Happy with that during so-called summer time in bay area.    Too bad I only got one skein of it.  I do like the yarn just the way I like other Noro yarn.  

The milky part you can see is made of Patons Moorland Shetland D.K.  Absolutely  yarn for cold weather. 

In the second half of Op. 10 scarf, I will knit with my beloved Sublime yarn.

Just a friendly reminder, I used sublime yarn in pink to knit Op. 8 scarflet.  

This time I will work with yellow color.  Shall I call it mustard? ??

Sublime yarn is just as gorgeous as usual.  So silky and soft to touch; so easy to knit with; so adorable to keep your eyes on....  Magnificent.  It's not only good for kids, adults will love it too....I just adore the colorways of this yarn.  Compared to Noro's Iroha, Sublime is much lighter in weight.  

Op. 10 is coming soon.  Stay in tune and

HAPPY KNITTING

Sublime Extrafine Merino DK Yarn

Hi knitters,
Happy Lunar New Year!
Glad that I got some new Italian yarn with my red-pocket money. (hm..I shouldn't opened the envelop until the 15th of the calendar)  And this time I got something lustrous.

This yarn is made of 67% of extra fine merino wool and 33% of nylon.  At first I thought it contains some silk as it is quite silky to touch.  I was wrong.  (it does look silky, doesn't it?)

Anyway, I first bought two balls of Sublime merino dk.  The yarn is such an woolly appeal and I was so eager to make something great out of it.   Must not have a wooly  head while I am designing the pattern.  The color is also wonderful.  I believe the white string around the merino is the nylon part.  It's almost a sin to take your eyes away from it.  Innovative appearance.

I was about to make something for this Valentine's.  Well, it's probably good for next year. My fault: slow progress. 

I knitted with US#6 needles.  Well, so far so good.  Easy to handle, soft to touch.  So far no complaint about it except it's high cost.  Yet, I would say: it is worth the price.  Will blog about the scarflet soon.

HAPPY KNITTING