Project updates for Dec. 08

I was able to knit a bunch of hats and scarves, and they're soon going to the US to provide some warmth to relatives gathering together for the holidays in the East Coast. Still have to finish a couple of hats though, but I'll do them later tonight.

I just feel bad I have this bunch of charity projects here. I'll check with my brother if he has space in his return luggage even for three or four hats...to be snail-mailed to an American nonprofit who'll take care of shipping them to Mongolia! Wow, those hats will certainly go around the world.

I'm almost finishing color therapy mug rugs for a couple of special people. I might get to give them around the New Year though.

So far, it's been a productive year.

Knitting update: my ripple shawl

As of today, it's just about 15-20% done. I'm still deciding on how long I want it to be... i might make it 72-inches long... so I can engulf myself in it, like some blanket.

I combined two strands of tencel yarn, "olive green" and "golden yellow"... using US Size 6 circulars, 24-inches. At left is a horizontal shot of the shawl's rippled texture. I really wanted to use ripple stitch precisely to give my shawl a nice, wavy texture. I enjoy this stitch. It's a 10-row pattern that has yet to bore me.

Here's a pic of the two cones of tencel yarn I'm using up for this shawl. I hope I have enough! The cones approximately weigh half-pound each. Because tencel yarn is naturally shiny, yes, the yarns do gleam nicely in the pic... but not as brightly when knit together. I'm also planning to make more Ripple Shawls in other colors, such as brown-red and orange-peach.

Here's a close-up of the horizontal texture of the ripple stitch. It was kinda hard to make it show up in pics, I had to hold the shawl in an almost vertical slant just for the camera to get the shadows, for contrast. Professional photog I ain't:



Vertical pics of the shawl will show how the ripple stitch becomes a zig-zag stitch! And this is mostly how it'll look when the shawl's finally done, according to how I'll be wearing this shawl. I'm aiming to finish this shawl in time for my birthday this year... a gift for me, from me!


I changed the camera settings to see how the shawl would look under different lighting. Unfortunately I can't recall is this shot was done under "automatic" or "fluorescent" setting. I like how it shows the zig-zag effect of the ripple stitch, vertically:

Knitting again for family

Having done about half a dozen woolen hats for charity, I cleaned up my knitting workstation and realized I didn't have enough hats to send to the US for the holidays! Technically, I do... I've got about 15 hats, in acrylic... but not in the favorite colors of my intended recipients.

So I'm wrapping up my charity knitting to focus on family this time... this month is good enough, giving me time to do a scarf or two along with about 3-4 more hats...I have siblings on both sides of the Coast, and for sure some of them will be going through a snowy winter there... brrr...i'm still deciding if I should send my older sis woolen hats, as she may not like them since they're not machine-washable.

Then I want to try knitting berets, using tencel... I think they would be one way to differentiate what I'm making, for sale, compared to the machine-knitted hats I saw recently being sold in some stall somewhere... stockinette mostly... some hats were crocheted, but in garish colors. I need to differentiate my stuff by making them stylish and pretty. Not everyday pang-masa. Maybe I should just get orders for specific colors and designs...

I've soon take pics of my woolen hats... need to weave in ends first :-) besides, my energy is rather strange lately... there's the sense of going on a slowdown, preparing for a revving up...

I've been re-thinking my entire knitting wish list... need to hold off getting more tencel yarn as I do have enough to last me for years... well, considering my knitting pace, yeah, for years... I'd rather de-stash these days, that's why I'm using up my woolen yarn which has been around for a few years, ever since I started knitting. My goal would be to use up ALL my woolen yarn first, then ALL my tencel...

Return of the Mad Hat Knitter, for charity

Recently I realized I had at least two opportunities coming up to send items to the US for snail-mailing, and so I decided to do some charity knitting.

This time, I decided to use up my wool yarn, which I had bought at bargain prices a few years ago in Divisoria when I was just a beginner in knitting. Some charity groups prefer woolen items for donation, since they warm the body well.

I checked the Warm Woolies group which, like my previous beneficiary, Dulaan, send woolen items to Mongolia, particularly for kids and teens. They prefer knitted and crocheted items that can be worn, like vests and sweaters, and hats!

And here are my first two creations:

Right, a mostly pink head-hugger hat, using four strands of yarn--2 strands of 100% wool in pastel pink, 1 strand of 85%wool and rayon in pale yellow and 1 strand of the same yarn, in bright pink.

Left, a 2x2 ribbed hat in bright orange and bright pink (85%wool and rayon).

The mostly pink headhugger is sized for a teenager. I just used the free Warm Woollies hat patterns as guidelines, since they were designed for knitting from the bottom up, whereas I knit my hats from the top down.

Here's a close-up of the pink headhugger, done entirely in stockinette, and will have a rolled brim. I can't wait to bind it off sometime today and start another one:



Here's a close up of the cheery ribbed hat which is sized for a kid up to maybe 11 or 12 yrs old:


I'm planning to knit up at least 6 pieces, for now, in various colors and sizes. Need to email first those who'll be bringing them to the US for me, and check if they have space in their return luggage...

Making a wish list, and checking it twice :-)

Being aware that I have at least two possibilities of folks traveling from the US to the Philippines in the next 6 months, I dutifully made a wish list of knitting stuff I badly need from there.

The needle brand would most likely be Susan Bates, as I'm familiar with it, and satisfied with the performance so far. Affordable too...

Here goes, a list in progress:

Size 1 circular needles, metal
Size 6 double pointed needles, metal
Sizes 8, 9, 10 circulars, 16 inches long

Another row counter (well, maybe 2)

Elann's Canapone hemp yarn in the following colors, including Green Tea, which I already have some of but will get maybe 2-3 more balls, just in case:

FREE PATTERN: Simply Dotted Hat

The "Simply Dotted Hat" pattern starts from the top down and is knit in the round. This is a modified version of the "Simple Seed stitch", page 64, The Harmony Guide to Knitting Techniques and Stitches, edited by Debra Mountford.




Multiple of 4 plus 1 (I had 81 stitches)
Yarn: worsted weight acrylic
Size: US 7 mm /4.5 mm

INCREASE portion
Using 4 dpns

Cast on 9 stitches, and divide evenly on 3 dpns, 3 stitches per needle.

Row 1: Knit (and all other odd rows)
Row 2: Knit into the front of back of each stitch (kfb), producing 6 stitches per needle, total of 18 stitches.
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: kfb every 2nd stitch, producing 9 stitches per needle, total 27 stitches.
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: kfb every 3nd stitch, producing 12 stitches per needle, total 36 stitches.
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: kfb every 4th stitch, producing total of 15 stitches per needle, total 45 stitches.
Row 9: Knit
Row 10: kfb every 5th stitch, producing 18 stitches per needle, total 54 stitches.
Row 11: Knit
Row 12: kfb every 6th stitch, producing 21 stitches per needle, total 63 stitches.
Row 13: Knit
Row 14: kfb every 7th stitch, producing 24 stitches per needle, total 72 stitches.
Row 15: Knit
Row 16: kfb every 8th stitch, producing 27 stitches per needle, total 81 stitches.

VIEW OF THE SPIRAL TOP





START OF "Simply Dotted" pattern-- switch to circulars

Row 17: (Row 1 of pattern, right side)
Purl 1, *knit 3, purl 1* until last 4 stitches, knit 4.

Row 18: (Row 2 of pattern)
Knit

Row 19: (Row 3 of pattern)
Knit

Row 20: (Row 4 of pattern)
Knit

Row 21: (Row 5 of pattern)
Knit 2, Purl 1, *knit 3, purl 1* until last 2 stitches, knit 2.

Row 22: (Row 6 of pattern)
Knit

Row 23: (Row 7 of pattern)
Knit

Row 24: (Row 8 of pattern)
Knit

Repeat Rows 17-24 until desired length.



Basically, the pattern's rows 1 and 5 are where the dotted stitches are worked, and you knit 3 rows between Rows 1 and 5.

For this hat, I preferred having a rolled brim. After getting about 5-6 inches, I stopped at either Row 4 or Row 8, and just knitted all rows, up to at least one more inch.



If you wish to end the hat with a 1x1 rib, stop knitting in pattern when you reach either Row 4 or Row 8, depending on your desired hat length, then start knitting in single rib.

Bind off loosely.

Free Pattern: Arrow Rib Hat, from the top down

My first ever hat pattern is an adaptation of the "Little Arrow" stitch from page 62 of The Harmony Guide to Knitting Techniques and Stitches (Debra Mountford, editor, 1992). I knitted this for my "bunso" (youngest) sister, Marie, who asked for something in orange... she lives and works in San Francisco, California and has a handsome Irish-American bf who lives in upstate New York... so I guess she'll probably get to use the hat in both coasts.



Since the hats I've been knitting have been geared more for keeping heads warm and dry during rainy season in the Philippines, I had to look for a pattern that would keep my sis really warm, and I wanted something beyond the usual rib pattern.

I also had to find something that would go with my stitch count of 81 stitches, since that measurement more or less comfortably fit my own head and I assume my sis too...

Then I had to modify the "Little Arrow" stitch pattern since it was given for flat knitting, and I was knitting in the round with my 16-inch circulars.

I knit my hats from the top down. My increases are 9 stitches every other row. Basically the pattern produces a horizontal zigzag interrupted by single rib columns. Regarding my photos, please forgive the varying shades of orange... i took them on a cloudy afternoon by the door, and changed the camera settings midway the photo shoot :-)




Arrow Rib Hat

(NOTE: This pattern starts from the top down. It produces two rib columns at the join, between the last stitch of each row and the first stitch of the next row.)

Multiple of 8 plus 1
Yarn: worsted weight acrylic
Size: US 7 mm /4.5 mm


INCREASE portion
Using 4 dpns

Cast on 9 stitches, and divide evenly on 3 dpns, 3 stitches per needle.

Row 1: Knit (and all other odd rows)
Row 2: Knit into the front of back of each stitch (kfb), producing 6 stitches per needle, total of 18 stitches.
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: kfb every 2nd stitch, producing 9 stitches per needle, total 27 stitches.
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: kfb every 3nd stitch, producing 12 stitches per needle, total 36 stitches.
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: kfb every 4th stitch, producing total of 15 stitches per needle, total 45 stitches.
Row 9: Knit
Row 10: kfb every 5th stitch, producing 18 stitches per needle, total 54 stitches.
Row 11: Knit
Row 12: kfb every 6th stitch, producing 21 stitches per needle, total 63 stitches.
Row 13: Knit
Row 14: kfb every 7th stitch, producing 24 stitches per needle, total 72 stitches.
Row 15: Knit
Row 16: kfb every 8th stitch, producing 27 stitches per needle, total 81 stitches.


START OF "Arrow Rib" -- switch to circulars

Row 17: Knit 2, purl 2, knit 1, purl 2, *knit 3, purl 2, knit 1, purl 2* repeat until last 2 stitches, knit 2.

Row 18: Knit 3, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, *knit 5, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1* repeat until last 3 stitches, knit 3.
Row 19: Knit 1, *purl 1, knit 5, purl 1, knit 1* repeat til end
Row 20: Knit 1, *purl 2, knit 3, purl 2, knit 1* repeat til end

Repeat Rows 17-20. If you wish to end the hat with a 1x1 rib, like I did, stop knitting the Arrow Rib pattern when you get 5-6 inches, depending on your desired hat length. Bind off loosely.



I've got another hat pattern to upload, the "Simply Dotted" hat. Need to sked another photo shoot for that :-) stay tuned!

The color therapist and her current projects

Since I've now become the "Mad Hat Knitter", I have been able to have at least two projects going on at the same time, one in my size 6 circulars and the other in my size 7 circulars, both 16-inch long, ideal for hat knitting, and made of metal, also ideal for acrylic yarn.

So... I usually plan my hat projects around the colors. What I do is choose the bright, warm, stimulating colors ranging from reds to yellows for hats to be knitted during the day, up to early evening. Then I switch to another hat project that's using yarn made of greens to purples/violets, or beige, or black... colors which are either neutral or cool and "depressing," to prepare my energy for ending the day.

I am almost finished with two such pairs: First, is the orange hat I promised to knit for my youngest sis Marie, although she did want it with blue... I'll probably knit her another one, since this is all in orange, as the design, for me, was best done in one color. The orange shade is a muted, more like "bright peach". This one I knitted daytime. I experimented on a rib pattern called the "arrow rib" and will post pattern soon:





Second is my "evening" project, another one from my jumbo ball of variegated yarn featuring green, blue, light yellow and violet. I was able to figure out the best pattern, using stockinette only, that would make the colors "pool" together in interesting combinations. Two "pools" had the light yellow beside the violet in nice contrast:





While another "pool" had the yellow surrounded by green:



Since I've been enjoying the "pooling" patterns produced by the variegated acrylic, using 81-stitch stockinette rows at an exact number of decreases to shape the crown, I might use other variegated yarns.

My ball winder

Queen of Hats

My knitting workstation is chaotic as ever... and I've got hats that are almost done, just need to weave in the ends!

As I continue to focus on hats, which are primarily head-huggers or beanies, i'm mulling the color lines I want to focus on. So far, here's what's come up:

1. Primaries--bright red, green and blue
2. Coed--school colors such as Ateneo blue, La Salle green, UP maroon and dark green
3. Fire and Ice--brilliant colors that can either warm you up or cool you down (a bit of color therapy here!). All brights, jewel tones here
4. Earth Classics--nature-inspired colors including beige and floral shades of lilac, etc. Where the basics and neutrals would fall, e.g. all-black hat, or black-and-white, etc.
5. Trendy Combos--Brights paired with neutrals, etc. and crazy combinations

I even checked the fashion forecasts for this year and next just to get a handle on what might appeal to the "fashionista", since Pinoys generally like being "in" but my decision has been to appeal to a wide range, since I am definitely not a fashionista.

I'm also pondering doing hats in cotton and even tencel... and experimenting with a lot of stockinette-based stitch patterns. Unfortunately, the pattern books give instructions for flat knitting, and not for knitting in the round, requiring some tweaking.

Overall, I'm excited about this new phase. I do still have my shawls in progress, plus the hemp blanket which I've decided will have touches of Green Tea hemp yarn, courtesy of my 3 balls of Elann Canapone. And other stuff...

New project, shush!

I've just agreed to a new project that includes a confidentiality agreement... which means I have to change the way I blog, because even mentioning where I am is not allowed. It's exciting!

What's great about this new project is that I'm gonna have time to knit! And some travel is involved... so there really will be days when i won't be blogging at all... and this probably means more blog posts about knitting.

I probably flatter myself in thinking that there are people, including strangers, who actually read what i write online... and no, they're not hackers or spammers (just got one today, a spam comment in one of my other blogs).

Still... for my dear friends and beloved readers, expect some changes. It'll start with a new theme soon.

Hats again! For June and beyond

I've let the blanket hibernate briefly, primarily because I can't decide if I want to include my green hemp yarn (Elann.com's Canapone, Green Tea). Since I only have 3 balls of this yarn, which is a bit thicker than my natural-colored hemp weaving yarn, I'm sure it won't be enough for the entire blanket... it was just supposed to be for a scarf. So.. the design challenge is how to incorporate the green hemp yarn, considering that I've started Strip 2 which, as I blogged earlier, is actually two strips (now called panels) knitted in one piece. If I decide to include the hemp yarn, for some color, I'll have to frog Strip 2 (I've got about 2-3 inches down).

So... I went back to hats, just hats, until I make up my mind about Strip 2 and the green hemp. The hats focus is kinda against my aim to knit from my stash and to just buy earth-friendly yarns, because for hats, the best yarn so far to use is acrylic, even if I have some wool yarn, and I have to buy more yarn for this project, since I don't have that enough acrylic for hats.

I would knit hats for Pinoys here in the Philippines who can use a beanie. For me, I'd probably use one when I go out in the rain, so my head remains protected when I have to open and close my umbrella... i guess those who work in air-conditioned offices, a beanie could be handy. And I promised to knit hats for some folks abroad too... that has to be a priority since next thing you know, time to send to abroad in a few months!

I'd probably use the wool yarn for hats I'd knit for charity, such as those for Mongolia or Afghanistan, since they specify wool for their projects, as it warms the best. But charity projects are now lain aside.

I was supposed to have a tarot client yesterday at 5:30 pm, in Megamall, when she asked me to move it to an hour or so later. I agreed, and decided to kill time not by going to the grocery as I had planned, but went to my favorite source of cheap acrylic yarn, Carolina's Lace Shoppe... and I was happy to find myself the only one there perusing the yarns. This is important since Carolina's is rather tightly-packed with all sorts of sewing stuff, and the yarns are tucked in a corner near the lace section...not conducive for choosing yarns leisurely, since people come and go around you, you have to keep moving about.

But last night, aha, I was all alone, and the other yarn shopper beside me was able to quickly come and go... I used up about half an hour just choosing various yarn combinations.

So... I've added to my stash, and not earth-friendly stuff at all. Guilt aside... I'm excited! In fact, I goofed off this afternoon and browsed for more hat patterns, happy to discover that over a few months, when I had last searched for hat patterns that are knit from the top-down, there weren't many choices. Today I think I added about four to five new patterns that were uploaded within the past few months! What a great response by the Universe, since I had forsworn knitting from the bottom up (well, maybe if I get bored with the top-down style).

Someday I'll post the links to all the top-down patterns. They're now all safely stored in my PC, ready for printout when I finish my "real" work (yeah...anyway, I just have about 10 to 12 items to do tonight).

Blog break

Sorry, won't be blogging much until next week, am swamped with errands, reunions and deadlines! I'll probably just be changing the videos and pics I post in my Multiply homepage, maybe every other day... otherwise, my wordiness is reserved for work these days :-)

World Knit in Public Day on June 14! Join me!

Click HERE to visit the official website :-)

I’m looking for someone to join me that day somewhere in Metro Manila… :-) it’s a Saturday! Payday weekend, so lots of folks in malls.

Possible venues, a bit halfway between people from North and South (and east) of Metro Manila, and they usually have a lot of traffic on weekends:

SM Mall of Asia
Greenbelt Mall, Makati
SM Megamall

Suggested time: it would be nice to do this almost all day, from 11 a.m. to 9 pm.

Or we could move from one venue to other, like maybe spend 2-3 hours in Mega, then another 2-3 hours in Makati, then 2-3 hours in SM Mall…

I’m open to suggestions :-)

Dreaming daily

I have been knitting daily for quite a number of weeks! Sure, some days I just knit only two to four rows, but otherwise... it's such a habit, to start my day's routine in the morning, while brewing my coffee in my French press, to knit a row or two, then letting the pressed coffee cool a bit...

Then after a hard day's work, while I run my anti-malware program on my PC, I knit again. Sometimes, when I have a hard time falling asleep, even if I'm already in bed, I get up and go downstairs to knit until I feel sleepy.

And on the days that I don't do any ESL writing work, that's when I have more time to knit, to clean up my knitting table, and to check all works in progress.

I can't imagine not letting a day go by without knitting. It relaxes me and it grounds me.

These days, when the rains bring thunder and lightning too, I turn off my PC right away and knit instead. This is primarily why I was able to finish the blanket's Pattern 5! Yup, as of midnight, I was able to start Pattern 6, which is Diagonal Seed Stitch (supposed to be Caterpillar Stitch but I liked how the pic for the Diag Seed St looked). Pics to follow soon :-)

Pattern pics

I felt like goofing off today because my period has just arrived, which makes me really lazy since all I wanna do is sleep. But if I were to sleep during the day, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night! So... with such bad concentration, I just chose to do stuff I had to do... like take progress pics of the blanket... which is all I've been knitting lately.

First, a close up of one of my favorite stitch patterns, Ripples (Pattern 4 of Strip 1)





Then, see how Ripples segues upward to Pattern 5, Woven Texture:



Here's Pattern 5, Woven Texture:

My nephew's hat

Photo-0107
Originally uploaded by Dreaming Knitter

Almost done... ready for binding off sometime today. Was able to use some leftover purple yarn for the accent... nice combo.

Pattern is a modified version of Pi Topper hat, will someday post the pattern which starts from the top down.

I'm still deciding if the last 2 rows will be done in 1x1 rib or also in garter

May is official HAT month

Last night, when the rains brought in thunder, I had to stop my writing job and switch off the PC. Sure, that kinda ruined my deadline-meeting plan, but it also gave me the excuse to knit instead.

What to knit... I went through all my WIPs and decided, nah, I gotta do what I promised to do. So I sat and started to knit a cute little hat for my godson Anthony, now in the Bahamas but maybe will winter at my sister's in Connecticut, if his family can afford the airfare. Still, I heard it can get cold in the Bahamas, so he could still use his cute blue-and-purple acrylic hat there.

I'm about 80 percent done with the hat. Then I'll make him another one in green. Then I'm gonna knit hats for the rest of his family... that would be a total of 5 hats to knit.

So yeah, for May, I think I'll just finish the hats even if they'll get to the intended recipients in December. At least they'll all be done and washed by then.

I love knitting hats from the top-down. I like experimenting with the design as I go along... do I make the hat just one solid color, or add stripes from some left-over yarn, for some color? Do I make it all stockinette, or make it ribbed?

After this batch, I also have one more hat to make, ordered by my friend Melis, for her niece in Indiana. Frankly I have no idea how cold it gets there, I'm still gonna make the hat. I already got the order, and the yarn.

Personal projects for May

It's kinda impossible NOT to have any project, since I've got all the materials and tools I need, and I need to knit to relax from my work. It's a life, and I like it.

My cousin Sonia wants a purple shawl, and that's now in progress. I also promised my cousin I'll knit for her and her family a bunch of hats, which I can do between projects for instant gratification. Since I can only get them to her sometime December, I can space out these family projects with my professional ones.

I'm still working on the hemp blanket, almost done with third pattern, and excited to start the fourth one. At the rate I'm going I should have Strip 1 done maybe in a month or two.

I'm also knitting myself a simple garter stitch shawl. Just a way to love myself :-) it's triangular and I've got 10 percent done.

Need to finish the magenta mug rug and take pics soon. But I want to have reasonable progress with Ate Sonia's shawl and finish at least one hat before I do another mug rug. I guess that means foregoing mug rugs for this month.

Color Therapy thru Knitting: Magenta this time

Having done my GREEN mug rug, I had to balance its energy, which is about loving others, with MAGENTA, which is about loving myself. After all, one cannot truly love others without loving oneself first.

When I guide others in color meditation, I always balance the colors since making the client focus only on one color would of course lead to imbalance.

I actually finished the MAGENTA mug rug last night, but I still need to weave in ends and take pics. I had to adjust the number of rows to make it match the size of the green rug.

Here's a pic of the magenta WIP on my circulars:



And a nice shot of the green and magenta (WIP) mug rugs...



This is such an unexpectedly nice color combination. In terms of color theory, they were supposed to match, being opposite each other in the color wheel :-)

So how do I feel, now that I've knitted green and magenta? I do feel better. No more crying bouts for more than 24 hours, I think I have my appetite back and generally, I am in a better space compared to last week :-)

I have always been resilient, and I have more to write about my reflections in my other blog.

Green mug rug, FO

Green mug rug FO
Originally uploaded by Dreaming Knitter

Finished this last weekend, and now I'm doing the magenta version, to balance the green energy of this mug rug. Pics to follow :-)

Update: Green mug rug after 10 more rows

I usually knit before I go to bed at night and soon after waking in the morning. It helps to relax me, and to ground my energy, since I view knitting as a form of active meditation.

Anyway, so last night after taking pics of the first three rows of my green mug rug, I went on to knit 6 more rows before calling it a night.

This morning (actually, around noon), I was able to knit some rows. My row counter is a major motivating factor, since I look forward to clicking it once I finish a row...it's such a tangible proof that I've accomplished something! I know, it's such a simple (babaw as we call it here, or "shallow") joy, but I still like it... :-)



I reached Row 13, where I was able to switch from dpns to my bamboo circulars that's got a length of sweet 16 inches. It nicely lays out the mug rug flat...here's a pic with the freed dpns, and the safety pin is my stitch marker, to know where a round begins.



And here's an up-close shot of the mug rug... I might still tweak the design later, or switch to US Size 5 needles for a looser knit.

Healing my heart: knitting with color therapy

Just started tonight, a round mug rug with my bamboo dpns, US size 4, using two strands of crochet thread in a very nice apple green shade... cool to the eyes yet warm to the heart, since green is the color of the heart chakra and has a balancing, healing effect.

And that is why i purposely chose to knit green tonight. I'm hoping to make a complete set of the 7 rainbow colors plus magenta, the color that shows up when you combine red and violet. These 8 colors comprise the basic color wheel.

As you see above, I've already got three rows, according to my very useful row counter. I used to just note down the row number I'm working on, but the notes have a way of disappearing on my messy workstation... the row counter is supposed to be worn like a pendant, but in our hot summer days, who'll want anything strung around the neck?

Here's another pic to show the two balls of mercerized cotton I'm using:



Not everyone likes to knit with dpns, but I do. Maybe it's because I have small fingers (small compared to my size!) and I don't mind working with 4 to 5 dpns.

Eventually I'll switch to my 16-inch long circulars, which are just perfect to get the 4-5 inch circumference.



And one last final group shot... the pattern is something I found from "Knitting for the Home" by Rita Weiss, and it's really a pattern for a round floor rug, I'm just adapting it for a smaller mug rug :-) basically it's a seed stitch pattern with increases after so many rows.



To balance the green effect, the next mug rug I'll work on is its complementary color, magenta. Then, let's see which color I'm gonna feel like doing next.

This is a combination of process and project knitting :-) I'm into the process but it must have an end, not just the means.

I am so glad I'm doing knitting for color therapy. If I need more green energy, I'm gonna make a triangular shawl next in my dark green and olive green tencel :-)

Just wanted to note my latest loot, which had arrived a few days from my SF-based sister, who had asked me what I wanted from San Fran, since we had a nephew who had just planed in from Manila and was gonna be there a couple of weeks for a Silicon Valley job interview, free plane ticket and all that. He finally came back recently and ta-dah, look what I got:



What I really wanted were those ArtFibers tussah silk yarn (my sister's office is near the ArtFibers shop), but being on a yarn diet, I chose to be practical and focus only on what I really needed: a row counter and size 6 needles. Besides, it's kinda hard to ask for something that costs $30 when you don't know if your sister will suffer from the worsening US economy or escape scot-free.



Since my sister's query had coincided at a time when I was kinda going through a tough time, she kindly threw in some comfort food I hadn't asked for (I had thought of Ghirardelli dark chocolates but somehow forgot to ask in the midst of my turmoil).

I am so gonna use that row counter tonight (and taste a bit of those goodies too). I'm knitting my first mug rug for color therapy purposes, and it's knit in the round and I need to keep track of the rows. Such perfect timing.

Tagged: Six things I like to do

I've been tagged by Monica Silva of A Knit Skinny Scarf and I have to tag 6 other knitting bloggers. As she said, it's a great way to know fellow knitting bloggers. I'm also doing this in honor of Ravelry's first anniversary, a.k.a. Bobmas Day :-)

Six things I like to do
(as of April 12 2008 anyway)

1. Knit. But of course :-)

2. Study astrology. I'm such a geek, really :-)

3. Change the theme of my Multiply website at least once a month :-) see the latest theme by clicking HERE.

4. Laughing at funny animal pics at the I Can Has Cheezburger website not just for comic relief but also to change the pic in my Multiply's homepage almost everyday.

5. Visiting the Lagoon at the nearby university campus where I commune with Nature and I listen to the birds and the trees.

6. Take pictures of my cats, especially when His Royaleness harks back to his previous incarnation as a yogi :-) here are his latest poses (giving me an excuse to post cat pics in my knitting blog!)







I'm tagging the following fellow bloggers:

Gene of gene + experiments

Mimi of Crochet and Other Stuff

Jinky of Life as a Stitcher

Kim of Craft ni kim

Lyra of Odd Little Lyra: Crocheting, Knitting and Other Things

Pamela at Multiply

P.S. What a nice Bobmas Day gift, Google has unblocked my Hand-Knit Dreams blog! It had been reported as a spam blog and now it seems they've reviewed it and decided it's not so...