FREE PATTERN: Neck Warmer

Karbonz size 4.00 mm with 40cm cable

Only 1,5 balls needed (approx.150gr)

My favourite way to wear neck warmer

  
 

 Materials:
- 1 ball + around 20 gr (leftovers) Zealana Tui Chunky weight (70% Merino, 15% Cashmere, 15% Brushtail Possum)
- size 4.00mm circular knitting needles with 40cm cable
- 2 stitch markers

FREE PATTERN: Snuggles

There are some changes made to the pattern because I realised there's not enough yarn to make what the pattern called for.

I was also worried about the end result looking like a bib because of the split at the sides, so I decided to just work with what leftover yarn I have and just wing it at the end.
The result was the front side had 4 rows of garter and the back side only got 2 rows and the entire thing only stretches to about 30+cm.

One thing I like working with chunky weights is that you get to see result so quickly, it makes you want to do another and another and another.

Happy knitting :)

FREE PATTERN: The Right Cowl

Short version of the neck warmer made with half of a 100gr hank organic merino, possibly lace weight. 

Long version of the neck warmer (hood-able).

3 balls of 100% certified Organic Merino

KARB@NZ

Armed with size 4.00 mm circular carbon fibre knitting needles

Materials:
- 3 balls / 150grams of Heritage 100% certified organic merino
- size 4.00 mm circular knitting needles with 60cm cables
- 1 stitch marker

FREE PATTERN: Always Lovely

I know this pattern calls for summer yarn (cotton merino blend) but I felt that the organic merino stash I have would just be perfect for it.
It was a very simple lace pattern with easy to follow instruction.

Just make sure you are not watching some really awesome action movie like Resident Evil Retribution because I ended up having to undo 13 rows the next day!  Ouch!  No lifelines either!  Very clever, don't try this at home kids.

Happy creating :)

Ksana Ksini means Travel

How was your summer holiday?  We hope you have just as much fun as we did.

If you ever need inspiration on where to go around Indonesia, visit this lovely blog Ksana Ksini.
It has a lot of information on Bali and the rest of Indonesia (which are a lot!).

One thing I really like about my holiday was the fact that I was so disconnected from the world wide web and started connecting with everything else.
Did you know that being connected all the time (emails, social media, etc) is actually doing you more harm than good?

So what are you waiting for?  Get off the net already!  Hahaha :)

10 Ways to offend Asians

 1.  Talk about LOVE.  Guaranteed can of worms opener

 2.  Blaspheme money.  How exactly those food got on the table?  You stupid or what ah?

 3.  Tell them they have a choice.  Between love or money, of cos money lah what!  You can buy love easy liao, didn't you see the ad?

 4.  Ask why they got married.  My ma told me, go get a wife, what lah!

 5.  No such thing as elderly always right, filial what?

 6.  Tradition is outdated.  I get congested chest when incense are burning, let me go out for smoke first lah.

 7.  Give them an "enlightenment" lesson.  What lah, trying to make me Christian meh?  Buddhist also got camping and those sorts of social stuff lah!

 8.  During a family gathering, ask in detail of the absent husband's whereabouts.  Who cares?  Work or mistress place, no difference one lah!

 9.  Express your concern over their children's pack schedule.  So I need to pamper myself one lah, come on, let them do well at school ah.

10. Wear your outside shoes in their house.  Now that's just it, get out of mah house!


To undo the damages caused by the above, pour expensive wine into everyone's cups.

Kanpai!

FREE pattern: Oh Baby Baby!

When I started knitting for babies, it was a shock to my family members as they think I'm hiding something.  

Fortunately, the factory has long closed and won't be producing till next life time.  

However, these baby projects are so much fun and they're so tiny you won't believe that we were once that small, too.

I am torn between knitting and crocheting.  I like the end result of knitting better and I think knitting uses less yarn, or it may just be my imagination.  Although, when it comes to the littlest thing, I think crocheting and tatting are easier method.

The FREE pattern for knitted beanie: click here.

Bamboo cotton yarn on KnitPro Symfonie 25cm circular 2.5mm needle

Premature size only used up 1/2 ball.  Boots are crocheted, my own pattern.

Crocheted boots, my own pattern.

Crocheted beanie, fit up to 2 years, my own pattern.  Used 1 ball for both boots and beanie.

 The happy uncle received it and was overjoyed that it will be the only one in the world.  

Lucy and Nuance

Lately I've been seeing movie clips with themes that focus on something unseen to the naked eye.
One example is the up coming Scarlett Johansson's "Lucy".
What if, we can really alter things by influencing the make up of the grid around us?  I think the answer depends on each individual human that will eventually influence the group as a whole.

Here's a short video clip of a dancer that 'plays' with the light he "created" (00:21).
"Nuance"

Arctic Ready Meditation Poncho

When a dear one asked me to make a poncho for meditation, I never thought it was going to be a "project".  I thought, oh yeah, ponchos, what could be so hard about it?  No sleeves, no collars,  no pockets, no zippers, sweet....

I used 24 balls Zealana Kauri worsted weight (60% fine NZ Merino, 30% Brushtail Possum, 10% Mulberry Silk) in Red Tuhi.
With 2 strands, I needed 6.00 mm circular KARBONZ Knit Pro Interchangeable Needles (yes they do feel supple and light, far from the generic one I used to have).

This is for a large size so, I started with connecting 2 cables of 40cm with the connector (this is the part that I hate most because sometimes they come undone, even after I fastened it with the fastener).  It makes me curious about the ADDI click system.

The pattern is worked from bottom up and very simple, that's why I added the cable in the middle to add some texture.  It's just garter at the bottom, garter for the sides with stockinette in the middle.  Then hood has to be worked back and forth and garter on it's sides.  Sew up the mid section of the hood together.
Then I added a little button with crochet hook and some chains to hook it up.

This is too big for me but in this soaring heat, only I would volunteer modelling it.

The back

The front

Some knitters opt not to work with possum yarn because they kill the animals to take the fur as oppose to just shearing them.  NZ do have a problem with possum as they are pests.  I just have a problem with the steep pricing they have for these yarns.

Alternate use when stored: plush pillow

The evidence

Helping NZ control pests a stitch at a time

Till next time Zealana yarn

Gift for Mama and Baby

Few days before the double birthday party invitation, I decided that handmade gifts are the best.  Next time, I'll always decide handmade gifts are the best in order to have more days to make bigger things.

Hand sewn silk gift bag

The baby girl turning 1, gets a pair of booties and a hat (90% cotton, 10% silk, UV protected).

The mama gets a little purse (100% cotton) to sling her mobile phone in it while holding the baby in her arms.

Hope they're happy with the gifts.  It was fun smiling so silly at the baby booties after it was finished.  

FREE PATTERN: Tsubaki Cotton Hat & Cute Bolero

Tsubaki Cotton Hat & Cute Bolero

Free Pattern for hat: Tsubaki Cotton Hat

Free Pattern for bolero: Cute Bolero

Word of warning for the Tsubaki Cotton Hat: it's not an adult size pattern.  Perhaps my head is on the big side (58 cm circ.) and it is genetic?  The picture in the free pattern clearly shows an adult but I followed the pattern and it fits my daughter.

I used 2 strands of yarn for the hat but only the bamboo yarn for the bolero since I didn't want it to be too thick.
Hat used up 1 skein each, bolero used up almost 2 skeins.

Overall, the patterns were easy to follow, although some self adjustments were made when it came to the hat's brim and the pattern of the bolero.

Knitpro Crochet Hook 3mm

"The Moment of Beauty" by Takayuki Sato

Still from "The Moment of Beauty"

A video made by Takayuki Sato called "The Moment of Beauty" captured my attention just now.

This video confirms my recent realisations about "words".
Words exchanged between one individual to another during everyday life's conversations, words in print form, words sung, words in different languages, etc.

They said be careful of what you say, because wounds made to the heart from your words are harder to heal than those made by the sword to the skin.
I went around thinking that the words carry powerful energies that certain ones when said, can heal or harm.  I thought the secret lies within the word itself.  That the difference between appreciation and gratefulness is actually within the words.

I was wrong.

There are no energies pre-attached with words.  We put the energies to words when we utter them with our intention.
Who would've thought 20 years ago that making a comment such as, "Wow, that's so sick!" actually means something really good?
Sick isn't green and pale anymore, sick has evolved.

Have you evolved?

Make sure you click "The Moment of Beauty" , the beauty is not in the long flowing thick hair brushing against her fresh rosy cheeks, it's within.



Disclaimer:  Still taken from the video is not mine, all rights reserved to the video maker.

Honesty

"Honesty is such a lonely word....honesty is hardly ever heard..."

Who doesn't know those lyrics from Billy Joel's "Honesty"?
Ok, how about Beyonce's "I Am...Sasha Fierce" album, Track #2.  Yes perhaps most of you recognise this chorus line there.

Why is honesty being called such a lonely word?
When one is honest with themselves, they find that the truth is their own truth and not anyone else's truth.
So, most people would rather lie to themselves and others in order to project an image or belong to a group.

Take this example.  A well known Metaphysics teacher, destiny reader, ancient knowledge teacher, what kind of life behind the facade he puts out, do you think he would have?
An enlightened one?
Think again.

When one is not in search of their true self, resorting into easing the pain and hurt of life in things like one's accomplishments and praise from others, one will not find true happiness.

"Happiness is the truth"  .... at least Will Pharell 'got it' in his current hit.

FREE PATTERN: Crochet Shawl

Professional photographer needed!

The little fleurettes

The edgings 

Finished, yeay!

Materials:
- 3 skeins of Bamboo Cotton (30%, 70%) anti bacterial yarn at 50g each
- 3.00mm crochet hooks

FREE PATTERN: Crochet Shawl
I love this Gyoso site because it has such simplistic instruction with diagrams that enabled me to simply whip up something really quickly.

This project is for mom who's suffering from Parkinson and Osteoporosis.
She leans around 45 degrees to her left side so I wanted her to have something small and light weight to just cover her neck and shoulder.

The working of this shawl is fairly straight forward with the body of the shawl first and the edgings to finish.
I would think the measurement can be adjusted, especially the length of the shoulder if one has a wider frame.
Mind you, this site is a Japanese site and Asian woman are mostly petite size, so, the picture do represent what it yields.
Get your measuring tape out before eagerly jumping into your project.

Have fun creating :)

FREE PATTERN: Frilly Scarf

Materials:
- unknown brand of yarn, fingering weight, use 2 strands at once, 4 skeins of approximately 50g each.
- 5.00 mm crochet hook

Free Pattern: Frilly Scarf

The thing I love about this site is that the pattern is pretty much self explanatory with minimum words and some diagrams.

I did reworked the scarf twice (yes, painful, but it was a self fulfilling prophecy) because the yarn colour I had bought from the same batch was yielding different shade!
Lesson learnt: be careful when selecting a presumably same coloured yarn in a bag, check it thoroughly that they are the same shade!
Restarted again using the different shade worked together, instead of same shade worked together and ending up with different shade at the tip.

This is a surprise project for a friend, which is now missing in the mail since November 2013, just like the flight MH 370.
I hope whoever decided to retrieve this gift in the end, appreciates and love it as much as I loved making it.

My World according to My 7 Year Old

Yesterday, I had the liberty to thrust myself into an online miscommunication.
Not often that I let myself involve in this kind of thing as I had a definition that online life is not as real as the physical life.
Hence getting into an online argument equals to a waste of time.

However, it is hard to dismiss something when you're privately messaged.  Ah, this is another definition for me, to be privately messaged, it means business for me.  Just the same as being tagged, or being mentioned in someone's post.
These definitions of mine, pushed me into a total waste of time.

I could've dismissed the whole thing for nonsensical people fighting about a lost cause that was once fought, or I could be logical and actually try to remind them of the importance of internet safety.
Alas I chose the latter.  As predicted, total waste of time according to earlier definition.

Today however, I choose to change my definition.  Online life can be as real as one wants it to be.  So, for those who took online life so real that it becomes their reality, can thank me for putting my time typing about the danger of exposing themselves online if they take online life, that real.  You are very much welcome.
I'm glad I was not wasting my time as I once viewed it, that others actually took it that real.  So I thank you in return with much love and appreciation.

When I talked to my 7 year old about what happened, she said,

"Mom, you have weird friends."  

That pretty much summed it up for me about the entire "friendship" thing that I never quite understood to begin with.

Ode to February

   A realisation came into me in the past few days.  To teach love, one will make the student fall in love with him.  But in the end, the student realises that it is she who is falling in love with herself all over again.  There are so much misconceptions on love itself on earth, they make the love within us that is of the source, unrecognisable, forgotten, and even misdefined.   

FREE: Win a Free Painting of your Animal!

"Pepsi the Cocker Spaniel"

Once again, my talented friend is holding a competition.
She's painting your pets and to launch her new site, she is giving away 1 lucky winner a chance to have his/her pet on the canvas.

How?
Click here:
kasiapaintspets

Remember to do the instructions before 3rd March 2014!

"The Randomers" Review

For those who did not catch the youtube link, click here to watch "The Randomers".

The advertisement read: "Female, 23, seeking relationship without speaking".

A movie about love, that truly had me put my knitting and crocheting down, because it has no dialogue.  What held it together was the actors amazing pairs of eyes that spoke volumes and a well put together pieces of music that has no connection at all, but only evokes reminiscence of Charlie Chaplin's silent movie or the sound of the distant cry of abandoned animals.

It takes guts to make a romantic story without words.  As Shakespeare puts it in "The Tempest":
     "Hear my soul speak: The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service."
How does the Graham Jones (director) succeeded in conveying these two lovebirds' love, without proper conversations between them?

For sure, you have to see the movie to know how.  Although, I can tell you this.
Watch for the beautiful ocean scenery around the west coast of Ireland, Connemara National Park, and forests around Galway.

Think about this, if you don't count the meaningless conversations between you and your partner, such as, "Coming back for dinner?", "What time do you expect me to be at your office function?", and the sort, then, you'll know that between the two of you, you pretty much do not saying anything meaningful throughout the day.
Discounting the "I love you"s that became pretty much a drill.

Perhaps this valentine, you can look into your partner's eyes and tell her what you really feel without speaking a word.  If she doesn't get it, try a sonnet?

"The Merchant of Venice"
     "One half of me is yours, the other half yours mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours, and so all yours."

FREE: Valentine Movie

Love according to a 7 year old...

Remember those days where you have to go to the DVD rental shop to take out movies for a perfect date night in?

Nowadays, just concentrate on the popcorn popping and let youtube load your movies.

Here's a perfect Valentine's Day movie from a celebrated film maker Graham Jones.

Click here for The Randomers.

Enjoy :)

Mainstream Defiler

If I were a person living in the middle ages, I would be a woman who knows how to read (at that time, people outside the church did not learn how to read/write) and just so happen to have a black cat, and was fried at the stake.

Since then, I never choose a role that's boring as so called 'mainstream role'.  Although I bought into 'mainstream' a long long time ago, thinking that I'd be an awesome accountant for the big 5 with a super IT husband and a pair of cutesy pie kids.  

To have life turned out like what it is now, is like trying to go to London-England, but somehow ending up at London-Canada.

I guess I'm a 'mainstream defiler' and I've been given a very much non-mainstream child.  Call her "special needs kid", call her "autistic", call her "naughty", I call her my love.

Everyday I wake up and thank the source for giving me the life that I never expected.  That my world is so different from my peers' and that makes me ready for anything and everything.