Sneak Preview

I've been wanting to put all my patterns in an attractive layout, including my free patterns. So I asked my sister to design a simple but attractive layouts for my patterns. My sister is a professional artist (medical illustrator) and has done some lovely non-medical freelance work, including the logos for Sugar Apple Creations and Handicraft Cafe.

I'm still converting my patterns to the new layout and learning InDesign as I go along, but I do have one completed for your sneak preview. I converted Buccaneer's Booty, which still lives here as html. The new pdf file has already been uploaded onto Ravelry as a free download. The link that the Raverly file is here. For those who aren't on Ravelry, unfortunately, you won't be able to access the download yet. My apologies to you. You'll have to wait a little, but here's a photo preview in the meantime:

If you're interested in having your patterns laid out, I highly recommend hiring a professional to do it for you. It's worth the investment for may reasons. It's something you'll be using over and over. You don't even need a professional program. Initially, I had asked my sis to do something that I could do in Word, but then because I have lots of stuff and am starting business, I figured installing InDesign would be better. Anyway, my sis is a medical illustrator, so her site, Anaphase Studios, is a portfolio of that type of work. She hasn't updated it to reflect other freelance design work yet.

Arrrr, Aye Matey!

Ahoy! Being that today is talk like a pirate day (whoever came up with that??), I decided to go with the them and post my skull sock pattern that I designed for my sister.

I put in instructions for a men's size, and although I think it's correct, please be forewarned that I have not yet tested it.

I don't think I possess any pirate energy in me, but perhaps it's dormant. You see, after reading some historical studies on Taiwan, a part of me wants to believe that I am descended from pirates. Whether that can be really be established or verified is another issue. However, consider this: I belong to the 10th recorded generation, which would date us back to the 15th-16th century. Historical information shows that many pirates used the island during the Ming Dynasty and some had later settled. In the 1600s, after driving away the Portugese, the Dutch established colonial posts and ruled the island. Pirates still surrounded the island, so the Dutch entered a treaty to ensure the safety of their ships with a pirate leader. According to "Island in the Stream," a pirate subordinate with my last name led a revolt with the people of the island in 1652.

I don't know if anyone in my family will be able to give me more information, but I do like the idea that there's a possibility that there are pirates in our past. I mean, saying that you're descended from pirate explorers does have a nice ring to it - it's exciting, isn't it?

Pirate fantasies aside, my next fantasy is that Knitty will select my pattern for their winter issue. Maybe the third time is the charm. I can't post a photo or the pattern that I submitted, while it's being reviewed, and I don't want to jinx it too much. But I guess it's safe to say that I submitted a versatile knitting accessory that can be adapted for both men and women. I knitted it in one of my favorite fibers -- an alpaca and silk blend. yum!

I'm also happy to announce that I recently sold the yarn swift that I had made for a joint Etsy and Instructables contest. A very lovely woman purchased it for her daughter's birthday.

Brrr it's cold.

I just came back from chilly San Francisco, where I visited my sister and some friends. It was pretty cold up there -- a stark contrast to the heat in Southern California.

I hung out first with my friend Pipe ("pee-pay") who was visiting from Laredo, Texas where he grew up and currently works. Pipe has a deep fascination for Japan and Japanese culture and history, especially samurai history and old-school anime, so we spent quite some time in Japantown. On his last day, we went to the Asian Art Museum, where there was a special exhibit on Tezuka Osamu, father of anime and creator of Astro Boy.

After Pipe left, I visited with some other friends, including Cristina of String Theory. Cristina came with me, my sister and my sister's friends to a neighborhood garage sale. There were some fabulous items -- like antique sewing machines. Unfortunately, I didn't think I could haul those on the plane, so I settled for 1 slightly used and 1 new pack of heavy duty sheet protectors for $7. The used pack still looked like there was at least 30-40 sheets left in the pack. All in all, it was a great deal, and my beat up knitting patterns will surely appreciate the protectors!

Later, Cristina and her hubby treated me to a yummy late lunch at Burma Superstar. Boy do I miss all the fabulous restaurants and good eats in San Francisco! Don't get me wrong -- there are great eats in L.A. and O.C., but everything so spread apart, going to a favorite haunt sometimes seem such a chore, especially with the notorious SoCal traffic.

Anyway, as for the slippers I made for my sister, I ended up felting it a 3rd time. I don't think she likes it that much -- she complained that the sole was a little floppy and folded under when she walked in them. I think she just walks funny. LOL! I tested them at home and at her house, and I had no problems.
Pattern: House Slippers from Knit2Together by Mel Clark and Tracy Ullman
Yarn: SkiFoggy Yarn from Japan, using 3 strands
Needles: As recommended in pattern - US 11 and US 13 circulars
Notes: I felted the slippers 3 times to get the right size, but I have a front loading washer, so that may have something to do with it. Working the toe and the back lip can be a little awkward. on the circulars. It may be a little less awkward to incorporate dpns when working around the tight curves. Although the felting gives the slipper structure, the sole still can be a little floppy for some people. I'd also suggest using rubber rug spray or puffy paint on the sole for some traction and safety, especially when trying to walk on tiled or wood floors.

My sister really liked her socks. I'm still editing the pattern, so I'll do a separate posting with the pattern link later.

Slippers for the Fat Cat

After two wash cycles, I blocked and dried the slippers for my sister. As you can see, Maggie the Fattie wanted the slippers all to herself. I caught her lounging and trying on the slippers. She was even smart enough to pull out the paper balls that I used to block the slipper so that she has a little room for her giant paw.

I'm still not happy with the felting, so I think I'll have to throw them in the washer again before I'll proceed with embellishing it.

I decided to make a skull sock for my sister instead of an argyle. This is the first sock, unblocked with lots of ends to weave in.
The other photos is the inside of the sock.

After I finish both socks, I plan on posting a Free pattern on my pattern page. I'm not sure what to name it. So far, I've thought of 2 names: Skully Socks or Buccaneer's Booty Socks. What do y'all think?

Slippers for a Yeti

In a couple of weeks, I will be heading to San Francisco to visit my sister and meet up with some friends. As a housewarming gift for my sister, who just got a house, I decided to make her a pair of house slippers from Knit 2 Together, which I bought for an awesome price of $5.50 on Amazon!

The pattern in the book calls for some of my favorite yarns - Manos del Uruguay or Rio de la Plata yarn. However, I decided to use some Japanese yarn I got from a swap instead. The yarn feels like a virgin wool yarn, which would be good yarn for felting. For the life of me, I could not get the same exact gauge, but I used it anyway -- it was close enough. The pattern gauge is 8.75 stitches per 4" of garter stitch using 3 strands of Manos/Rio yarn on US13 needles. I tested the gauge of my yarn using double, triple and quadruple stranding and US 11, 13 and 15 needles. The closest gauge I obtained was 8 stitches per 4" of garter stitch with US 13 needles and triple stranding.

The slipper was a quick and easy knit, although picking up and working stitches from the sole was a little awkward at the toe and heel. As I was working the last 4 rows of the second slipper, it suddenly dawned on me that maybe the yarn is superwash. Even though I don't read Japanese, I should have done a spit-felt test! Oh well, if it doesn't work out, I'll leave the slippers in a forest for Bigfoot. Time for the washing machine!

I'm also planning on knitting my sock fanatic sister a pair of socks. She has lots of socks organized very neatly in OCD fashion in a drawer, but she's never had a pair of hand-knitted socks. She has never asked me to knit her a pair either. I haven't decided whether to knit a pair of argyles or a pair with a skull motif. My sister loves argyle socks, but I don't know if I'm ready for knitting argyle socks - plus, I'm having a hard time finding a nice pattern. Since the age of 13-14, my sister also has had an inexplicable (in my mind) obsession with all things skull. I'm leaning towards the skull thing, but either way, I'm sure she'll be pleased.

Roses are red

I am really not too fond of Valentines Day. I am not opposed to having an extra special day, but those damn marketing ploys really take it over the edge. How many campy stuffed animals and pepto bismol pink things do people really need? I could go on and on.

Hubby and I don't really do anything that most people celebrate, such as Vday. We don't exchange gifts or anything. We're lucky to have everything we could want, and if want anything material, we can get it ourselves. I would not want him to buy yarn for me (he might accidentally buy acrylic for his yarn snob wife), nor would he want me to buy any techie things for him (I used a cell phone held together by a wire and rubber band for 8 months.) Anyways, we do at least do try to do something together, but nothing extraordinary. Well, unlike me, hubby is rather dutiful and sends me beautiful & fragrant roses every year.

This year, since I now have a little more time, I made him two of his favorites: Chicken Marsala and Tiramisu. We kept it simple, as usual -- we ate in the kitchen, had the TV on, and hubby flipped though a magazine while he ate.

Roses are red,
Hubby's socks are blue,
He loves that English actor
By the name of Hugh.

After dinner, we went to see hubby's man-crush, Hugh Grant in Music and Lyrics. Yes, he really wanted to see the movie, as he does for all of Hugh's movies. Hubby thought the movie was flawed: bad script, no good chemistry between the actors, and bad acting/character development for Drew Barrymore's role. However, in true devotion to his idol, hubby declared that Hugh was his usual wonderful self. His loyalty and adoration for Hugh was even part of the best man's speech and many jokes at our wedding. I predict that the combination of hubby's adulaltion and goofy nature will inevitably lead to his spontaneous off-key singing, dancing and hip shaking in imitation of his man-love at home, and worse, in public. Man, I'm doomed.

If I weren't devoted to hubby, I don't know if I 'd be able to endure his public theatrics, nor would I have finished knitting his socks. I highly doubt I would ever make another pair, unless another loved one asks me to.


Project: Hubby's socks
Pattern: Many bad patterns, and several ones I had to reference because of the bad patterns. I used this, which had many errors, checked this, referenced some books, and altered to suit my tastes.
Yarn: MC- KnitPicks Swish in Bare (100% Superwash Wool), which I dyed various shades of blue and seagreen; CC - KnitPicks Swish in Coast Grey
Needles: US #5 and US #6

Sock update

Ok, here's a picture of my progress.It wasn't easy getting this far. See, I still have not learned, and was determined to do a different color on the heel, which was not too hard to figure out and adjust. However, that pattern generator had mistakes in it, and as she said, they weren't meant to replace a knitting pattern. So, I ended up with some problems. I knew there was an error when it came to turning the heel since I've made more than a couple pairs of baby booties. I ended up consulting the sock knitting tutorial and many online basic sock patterns before things made sense.

I had another problem: my beautiful bamboo dpns and my fingers turned blue. Boooohooo! I don't think you can tell from the photo, but the needles look like I washed my needles in blue milkpaint. I have never had problems with color coming off my yarn. I actually had a lot of difficulty dyeing this yarn -- it took forever. I don't think it's because it's 100% superwash wool, but rather just the KnitPicks yarn. Blues usually dye the fastest, but I finished painting 2 skeins of red/magenta/fuschia/orange yarn before this one finished. Actually, I got tired of waiting and took out the yarn when there was still a very faint blue tint in the water. I guess I should've either waited longer or rinsed the yarn better. Again, I should've known better.

Should've Known Better: Socks

Inevitably, I always take on a project or idea that ends up being far more complicated than I had intended. Thus, I should've known better and paid better attention before embarking on this sock challenge.

I've always sworn that I would never knit socks. I don't have the same attraction as other knitters to hand-knitted socks. They look beautiful and great, but I can't seem to picture me or someone wearing a time-consuming handknit item I made in a sweaty shoe. That imagery gives me wrinkles around my face that I don't need or want. Yep, I would never knit socks. I should have known better than to say "never" because I'm eating those words now. Hubby, who has never asked me to knit or sew him something, asked for knitted socks to wear at home to insulate him from the cold hardwood floors. How could I say no?

I researched some patterns and liked the look of the Boot Sock pattern from KnitPicks, so I bought the yarns recommended -- a skein of Swish superwash wool in gray and 1 skein of the bare, which I dyed fantastic marine colors (pictured left). I realized then that the pattern called for knitting 2 socks on 2 circulars at the same time. Ok, no sweat, right? I've knitted with 2 circulars many times and didn't think it'd be too much of a departure. Plus, I know how to double knit pretty decently and with more than 2 colors. I was DEAD wrong. I started the pattern at my knitting group and I ended up with a weird tangled mess, even after reading and dissecting the pattern more than 10 times. I even consulted some of the fabulous knitters in my group, who know practically everything in knitting. They couldn't understand the weird and hard to understand written instructions either. It was unclear and confusing and there weren't any photos showing some of the more complicated set up. After fumbling for over an hour, I managed to do half a round of each sock. Then I got stuck and more tangled. Determined, I then tried to follow the pattern but while doing one sock at a time, but the instructions weren't meant for that. *sigh* I frogged for the 7th or 8th time. Argh, I should've know better!

Determined to get something done before I go to bed, I rifled through my books and found the Cozy Sock pattern in Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick. After checking gauge, I figured that this would work. I cast on and worked the cuff to my liking. All the mental work, testing, frogging and knitting finally ended at 3 a.m., when I started to question the seamed heel in the instructions. Again, I should have known better and thought about it more carefully.

After confirming with Aubrey that most socks don't have a seamed heel, I search for some more patterns online. I decided to go with the sock pattern generator by Elizabeth Bennett. I hope that this tutorial will be of help if I get stuck. I'm more worried that after all this, hubby might end up with just one sock!