Holiday cheer....

After much hiatus from blogging, mostly because of work, just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & a great New Year ahead! ^^

It was a beautiful wedding!!!

No no...don't panic...it wasn't mine. :) It was A's and it was the most wonderful wedding! Ok, I may not have been to many weddings, but this wedding it was just so special. It's so special when the bride is one of your good friends, whom you had heaps of fun with before. It was a beautiful romantic story that culminated into this beautiful beginning. :)

The bride was gorgeous, and she was definitely not a bridezilla! She actually did a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and everything went without a hitch. See? Excellent planning makes the wedding day hassle-free. ^^

Anyway, here are some photos of the wonderful day.

This is a nice photo of the new Mr & Mrs taken at Docklands. ^^

The bride & bridesmaid (me!)

This is a matching ring that was made for both of us just to wear on that day. The theme was pink, the bouquet was pink roses and tulips. So my friend requested for me to make a pair for the day so we'd both match. ^^

And I nearly cried too at the end of the ceremony! And poor bf got stressed out with the people asking him when is our turn...hahahaha....

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Despite the really cold winter, no knitting progress yet. I've been knitting this scarf...really need to take a picture of it. ;;^^

Oh oh...Melita, it was lovely catching up with you and meeting Ashley of course. She's so adorable. ^^ BTW I may still be here in Dec, so let me know when you are here, we'd do chocolate again. ^^

Habu!

Yesterday I went to The Craft & Quilt Fair. The only reason why I wanted to go was not to get anymore beading supplies...;;^^ I was actually quite excited to see the list of yarn shops in the exhibitor list. I was definitely not disappointed with the fair.

It was crowded, in fact much more crowded when compared to the fair held in Caulfield Racecourse. We've never seen so many craft people in one room! Shanwen & I decided that the most logical thing to do was go aisle per aisle. Nevermind that each aisle took us 1/2 hour to explore as we got sidetracked and could not resist some of the bargains available. ^^

However, one of our biggest find was the Habu yarns!!! ^^ We've read about it and this time, we saw...we touched.... and we bought them! ^^ We went to shop twice just to make sure we would not regret not buying them. So, instead of buying just one ball, I bought 7. ;;^^ Shanwen, buckled too and bought one Habu and 2 other mohair and angora yarns.

I also picked up some lovely silk-ribbon type of yarn done in multi-colours. I'm happy with my finds and I got a feeling that scarves are definitely in the works....

Talking about future projects, being influenced by Shanwen (as usual) instead of knitting the 28thirty I've decided to knit February Lady Cardi instead. It has a similar look. While the lace looks a bit daunting, I've taken the plunge and bought 2 blue colours in Zarina which I will knit together to achieve a mild effect.

Starting new projects is always daunting, but it'll be fun. ^^ I hope... ;;^^

It's Knitting Time!!!

Yes! The Melbourne's weather has been perfect for knitting. It's gloomy most days and it's freezing cold. Today alone I had to wear 2 jackets at the same time and I still could feel the chill.

It's always good though to have the rain and most importantly the cold weather has "inspired" me to knit faster and I've finally completed my Teal Bulky Scarf! ^^

Knitted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK (doubled up) on 12mm needles, this scarf is warm to wear and soft against the skin. ^^

When I designed this scarf I only wanted a straight bulky scarf. However, the endless (almost like a mobius) scarf is apparently a trend this winter season, with Witchery and Country Road doing their versions. I knew then I need to have one and thus modified my own scarf to be dual functioned! I added mismatched buttons at the end which added more character to the piece and when buttoned up, the scarf becomes a loop!

Endless Scarf from Witchery

My version of the loopy scarf...it's a bit bulky but at least it will be warm. ^^

This scarf can also be worn as a normal scarf. ^^

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On the jewellery making side of things, I've just made some new stuff. Presenting the Harmony series! It's basically a basic circular wired design that comes with different themes. Banking on the popularity of the Beetle Bug ring, there is now Beetle Bug necklace. However, as soon as I showed this to my friend, it was bought. ;;^^ I might repeat the design later. The pink rose version is new too...so expect a lot of the Harmony Series because I love the design.

All I need is a holiday....

... to blog! Things is a bit busy at work (though we are at one of the most interesting part of the work), so I have not been able to blog. The knitting front has been slow too, though I'm still knitting my Fetching. I have not even been able to finish one side, d'oh!!!

(28thirty...looks beautiful and great to wear isn't it?? I have to knit one of these!)

Went to the Wool Baa yesterday, though I was pretty good and did not buy anything (since T has put me under a very strict budget :P). Shanwen on the other hand, made all the purchases for 28thirty. Melita is knitting this too. Since it is an absolutely fabulous pattern from Zephyr Style, I'm going to knit one too! The question is when I will knit it...;;^^ Since not only do I have more than 2 projects in progress, I have a multitude in queue! :P

And did I mention I went to Kinokuniya in Sydney last month? I picked up heaps of knitting books and some Chinese comics too...tee hee... ^^ I'll add pictures of what I've picked up next time...:)

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On the beading front, I want to blog about this special customisation order. ^^

M came to me one day and showed me this lovely necklace. It's made of natural materials such as seed pods, shells and wood. The colours too were incredible. The issue is that M would like matching earrings made for this piece as it was a bit hard to match.

I was very lucky as Anuja had the exact same red beads. Thus, I was able to come up with the earring pieces. ^^ To capture the same feel, I made sure that the red bead repeats are the same to the original necklace.

After showing the results to M, she decided that a bracelet would be great too. Hence, I came up with the bracelet, pictured above. Using the memory wire and keeping in theme with the whole look and colour, the bracelet works really well despite the beads not being the exact same beads.

Overall though, I think the whole collection worked well. I was extremely pleased with the results and if it wasn't for Anuja's help, I would not have been able to finish this order. So thanks Anuja! ^^

The pieces together.

By the way...the funny thing about this collection is...when I was young and living in Singapore, I used to collect these red seed pods. I used to have jars of them. We used to give friends or boys we had crushes on a jar to signify our friendship or "love" (respectively) for them. LOL I thought it's interesting that they do make good beads too.

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Anyhoo, off now...to bake come cupcakes! ^^

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UPDATE: Cupcakes made~! ^^

The cupcake was presented with fresh strawberry, jam (courtesy of Miss Marples Tea Room) and cottage cheese mix, sprinkled with icing sugar ... yum! ^^

Finally! A chance to blog!

Things have been quite hectic with my current work. But I'm actually loving it, in particular, I'm beginning to see the impact of the project. But the thing that makes me happy too is being able to continue to do what I love... knit & bead! ^^

Just as I said to Melita before, just because I quit from Wool Baa, does not mean I have to stop knitting. ^^ In fact, I got more time to knit and I've finally finished my pink/green bow tie scarf which I'm quite happy with. Best of all I finished it on time for a gift. ^^

(Taa daa! All finished! ^^)

I'm currently knitting my own scarf... I'll show the photos when it's done. ^^ But next, I'd probably knit another Fetching (refer to my post here too on my first one) as a gift for someone too. ^^

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On the beading front, I finally "opened" my little stall at J's gallery, Rosie Gallery. It was a fun experience and like Shanwen said, we managed to sell some things. I'm quite happy that people enjoyed the things I made. It's not so much as the money, but I was mostly happy the things are going to good homes.

(That's me knitting while err...watching my stall...)

(Mine & Shanwen's share table....)

(Our stall - closer look)

(Shanwen, me and Anuja)

I also got some special orders. Here's one that I did for one particular order. This was a tag-team effort. The request was to make a whole set of necklace, earrings, bracelet and ring. Working with A, I made the ring and earrings. I was really pleased with the results. Here are the items I made. ^^

(On my hand...I'm not a hand model...so pardon if the hand doesn't look too good...lol)

(The earrings made .... I love love love how this turned out!!!)

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Overall, things have been productive. But remember to come by to the next Rosie's Bazaar on Saturday, 24th May 2008.

Details as follows:

78 Johnston Street, Collingwood

(make sure it's Collingwood! Past Wellington Street)

10am to 1 pm

See you there! ^^

new look for me.u & bazaar

I've revamped the website a bit... not exactly what I had in mind (completely) but it'll do...

The address is still: http://www.suki-desu.com/me.u

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me.u @ Rosie's Bazaar

Still knitting!

Yes, yes I'm still alive and knitting. ^^ Things was hectic during the March period and things that I wished was not happening was happening. Thus there was a lack of update in my blog. However, the knitting went on. And so did the jewellery making. :)

I'm currently knitting the bow tie scarf which you may remember from my previous entries here. The one that I'm making now is knitted in pink and green using a blend of Zara and Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. So far, I love the colour combination! ^^ Though I'm a bout 1/2-way there, I can't wait till this is done!

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On the jewellery making side of things, sales on etsy is a bit slow. However, when I started doing this again, I've told myself time and time again that it is a hobby and should not take precedence over my whole life so that the lack of sales would not affect me at all. However, one can always hope that sale would come one's way.... ^^

The good thing about making your own jewellery is that you'll always have earrings ready, designed in a way that you want it. Above is a piece I did for myself. I just wanted a really long pair of earrings to wear when my hair is down. And when I say long, I really love my earrings long and I love love love mismatched earrings!!!

Then, a gift! I made this for a colleague's bday. And to see her wear it, I'm happy....^^

And all these are the new stuff at the store today! ^^

So yes....I have been VERY productive! ^^

me.u relaunched!

Before I launched into me.u being relaunched (yes, there is a pun).... I'll talk about what's been going on for the past week instead. :) Unfortunately, I was not able to catch up with Melita as I was swamped with deadlines even until the day before Good Friday. Sorry Melita!!! But hope that we can catch up next time and lovely to see you at the Stitches and Craft show! ^^

Well, when I first started working, there was one very lovely helpful person who sort of helped me to make the transition. Unfortunately, she will be leaving the uni for her new job. So to thank her I knitted her a scarf. I had to do a quick knit as I only realised she was leaving 3 days before it happened. :P So here is the result. I just hope that she liked it...and at least get some wear out of it. ^^

During the Easter break I went to Mt. Dandenong and it was fantastic! I got to watch the sunset with T and we played in the maze. Yes, we were like little kids, but hey it was fun! ^^

Look how the city of Melbourne was subtly captured in the photo...:)

But.....my coup (shhh...don't tell T) for the holidays was...GEELONG!!!! Yes...Geelong!!! If you would like to know why I'm excited, look at this photo:

Still no idea why?? Let's look closer....

Apparently, Geelong is a knitting town!!!! I went to the Wool Museum and I swear I was like a little kid in a candy store. My poor friend C probably thought I'm like a little kid. I got really excited when I saw a 100 year old Axminster carpet machine and got even more excited when they demonstrated how it worked. Then all the antiqued knitting machines!!! It's was simply fabulousknitty!!!! I didn't buy any yarn though not for the lack of trying....unfortunately most shops were closed for the holidays and the yarns I managed to find are not exactly my favourite colours. But I still had a blast! :)

Check out the yummy, knitted, yes knitted goodies!!!! ^^

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I also finally got my SLR and hence the relaunching of me.u
New items has been photographed and listed. I used the etsy.com platform for the new store. Please tell your friends, or just visit it for fun. Feedback would be nice to improve...:)

http://www.suki-desu.com/me.u

A Tale of Two Scarves....

...and very long ones they are. First is Creamy Peaches. Knitted in using 3 balls of Zara on 7mm needles, this scarf is a delight to knit. Soft to the touch, this scarf starts off with 28 stitches, knitted in the following pattern *k2, p1, repeat from * until last stitch k1. It became extremely long as all 3 balls of Zara was used up. I only casted off after the last ball almost finished. Very happy with this.^^

Next is Meeting Lines. This scarf is an experimentation. I was inspired by a Grinasco yarn that I've seen before which was a blend of pink and grey. However, I wasn't into the yarn composition, so I decided to buy 2 similar colours and blend it. I knitted this with 2 balls of Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Chunky in grey and 2 balls off Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in dusty pink. I knitted the 2 yarns together on a 12mm needles, casting on 8 stitches. After casting off, I picked up the side stitches and knitted the other way just to see how it looks. Finished with fringing, it captures the softness of both yarns, and hopefully presents an interesting effect when worn! ^^

Going?

Shanwen, we are going to this right? On the 15th? Will you be in Melbourne Melita??

I've taken the plunge...

and knitted in public! I know I know...while this activity seems normal to the avid knitter, I must admit I've never done it until this Sunday past. I've always thought I'd feel strange knitting in public or someone would sort of start pointing at me. To my surprise, I knitted in public without any major drama. In fact, has knitting came out in the open so much that no one would bat an eyelash to see someone knitting in public?

Anyhoo, the knitting in public episode has resulted in this!

I finished Juliet II! ^^ Knitting in the bamboo has been a mixed feeling. While it does split and drives one mad when needing to unravel a couple of stitches when mistakes are made, I cannot say I'm displeased with the result at all. In fact, knitting the pattern in slightly smaller needles produced a good gauge IMHO. While initially I had problems with a couple of rows, after taking a break, I actually knitted Juliet II without any mistakes. I did not have to do any creative embroidery with this! I love the colour and I'm still undecided if the button would be it. I still want to consider an interesting ribbon to finish it off. But I must say, I'm extremely happy. Serenity gave me knitting bliss! ^^

And knitting in public certainly makes one more productive!

*note Serenity is the name of the yarn used.