Its been months and many, many metres of yarn in the making but my silk blanket is finished!

It first looked like this…
“Silk Yarn from Hanoi”

From that it began to be knit like this…
“Blanket – first attempt”

Which really wasn’t working for me. It was boring and cumbersome to knit so i decided to frog that and knit up squares which are portable and would not suffocate me in this heat. All the squares done and seamed and i decided it needed a nice trim to finish it off. I found a lace trim by Barbara Abbey, Mexican lace i think, and it began to look like this about 60% of the way through…
“Seamed Blanket”
“Lace Close-up”

Each lace ‘Sun’ took about an hour to knit and here after many hours and some glorious silk from Vietnam to line the back is my finished blanket Makes me happy just looking at it!
“Finished Blanket”
“Silk lining”

Its been so long since i posted anything on my blog and thats due to the amount of time that went into knitting this…the lap blanket from all the silk yarn i purchased in Hanoi.

Once i was done seaming it i felt like i had conquered Mt. Everest. You think i jest but nooo…its been unseasonably warm in Singapore and knitting a silk blanket (or even seaming one) while its 30 degress or so inside is no picnic.

I have decided to embellish it with a Mexican lace trim, that i found in a pattern book, in a nice warm shade of yellow that just adds to the cheeriness of the blanket. The only problem i can foresee is that each flower takes me about an hour and i haven’t had alot of free time to knit and there’s alot of trim that needs to get done.

I couldn’t wait for it to be a proper finished object before i posted it so here is my semi-finished lap blanket.

Many of you may have already seen this but i found this short film simply irressitable and highly creative. I suspect that all knitters would feel this way. Brings a whole new perspective to global warming in my books!

I’ve had a short career as a semi-serious knitter…meaning since i’ve actually begun to start AND finish a project. I’ve showcased some of my stuff here but for some reason never got around to photographing the 2 tops i knit which i thought turned out quite well…well they are decent enough for me to wear out so that counts for something!

The first was this top which i knit using the measurements of a regular sweater and modified the neckline. I remember it was just after i had done my first lace practice project and decided to create my own design using my favourite stitches. The lavender yarn is lace-weight and so the edges and neckline didn’t hold up very well when i was done so i decided to improvise some more and taught myself to pick up stitches to give the top some decorative edging. I’m not sure if everyone will agree but i love the colour contrast between the vivid, deep red and the lovely lavender. Best of all its the perfect weightage to wear in sunny Singapore.

The other top that i’m pretty pleased about was from Simply Knitting magazine and its a ribbed camisole pattern called ‘Summer Dreams’. Here is a picture of the pattern in the magazine and my finished work after. Thats all for today folks…i have a few more things approaching completion and i’ll be showing them off shortly….errrm provided they turn out alright!! Have a great week everyone.

Was doing my daily tag surfing and i came across this quiz which was posted on Keeping me in Stitches.

I am a total quiz-aholic and couldn’t resist it. You should go try yours too!! Weekend is here and that means i get to indulge in my favourite activity of sitting in my knitting chair while channel surfing on a lazy saturday……hmmmmm i can’t wait

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are bamboo.Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time and enjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. You love the craft and beauty of traditional things, and you value the comfort and experience of knitting as much as the results. But while you are reveling in your warm cozies, don’t get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so is the whole wide world! Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

I couldn’t resist it.

I came across it all the time.

Others were doing it.

So i succumbed and knit my very own Brea Bag as well. For the few people out there who may not know where to find it you can get the pattern for the bag from Berroco’s Free Pattern library.

Now the only thing standing between me and a bag i knit is the seaming(which seems like its going to take forever so i’ve been bad and put it off), finding a nice button and some small rings to anchor between the bag and the strap (the shorter piece on the top) which i modified and knit in the same silk the rest of the bag is knit.

Knitting this silk was a dream. The silk was so wonderfully soft to the touch but not great if you have allergies since it fluffs and separates quite a bit and you are left covered in silk tufts. Another thing i would note for the next bag is that the pattern of the bag is in itself so lovely that i might stick to a single colour next time but just couldn’t resist using this silk this time.

I can knit intermediate designs!!!! Who knew ;-p

Its the advent of spring in Hanoi (i just returned from a weekend trip) and the knitting stores have started to switch their merchandise over from the heavier silks to give way to the more wearable cottons.

These lovely cottons were a steal at 20,000VND each and i have a few patterns in mind for what i want to create with these lovelies.

I’m also going to attempt a shawl or two with this lace-weight cotton which i purchased for 5000VND per ball.

I have a few wips to photograph and hopefully i’ll be able to do that soon so my posts won’t be so few and far between.

I’m drowning in wips. 90% of my needles have something on them and nothing is finished! I’ve been such a bad knitter.

The only thing making some sort of progress is my silk throw. I’m guessing because its a simple stockinette stitch with a garter stitch edge. I cast on 100 stitches and this is my go-to knit for the TV shows i actually do want to watch and not just listen to. I haven’t quite managed to be able to knit without looking down at whats going on.

The silk turned out to be pretty self-striping and thats about the only exciting thing going on with the blanket. The colours are so bright that i hesitate to do anything fancy since it won’t show up but knitting this blanket has left me feeling cheery from just looking at the colours and the feel of the soft silk.

I’ve finished the ball of silk in the pictures and i’m awaiting the arrival of more silk. Till then my other wips will get a chance!

I’m so excited i can barely contain myself as i write this. I was in paradise this last weekend. I went to Hanoi to visit my sister and her hotel was located close to a whole road of wool and knitting supplies shops. Here i am with one of the biggest smiles i can remember pasted right across my face.

They don’t have anything too fancy in terms of needles and knitting paraphernalia and the wool they have is pretty standard except for my find of silk. The spinning of the silk threads is a little inconsistent so i can’t make it into the top i originally wanted but i imagine it’ll make a gorgeous silk throw/blanket.

If anyone is interested in getting some for themselves i’ll be more than happy to help you arange for that or answer any question. Now i must go gaze fondly at my pretty silk.

I’m subscribed to the feed of Lick My Sticks and she had the results of this quiz up and i just couldn’t resist this one.

I am very surprised by my results though. Have fun trying this out for yourselves!

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can’t imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
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