The new sunshine in my friend’s life

My friend just delivered about 20 days back. A healthy baby boy. I knew I had to make something for the little one and then the KAL on Ravelry came up at the SAARC group here. So, I decided on Presto Chango because it was so cute, adorable and there was this amazing functionality about it owing to the detachable front panel, which I found hard to resist.

The yarn is from Patons and I think it’s called Sunset Yellow, or something like that. I have a bad habit of throwing away the yarn wrapper so later when I want to know what yarn I used, it’s usually in the bin by then! But anyways, I just loved the colorway. It’s cheerful, sunshiney and perfect for a cute newborn kid!

I actually wanted to knit some more panels but there was a major time constraint, especially as we had guests over, I was busy knitting for friends and family and there were many breaks in between knitting this cute baby cardigan. At least I’m glad I finished it in time for the kid’s naming ceremony yesterday! The pics were taken at night the day before because I had to gift wrap it in the morning yesterday.

Long hiatus but busy knitting

Been away from Blogland for pretty long but there is a good reason for it. With the holidays here and so many people to knit for, have been real busy until now. So, after the Presto Chango, several other baby projects and accessories for friends, finally – yes, finally, found the time to knit something for myself. Nothing big. Nothing spectacular. But pretty. Neat. And yes, trendy too!

The pattern – Envy by John Brinegar. Check it out on Ravelry. Really cool. Works up fast, especially with a bulky weight yarn. I had a bit from a swap gift from Ravelry. Love the color and the buttons were a nice addition to it. The buttons were an RAK gift from a dear friend from Italy.

I didn’t have enough yarn to complete the buttonhole row. So, I improvised! Used a hairstick (which, incidentally, has no use for me now because of my short hair – but maybe later! One day my hair will be long). So, the hairstick has been put to good use as a scarf fastener.

Every once in a while, you need fun interesting projects to work on – I know I do! Envy was fun, quick and easy – very important because I don’t want a project to stress me out, especially the small in-between kinda projects. Love, love, love the pattern and definitely plan to knit a couple more for friends! Warning – it can be addictive knitting this one up

Little Zeus Loveees Peanut Butter!

I had read on quite a few forums that Labs love peanut butter – actually most dogs do and esp. when it comes to Labs, we all know how much they love their food! Lol. So, anyways, I gave Zeus some peanut butter and presto! He went mad…kept licking the floor like there is no tomorrow! Check out the videos of Zeus on my Facebook profile here

Meantime, here are some snaps of Zeus. He has grown a lot bigger and has many new expressions on his face – indifferent, excited, hyper, happy, satisfied, tired, sighing – the list keeps going on and on and on…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swallowtail – addicted to lace knitting!

I know it’s been ages since my last post and my sporadic attempts at posting new stuff is mainly attributed to my very hectic work schedules. But anyhow, in the midst of this, I managed to make a Swallowtail for my cousin in Mumbai. It reached her yesterday and she is very happy with it. Thought I’d share the pics with you. Oh, and there are a couple of things, which I learnt about knitting the Swallowtail (scroll down below).

This was a totally addictive and fun pattern to knit and since this was my first lace knit project, I was pretty thrilled with the results. I also wanted a sparkly effect and so added some pale golden seed beads (placed beads instead of nupps in the shawl. That saved yarn and time as I wasn’t sure if I had sufficient yardage).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things I learnt about the Swallowtail Shawl (in no special order of priority):

1. Marker placement is critical as otherwise the center line and associated repeats can be lopsided!
2. This is definitely not one of those mindless knits, which you can finish while watching TV. Concentration is imperative.
3. Using lifelines can seem tedious but there is a reason they are called ‘lifelines’ – imagine having to frog 10 rows just because of one tiny error in the 15th row!
4. Yardage must be calculated beforehand. I cheated of course – I wasn’t sure of the yardage in my yarn as it was a local acrylic variety but I decided to use beads instead of nupps as that would free plenty of yarn.
5. This shawl looks complex but is actually very easy once you take it a row at a time.

Yarn and Kisses Malabrigo Giveaway – awesome Malabrigo yarns!

If you always crave for Malabrigo yarn, like I do, you’ll know this is a one of a kind opportunity! You might be the proud and lucky winner of TWO (yes, not one but two!) skeins of super soft, luxurious, gorgeous (words fail me now…) Malabrigo yarn. All you have to do to qualify winning is check out the details on Salihan’s lovely blog!

Steampunked

Recently, my DH and I were discussing about the concept, beauty and brilliance of Steampunked objects. These works of art combine the elegance and antique styles of the Victorian era with modern functionality and futuristic mechanisms. The concept is brilliant (did I say that already? ) and the finished objects are amazing to look at – you’d almost think you are at a museum looking at all these objects.

If you’d like a dekko on some of the coolest Steampunked objects, check this link.

Talk about the gamut of objects, there is everything ranging from taxidermy, computers, action figures and other amazing stuff like objects we use in daily life.

Steampunk is meant for those who enjoy the mix of ancient elegance and charm with modern sophistication and functionality. If you do a Google check, you’re sure to come up with a bunch of stuff. Check it out – totally cool and guaranteed to make your jaw drop!

And the hits just keep on coming!

Come cover me was in my Ravelry Q for a really long time. This was a quick knit and I managed to finish it within 6 days, which is fast for a slow knitter like me! So here are the pics – I loved this pattern as soon as I saw it and shrugs are something I am always short of Enjoy the pics!

Infallible Range From Maybelline

There is a reason why I continue to love the Infallible range from Maybelline. The shades of lipcolor are gorgeous, stay for endless hours and yet provide you with the right amount of lustre. I especially love the ‘Unchanging Beige’ shade, which is a nice nude shade, great for daytime use. The good thing about this lipcolor is that it has two components – one is the actual lipcolor, which you ideally need to apply with a brush for an even application and the other is a gloss, which should be applied after one or two minutes after the application of the lipcolor. The result is a lipcolor, which stays almost the entire day! The downside is that you really need to try hard to get it off – but then who’s complaining? With all those lipcolors promising long-lasting wear and never really delivering on the promise, this one really does its job well!

Talking about Maybelline, I also love their Dream Mousse foundations, bronzers and blushes. They glide on, blend in easy and provide a natural finish.

Coachella Camisole

I had been wanting to make this one for a long time and finally decided to take on the mighty Coachella pattern from Ravelry.  I had actually finished this project long time back but the pictures posted on Ravelry were not that clear. Hence, I decided to post new ones and hopefully these newer pics do justice to the camisole!

Here goes:

Ahem, pls excuse the second and last pics – I very bravely tried to get a shot of myself!

New Plans – New Way Of Looking At Things!

My fickle mind never seems satisfied with one single project at a time. There always has to be at least three or four projects going simultaneously for my Saggitarian mentality to be appeased. That and the gorgeous patterns, which keep getting added on to Ravelry every now and then make me try something new. As if I didn’t have enough going on already! Well, the cumulative result of all of this is plenty of UFOs, WIPs and frogged items (unfrogged too – sitting in a basket waiting to be ripped apart soon!). Then bang - all of a sudden I realize a few days back that I’m actually not a ‘many projects at a time’ kind of person. Instead, I do much better when I focus on one project, give it my whole attention and then move onto something else. The labor of my efforts paid off and here are the results – Liesl cardigan by Ysolda Teague in a purple yarn – Lion Brand Wool Ease to be precise. I really worked on this one as though it was all I had, for about 3 days and I was done! That’s when I realized that when I pay attention to one project it turns out better, I’m over with it and with a fresh mind to move on to something new! Plus, it gets over faster!