Winter Have Arrived

Soon this tree’s branches will be snow-laden.

I’m not sure if winter have arrived in other temperate countries in the northern region, but it have arrived here in Mongolia. It seems like when I was gushing about the brilliant colours of autumn, I read about knitters talk about the end of summer on their blogs. When I was feeling my nose get frozen whenever I go out of my house, I read about knitters talk about autumn.

In anycase, I’m beginning to think fingerless mitts are indeed pointless. Once I finish the pair of mittens I’m knitting for the bf, I’m going to add fingers to my endpaper mitts.

A couple of days ago, we went for a wee bit of hiking. We didn’t hike long because of the weather. Right now (afternoon) its 2C. On the day we were hiking, it was -20C (-4F) because it just snowed the previous day, and it was outside the city.

Lichen coated rocks and a sprinkle of snow crystals, with the sun setting behind a mountain range while throwing its last few warm rays over the land.

That was the only decent picture I took because my camera is kinda broken. One of the battery’s latch broke again. This is the 3rd time in 1+ years. Not like I abuse my camera.. My other cameras did not have the same problem. There isn’t any canon service center in Mongolia so I’ll just have to live with it for the next 8+ months.

There is some knitting to showcase, though. Here is the hat that I knitted for the bf this summer.

Stranded hat with the scarf I knitted for him last christmas. Will blog properly about the hat and give specifications next time. Now I’m making a pair of mittens (at his request) to match the stranded hat.

Another picture taken from the top of the hill, looking towards the direction of the city (which is not visible from this picture).

Me wearing the first hat I tried knitting for the bf in the summer of 2008. The width was too small for him so I inherited the hat instead.. Until I clear a few gift WIPs so I can cast on for a hat for myself. WIPs include:

Matching stranded mitts
Entrelac vest (just got past the armholes currently!)
Endpaper gloves/mitts.
Pinky fluffy shawl/scarf

I need to knit faster.

Yesterday we did groceries and bought this:

The bf told me its Russian cheese. Its kinda dried and braided. Tastes a little smokey, quite salty and chewy. I like it quite alot… Its already one third gone in this picture.

Back to knitting!

A Few WIPs…

… And a few rants.

Hello~

The good stuff first. My apologies about the crappy webcam pictures with me peeping from behind (its difficult to position the objects when I’m behind the object instead of behind the lens, IYGWIM). I have yet to get my claws on obtain a battery charger to charge the camera batteries.

A shawl/scarf I’m making with some blue cashmere I bought in March this year. Improvising as I go along. Maybe something along the line of Ishbel.. Then this will be Ishbel-ish, right?

I spent less time on this than the blue shawl/scarf. Lace definitely goes faster than garter.. Garter seems to take forever to grow. Same goes for cables, but I digress. I’m sure I’m not the only one in the secret club that does not like knitting garter or cables much… I frogged the Romantic Pullover V.1 to make this mohair shawl/scarf because

i)    I don’t have enough yarn to finish the pullover
ii)  I want a mohair shawl/scarf in pink and I don’t have any pink mohair yarn with me now.
iii) I decided I will make the romantic pullover in another mohair yarn, or maybe not at all because lace mohair is not that practical for a garment…
iv) I need a shawl/scarf.

It was painful ripping that mohair. Partially because it was almost complete, and partially because its lace mohair and you know how lace mohair frogs, right?

This is a cashmere entrelac vest I’m knitting for the bf’s dad. I acquired the yarn in March, together with the blue cashmere up there. This knits up quite fast but the big size means its just as slow, anyway. (-__-) I prefer knitting for myself because the size makes everything faster.

But all those are currently on hold. I am going to finish up the last couple of rows of my endpaper mitts and use the handyed yarn for a scarf based on the Beech Wood Cowl.. Because thats the only yarn I have that is of the correct weight and not monotone. (I do have a beige handyed yarn but I intend that for socks, and another KnitPicks green kettle-dyed sock yarn I am keeping for a leaf lace shawl..) Perhaps I will swatch it to be sure.

I had brought some Beaverslide McTaggart yarn along to make a scarf for him, but he does not like the yarn. He says it feels synthetic. Seems like he is more of a yarn snob than I am.

And last night he stopped dead in his tracks when I showed him one of the finished endpaper mitts. He asked “where are the fingers?” And after explaining to him “fingerless mitts” he almost got angry. Apparently, fingerless mitts are totally useless and are a complete waste of time because fingers are the first to get cold. So whats the point of “fingerless mitts”? I have no idea why he thinks that the things I knit have to be made for the extreme cold. I can wear the fingerless mitts under gloves for extra warmth without losing flexibility. Or I can wear it in the house if my hands feel cold, right? Anyone from temperate countries care to explain the usefulness of fingerless mitts? Or maybe I’ll just go back and add 5 fingers.

I was going about my usual stuff when I remembered how my sis scolded me in public in front of my mom’s sister after a dinner. We were just meeting up with relatives before I come to Mongolia and my sister thought that was a fantastic timing to say a few words. She is usually hardly at home and never talked to anyone except to ask for something. Somehow she have this idea that my parents are sponsoring my trip, and that I’m always using my parents’ money. But I’m proud to say that every single cent we’re using now are saved from honest work (from our summer job) and thriftiness. Even when I was studying, I worked for my pocket money and saved up for my travels myself. Very unlike the way she did, asking for pocket money and even including pens, stationaries, transport fees, etc. I won’t feel bad at all if I never see her again. I just hope to shut that chapter of my life, or until she finally stop being an ass.

Enough washing of dirty linens in public… I do have an FO to show but maybe in the next entry, when I can use my camera.

Golden

Sorry for flickering in and out.. I check Ravelry almost daily but hardly blog because I have hardly anything knit-worthy to blog about. Knitting time is currently a luxury and there are just so much things going on.

I miss my yarn. I only brought a bag of yarn here, of which there is only 1 yarn that is sufficient for a decent sweater/jacket/cardigan.

This post is still knit-less. Just another photolog of Mongolia. The pictures were taken approximately 2 weeks ago, at the peak of autumn. Enjoy.

The Mongolian landscape – Ger (the white tent), horses, river, mountain, blue sky.

Leaf-littered courtyard with small horses tied to a tree.

Milking the horse. There is a mongolian (slightly alcoholic) drink – the airag, which is fermented mare’s milk. It is very popular in summer and said to be very good for the body. I was told that they drink it all day without eating anything. The taste of airag is very sour and sharp. I prefer adding sugar to it (typically I find beer too bitter as well) and it took me a few times of drinking it to stop being shocked by the sourness.

The leaves are crisp and the mellow smell of dried leaves sort of explode into the air when a leaf is crushed.

Along the river. I REALLY wish I had a knitted item to photograph there because the place was just so awesome and beautiful.

I love all shades of trees in the autumn days.

Leaves floating down the river.

Hopefully the next time I blog, there is something knit-worthy.. And that I managed to find hisbattery charger….

2 Weeks Later

I’ve been in Mongolia for 2 weeks. So far it had been good. Not being able to speak the language is definitely a pain, but I’m learning so I’m not too bothered. Living in a temperate climate country is definitely different from tropical Singapore.

I have not had the chance to knit much.. So this post is nothing knitting related.

Here are the pictures I’ve taken so far.

Streetside fruitstalls are common in the city. I did not expect this.

These are pine nuts, or samaar, as they call them here. Very popular mongolian snack.

Fresh vegetable stalls. Very common too.

We dropped by Tengis cinema to check out the movies currently showing.

That weekend, we went to visit his parents.

On the walk in, we saw this salaakh – a mongolian cow.

A few salaakh-s.

It was quite surprising how quickly the environment changed as we stepped out of the city.

His parents kept some chickens.

They have baby chicks!

His parents were out so we went hiking.

Some boys were taking their horses out for a walk in the forest. After I took this picture, they started galloping, unharnessed with boys running beside them. That was cool.

This is my first autumn. For once, I was inside the picture, not looking at the picture. It was special and magical to be walking in a forest with golden leaves littered all over the path. The scent of the forest was immensely strong. I felt like I was watching a really awesome 4/5/6-D movie.. Like I was inside Lord of the Rings or Sleepy Hollow. It was awesome.

Hartsag, their dog, came along with us on the hike.

Grass patches as such are all over the forest.

Asmall natural pond.

Someone wrote a song for the tree in the background.

Hartsag running ahead of us.

We were lucky we went hiking that evening because that very night, it started snowing! I was told that this sudden climate change had not happened in 60 years.

The next day, it was like this:

Autumn to winter in a couple of hours. Interesting.

And then winter to autumn again in 1 day.

I am still very amazed by the leaves turning colour.

Random street shot.

Another random street shot.

I have knitted a little on a cashmere vest, and started a drop stitch scarf.. I need to finish that endpaper mitts (only less than 20 rows and its finito!)… I need more time!

Summer’s Knits

I only had 2 FOs this summer. However, they are rather big FOs so I guess that justifies the quantity. One of the FO is not with me now, unfortunately. But it will get its showtime on this blog… When I finish the pair, I will take a proper FO picture of the pair of FO.

The other FO is a huge scarf. When I was knitting it (in the middle of summer, sweating my knees under it) I received questions like “Is it a carpet?” “Is it a rug?” “Is it a blanket?”… When I say “Its a scarf.” They will say something along the line of “Wow. Thats one big scarf”.

And you know entrelac looks all scrunched up before blocking, right? Especially if you use a single-ply yarn, which increases the tendency to coil up. To cut the long story short, I finished the scarf and blocked it with my fingers crossed. Tada… (Sorry about the crappy pictures… I lost my photoshop program and its a rainy day in Singapore…)

Noro and entrelac – a match made in heaven.

Right and wrong sides.

Irotrelac
Yarn: Noro Iro, 6 x 100g
Pattern: None.
Afterthoughts: I want another big Noro Entrelac scarf!

The scarf, folded double so it can fit in the camera’s frames. I fall in love with the colours every time I look at it.

In many ways its more like a shawl than a scarf, but I still think of it as a scarf.

I love it.

This is how much I have left from the 6 skeins. I bought 3 skeins initially. Then I decided to make a big scarf rather than a small skinny one. I ran out of yarn and quickly ordered more. I was lucky they still had my colour in stock (it was on sale). Gotta love shipping in the US.

And now, for the active WIPs. I intended to finish these before I leave and block it in Singapore. However, I was busy making a hat for my mom before I leave. So these are still WIP, almost FO.

Hexacomb. Just give me a couple of hours!

A sweater I started last year but neglected for the entire year until I saw it while packing my yarn into storage. Its going to have long sleeves. Another couple of hours required to become an FO..

There is another black hat I started today. After finishing one hat for mom, she decided she likes another kind of hat, not berets. Hmm… Might be helpful if she decided before I rushed to finish the hat. So I’m going to make her yet another hat.

This is the hat I knitted for her:

Meret
Yarn: Knitpicks Shadow  in Redwood Forest, 4 strands held together, 1.5 x 50g.
Pattern: Meret by Wooly Wormhead
Modification: More repeats (about 4 or 5 in total) because I was using a smaller needle and mom wants it “loose”.
Afterthought: I want to sneak it into my luggage.

Nice lace pattern.

But mom still likes this hat I made for her a couple of years ago… So she asked for another hat, a black one this time.

Its very soft and floppy.

Mom has at least 3 hats I made for her, not including this black one I’m making. But I guess if it makes her happy I’ll just make them for her.

Thats the end of this post. Adios my friends. Next time I blog I will be somewhere different. But I’m still trying to choose which yarn I should bring.. I would love to bring the entire monster stash but thats out of the question and I do not wish to spend all my time knitting. I guess I just have to plan. (>_<)

My Summer…

… And some knits I completed before the summer.

I thought I had posted an entry about those projects, but I suppose it slipped my mind in the mad rush to prepare for the long trip. Never too late, right?

This is Nell. Its a free pattern from Berroco, I think. Basically, you crochet a strip of lace and attach it to a dress. I can crochet, but I left the dress part to my mom. I used Jaggerspun’s Zephyr Laceweight held double. I do not remember the hook size.

This dress is completed. Its a knee length, cute little dress. A little childish, though. FO picture to come in the next couple of days when I blog about this summer’s knits.

Another long WIP finished. This Rebecca shrug had been waiting years to get that ribbon fixed on. Before I went to USA I finally bought the ribbon and fixed it on. According to the pattern, this shrug should have a knitted tie-on. But I think a satin ribbon suits it much better. I did have to runch it up because the ribbon is not thick enough.

But as you can see, it works fine.

Rebecca Shrug
Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4 ply in Sheer, unknown quantity
Pattern: Wrap Sweater with Eyelets in Rebecca Magazine #29
Modifications: Replaced knitted tie with satin ribbon.
Afterthoughts: Finally…

Romantic Top
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Sprayin Tea Rose, 1.5 x 25g
Pattern: None – Improvised
Made for: Mom
Afterthoughts: A little Kidsilk goes a long way…

Its kinda big on me because its for mom. The crochetted borders look less lame when my mom is wearing it. This was not really an FO picture.. With the ends hanging and stuff.. I wanted to use a ribbon to replace the string, but my mom likes it that way.

The runching is created by simple increases and decreases, as well as change in needle size.

I like the crochetted scallop edges.. It was difficult to find a yarn that is suitable, though. I want a cotton that is heavy enough to hold down the edges but the only pink I could find at Spotlight was this neon-ish one.

What is this?

Hexacomb Cardigan. This is a WIP which I’m working on currently, after a long summer. I aim to finish it before flying off. I’m at the neck area now and I’m finishing the body piece soon.

Baby Booties I made for my sis (her colleague had a baby and she didn’t know what to gift)

Baby Booties
Yarn: Jaeger Matchmaker DK in Light Blue, leftover from Stormie Pullover
Pattern: Saartje’s Booties by Saartje
Modifications: None, I believe.
Afterthoughts: Cute!

WIP, which might be frogged. Its Beaded Cami, but I am having second thoughts about my yarn choice. I guess it will have to hibernate a little until I make a decision.

Summery Crochetted Skinny Scarf
Yarn: May – Field of Flowers TSY Sock Yarn, 0.3 x 100g
Pattern: Queen Anne’s Lace Scarf by Khebhin Gibbons
Afterthoughts: Crochet is quite fun too!

I have completed a number of FOs since then. Will finish this round of FOs and write about them in the next couple of days.. Maybe not. Depends on how busy I will be.

Now for a few pictures from the summer. I visited 2 LYS and took pictures. But a tourist’s nightmare happened to me – I accidentally deleted most of my pictures. Oy vey! The pictures of the LYS is destroyed, unfortunately. I did buy some yarn from this trip.. From the LYS and KnitPicks and WEBS.. But I packed the yarn into storage before I remembered to take any pictures of them. So.. You’ll see the yarn when I knit them up, I guess.

On to the pictures.

*Note: The pictures are all uneditted*

Montana’s famous blue skies..

View from my room one misty morning.

Main Street, Cody, Wyoming.

Wildlife sighting – Bighorn Sheeps!

Bisons!

Bison jam.

Bison bull.

Bison calf, AKA, Red Dog.

Upper Falls in Canyon.

Lower Falls in Canyon.

Its such a beautiful place!

From one of the turnouts. Its a beautiful country.

Tower Falls.

Little Squirrel at Roosevelt Location.

A stagecoach!

The vertical rock formation is a result of volcanic activity here many many years ago.

More rock formation that is result of volcanic activity…

Driving back home.

On a hiking trip. We swam in this river.

On that one and only hiking trip of the summer.

Playing Foosball. Its really quite fun. We tried to learn to play using strategy and techniques.

I picked a flower only to be surprised by what is on it..

Beautiful Bozeman surrounded by rugged rocky mountains.

Flying back home.

Thats all for now.

The Return Of the Disappearing Knitter…

… Who comes back after summer.

Hello. Sorry for being MIA/AWOL/etc for the 3rd summer in a row. I’m back to Singapore for a while.. Because I’m flying off somewhere else – for a year this time. Girl from tropical Singapore is going to live in coldest capital in the world for 1 year. Exciting. Exhilarating. I’m getting jitters in my toes.

Sorry if I seem kinda disconnected.. Like my thoughts are jumping around. I just got back at 2AM last night and trying to get used to the change and stuff. Ever felt like you woke up from a deep sleep and suddenly your room/house/life seems so familiar yet alien? Like you remember, but don’t remember? I didn’t remember my room had that beautiful wooden parquet floor and it was strange after treading on that (grubby grey ancient) carpet in the dorm… The air is heavy, warm and moist. Feels like I’m in a womb or something..??? And that chinese painting of cherry blossoms I see before heading into my room… Like some kind of deja vu but… Hey, you know its there, right? Uh, right?

I have less than 2 weeks in Singapore. I’m not going to do any winter shopping until I get there, though. I don’t trust myself to do sensible winter shopping. I’d rather let someone experienced show me the way. And it means more space for my yarn in the check-in luggage too.

The coming year will be kind of “Jing Xiu” for me, I guess. Thats chinese for some kind of quiet time spent on self improvement kinda hermitage, caterpillar in cocoon thingy… You get the idea. Learn a new language, horn my skills (I thought I’d never ever get to use that description.. Horn. Weird.)… Stuff.

Meanwhile, I have a few things to settle in Singapore. Like meet my friends, Yarn Inventory (HAHA… I love how being an Office Assistant in a lodge/resort place changed the way I name things. Should I do a weekly yarn inventory? Unlikely.. Won’t be buying much yarn.) bake a little, cook a little, play a little piano.. OH! I missed my piano so much. I’m going to play it a little now.

Sorry for the non-knitterly blabbering/verbal regurgitation/etc.. I did knit, bought some yarn and visited some LYS in USA this year. But that is for the next entry when I’m more adjusted and less weird.

A Breather

Nope, I’m not on my way to the airport, but I’m currently halfway through my examination period. I promised myself no knitting in this period. Guess what I did instead? Ok, to be fair, I didn’t crochet until last night when I’m taking a break from the mugging (I know it means ‘robbing’ in some other countries, but here in Singapore, it means to bury yourself in books).

However, I made the hook 2 days ago. Yes, I made that hook! Hook making is not considered knitting, afterall. (^_^) I was desperate for some form of destress that doesn’t take much time so I picked up a pen-knife and a disposable bamboo chopstick, made 2 notches for the hook and shaved the tip for the rounded head. It only took less than 5 minutes. Now, that is instant gratification. I was actually expecting nothing to come out of it.. Like, I thought I will end up breaking the chopstick or something equally destructive. Surprisingly, the bamboo held up pretty well.

That yarn is from the stash. Sort of. It is May – Field of Flowers from the Tchaikovsky-inspired set. I am currently 1.5m into the project and have yet to use even a third of the ball of yarn. I think I’ll finish it when I hit 2m and use the rest of the yarn for some other yummy summer project. The colors are just SO spring/summery, don’t you think?

*wave*

I’m alive, but this blog is not exactly very alive. I wish I have something knit-worthy to talk about, but I do not. WIPs kinda exploded over here and… I believe there is at least 20 hanging around. Yes, this is a serious problem. I really hope that once my exams end I have time to sort them out. Keyword being “hope”.. I have driving test the day after my last paper, and I will be flying off for 3 months, 3 days after my driving test. I believe I will, once again, bring a couple of my WIPs along hoping to finish it while I am overseas.

WIPs I plan to bring:
Cardigan for Arwen Arya – 20%
Khurts’ Entrelac Scarf – 25%
Not-Beaded Cami – 55%
Entrelac Vest – 10%
Demi – 5%
Fluffy Puffy Pullover – 45%

Maybe I shouldn’t bring so many… Will definitely bring the entrelac scarf and entrelac vest.. and not-beaded cami, fluffy puffy. Thats 4 already. =D

I really should be working on those reeaaaally old WIPs.. Like Hanami. Ring a bell? I would love to clear those WIPs so I can have the luxury of casting on new exciting projects. Yes it is a vicious cycle. And I think I have made a decision for Giselle. (yes, after 1 year!) I will not make the flared sleeves in the original design. I will make it 0.75 sleeve. That means its almost an FO! =)

In any case, that fluffy puffy pullover is in danger of being fluffy puffy top. Because I think I won’t have enough yarn to make the sleeves. Oy vey. But I’m still not sure at this point in time.. The body is almost completed (just about 4 inches to go) and I have 0.75 ball of lace mohair to go. Maybe a 0.75 sleeves? Or I can just use another colour and call it creative. =D

Hopefully the next time I blog, I will be raving about having to rush to the airport soon. =)

Back to the Tropics

Actually I got back on Sunday morning, but rushed to work and stayed in the studio the whole day. Yesterday I had school and then an aunt from England visited and stayed over at our place last night. Been kinda crazy the last couple of days. I don’t want to come back!!! But life goes on. Approximately 43 days until I travel to another part of the world for the summer again.

So anyway, I’m here to tell you more about my experience in the coldest capital in the world. If you don’t know by now, its Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The land of the blue skies. Its a gorgeous place. When I said “superficial layer” I was actually refering to the cityscape and not saying that they are superficial. The people I met there are some of the most friendliest people ever, and as far from superficiality as people today are.

Enjoy these pictures I have to share. No knitting content, though.

I followed him the class. Guess what I did while I waited? =D
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Streets of Ulaanbaatar.
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Going to the Parliament House.
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The other side of the Parliament House facing Sukhbaatar Square.
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The beginning of 4 days of light snow.
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From Zaisan overlooking Ulaanbaatar.
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Monument at Zaisan. I was wearing my Turkish Delight Clapotis in this picture.
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Mongolian Buuz! — Dumplings.
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Mongolian Khuushuur! — Similar to Buuz, but flat, big and fried. My favourite Mongolian food thus far.
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Taking picture with a model of a Bactrian Camel. Mongolian Bactrian Camels have 2 humps while other camels have only 1.
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Playing some music for my friend. Java Drops in action!
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Urban Ulaanbaatar.
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We went to visit his parents a couple of times in my short visit to Mongolia. They live far from the noise and dust in the city. The air is clean and the natural landscape is a sight to behold. Beautiful mountains around and plenty of place to hike around.
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The cows here are kinda ‘free-ranched’… He told me that Mongolians do not house their farm animals.
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I was trying to take a picture with this cute little cow but it was kinda shy.
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These cows are different from the normal cows. Physical appearance wise, its hairier and the shape of the cow is different. I was told the milk and meat is different too.
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These are free-ranch goats. There were sheeps and goats up a hill on our side of the road too.
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I miss this beautiful place. Perhaps it is green in summer when the snow have finally all melted. There were already bits of green peeking out from under the snow when I was visiting.
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Enroute to the airport.

I did buy some cashmere yarn on this trip. Knitting yarn is awfully difficult to find in Ulaanbaatar. I bought 3 cones but only one of those is for myself. However, I do not have time to knit now. I have to cram for my exams, which is only 1 month away. Boohoo. =S