handmade by Calista

Finally! Forest Cardi Pattern is Completed! :D

2010-08-17T23:57:00.006-04:00

Wow, it feels like forever since I started re-editing it. There has been so many interferences and delays. My husband even tease me saying that that pattern was like a never-ending story.

BUT!! through it all, it's finally done and released on Ravelry!.

Through this editing process, I thought myself Adobe InDesign program and it was worth investing the time. The pattern edited with InDesign looks so much more professional, and the printed charts are so much clearer.

Please come and chet out the Ravelry page here :D

Honey honey~

2010-03-12T16:44:00.006-05:00

Yeah! My newest pattern is now out there! (Actually, released last Wednesday)

Ah, I wanted publish this last Dec, but it was delayed so long because of moving and repeated frogging!
Because it is a simple style, the silhouette and the right fit was very important to make it flattering on a female body, but finding the right fit required so many frogging and re-knitting. I sewed hook&I tapes along the front opening, so that I can either close or open as much as I want.

Because the honeycomb stitch creates a thick fabric, it's really warm and comfortable to wear it now.

I used 9 skeins of Knitpicks Cadena that I had in my stash and am happy about the result!

The pattern is on my Etsy shop (stitchlogue.etsy.com) or Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brioche-honeycomb-jacket).

Bulky Rose Capes

2010-01-01T13:02:00.012-05:00

Happy New Year everybody!

Last December was a really busy month for me, not because of fun parties and celerbrations, but because we had to do an unplanned moving. After that I caught a cold and sick for a while.

I've finished these capes early December but haven't had a time to post it here.

I knitted them with Rowan Big Wool Fusions which have been in my stash for a while.

There are 3 design options for this cape - long / short / long with arm slits.

They are such quick projects and I've been enjoying the compliments wherever I wear them. :D

The sad thing is, nowadays the weather in NY area has been too cold to wear these capes alone.

I'm selling the pattern and the FO on my etsy store (http://stitchlogue.etsy.com) and also on my Ravelry page.

Enchanted Forest

2009-11-14T15:24:00.007-05:00

Update on Feb. 8 2010 - This pattern will be available for online purchase in early March 2010. The pattern will be revised for better fitting, various collar options, and better grading. Also it will be re-edited for easier understanding.
If you want to get notified when it’s available, please send me a message or leave under the comment section. Thank you!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been a while since I posted anything here.

I've been quite busy starting up a store on Etsy (stitchlogue.etsy.com), and this Forest cardi is the first sample for the store. (also for myself)

I edited the pattern here and there for a better fit and better finishing.

Also this time, I made the collar detachable, and added a sting with pompoms at the end.

The bulkiness makes it very warm even though it’s a cropped cardigan with short sleeves. If I make matching arm warmers, it will be good to go until very late November. :D

Since the yarn is very elastic, I used 8 and 9mm needles this time to make it tighter. I’m very satisfied with the result.

Vogue Knitting Lace Shrug

2009-10-17T20:39:00.002-04:00

A couple of my friends got married last summer in Korea, and had a wedding reception for the friends and guests who couldn't be there for their wedding after returning to New Jersey.
It was held in this beautiful place called Tide Estate. I loved the building , especially the chandeliers.

It was late September, so I needed something to cover my cold shoulders and arms when I wore a halter neck dress.

I heard initially this pattern had serious errata, but now everything is rewritten and corrected.
I started knitting this 5 days before the reception date, and was able to finish it on time. I only knitted it after work in the evening and it’s such a quick knit with a satisfying result.

Refering other knitters' notes on Ravelry, I used size 9 & 10 needles, and added 2 more repeats to make the sleeves longer.

Somehow the back part turn out to be a little bit loose...

Also I knitted 11 rows for the trims to make the collar stand higher and cover the armpits better, and I like how it turned out.

Leafy Cardi (a.k.a. Forest Cardi)

2009-10-08T13:48:00.016-04:00

This design was my first magazine published pattern and I’m very disappointed at the editing of Yarn Forward magazine.

I initially made this pattern in a big chart format. If they had asked me to edit it into a pattern with stitch by stitch instructions to fit their format, I could have done it. However, I was very busy at that time, and YF said their tech editors could change the format, so I sent the pattern as it was. It was last February, and YF took 5 months to grade and edit the pattern.

Even after taking that long, there were so many editing mistakes. I understand editing somebody else's pattern is not easy. However, most of the errata are very basic errors, which could have been found if anybody proof read once.
They even put a completely wrong chart for the collar part.
I reported this issue to YF on Oct. 2, and I only got an answer that the tech editor is on vacation for 2 weeks, and the correct chart is not even on the errata page yet.
Until they post it on their errata page, I’ll leave the correct collar chart on my flickr.
If you are making it, please click this link and download the correct collar chart.

I give standing ovation to Carli, who found most of the errata and managed to make an FO with that pattern! If anyone is making this, please read Carli’s note at “http://www.ravelry.com/projects/btrflyundone/leafy-cardi”

I can’t wait to have the copyright back in 4 and half months, and rewrite the whole thing and publish the pattern myself…
I'm thinking about adding variations on collar part when I sell the pattern.

Chapchae!! Yum!

2009-10-03T14:22:00.005-04:00

Ok, here goes the recipe of Chapchae. (I don't have a picture at the moment.)
There are some different ways to make chapchae, and this is how I make it.
Please note that the amount of the beef and vegetables is always “as much as you want” LOL , and below is my recommendation.
Also you can add or remove the optional ingredients you like or hate.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli noodles 8oz (220g) (you don’t need a scale for this. You can estimate by the wt on the package)
Sauce – soy sauce 4 Tbsp, brown sugar 2.5 Tbsp, Mirin(sweet rice wine for cooking: optional) 1Tbsp, salt 1 Tbsp, 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic, little bit of ground black pepper.
Sesame oil 2 Tbsp
Sesame seed to sprinkle on top
Beef about half a pound?
Half ~1 sweet onion
Scallions about 1 stalk
Oyster mushrooms
Optional vegetables - Spinach, carrots, bell peppers, & etc.
Pinch of salt

1. Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl – set aside.

2. Slice beef and vegetables into strips
Stir-fry beef with a pinch of salt and set aside.
Stir-fry veggies with some vegetable oil, putting the ones takes long to be done. You can also sprinkle a pinch of salt as you do this.

3. Boil water and cook noodles in boiling water as instructed on the package. (Some people soak the noodle in hot water for about 10~20 min before boiling them. It helps the noodles become soft and easier to put them in a smaller pot with less boiling water. But I just boiled enough water to cover the stiff noodles in a large pot and boiled them 7min. In case you are pre-soaking the noodle, the boiling time should be reduced to about 4min.)

4. Rinse the noodles in a strainer under cold running water. Rinse them thoroughly until they become cold.

5. Put the noodles in a large skillet or wok, and mix them with the veggies, beef and the sauce. Once it’s mixed well, put the heat on and stir fry about 3min or until it’s fully heated.

6. Right before you turn the heat off, put the sesame oil in and stir.

7. Put chapchae on a serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

** Tip: When I make this for a crowd (about 2~3 times or more of this recipe), after #4, I mix the noodles, veggies, and sauce in a large bowl and then stir-fry little by little. Otherwise, it gets very hard to mix everything well. :)

Good luck making chapchae everybody! :D

Bullion stitch cushion..FO

2009-07-18T18:26:00.007-04:00

I love it! Finally, I can sit comfortably on my wooden chair.

Now the problem is that it's too cute to sit on . :D

Bullion cushion..adding back side

2009-07-18T17:44:00.013-04:00

This poor little thing was sitting in my UFO box for an year and half.

I actually don't own the pattern book, but I memorized only the front, standing at a bookstore when I was visiting Tokyo, because it was a very simple pattern. I didn't know how they finished the back on the book.

The reason why it has been an UFO for so long even though the front was all done is that I was disappointed how the front part turned out. Each bullion was not popping out like the one one the picture of the book, rather it was so flat. Also I couldn't make the sts between the bullions tight like the one in the picture. So I tossed the UFO in the box and forgot about it for long.

Then it showed up when I was organizing my yarn stash couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday, I was looking at the UFO, an idea suddenly came up in my head that adding back made of sc and dc might solve all the issues.

I tested on one bullion. That was right! It was not the pattern's fault! It was mine! Adding the back made the bullions pop out and the gap between each bullion became tight as the FO in the picture!

I was so excited and finished up in a few hours!

Here are some progress shots of how I finished up the back

I simply replaced the coil sts of the front with DC (TC in British crochet terms), and I picked the sts on the edge of the front side as I DC around.

I love how it pops out after adding the back.

If you compare the front two which have back and the ones behind without back, you will see the difference.

My version of Babystøvler

2009-07-13T15:55:00.013-04:00

I made these shoes for my friend's baby shower gift based on the pictures of FO's and the progress shots on Ravelry, since I couldn't get the original pattern anywhere.

After finishing this project, I found that I made a little less numbers of ridges at the toe than the original, but I like it as is.

Here is how I made my version of Babystøvler;

Yarn: DK / 8 ply weight yarn in 2 different colors
Needle: US5/ 3.75mm or size to get the gauge
Gauge: 6sts x 12rows (1”sq) in garter st
Finished size: New born size / 3.5 inches measured at seam of the sole

Instructions

With main color, CO21sts.

Work 26 rows in garter st.

1st decrease row: k1, ssk, k to the end of the row
2nd decrease row: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
Rep the two dec rows once more, and 1st dec row one more time. (16sts left)

1st increase row: k to last 2 sts, m1, k1.
2nd increase row: k1, m1, k to the end of the row
Rep the two inc rows once more, and 1st inc row one more time. (21sts left)

Work 25 rows in garter st.

Next row: BO 9sts, k to the end of the row.

TOE SECTION
With contrasting color, work 4 rows in st st.
With main color, work 4 rows in rev st st.
Rep these 8 rows 3 more times, and work the 4rows of st st in contrasting colors once more.

Sew the matching seams (same symbols in the picture) with a tapestry needle.
Sew along the ripple marked seam and pull it tight to form a round toe part.

I also sewed couple of sts at the beginning of the openings to make the ankle parts stand up better.

* You can use this pattern for personal use. But please do not post this pattern anywhere else without permission. Thanks.*

Barely a Clapotis!

2009-07-13T14:40:00.003-04:00

Needle: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Yarn: Reynolds Soft Sea Wool 3 skeins (486.0 yds)

I started this with only 3 skeins of Reynold’s Soft Sea Wool I had in my stash. I did some research and found handy 1/5 rules of Clapotis. I blindly followed and the rule, thinking I would have a clap-o-scarf(I made up that name :P).

By the time I finished knitting 2 skeins, I realized that my clapotis wouldl be too short! I didn’t think it through that the original clapotis was a SHAWL, which meant the ratio of the width to the length would be bigger than a scarf! :(

Since I overdyed light blue yarn into lavender with KoolAid, there was no way I could get more of the same colored yarn! I considered many different options to solve the issue, such as buying more Soft Sea Wool in a different color and connecting by alternating the two colors as if I intentionally put stripes. However, another problem I ran into was that I couldn’t easily find more of Soft Sea Wool in the LYS close to my office or home (I bought them at The Yarn Connection right before they closed the store.)
Totally frogging and starting it over with a different yarn was not an option for me. Though I love wearing simple designs, I hate knitting one. It’s unbearable to me! Still I wanted to have a clapotis so bad!

So I kept on knitting, hoping that wet blocking will make it a little bit longer…and it worked like a magic! Even though it’s a little bit shorter that I initially hoped for, it’s still a wearable clapotis!
I’m so glad to be a proud owner of a clapotis! :D

The mods that I did other than making it smaller were purling sts that would be dropped instead of using stitch markers, and purling the sts tbl on the WS if it was k tbl on the RS.

Projects from the Past : TEMPTATION

2009-06-24T12:26:00.001-04:00

Finished: July 2005
Winner of the ATEXINC Excellence in Marketable Textile Design award given by The International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Design Exhibition, 2005
Material: 100% Silk Charmeuse (skirt)/ 100% Silk Habotai (bodice)

This is a digitally designed and printed dress. I made this when I was in the master's course. The printing pattern was designed by myself. Part of the famous painting "Adam and Eve" by Albrecht Dürer was incorporated into the pattern with other elements I drew with Adobe illustrator. After that the it was printed on pre-treated silk charmeuse and silk habotai using a large fabric printer.

Using the digital design, complicated designs can be placed on seam and still be continuous across the seamlines. (I was going blind to match the patterns when I sewed them together, though.)

Projects from the Past : BLOSSOM

2009-06-24T12:19:00.005-04:00

Finished: November 2004
Material: 100% Silk Double Georgette
The zipper is hidden under the curvy seam at the back

Some progress shots..

Draping the pattern

Muslin fitting

My DIY wedding dress!

2009-05-18T15:01:00.014-04:00

Yes, you heard it. I made my own wedding dress, and successfully got married in April 25 in it! :D

I wanted to post the process on my blog, but I didn't have a time to write a post back then, and worried that I might not be able to finish up the dress as I planned.

It took me about a month (more accurately, about 4 hours per day for a month, because I have a full-time job!), about 13 yds of silk taffeta, 12 yds of silk organza, 6 yds of polyester lining and so many other notions.

I really wanted to make it look like it was professionally made. However, while I was doing the research on the materials - especially what kind of interlining and underlining I should use, I found that there is not much of information on the Internet.

I read many different books and Internet articles about the formal silk gown construction, but it was not enough. Luckily, I have a friend who is a vice-president of a high-end designer wedding dress production company and was able to get a lot of advise ( and most of materials as a gift!!!! :D) from her.

I tried to take pictures of each design and construction stage, so that it may help other bride-to-be who wants to make her own wedding gown.

In near future, I'll start posting tutorials on it.

(First I need to take more detailed picture of my dress, when the renovation on my apartment is done. Please bear with me in the mean time.)

No further explanation, here I present the pictures...

Ahhhh~why didn't anybody tell me that I was wearing the petticoat so short!! It ruined the silhouette! :( I was actully wearing the petticoat with the waist band rolled up, thinking it was too long..

The back drape(?) part is detachable, and the skirt can be bustled up for the reception like below.

My sister made me the veil and the feather accessory at the back of my waist.

The bodice part has asymmetric pleats..

How do you like it?

Aran off-shoulder pullover with crochet flowers

2009-03-20T10:47:00.008-04:00

**UPDATE: MARCH 31, 2010.

Now this pattern is sold on my Ravelry page.

Please click below link for purchase.

Size: fit bust size 33, 35, 37 and 39 inches.

Gauge : 22x28 (4x4")

Needles used : 3.25mm and 3.75mm

Yarn : knitpicks.com "Andean Treasure" 9 sk (or any equivalent amount of substituting yarns)

Snowflakes for my lovely nephew~~

2008-12-15T14:47:00.018-05:00

I knitted a fair isle hat and a pair of socks for my almost 4mo old nephew.

I used "Flakey Baby Socks pattern" by annypurls for the socks and whipped up the matching hat pattern using same yarn.

He is super cute wearing them!! :D

For those who wants to make a matching hat for these socks here's what I did.

Flakey Hat with Pompom

This pattern with 6sts=1" gauge (in 2-color st st) will make a hat of 16" circumference, and you can adjust the gauge or the pattern to make it larger or smaller.

Materials
- 4 x 4.0mm DPNs or 1 long circular needle for magic loop (I did the magic loop)
- Fingering weight yarns in 2 different colors(I used FibraNatura Baby Merino) - each less than 25g (less than 1oz)
- 1 stitch marker, tapestry needle

RIB
With color A (green in this case) CO 96 sts, join to knit in round placing a stitch marker at the beginning of a row.

work 5 rows of 2x2 rib as following ; p1, (k2, p2)* rep to last 3sts, k2, p1
(I do this instead of k2, p2 all around, because it hides beginning and ending point better.)

CROWN
Join color B (white) and knit each row of below chart 6 times.

When you are done knitting the chart, cut the yarn leaving a tail at least about 7".
Thread the tail through a tapestry needle and go through all remaining 12 sts.
Secure the sts and leave the tail yarn to sew the pompom on later.

Ear flaps
CO 15sts work 5 rows in st st.Row1(RS): sl1, ssk, k to last 3sts, k2tog, k1.Row2(WS): sl1, purl across.
Rep these two rows until 3sts are left.
Knit I-Cord with the remaining 3sts to make chin straps.
Make 2 ear flaps and sew them on the bottom hem of the hat.

Make a pompom ( you can get directions from the web) and sew it on at the top of the hat.
(You can block it before you sew the pompom on if you want)

DONE~~~~

* You can use this pattern for personal use. But please do not sell the items made with this pattern. Also please do not post this pattern anywhere else without permission. Thanks.*

Agate and Lace Scarf Pattern

2008-11-26T14:29:00.010-05:00

Yoohoo~everybody~! I'm posting something in a million years!
This blog is still alive~yeah!

While I was posting this project on ravelry, I found that the webpage with the "Agate and Lace Scarf Pattern" exists no more! (original link : http://naiveknitting.typepad.com/naive_knitting_blog/2005/03/knit_report_ech.html)

It's a very simple, yet very beautiful scarf pattern.

I made it with 3.75mm needles with 5 repeats of the pattern, and it was about 6" wide. In order to get more lace effect, use larger needles than usually recommended for the yarn size.

You can adjust the needle or the yarn size as you want.

The pattern is as below;

* Abbreviation : sl1, k2tog, psso : slip one, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over

CO multiply of 10sts + 3sts

Row1 (WS) : Purl all sts
Row2 (RS) : sl 1, k1, [yo, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k1] rep[] to last 1 stitch, k1

Rep these two rows until desired length, then Row1 one more time.

Loosely bind off all sts.

Block and sew the beads at the pointy parts.

Tada~ You have a beautiful lace scarf.

* You can use this pattern for personal use. But please do not post this pattern anywhere else without permission. Thanks.*

TUTORIAL OF CROCHETED COIN PURSE

2007-08-17T16:21:00.004-04:00

Finally! I’ve finished the tutorial for this purse~!
As I warned earlier, it’s rather a tutorial showing how to make your own pattern than a pattern itself.
I’m not sure if this tutorial makes sense to other people.
I have some experience making knitting patterns, but never made a crochet pattern before.
Anyway, here it goes~!

STEP1. Measure the frame you have.

STEP2. Decide how full you want your purse to be. (FYI: mine was the 2nd option)
Draw the outline on a piece of paper and measure the width.

STEP3. Choose a bottom shape. (mine was ellipse.)
Then crochet the bottom part to make the circumference of the bottom to be same as twice of the width from STEP2.
If you don’t know how to crochet an ellipse shape, you can refer to the sole part of this pattern -> http://megan.kiwi.gen.nz/Bootee/instructionsUS.html
(I used SC stitches)

STEP 4. When the bottom reaches the size you need, keep crocheting straight up as below;
ROUND 1: ch2, hdc all around.
ROUND 2:
ch3, 6 dc only through the front loop of the first hdc of previous row, *7dc only through the front loop of the next hdc of previous row* rep from *to* all around the row.
Then, ch2, hdc only through the back loop of the hdc of row 1.
Rep the ROUND 2 until it reaches the height you want.

STEP 5. Crochet to make the top shape decided at STEP 2.
If you chose option1, you can simply add couple more rows of SC.
If you chose option2, crochet front and back side separately, decreasing both edges to make the shape you want.
If you chase option3, crochet front and back side separately, while keeping the edge straight up.

STEP 6. Sew the crocheted purse on the frame if your frame has holes. Otherwise, glue the purse in the ridge of the frame.

Tada~You have a small wriggly purse!

* Please do not post this tutorial anywhere else without permission. Thanks.*

Pattern for "Roses & Leaves"

2006-10-02T23:30:00.024-04:00

Update April 6, 2011

Now this pattern is available for download on Ravelry

--> http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/roses-and-leaves

********************************************************************

I finally gave up waiting for Spunmag.com to pay me and update it on the magazine.

Though it's too late for the summer 2006, I hope it's not too late for those who want to make this for the Halloween, or who live in warm climate or the southern half of the globe. :)

SIZE:

(Gauge1) S [L], (Gauge2) M [XL]

FINISHED MEASUREMENT (before stretch)
S - B 32in (82cm) / W 28in (71cm)
M - B 34.5in (88cm) / W 30.5in (77.5cm)
L - B 37in (93cm) / W 32in (81cm)
XL - B 39.5in (100cm) / W 34.5in (87.6cm)

GAUGE
Due to the lace pattern over a multiple of 23 stitches, the gap between one size and another is relatively wide. I came up with suggesting two different gauges to choose from depending on
the size you wish to make. For S or L, please use gauge1, and for M or XL size
use gauge2.

Gauge1 (for S & L size) – 20.5 sts / 31 rows (4”x4”)
Gauge2 (for M & XL size) –19 sts / 29 rows (4”x4”)

MATERIALS

Harrisville Silk & Wool Yarns (50% silk/50% fine wool; 50g per skein; 175yd), color #209 Linen; 3 (3, 3, 4) skeins (or any equivalent amount of substituting yarns)
3.25mm (US # 3) circular needle shorter than the waist circumference, and 4 dpns; OR SIZE TO OBTAIN GAUGE
3.75mm (US # 5) circular needle shorter than the bust circumference, or 4 dpns ; OR A NEEDLE OF ONE OR TWO SIZE LARGER THAN THE SMALLER NEEDLE
Tapestry needle
21 (21, 24, 24) pearl beads (optional)

ERRATA FOUND! (June 30, 2009)
Abigail LaBranche found an errata among the instructions. (Thanks, Abigail!)

The sentence right below ROUND11 should be "Rep these 5 rounds 2 [3] more times. 145 [164] sts rem." (not 3[4] more times..)

There was a mistake translating the chart in to the instructions.The chart is correct. If you followed the chart only you should be fine. Sorry guys!

The pattern sent out after June 30, 2009 will have corrected instructions.

Summer top "Roses & Leaves"

2006-07-05T17:24:00.000-04:00

I had this design in mine for a long time and finally knitted it up a few days
ago. I designed it myself and (of course) made the pattern.
I used 2 1/2 skeins of Harrisville "Silk & Wool" yarn, and 3mm, 3.75mm, 4mm
needles.

2006-06-25T02:09:00.000-04:00

I made this long time ago, but I just wanted to post it.

This was "before" and "in-progress" shots.

Suncap for mama!

2006-05-24T10:18:00.000-04:00

I knitted this for my mom for her volunteer trip every summer.
I modified this pattern from KNoon Designs to adjust to my gauge.
Actually I didn't like how the visor draped, so I frogged it and am knitting it again now.
I used less than 1 skein of cascade sierra. I think it's a good odd ball project.

Neovictorian

2006-03-28T15:51:00.000-05:00

My first blog!

2006-02-04T12:16:00.000-05:00

haha~!