Honey honey~

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

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 on my etsy store (http://stitchlogue.etsy.com) and also on my Ravelry page.

Enchanted Forest

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!

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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

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)

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!

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, adding the ones takes long to be done first. 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 and drain water.
  
  5. Place the rinsed noodles in a large skillet or wok, and mix them with the veggies, beef and the sauce. Once it’s mixed well, put it on the heat 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

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

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

I made these shoes as 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.

Download the pattern in PDF format

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 1 st, 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 4 rows of st st in contrasting colors once more.

This is how it should look like from the wrong side when it's done knitting.

Fold it where the lines are drawn.

Graft stitches on the needle and the cast-on edge using kitchener stitch technique.

Then you will have something like this.

Sew the top edge of toe part using running stitch.

Pull the stitch tight to gather the top edge.

Sew the bottom edge of the toe part same way.

Graft the bottom edge of the bootie. Sew half stitch from each side to make the seam allowance as narrow as possible.

Sew couple of stitches at the bottom of the opening to make the ankle part stand up better.

Now you are done! :) Repeat the other side and admire the cuteness!

* Please use this pattern for personal / non-profit use only. You may use this pattern for charity knitting or to make projects for charity fundraising. Please do not post this pattern anywhere else without permission. Thanks.*