Current projects

Posted on October 17, 2006 by Mabel

I know I should NOT cast on any more projects but just knitting rib all the time for my Magenta jacket is well…driving me nuts. Hence I succumbed totally to temptation and decided to cast on two projects.

Autumn Green Cable Scarf
Yarn | Wina No 95
Needles | 5mm straight bamboo

Progress with this is going ultra slow (what you see in the pic is what I’ve done so far) because I’m not in a rush to finish this and well, I’m sort of using this project as the “do only when you’re more of doing rib/whatever”.

Tan Ribbed Cowl
Yarn | Plasard Louinie (Tan) & Sirdar Demin Sport Aran No 615
Needles | 5mm 40cm & 4mm 75cm circulars

This is going to be a gift for Nil’s niece who’s three years old. I know what you see there is for an adult but I’m resizing it to fit a little girl. Was thinking that the mohair-mix would be a nice touch and it feels oh-so-soft to the touch as well. Because this yarn mix is slightly thinner than what was called for in the pattern, I had to make some adjustments. Thankgoodness the pattern is awfully simple (K2, P2 with some decreases along the way)!!!!

Will post more at the end of this week when things at work have died down a little. I promise!

A quiet day…

Posted on October 15, 2006 by Mabel

Apart from the surprise flowers this morning, MY day has been awfully quiet. I spent it working on Candy Green (my fingerless gloves) and musing on how remarkable the day has been so far.

Remember the hunt for that elusive job in either UK/NZ/France? After numerous rejections, there is hope left. It is nothing big or sure for that matter but like Dad, Nil (he sent me flowers for the first time in eons and he called too!!!!! *beams*) and I all agree, it is still a start. Better than nothing, if you know what I mean. Hopefully I’ll hear more good news over the next few days.

Candy Green Fingerless Gloves
Pattern | Open-finger Mittens
Yarn | Online Linie Cora No 20
Needles | 2.75mm DPN

My knitting project(s) have taken on a new turn with colleagues commissioning me to work on their own versions of Candy Green (yes, I found myself taking on orders! Unbelievable!). I’m definitely happy for the practice and of course, the excuse to do more knitting and some yarn shopping on the side.

So yes, I had a quiet, simple yet meaningful birthday in every sense of the word(s).

ps: No, I didn’t get a manicure – my nails are naturally like that.

Roses are red, my love…

Posted on October 15, 2006 by Mabel

Roses are red, my love
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet, my love
But not as sweet as you.

Thank you, cheri, for making my day so much sweeter and brighter. Je t’aime aussi!

So it has begun.

Posted on October 11, 2006 by Mabel

The applications have started going out…as early as last Friday. I got my first reject today; it was straightforward and to the point.

We are looking for people with permission to work in this country.

Now where have I heard that line before?

Ah yes…while going through work permit and visa application guidelines. They say you need a job offer before you can apply for a work permit/visa but they mentioned nothing about companies wanting a work permit first. Bah.

Here is to trying…I’m seriously in for a ride, me thinks.

What a weekend!

Posted on October 8, 2006 by Mabel

I cannot believe this. I spent the whole weekend doing nothing but watching Ally McBeal, laundry and knitting. Of course there were the dogs and other housechores…but it wasn’t exactly productive in the real sense of the word.

Yes, I told myself that I was suppose to finish off some legislation work at home but I got sidetracked instead. It didn’t help that Internet was super erratic, and I didn’t want to risk getting kicked out of the system and screwing things up royally on Monday. So it looks like OT time this coming week. I don’t know whether to cry or laugh.

Saturday morning started all wrong actually. I seriously DO NOT fancy going to bed at 1am only to wake three hours later with food poisoning. It was hardly fun and it cost me a knitting meetup with some ladies – I was supposed to get some yarn but gah. Horrible, horrible. Consolation came in the form of knitting with my new set of needles (from ebay). I had to sand them down with fine grade sandpaper because they were all…sticky. Without the sanding, the stitches were very difficult to move around which is BAD on double-point needles.

I started on Candy Green and finished one side of the set today. Luckily it’s a five-needle set because…urm…I broke one of the needles. [insert sheepish look here] Not my fault, really. They were as thin as satay sticks and I was struggling with the thumb gusset. Verdict? I liked how this turned out (so does Mum – she wants to take it to Turkey in two weeks!) and I’m pretty exited about my next project.

Sunday was a good day…I splurge (well, not really) on my first outfit project – four balls of this ~~royal purple~~ magenta yarn – for a bolero-like jacket that looks simple yet stylish. Don’t really have a picture of what the finished product would look like but I hope that it’ll be ready by the time I make my trip to Paris. Couldn’t care less if it’s not warm enough. It’s exciting!!!!

:peace:

How do they do it?

Posted on October 5, 2006 by Mabel

Like her, I hate LDRs…but unlike her, I still don’t have the gumption to pack up and leave. It isn’t because I don’t want to or refuse to do that. Trust me when I say that I have toyed with the idea many a time.

It’s my parents.

No, I’m not pinning the blame fully on them. I guess I could tell them to sock it and pack up just like that but I like to have my parents’ blessing in everything that I do. My mother has this notion that I should be married to Nil FIRST before attempting to go to France to seek out a job. My dad? Lord knows what he thinks half of the time – he springs surprises on me just like that.

That’s why I’m so envious. Envious of people who have the freedom to do whatever they please with the backing of their parents. Envious of people who have the freedom to do whatever they please AND not care about what their parents think of them.

I can’t even hang on to a job that I like without them telling me to move on when it’s just been my first year at the office. Sometimes I feel like telling them that experience is worth more than starting afresh at the company. They just don’t see it that way.

“You’ve got to know your market value. Nothing wrong with jumping from one company to another. Just try la.”

A rolling stone gathers no moss and rightly so. I already know my own value. Do I need others to reinforce that for me or is my belief is all that I need? Sometimes I feel like taking a year out and go somewhere for a few months to work + study + travel away from my parents.

Now, I absolutely hate it when one parent says one thing and the other says another.

Dad = career first, everything else can wait.
Mum = working holiday business, explore your opportunities, do stuff you like.

It’s annoying having to try and please BOTH of them at the same time. It doesn’t help that some of my friends have more courage and spark than me – one of them just threw it all and went to NZ to look for a job. Now why can’t I bleeding do the same just like that??!???

Working holidays…working holidays…hmm…where can I go?

One Day I’ll Fly Away by Nicole Kidman

Growing older.

Posted on October 3, 2006 by Mabel

Today’s the first day of Intermediate Level 1 at Alliance Francais. There are nearly no pictures in my books and the excerpts are longer…way too long for comfort actually. Nil commented on them when I showed him the book via webcam.

You’re a big girl now!!! Your books don’t have pix any more!!!

Heh, funny but true. Too true. If you hadn’t known by now, I’ll tell you: I’ll be turning twenty-eight (edit: Chinese calender, that is – otherwise I’m turning twenty-seven) in less than two weeks. Two (or three depending on how you look at it) years more and I’ll hit the big 3-0 – the “every woman’s nightmare” nonsense.

Well, I don’t feel any different about turning twenty-seven/eight except that…

… a lot of my friends are slowly tying the knot, becoming wives and mothers
… most of my colleagues are getting younger and younger
… clubbing, drinking yourself to death and all those things are becoming less desirable and are things like e-dramas and e-fights (they are worse, actually)
… my taste is things have changed, moved if you will, to more mellow stuff like baking, knitting, cooking
… kids are beginning to call me “aunty” more often
… and so forth.

Strangest part of it is that it is beginning to sound less and less weird, yet deep down inside, I feel great…as if this is the best part of my life so far. I’m secure, I’m confident and most important of all, I’m truly happy. If this is what every woman my age is suppose to feel, then I have no idea why young girls dread hitting 3-0 anyway. On the contrary, I heard life only gets better after you hit 30.

Is it true?

Leg warmers: Progress report II

Posted on October 1, 2006 by Mabel

Well, I’m glad to say that I finished ONE side of my Wine leg warmers after deciding to scrap the project and restart again with a pattern. Stockinette stitch alone is just so plain. Seriously.

I incorporated two rows of cables (k1, sl 2 to cn, k2, k2 from cn, k1) plus additional rows of ribbing (k2, p2) to give it some tightness around the calf and feet. Best part about this is that you can wear it the other way around too (opposite from what you see there in the pic)! Can’t wait to finish this and get started on my fingerless gloves in candy green yarn I bought the other day…

:D:

On the side, I totally advocate buying knitting tools online. Bought a set (4 needles 20cm long) of 4mm bamboo/wood DPNs the other day only to find out that I could have easily gotten FOUR different sets (5 needles 20cm long) of wood DPN if I had bothered to buy them from this online shop on ebay.com. Mind you, shipping was included in the price. Felt totally ripped off.

Knitting is still an expensive hobby in Malaysia. Pity actually because you can save so much just by knitting stuff.