We are turning one!

Handknitter Craft Journal turns one on 8 October 2008! Hooray!

Its been a quick one year and we made it! Happy 1st anniversary!

This year has not been an especially eventful one. Been quite a quiet year, in fact. Not many knit works in progress this year and still have many works down the pipeline pending accomplishment. The list goes as follows:

1) my first pair of blue knit socks which I am still stuck with the 2nd pair

2) my beige shoulder warmer about 3/4 done but yet to complete

3) sewing up a third small pink pouch that i intend to give as a xmas present during year end to my friend and intend to knit up a few more for my colleagues

4) have to start knitting my xmas gifts - planning to do a small kerchief (pattern found inside my recent purchased book titled "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" from Amazon.com) ....

So to sum it up, this has been quite a year of knitting bad debts!!

However, with this new start, I vow to get all these done up quickly and I hope to complete them within this year. May the knitting force be with me !!!

Sun Festival 2008 is here

Cant believe it! The Sun Festival is going to be here again from 17-26 October 2008! So I understand this festival was also celebrated at Tuscan, Italy in August 2008 and will be at Napa, California next year in July 2009 too. So after a successful launch of the Singapore’s premier arts and lifestyle festival last year, here it is again!

Last year I attended the Sun Festival with Teddy at the Botanic Gardens knitting away while watching the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" in the evening. It was good time spent there, laying our mat, having our sandwiches and watching a good movie. Spending some relaxing time of our own under the stars in the Gardens. Of course, plus I could knit away leisurely too..

Cant wait for the day to come. Got to take out my picnic basket and start planning on some nice food for a lovely evening out. Till that day, an experience awaits ... wish you can be here too!

A Feast for the Senses.

A Joy to Experience.

A Gift for the Soul.

Experience it all in Uniquely Singapore.

Little Tweety

A little green bird came by our house last week. We were so excited when we saw it sitting on our window. Dad caught it and put it in a cage we previously housed our tortoise. Lovely little thing! It was green in colour and with a yellow beak, face was in another tone. There were blue feathers at the back. We called it “Tweet Tweet” as it chirps in that manner!

We later realised that this is the peach-faced love-bird species. Seeing the lovely bird, we could not bear to put in the tortoise cage so we spent S$10 buying a bird cage. We spent a day playing with it and feeding it with sunflower seeds and fruits. It was so happy in the new bird cage!

After a few days, we brought Tweet Tweet out and seeing how happy it was when it saw the blue sky, we decide to let it go… with regrets!

O little Tweet Tweet, we miss you so!

If you have time and recognise our apartment, do pay us a visit again some day!

Till we meet again…

Happy National Day

Wishing Singapore a happy national day! We are 43 years of nation building today. May our nation be peaceful, strong and prosperous always!

Crazy for Ewe (Wool)

These days I am crazy over buying wool. Despite the fact that I am not able to finish knitting them fast enough, I have been crazily stocking them up! Reason is because I simply cant resist them! Just asked J who came back from Australia to help buy some more Aussie wool for me. Got them at some real bargains @ A$2 (approx S$2.70) per ball! Some of the more interesting colours cost A$2.80 per ball. Its still a great buy! Wonder if its because wool costs less in Australia than here in Singapore. Got to ask her to get some more wool next time ...

Long Awaited Knitting Books

Finally! They are here! The 3 knitting books that I ordered from Amazon... Hooray they are finally here!! The books are "Knitting over the Edge", "Last-Minute Knitted Gifts" and "Knitalong - Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together".

1. Really like this Nicky Epstein book "Knitting Over the Edge" I borrowed from library so much that I had to get my hands on it. It is probably a knitter's collector item, as the book is just a collection of all the nice stitches for unique ribs, cords, appliques and over 350 decorative borders! In case I need some nice knit border inspirations, this book will probably do just fine! Having read reviews that her first collection "Knitting On the Edge" was filled with errors, I understand this second book is a better compiled collection. It has gotten rave reviews so far!

2. Joelle Hoverson's (owner of Purl) "Last-Minute Knitted Gifts" is a collection of some simple to do knit gifts that you can accomplish between 2-8 hours. This will be handy guide to some last minute gifts you need to do during special occasions. I especially like the kerchief scarf and the lovable little soft toys! The layout and photos in this book is also another great reason why you have to own it.

3. The 3rd book by Larissa Brown "Knitalong" is another collectible item I thought I need to have. Bought just to recognise Larissa's effort and the knitalongs that she has been organising all this while. I have been a follower of her blog "Stitch Marker" - getting tips from her online knit diary. This one is a real pleasure.

Away in Bangkok, Thailand

Its been a busy month and I did not even get to update my blog since so many weeks passed! Had a short break at Bangkok, Thailand last week and did not get to touch any of my knitting for this while. Decided against bringing my needles on board the plane, as I really do not know whether they are allowed given the strict flight restrictions (plus I was taking a budget airline and you never know they may ask you to dump your needles and wool before you board the plane at the security checkpoint) - I wouldnt risk my knitting stuff like this!

Visited Bangkok famous Chatuchak Weekend Market (or JJ market as affectionately known) where I spotted some clever handcrafters churning out nice wool stuff e.g. hats and toys. These markets are the testbed and grounds of many talented new crafters & ingenious people, so beware and take a look while you are there in the country!