Pattern: Norah Jones by Svetlana Garanina
Yarn: Happy Hank Co Cha in Classic Fingering 4 Ply
Needle size: 1.75mm

This is one size pattern and Svetlana recommends changing needle size for better fit. I like tight fit socks so I downsized my needles to 1.75mm and cast on 64 st for the symmetry pattern instead of 68st.

The lace chart is easier than expected. It is created with just knit, purl, yarn over and usual k2g and ssk decrease stitches.

I didn't follow her direction for the heel flap as I found it's a bit too tight with my smaller needle size so I just did purl st instead of slip st and purl back on wrong side. In the toe section, I did my favourite tabi toe that I learned from Yucca.

The lovely yarn from Happy Hank Co is just so soft and cushioning! The colour Cha is like a fade out caramel with a hint of strawberry. Super yum!

Norah Jones socks was my 2nd attempt for this yarn. I felt the first version is not a perfect match when I finished. I guess the luxury yarn needs accompany by a luxury knitting pattern.

Pattern: Tanamaki Socks by Yucca - size M1
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Socks Yarn, Cedar 4Ply
Needle size: 2.25mm

After a few socks projects, I can say that knitting socks can be very addictive.

I'm in love with this gorgerous colour from Hedgehog Fibres, its super bright and goes well with jeans.

The pattern is easier than I expected. Yucca has included instruction videos too, very easy to follow.

P.S I still need to work on my finishing techniques.

Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks - size M & L
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibers Sock - Ink 4ply from Yarn Trader
Happy Hank Cha Classy Fingering 4ply - for the heel

Needle size: 1.75mm

While I'm getting comfortable knitting socks for myself, I feel it's time to make a pair for my partner too. I picked up the pattern designed by Hiromi Nagasawa - Plain Vanilla Socks. This simple sock pattern added a little twist by using a smaller needle size (1.75mm) than the usual sock needle size (2.25mm).

Hiromi's pattern is very detailed and offer step by step photos for options and special techniques she called in this pattern. This is a great pattern for anyone who is wanting to try smaller needle or toe-up socks.

I'm the big fan of Hedgehog Fiber's socks yarn, it's just lovely when holding on hand. I also tried a new yarn from Happy Hank, which is a Melbourne base indie dyer and she offer a very lovely collection of yarns. Happy Hank's classy fingering is softer than HF yarns when I holding them side by side, but overall both yarn show off their uniqueness nicely.

I did rip out the socks once as the first trial was too big for him. When I started it again, my partner said why not make him custom socks that match exactly to each of his foot.

Our feet usually have one foot smaller than the other one. To match them, I knitted two sizes and made them a little bit different, so he knows which one is which.

Knitting socks with small needle created thicker and bouncy fabric, which is more suitable for a colder climate.

Pattern: Nana Iro by Yucca - size S
Yarn: Cloudborn Merino Superwash Sock Twist Yarn, Oatmeal Heather
Yarn Trader: Lemon curd 3ply sock yarn (discontinued)
Needle size: 2.25mm

There are many ways to knit socks, and my usual approach would be the magic loop, because I can knit 2 socks at the same time. But for this project, I changed to 9" circular needle, just interested to see how I feel about this small tool.

It took me a while to figure out a right spot on the needle for my little fingers to hold on. Everything went smoothly afterward.

Unfortunately, the socks got stretched out to 9" and won't turn back to 7" even after I blocked. So I said goodbye to the 9" needle and went back to my best friend magic loop.

Stranded colourwork does have less ease on the socks. I knitted size S and have tight fit socks, it doesn't make my feet uncomfortable, but I can see some stitches stretched. Definitely go up a size for colourwork next time.

Happy to say it goes well with my thong!

Here is a fun little kit from Wool and the Gang. A cute bootie that I can wear during winter. Knitted with both yarn holding together, I finished one foot while I was watching a movie. Super quick and satisfied! The downside was I need to sew it together after I finish knitting.

Finished project is a soft bootie that I love to bring it with me when I'm travelling and I can easily squeeze it into my suitcase.

Pattern: Night Rider Booties by Wool and the Gang - one size
Yarn: Wool and the Gang Wool Me Tender
Needle size: 8mm

Never thought I will start to knit socks until my friend point at a pair of merino socks in the shop and told me how good they are.

I started searching patterns on Ravelry and fall in love with Japanese designer Yucca's design. This YY socks has a delicate and easy woven pattern to knit. For the toe section, Yucca has included both normal toe and toe divided option. I knitted the tabi toe option as I like to wear the thong.

After finished this project, I think finding the right size for socks is the priority. I made it too big on my first trial as I pick the socks size base on my foot length than foot circumference. Lesson learned for sure.

I will go down a size for my next project to see how my feet respond. Overall, it's a great little project.

Pattern: YY by Yucca - size 2
Yarn: Cloudborn Merino Superwash Sock Twist Yarn, Grey Heather
Needle size: 2.25mm

The other day, my friend sent me a photo asking if I could make her a Miffy toy that she saw in Japan, I instantly fell in love with this cute character and began my journey to crochet my ultimate Miffy!

I wanted a Miffy that could dress up! So a separate hood and dress is a must. I use the continueslly techniques for the head and and body that I learned from the amazing book Anaimal friends from Pica Pau. I used the seamless seam trick for the neck from Crochet Club below to create the sewing effect without breaking the yarn.

Pattern: Self draft
Yarn: 100% 8ply Cotton - White(2 x 50g balls), Red, royal blue and little bit black for the mouth
Others: 2 x 11mm oval eyes
Hooks: 2.75mm for the body and 3.25mm for the dress and hood
Finished size: around 32cm tall

I started crochet the head and the body, then separated yarn to continue the legs. The ears and arms were stuffed lightly and then sewn on to the body.

I made 3 crochet buttons on the back of the dress so it can be remove easily. For the little red hood, side braids were added to shape the hood when worn on Miffy.

To center the buttons on the back, I started crocheting the dress flat and crochet in the round after I finished the buttons.

For invisible join on stripe pattern, I like to use technique from Knit and Crochet Ever After to avoid jogs.

The hood was started in the round, leaving the middle gap for the ears that will be joined later. When I have enough to cover the top of the head, I started to crochet flat for the back of the hood. For this section, I crochet backwards when I turn the work to keep the stitches uniform.

I'm right handed, so even though stitches look the same, crocheting backward can still show a little difference on stitch direction, but it does look a lot better in my opinion.

This is my second version, below are my first versions that using 4ply yarn, which one do you like better?

I have been rocking this sweater since the weather turned cold. This sweater was finished last winter and I finally have time to document it. It is the last pattern from the pattern bundle that I purchased from Boyland Knitwork.

For this project, I tested my colours on Photoshop before I set my mind on the colour combo. Sipila was designed for 2 colour stranded colourwork but I was thinking 3 colours for this design.

Pattern: Sipila by Caitlin Hunter, Boyland Knitworks - size S
Yarn: Drop Baby Merino, Light Grey (22), Navy Blue (13) and Shepherd Baby Wool Merino 4 Ply Wool - Coral (2979)
Needle size: 4mm main and 3.75mm for neck and sleeve ribbing

I first play around with the colours in Photoshop and later tested the yoke chart on a knitting chart app on ipad.

Drop's baby merino yarn is light-weight and very comfortable, Shepherd's baby merino is more fluffy and a little bit softer than Drop. I used Shepherd baby merino pink yarn instead of Drop's yarn as I wanted coral instead of pure pink. Both brands' yarns are soft to touch and easy to knit.

My first time working with 3 colour stranded colourwork is not bad, but I did spend sometime to get used to holding 3 yarns in the beginning.

Since the sleeve has colourwork, I didn't do my usual 2 sleeves trick so it did take a while for me to finish the sleeves.

I have finally decided to purchased the Chiaogoo needle set, the extra cord extention is a great helper that I can just put it on and test out my sweater without struggle! The needle is 4" long, a bit shorter than Knitpicks needle and metal needles are my new love now. I can just use the shortest cord to knit the sleeve without doing magic loop. That's a lifesaver doing colourwork on small sleeve area.

After I finished this project, I think I've found my favourite sweater length! Because the colourwork, the sleeves is longer than I was first planned but still loving it!

I really like the lightweight and drape of this sweater. Still looking for my ultimate coral yarn though. I think I will try an indie dyer next time. Currently have my eyes set on the Ixchel sweater from the 2019 Autumn Pom Pom magazine.

Pattern: Paradis V Neck Sweater by Wool and the Gang - one size
Yarn: Wooly Bully Alpaca - Pink Blush
Needle size: 6.5mm

I finished this sweater last winter, this is a sweater kit by Wool and the Gang. I purchased this kit when it's on sale. The bulky yarn and the large needles let me finished this project in a short time.

The moss stitch pattern gave this oversize sweater a nice textured look. I love the dusty pink colour, but I couldn't find the link for the Alpaca yarn, I'm guessing it's no longer available.

This kit requires to work on flat and sew it together. This is the part where I miss the top down sweater. It is oversize fit, but I think I will make the sleeve shorter if I knit it again next time.

One down side is that it's quite heavy to wear, but I guess that's common thing when using bulking yarn?

The yarn is very smooth, warm and comfortable to touch.

Here is my second sweater from Caitlin Hunter's knitting pattern bundle I purchased a while back. The Zweig!

This design included both colourwork and lace that gives a very elegant looking sweater. It is my first attempt to knit lace and I was so confused when I saw the 'no stitch' icon on the lace chart. After googling, I finally understand what it is for.

The 'no stitch' symbol is use to mark a non-stitch column, which is needed to provide an offset for the increase round in the other rows. In other words, don't see it as a block on the chart, just ignore it and move on to next stitch block.

Caitlin's pattern also includes the written instructions, so I can always double check if I'm confused.

Pattern: Zweig by Caitlin Hunter, Boyland Knitworks - size M,
Yarn: Knitpicks Pearlescent Stroll Tonal and Knitpicks Black Stroll
Needle size: 4mm main and 3.75mm for neck and sleeve ribbing

After finished this sweater, I fell in love with the fingering weight merino wool yarn. They are so comfortable to wear and superwash wool means I can just throw it into washing machine whenever I need to!

While round yoke is great for knitting colourwork design, the neckline is always a bit too high to my liking. Merino mix with nylon yarn solved this problem. The nylon helps the sweater drape nicely while merino is light and pleasant to wear.

I used the Stroll yarn from Knitpicks The black yarn is from their basic sock yarn collection and light gray is from their Tonal collection. The Tonal series yarn has 7 different shades of the colour. The shades change is just slight, which is kind of interesting to see on the sweater's lace section.

Yarn used:
Black stroll - 5.5 ball
Light gray Pearlescent Stroll Tonal - 0.5 ball.

I changed my needle to 4mm instead of 3.75mm on main sweater fabric as my gauge is smaller. The body part has these tiny 'x' cable stitches that you can barely see from the photos. These 'x' stitches are made from 4 cable stitches and I learned the cable without cable needles trick from craftsy class - Explorations in Cables by Patty Lyons. She's such a fun teacher, really enjoy her class! The pattern also listed a youtube video showing a similar trick too.

I am thinking of making a green colour version after saw the finished project by Knitosophy. Very beautifully made!

While changing colour, I did try the slip stitch to avoid the jog, but it does not seem to help much. I think I will try pick up the stitch from the row below and K2g next time.

For this sweater, I also tried knitting two sleeves together at the same time. Loving it, I can see myself a definetly two sleeve syndrome knitter...

Well, another sweater done, I still have one more sweater to go. I wonder if I can finish it before the Spring.

Pattern: Tecumseh by Caitlin Hunter, boyland knitworks - size S,
Yarn: Drop Lima - off white, goldenrod and dark grey mix
Needle size: 4mm and 3.5mm for neck

Super excite with this sweater! It's designed by Caitlin Hunter, Boyland Knitworks. It's my first stranded colourwork, a big love when I finished it!

I first saw this pattern on Instagram when I was searching top down sweater, (yes I'm not a fan of seaming...). I got hit right away. When I'm on Boyland Knitworks' page, I was blow away to see Caitlin's design. I end up purchased 4 patterns right away.

I first knited a swatch to try out the colourwork, I would say this is the longest swatch making ever! But it's great, because I get to try out the colourwork, see what I should watch out when I start the project. As for many first timer, I was a bit worry with the tight swatch due to the float at the black. So I did a proper blocking and it got a lot better afterwards.

I Follow the pattern instruction to get the yarn and what I left are:

1. Off white 0100 - purchased 10 and left 1.8 ball
2. Goldenrod 2923 - purchased 2 and left 1.1 ball
3. Dark grey mix 0519 - purchased 3 and left 1 ball

I quite like the yarn, it's 65% Wool and 35% Alpaca, super warm and soft. Just they may be too warm for Brisbane weather so I may not be able to wear it often.

The wool keep the shape well but because I like oversize look, I'm thinking to try another option that's more drapy and not so warm, may be I should give tweed a go next time?

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of blocking, but I did it properly this time for Tecumseh. I would say it's still not a very good blocking as I can still see tightness in some areas, especially my neck area. I'm not sure if it's because the round yoke or my shouldner is too wide, the neck keep sliding up even though I did give this area a big yank when I was blocking. I think I would up a size in neck area and add more short rows if I make it again.

Overall, it's a lovely design as I didn't even want to change the colour, I would want to try the Farmer’s Daughter Fibers Juicy DK yarn if I make this design again!

Pattern: Benton by Julie Hoover- size 49¼,
Yarn: Stroll Tweed Sock Yarn- Prussian and Rabbit
Needle size: 4mm

I made a lot of things, but don't usually document them, but I started to find a lot of benefits from documenting the things I made. I can find out what's my thought during that time or the materials I use if I ever forget them and use my lovely camera a bit more so it won't get lots of dust....

I opened my wardrobe and this sweater is first thing I saw, I made this last year around this time. Probably the first sweater with fingering yarn. This yarn is so soft to touch and I do found it's very comfortable and light to wear compare using thicker yarn. It does take more time to finish but it's worth the time and effort as I've been wearing this sweater so often!

The Benton pattern is a popular one and after seeing a lot of lovely finished sweater made me purchased it. I didn't use tubular case on as I still have no idea what that is at the time. The pattern instruction is a bit wordy but it's a great pattern. I lost a bit with the v-neck finishing, so I just sew it together and hope the best.

I brought 4 skins for each colour, light brown and navy. Really like this colour combination. I end out left 1 full light brown skins and 90% of navy. Thinking to use what's left to make a winter sweater for my doggy friend. I guess she will have many sweaters from now on hah.

I made it quite long (or may be I'm just too short!). The back of sweater is past my hip, but front is good, just the perfect length I like.

Pattern: Romper by Marta Porcel. Baby hat by Tracey Kay
Yarn: Abbey Road Kung Fu Cotton from Spotlight
Needle size: 4mm - romper, 4.5mm - baby hat

2018 is a baby shower year for me. So making baby gifts are marked with big red star in my to do list. This free baby romper pattern is designed by Marta Porcel. The instruction is on her website - creativaatelier It's a pretty simple fair isle pattern. The only down side is clearing up the ends.

I would definitely having a headache if I have to weave/sew in all these ends. So I searched Youtube and found many videos teaching how to carrying float in fair isle.

I finished this romper in 2 afternoons, use English Slip Stitch Selvedge Edge from this Youtube video for the side seam, really like the result and this technique also make seaming a lot easier.

I saw this funny name cotton yarn from Spotlight, organic cotton and made in Italy. It's pretty soft on hand and I quite like the blush colour. Use around 1.5 ball so I knit up a baby hat to go with the romper.

The magic coffee baby hat pattern is free and have an icord option. I choose not to have icord since I've done the fair isle already. It turns out great, wash, blocked and ship out to friend's baby girl!

Here is another crochet project I finished recently. Super Mario Bros! Pattern is designed by Aradiya!This little guy is so far the most difficult one I've done, but thanks to the detailed instruction from Aradiya, I did finish it without too much struggle.

I was thinking the fingers would be the most difficult parts but actually they are okay, I did encounter little problems with the shoes and the cap. I still  have mo idea why the cap didn't stay flat. There are a lot sewing involved in this project, so I did feel a great satisfaction when I complete it!

Overall, I would say it's a great project to try, the Mario is so cute and I will look out for another Mario family from Aradiya for sure!

Recently, I've been so into crocheting toys (amigurumi). I discovered these super cute amigurumi patterns by Little Bear Crochet on Etsy. Look how many I've made in a run! Her designs are so cute that I just couldn't stop making them!

I am a beginner in crochet and her patterns are quite easy to follow. I would get on my best friend Youtube for a quick tutorial if I'm confused. There were couple of things that struck me, which were the bear snout and joining of the legs.

The bear snout required crocheting an oval and I learned the basic idea from this video on Youtube - How to crochet oval. After few trials, I finally got the idea. To get oval shape, I always need to have 3 stitches in every corner.

I tried different kind of yarns to see the differences. The pink bear above did give me a little hard time as those little yarns keep stuck into the hook. But it looks pretty cute after I finished. So I would say it is worth the struggle.

I follow the pattern to join leg but later I found there will be a big hole in the joint area, so I search again and find a better join method from this video on Youtube and I did had better result.

I love the little hat on the elephant, it make the toy looks quirky. To shape the nose, I just bended the paper clip instead of wire as that was the stuff I can access during the time, I think it's a good replacement if you don't have wire.

This is definitely good pattern to try if you are interesting to make some toys. I also saw a discount on her Etsy shop for 10% off on 3 patterns or more.