capri, finally

My name is erin and I am a procrastinator. I think you already know that :) I took forever to do the finishing for Capri (I finished the knitting on May 15) even though it was just sewing the seams and knitting a garter collar. I really don't know why I put off seaming. Each time I do it, it isn't that painful, yet I tend to put it off. I'd really rather just knit and knit.

I lengthened the sleeves, but I can't remember how I did it. I can't find my notes to refer to it either. I suspect that all I did was start as per the instructions, then knit up for x cm before continuing with the sleeve increases. I would have liked to lengthen them a bit more, but I wasn't sure if I had enough yarn. Well it turns out I did have enough yarn in the end. For a crazy moment, I actually thought of snipping off the garter stitch cuff and adding stockinette and then grafting the cuff back. But other than procrastinating, I am also lazy, so I just left it as it is. The other modification I made was to knit the garter buttonband as I knitted the front pieces instead of having it sewn on later. I thought that I had forgotten to knit buttonholes but when I looked at the pattern again, it doesn't have buttonholes. The pattern uses press studs. I left out the press studs as I never button up my cardigans anyway. 

Pattern: Capri Rowan Magazine 43 size S

Yarn: Rowan Calmer in a shade called Blush 7+ balls

Needles: 4mm, 5 mm

For the sake of full disclosure, I didn't wet block Capri. I steam-pressed it very lightly with my iron on the ironing board. Capri is going to be useful for throwing over my tshirts and jeans on trips to the shopping centre.

Here are pics from a girls' day out with my daughter a long time ago, that I never got round to posting. We shared California maki and I had a cafe latte that was served on its own little tray. Don't you think that sugar cubes are cuter than sugar in paper packets? My mum used to have sugar cubes at home in a little bowl with teeny sugar tongs. Here's a link to making your own heart shaped sugar cubes. I really like the way drinks are served at this place. Look at the strawberry yoghurt drink that my daughter had.

another leftover yarn project

A while ago, while surfing knitting blogs, I saw this oh-so-pretty long stripey scarf using leftover sock yarn. Sadly though, I lost track of the blog url. Anyway, I wanted one of my own. It was knit in garter stitch. Given my current craze for garter stitch, I had to knit it, you know. I rounded up my leftover sock yarn and cast on I don't know how many stitches. It was so fun, deciding which yarn to use next as each row is knit with a new strand of yarn.

Then I decided that it could function as a belt. A belt is so much more useful for me in my sunny weather so I cast off. I left enough yarn at the beginning and end of each row and knotted them together so it looks like a single tassel. I am now thinking of how to wear it. It is very, very long :)

The colours are so bright, I think the belt would look good with jeans or something black or white.

My daughter was having her long school break (which sadly ends this weekend) and we've been trying out new eating places. We had the lunch set at Tarts Paradise. The main course was hamburger and ebi fry curry rice. The staff serving us was very thoughtful, she brought us small plates for sharing our food.

The lunch set came with our choice of tarts. We chose the mango and strawberry tart, my daughter said it's the priciest tart there, so it has to be the best! Isn't it a pretty slice? It was a yummy combination of fresh cream, fruit and a bit of cake. The tart alone is worth going back for. By the way, do you notice that most of my food pictures are from meals I have with my daughter or my family? I feel too awkward to photograph my food when I am out with friends or if I am eating alone :)

things from leftovers

I have been making flower pins from scraps of leftover fabric, yarn and old buttons. They are for a flea market stall at the end of the month. It's the first time my daughter and I are having a flea market stall. It's organised by the nearby community centre and we thought it would be fun to give it a go. We're selling clothes, bags and accessories and have one table (size unknown). Working out how to price our items and how to display things.

I made some fabric flowers, but I like the crochet ones better, so I made more of the crochet ones.

I have found a new fave dessert. It's from Pique Nique at Takashimaya. They have comfy wing chairs at tables for two.

Salty caramel pancakes with whipped cream. Not very photogenic but they're the best pancakes I've ever had!

By the way, my daughter says that their banana caramel milkshake is awesome. I didn't dare to even take a sip of it, it looked like it would kill me on the spot with a bazillion calories :)