Where have you been?

Well... for starters, this little monster was keeping me very busy.

Her name is Calypso and she is a miniature pinscher. She's chocolate in colour and about 4 months old. And man, has she been keeping us busy. We've been inbetween apartment for the last month, moving from the serviced apartment we were staying in, to our new apartment on Hong Kong island. It's a great place, facing the harbour with beautiful views at night. We were very lucky to get something quite modern (with a stove!) and a sea view. And as we finally had a place of our own, we decided that it was time for a new addition to the family of the 4 legged kind. She's a hoot! Funny as hell, runs like a show horse, eats hardly anything and is scared of buses. She's also very very small. Much smaller than she looks on the photos. And a result, she is shivering constantly if the aircon is on. And so I spied a knitting opportunity! Yeah!
This is the hooded dog sweater from Bernat



It fit her perfectly except around the neck area which was a bit droopy. So I bought some thin elastic and laced it through the neck. Works much better now. She has such a thin little neck it's no wonder! I really liked this pattern. It was easy to knit. Super quick-only one afternoon and it fits without mods. I want to knit this one again but in a thinner yarn, maybe even a sock yarn.

Finished projects the last month:

FINALLY!!!!!! Looking so nice but WAY too warm for the Hong Kong weather. Hopefully I can put it to use in winter with a white shirt underneath.


Fat Bottom Bag by Julie Armstrong Holetz. I LOVE this bag! It holds more than it looks. Mods: I crocheted 10 extra rows( with 10 extra repeats) to make the bag a bit bigger. This was knit in Lily Sugar n Cream in a very cool camoflage colour. Look-it now holds my wallet, camera, travel card( MTR), keys.

I even managed to get the dog into it! Most people lined their bags. Right now, it's not really bothering me as it is nice and stretchy without.


These are Dzonba - The Himalayan Slipper by Tracy Hudson. I'm loving how this turned out ( FO pics to come) but had to make a few mods. Despite what the designer states, these are TINY! And I don't have monster feet. They are really small. Granted that they stretch but even then, they cut into the bridge of my foot. So I cast on an extra 10 stitches and it made all the difference. Fits like a glove and looks great. They only took about half a ball of sock yarn so I may try to squeeze another pair out for myself (they were a gift).


These are the Whale Cat Toy Pattern by Vicki Mikulak. Great pattern. Knits up in 20 minutes. Easy as pie and looks like a fish too! Calypso already stole one so the rest will be destined for the Lifelong Animal Protection shelter on Lamma Island. More of these to come.


Next up I started a great sweater from Phildar. Though I haven't had a good start! I'm working on Gilet Kimono #012-T8-502 by Phildar Design Team. I bought the Spring 1 catalogue along with yarn for the following projects:

I picked the same grey colour for this. The yarn is great. Quite thick so I can see this one going very quickly!


Again, I picked the same colour. This is a thin cotton, slightly shiny, yarn.

At lastly, the bane of my life:


This was just doomed from the beginning. First I didn't have the needles. THen I couldn't find the right needles. Eventually cast on then couldn't figure out the pattern. They say to increase 3 stitches at the beginning and end of the row. But then you can't keep in pattern. So I stuggled with this for a while-a very long while. Sweating and swearing all the way. So i'm fudging it. I'm casting on 3 stitches at the end and beginning. Where it interferes with the pattern, I just increase one and cast on 2 instead. So fine, got that sorted. Knitted about 2,5 inches and then realised that I never upped needles size after the ribbing! WHHHAATTT!! F*&^% that! I just switched at the end of the row mid pattern. There's no way I'm going back to the start for the upteenth time! Please PLEASE let this go better from now on. The pattern is knitting up very nicely so I can see the potential. ps...been having problems with the chart too. I think that this will take a while though I really want to finish this soon.

Gosh....so much to do, so little time....here in Hong Kong you suddendly have a social life! So knitting time goes out the window. I'm trying though, I'm really trying. Even knitting at work when no-one is around! Naughty very naughty.

I'll leave you with a pic of Calypso and her friend Lucy.