Knit FOs: Spring and Ellis Bags

Finally, some knit FOs!

I've been on a bag crocheting spree lately - am planning to hopefully make enough to sell at this year's church annual bazaar. Here are two recently completed bags: Spring (on the left) and Ellis.

Spring just reminds me of... spring! I used milk yarn from Spotlight Singapore, a 4mm hook and pretty wooden handles from The Quilt Gallery at Bangsar Village. I've also made a little matching pink purse but no pics of that yet since I've just completed it.

Ellis is a simple tweed bag with acrylic handles, named after Mr Ellis, my economics teacher back in boarding school in the UK because he always wore tweed.

Both are loosely based on patterns from my various Japanese crochet books but I've modified them quite a bit to fit the handles and the limited amount of yarn I had of each type.

And.... here is my new toy at home! Say hello to Mac! (And hi to my little project storage table which I bring around the house to keep all my knit-related notions like scissors, stitch markers, tapestry needles etc.. On the top is the WIP Spring bag).

And in the reflection below, I'm using my other new toy - I've finally purchased a Nikon D90 - my upgrade from the D50 which I have given to my sister.

March has been a gadgets galore month... and we need to save money from now on. (Shhh... we also bought a PS3).

Pride and Prejudice - Tweets version

It's been maddeningly busy at work these two weeks with me leaving the office at 10pm some nights, only to be back again at the usual 7am.

But, my sister and I managed to squeeze in time to watch the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. The movie is obviously an adaptation from Jane Austen's novel and so I set out to find out what the original story was like.

Conveniently, we have a copy of the book in our library. I vaguely remember if I have read P&P as a kid but the story line is most definitely familiar and since we have a copy of the book at home, I think I might have read it at some point. I'm babbling here. Basically, I read it over the weekend and have re-read some parts a couple of times for clarity.

Then, I joined the P&P fan club on Ravelry and someone mentioned this. It is absolutely hilarious!! Happy Reading!

P/s: I'll need to do a short post on Penang - Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Teow and Air Itam assam laksa! I was there for a day trip yesterday (5 meetings!) but managed to squeeze in time for CKT (we had only 10 mins to eat!) and assam laksa at the end of the day before heading back to the airport. Such desperation!

And: Rommel and I are going to the Babyface concert tonight at the KL Convention Centre!

Fabulous Sugar Doll Award!

Thank you very much, my namesake, Petrina for this award! We found each other on Ravelry and realised we have so much in common (including the fact that she used to attend the same church in KL). It's been fun reading your shopping exploits (I know I have my fair share of stories to tell too and I should!) and your knit FOs!

8 things about me. Hmmm...
1) I'm very organised and make to-do lists for everything. I mean everything! Just ask those close to me. Must be the Virgo qualities in me.

2) With my impeccable organisational skills, I'm the family de-facto tour coordinator. I plan all our trips and print copies of our travel schedule for everyone with way too much detail.

3) I cry very easily. My good friends from my uni days can attest to this. I cry at sappy movies, when I lose things, when I get upset with someone. They once tried to "train" me to cry at will. I succeeded.

4) I love good food. Duh!

5) I wish I could work for a knitwear company/designer.

6) My other wish is to have my own knit cafe filled with yummy cakes, cushy sofas and loads of yarn.

7) I love holidays (which is also why I'm the defacto tour leader).

8) My fear of water was the reason why I took up scuba-diving, I tried to get rid of that fear. Then I realised it was the fear of the unknown that I had - I dont like not knowing what's lurking beneath me. That explains why I refuse to do night dives.

I've decided not to nominate anyone... Not because I dont have people in mind. I need to get back to work!

Winter wardrobe all set... I hope

I've been busy knitting and crocheting hats and scarves for the family in preparation for our London/Paris trip.

Recent FOs include:
1) Grey hat and scarf set for my dad. Both are very simple knits. The hat is simple stockingnette in a round with gradual decreases on the top. The scarf is the most basic - garter stitch scarf. But I didn't have the time to make something more elaborate because I'd also spent time looking for an ideal yarn. I finally

2) For Rommel, I had made Boo scarf a year ago. A simple checkered pattern with Rowan RYC Luxury Cotton DK in a brown/black mix which he bought for me from John Lewis Oxford St last year. This time, I made him a matching hat from the same yarn but I decided it might not be warm enough given how cold it's been in London! So I made him another hat using leftover Debbie Bliss Merino Aran in black.

3) Another black hat - this was crocheted with minimal stretch using the same Debbie Bliss Merino Aran but ended up being too small for Rommel. I think it fits my dad's head alright but if he feels uncomfortable with it, I can wear it! This is a spare hat.

4) For my sister, I made the Ice-cream sundae hat using Katia Austral which I got from Jet Sun. The name should say it all - the yarn is striped in really sweet pastel colours. I followed the basic hat pattern from my Knit Cafe book.

5) Lastly, a simple garter stitch stripe scarf made with the softest and possibly most expensive yarn I have: two skeins of Misti Alpaca - one in teal and one in baby blue. Purchased from Loop, Islington. To share between my sister, mom and myself.

For us girls, I can go into more detail about what we are planning to wear:

Our winter wardrobe includes our matching earmuffs, scarves and gloves sets from Burberry - I'd bought the purple and orange ones in London years ago and we got the pink set in Hong Kong in 2002.

Next, winter coats - my mom will finally be able to use her Max Mara olive green coat with rabbit fur trim. She bought it three years ago in preparation of our Japan trip but she then had her fall and surgery so we cancelled that trip. I was supposed to be good and just use the existing coats we have but I saw this really nice dark brown one in Massimo Dutti last weekend and bought it. My sister is wearing "Foxy", our Max Mara cream coat with fox fur trim.

Footwear: My mom bought 2 pairs of boots in the past weeks while I bought a pair from Aldo. I'm having a tough time deciding what other pair of shoe to bring along. My sister is going with her basics - closed-toe Birkenstocks with socks. Rommel has also gotten a new pair of boots for the trip - Timberland.

Sorry there are no pictures of the recent FOs - I rushed to make them, then got them washed and have kept them with the rest of the stuff we have to pack - which is all dumped onto my brother's bed for now. Will post pictures of all of us wearing them during the holiday!

Ta for now, back to work... Have a good weekend!

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday Shen and Mel!

It's my sister's birthday weekend and unfortunately the office has planned a white water rafting trip which I can't escape from. But I'm looking at this as another way for me to rid myself of my fear of water (which was the main reason why I took up diving all those years ago!).

Wish us all luck at the rapids!!

Shen, shall we get the parents to make it up to you for leaving you alone on your birthday with a trip to Japan in spring?

Anyway, Rommel and I are off to watch the Michael Jackson "This is it" movie.

Happy Halloween! Happy Birthday Shen and cousin Melissa, the two Halloween big babies....

Sage tonight? Yes please...

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. Godbro Sunny and wife Mona are back in town so we're off to feast with them again!

Every time they come back from Indonesia, we make it a point to feast. The last "big" feast was during their wedding week earlier this year - the chef's menu at Sage, a full Chinese banquet dinner at the PJ Hilton and a romantic evening at Chalet, Hotel Equatorial - all on separate nights, of course!

So, tonight, it's Sage again. We first took Sunny and Mona there at the beginning of the year. All of us thoroughly enjoyed it and so I think it's almost become tradition now that everytime they're back we head there.

I haven't been to Sage in a while actually - a combination of trying new places, trying not to eat out so much and having been out of KL for holidays - so it's a welcome treat. (I can't say the same for my mom who is practically there at least once a week, so much so that the staff there are way too familiar with her.)

I've been a bad blogger though. I have all these slips of paper with that particular day's chef menu on them but I've just left them around my room. I should scan them all one day and post them up. :D

Other posts I've not been able to blog about:
- NeroTeca: Took Rommel and my sister there for lunch last Saturday and we had fun!
- Sagano: Great food for a great price! My sister's blog about it here.
- Trips to Phuket and Singapore: Plus foodie pics.
- Knit FOs: a couple of winter hats and scarves in preparation for London!

I've been tagged

These words are in Portuguese, which mean,

"This Blog Messes with my senses"

Thanks so much Annie for tagging me! I always look forward to your very inspiring posts and your projects are always so well made!

The rules are:

1. Show the above tag in your blog.

2. Post these rules.

3. Link back to the blog that tagged you.

4. Make a list of the 5 senses and what each one represents for you. (I have change this and added pictures)

5. Tag five other blogs, and let them know by leaving them a comment.

My 5 senses are:

1) Sight: I love the beach and of all the beaches I've been to, one of the best is Khai Nok Island in Phuket. If only I could wake up everyday to a sight like this!


2) Sound: of what else? of waves rushing to shore.... (My sister is relaxing on a hammock at the Lone Pine Hotel in Penang.)


3) Smell: of durians.... because we've been having durians at home lately. (Here is my niece Ashley licking her fingers after all of us gorged ourselves silly with durians in Penang.)


4) Taste: My most favourite of all local dishes - assam laksa from Air Itam in Penang. Nom..


5) And finally - Touch: Nothing feels softer than cushy yarn... My sister sent me a box of goodies from London...

People I'm tagging:
Shen
Celine
Danielle
Angie
Chia Wern

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

Just wanted to wish all my Muslim friends "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!"

It's the long weekend here in Malaysia, with Monday and Tuesday off. And we (the family) are off to Singapore for some much needed retail therapy (well, for me at least. I haven't been to Sunny Singapore since October!).

And I conveniently read on Ravelry that Spotlight has a sale on yarns..... Ooooh Plaza Singapura here I come!

Oh btw, knitting-wise, things are good. I've been productive with 1 toddler's dress for Isabelle, 1 winter cap for my sister and 1 lace camisole for myself, all completed in the past few weeks. Pictures to come!

Ta and have a good long weekend!

Yes, I'm here

It's been a while, I know. Busy busy with work, finishing up a sector report so hopefully all goes well and it gets published soon!

I managed to sneak away for my birthday - 4 days with my family and Rommel. We headed to Phuket for some sun, sea, spa and FOOD. Pictures to come if my internet connection at home allows me to upload them! I was so annoyed a few Fridays ago when I could only upload ONE picture onto Flickr that night. Talk about ANNOYING! So many pictures and foodie stuff to blog about.... Sigh...

Knitting-wise, I've been productive (stress at work plus crappy internet at home = more knitting!).

1) I've finished my drawstring raglan which is a tad bit too big for me. I might wear it tomorrow to work and get response from my colleagues about it though.

2) I've also finished a shawl for my mom - her birthday's coming up so this will be my gift to her since she's always complaining that I never make anything for her. Really lovely gold and dark brown mix yarn - would go well with her Louis Vuitton monogramme collection!

3) I've started on a Cherry Leaf shawl (from Victorian Lace Today), using The Plucky Knitter Cashmere lace in a lovely baby blue. Pretty simple pattern to follow... So far so good!

4) I've also started a camisole for myself using 3 balls of Rowan Cashmerino in a gorgeous plum colour that my sister bought for me a while back.

Okay ta!

(Hopefully I'll post some pictures soon...)

Mad Days at work

Lots to update but not enough time to update them (and when I do find the time, the internet connection at home decides to die on me).

So a quick one in the middle of my lunch break.

Knitting-wise:
In the midst of intense pressure at work, I've been destressing as much as possible with my knitting. (my fingers get all jittery when I'm stressed so knitting helps to calm me down)

-I've completed my Sunflower top and wore it out on Sunday. Must remember to take a picture of it soon.

- Also completed the Kitteh curtain for my bathroom. It's hung up now and looks super-cute. Pictures in the SLR so will need to upload them soon.

- During the Pangkor Laut trip, I also managed to make a cute little bag. I've called it Apricot bag I think. It's peach coloured yarn but I've already named another bag Peaches.

- The Apricot bag is now home to my latest bring to cinema project - the Bubblegum top. Simple stockingnette in a round using the baby pink cotton yarn I bought for RM2 from Sally who bought it in Ho Chi Minh City. This top will most likely go to my sister, although since she's back in KL for good, we can share...

- On the Drawstring raglan, I've made pretty good progress. I've completed the Feather and Fan bottom half and have done the arms holes. Also wound up 3 more skeins of the Pakucho yarn last night as I hope to make more progress with this in the coming days. I've been checking out other knitters' FOs from this pattern on Ravelry and am getting excited. I'm so happy with the simplicity of the pattern that I'm already planning to knit a second one!

Food-wise:
There are a few reviews pending I think (I've been stressed so comfort food has been necessary. Goodbye diet!). Last week was an eat-out week since the family was away (Dad in Jakarta and the rest in Singapore).

Dinners included Sage on Monday, Ri Yakitori on Wednesday, House & Co at BSC on Thursday, Flying Chillies at Gardens on Friday, Soo Kee Noodles at Imbi on Saturday, Yuzu at Gardens on Sunday.

Scandalous.... Luckily during the day I have my Herbalife shakes!!

On Pangkor Laut - I've linked my previous post to my sister's blog since she's had the time to write 4 parts for the trip!

Ta! Back to work!

Can't wait to head out....

... and chill by the beach.

2 more days of having to go through work. Unfortunately, it's 2 more days of a LOT of work to get done.

I know I shouldn't complain.
I know that I should just go ahead and get everything done.
I know that I should be grateful I have a decent paying job.

BUT.....

sometimes it gets to me.... the pressure, the deadlines, the urgency, having someone breathing down your neck all the time, no space of your own.

Then there are those days when all you want to do is dig a hole and stick your head into it like how ostriches do.

Today felt like one of those days.

And so my sister and I made mushroom pate tarts as a post-dinner snack. It sounds like we did a lot but in reality the whole thing took less than 15 mins - 5 mins to prepare and 10 mins baking in the oven. Ready made pastry cases from Bake With Yen topped with delectable mushroom pate all the way from Borough Market in London.

Hey we HAD to eat it. It expires today. Grandma taught us not to waste food.

And so, I'm feeling a little bit better now. Off to bed!

Non-Diet update

When I tried on one of my Trucco trousers for work this morning, it was surprisingly a bit loose. Compare this to it being unflatteringly "fitted" a couple of months back which is when I last attempted to wear it!

Does that mean I'm losing weight?? I sure hope so! I am still being stubborn and have refused to weigh myself. I'm just going by how my clothes are fitting since my ultimate goal is to fit into my existing wardrobe.

And, this is all done without much dieting surprisingly. I'm not expecting to lose much in a short period of time given the regular bingeing sessions I still have.

For example, Rommel and I went to Wasabi Bistro at the Mandarin Oriental KL last Friday to
(1) "celebrate" me passing 2 key hurdles at work that day, and
(2) to cheer Rommel up after his car was hit by some idiot a few days earlier and he has to fork out RM2500 to change the entire back left door. (We always have excuses on why we should eat at nice places.)

I wanted Rommel to try some of my past favourite dishes at this reassuringly familiar restaurant (back in the day, you'll find half the stockbroking community of KL there at lunchtime). For starters, we had Kumi's No. 1 (shredded crabsticks served with a dollop of good quality mayonnaise and lightly grilled), Dynamite Scallop (scallops and mushrooms on rice, topped with a spicy mayonnaise sauce and baked to perfection) and the sushi roll platter (which has the 3 types of maki rolls unique to Wasabi). For mains I had a tempura soba while Rommel had his usual chirashi sushi.

By the time I polished off Kumi's No. 1, I was actually already so stuffed, it got really uncomfortable for me and I barely ate my soba. The fact that my appetite has shrunk actually depresses me. Okay, okay, I know it's for the better and that I should be able to maintain this diet thing if my appetite doesn't return... BUT..... Does that mean I can't enjoy food as much anymore? *sob*

On the knitting/crocheting front, I've been focusing on my bathroom curtain - decided to use the sky blue yarn I bought from Sally for RM2 per ball. (She bought loads from Ho Chi Minh City and was kind enough to sell it to me at one of our meetups.). I'm using a cute knit-based little design which has the shadow of 2 cats peeking out but I have adapted it into a filet crochet pattern to suit the window. Pictures to come...

It's been a while...

... since I did a proper update. These 2 weeks have passed by at a phenomenal speed.

A quick summary:
- Uncle Loke's passing, the wake service, the funeral, the 7 day prayers. It was a sad occasion but time was well spent with the family. Shows that in times of need, the whole family sticks together (42 of us altogether on my mom's side alone). I'm really grateful to have such a close-knit family.

- Me falling ill (bad cold/cough/fever aka flu), for which I had to take 2 days off work and was put on some pretty strong antibiotics that ended up causing gastritis as well.

- Kid's Fun Day on 6th June. This was an event my mom organized for her clients' kids where they came over to my house to do some crafts and baking. While this event was for only a day, preparations of course had to made days in advance. Mom was the one who spent most time sourcing all the craft items, door gifts and toys. I was in charge of the baking and pizza making sessions so I had to do my share of sourcing - ingredients, decorations, cupcake cases, piping bags for icing etc. Then I had to wake up at 6am and bake 200 cupcakes on Saturday morning before everyone arrived. No wonder why I'm exhausted.

- Work-wise it's been super busy for me too with various meetings and then having to write reports on those meetings (which I have yet to do btw). Plus some updates on my companies as well.

- My siblings have finished their exams and will be coming home in a few weeks. Time to plan all our makan trips and short family holidays. Our earlier plans to go to Japan have sadly been postponed due to swine flu. We are now planning little trips around the country (Cuti-Cuti Malaysia) which is good for me in terms of taking leave and we're helping our own economy. First short family trip is most likely to Pangkor Laut next month. Can't wait to get there and check myself into their spa villas and pamper myself silly.

*********************************************************************************

Knit update:
Nothing new except my Sunflower top, which was to replace the Storia top as my cinema project (the WIP I bring along to watch movies).

Storia top has been put on hold because I dont like how it feels on my skin when I try it on so now I'm thinking I might just frog the whole thing and make something else that will have less body contact.

The Lorna Laces' shawl is coming along pretty well. I've finished the right panel (finally!) and had cast on the left panel last week. This is my traffic jam project (the WIP I have in my car for me to knit when I'm stuck in traffic jams).

New projects:
I have a headache on what to knit for my upcoming Bali trip (with Rommel and friends). Should I make a light cotton lace poncho or shawl as a cover up when at the beach? Or a nice summery cotton hat? Decisions decisions....

I also want to crochet a new curtain for my bathroom at home. I was in the shower last night and was staring at the current curtains which I realised are more than 10 years old now. Since the bathroom has white tiles with a blue border going for the Mediterranean look, I thought a nice crocheted lace panel using white cotton (like the Katia Nilo that I used for the side table doily) would suite the window. Or maybe yellow to brighten it up. Or maybe make 2 in both colours and change them everytime the curtains are due for a wash!

*********************************************************************************

Diet update:
Dont think I've lost much weight since I pretty much stopped the Herbalife shakes when I fell ill. For some reason, I was getting hungry rather quickly. And the gastric attacks were not helping.

BUT, I have done something that will hopefully give me a bit more motivation: Rommel bought me a Paul Frank bikini with matching beach shorts, beach towel and flipflops. All for the Bali trip and Pangkor Laut trip. Let's see if that helps!

*********************************************************************************

Pending posts:
- The Kid's Fun Party - all the pictures from that day need to be uploaded.
- My test-bake session the weekend before, in preparation for the Kid's Fun Party (although pictures are already uploaded onto Flickr).
- Our dinner last night: crocodile meat cooked 3 ways (herbal soup, braised and stir fried with noonles). The meal also included ox-tail stew, neutered chicken, fried fish, stir fried veg and fried rice. So much for my diet! No pictures though because I forgot to bring my camera.
- My feather and fan shrug which was completed last week but no pictures as yet.

Diet update: Day 13

Just a quick update on what's been happening with my Herbalife diet.

Didn't really follow it over the long weekend. I did have the shake and teamix for breakfast on Friday morning but after that was the Kampachi lunch and chicken rice dinner at Supertanker after a whole afternoon of cutting paper and tying ribbons.

Saturday was a blur really. I had the shake and teamix for breakfast before heading to A Cut Above to get my hair done for the fund-raising dinner. Ate lunch with Rommel at this Thai restaurant opposite Eu Yan Sang in the lower ground connection between Midvalley and Gardens. I dont know the name but the food was so awful anyway so I wont bother blogging about it. Dinner was at the event (in Supertanker again) but since we were running up and down most of the night, we barely ate. Ended up tarpauing maggi mee goreng and milo ais from Neela's at 1am. Bad bad bad...

Sunday - woke up in time for 11.30am mass but not to take my shake. Lunch was again in Supertanker where we had 3 types of noodle dishes. Yum... We tried dinner at Cristang which I blogged about *here*.

Day 12, i.e. yesterday, I was good and had the shake for breakfast and lunch. At lunch, I also had stirfried veg as well since I wanted something savoury. Dinner was not so good though cos Evelyn cooked claypot chicken rice and it was laden with chinese sausages. Since we didn't have time over the weekend to buy groceries, Rommel and I went to Bangsar Village to buy meat and veg and ended up also buying strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and whipped cream. Ooh...

So yea, if I don't look like I haven't lost much weight, you know why.... :D

Quick update

Been busy with work all week and Easter over the weekend hence the blogging hiatus. But, I just wanted to say:

Congratulations, Olivia and Kok Beng!!! Their baby girl was born this morning. No details yet but I wanna go visit! :)

...and incidentally, it's my brother's birthday today. So..... Happy 18th Birthday, Fatteh!! You're finally at the legal drinking age, although I'm trained you well enough to hold your liquor all these years so I dont expect you to get totally sloshed. But yea, go ahead and have fun in London! I've put in the $$$ in your bank account so you know what to do.

I've also been busy with Sunny and Mona's wedding which is this Saturday. Rehearsal on Tuesday night, first dinner tonight at Sage, tea ceremony and church wedding and luncheon and dinner all on Saturday. It's been really fun though and we hope everything goes alright! This is my first time as bridesmaid so I'm really nervous! Mom's doing the decoration for the church and lunch and I think it'll turn out really pretty. Will take lots of pictures that day!

Finally, I've been bitten by the crocheted bags bug. For the past few months, I've been crazy about shawls but last week, something came over me (maybe it was the flu bug I caught in the office). In the past one week, I've completed 3 bags:

1) Rose bag - Finished this in a day but it was too small (but cute!) for me to use so I'm planning to give it away. I made it using Japanese hook size 7 and leftover yarn from my rose shawl which I finished last week, for me to use at Sunny's wedding dinner this Saturday. But it's okay, I have other red bags to match my outfit.

2) Peaches bag - Made in the same base pattern as the Rose bag (although I changed the handles for Rose), using my Japanese hook size 10 and a long-lost yarn I found in the corner of one of my yarn drawers - Jaeger Celeste in a pretty peach colour. Finished this last night after some manic crocheting while watching American Idol.

3) Biggy Bucket bag - started this on Saturday night after a lengthy discussion with my sister on what I should make. I used Rowan Biggy in dark brown which I've had for a long time and previously made into a poncho (which was frogged twice). Made it with the 8mm Clover crochet hook I bought at Tailor and Alteration, Hong Kong. Also completed yesterday as I just wanted to finish it, despite it already being so late at night.

I find that I really, really like making bags. Lots of flexibility, no worry about the fit and best of all - it's so quick to make. Plus, it's more practical to use in our weather vs knitwear and socks.

Now I just need to find time to take the pictures and post them. Ta!

A quick one...

Back from Penang yesterday....

In the office today...

And so more on Penang when I find time to upload the pictures! (Loads of food, of course!)

Joycie and Arnaud, hope you guys enjoyed Penang. Sorry we had to go round and round to find that seafood place and end up not finding it anyway!! And thank you so much for teaching me so much more about my camera.

Imagine, after more than 3 years of owning my Nikon D50, I finally got better acquainted with it over the past few days. I finally have an idea on what those funky numbers mean and how to attempt to take decent photos without flash. And, I'm finally beginning to have a better understanding of it all. Let's hope my pictures show some improvement.

Ta for now!

Ice cream or afternoon tea?

The great debate in the office today was where should we have ice cream? And the reason for the celebration: I passed Module 19A! (the SC regulation exam for analysts). But the timing isnt right today for all of us to leave early and we just had an ice cream celebration 2 days ago at Gardens to celebrate Sunaina passing hers 2 weeks ago. So it is now scheduled for 2 weeks later when Ed gets back from leave.

Then I was reading Jen's recent post about afternoon tea at the St Regis Singapore and it made me remember our teenage days. Unlike most high school kids at that time, we didn't spend our Saturdays "hanging out" at places like 1 Utama and stuff (just doesn't fit our image, y'know). Instead, we had tea at the Ritz Carlton after an afternoon shopping at Starhill and Lot 10 (the Pavilion hadn't been built in those days or we'd be shopping there too).

I'd never thought at that time that we were brats at that time for doing that as it just felt normal to us. It was only during our London days that we talked about it and joked that we must have seemed like such spoiled brats then. All this being said while shopping in Selfridges and Covent Garden. Hehe...

And so, the season of Lent begins

Lent is a time for reflection and prayer, a time to think about life, about family and about God.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the 40 days of Lent. We of course went for Mass although I was 10mins late (held up at work and was caught in traffic after the evening downpour. (Shen, did you go?)

I was reading some discussions on Ravelry about giving up buying yarn for Lent (the whole discussion here), and was wondering, what should I give up for Lent? I've been trying to stick to my yarn diet since last month and only broke it once last week. Yes, I'll stick to my yarn diet.

Some people also said that they'll be knitting for charity. I wonder what practical projects can I knit for charity in Malaysia. Hmmm...

Anyway, I'm getting hungry so time to get out of the office and look for food. Been having stomach upset for the past week and havent been eating all that well. Hopefully I lose some weight with this.

Oh yea, Shen, I've been almost vegetarian these few days. Dont know why. Wasn't a conscious effort to do it. Maybe it's cos I'm not feeling well so didn't feel like eating meat. Plus it's Lent... Hmmm...

Busy weekend...

Apologies for the lack of photos of late. Will try to post some tonight. Have been busy with work (results season coming in full steam this week), busy with my knitting (1 more FO over the weekend and started on 2 more projects) and of course busy with all the other stuff I've procrastinated about.

Saturday was a busy day. Came into the office in the morning to sort out some stuff. Then headed to Sg Wang Plaza to meet my mom's tailor. We have less than 2 months to Sunny's wedding so I needed to get the dress materials to Peggy @ Diana Boutique (our tailor), discuss the design I wanted and then get measurements taken. Then headed to Midvalley for lunch (only got to eat at 2.30pm though) and to run some errands. In the evening, Rommel and I watched the new Tom Cruise film, Valkyrie (not bad la, sister and I compared it to some of the other Hitler-related films where the endings are always everyone gets killed except Hitler.)

Oh I forgot to mention that while in Sg Wang, I stopped by Jet Sun again and bought three 60cm circular needles in 4.5mm, Japan size 9 and size 11.

We were out early on Sunday - attended the 8.30am Mass because BBC was scheduled to come in to film Father OC at Mass. But I like attending the earlier masses on Sundays. For one, we then have the whole day to do as we like. And, the weather is much cooler vs the later Masses.

Lunch was at Reunion in Bangsar Village II with Rachel who was back for the weekend. Incidentally, there was an FJ Benjamin warehouse sale on Celine, Raoul and Banana Republic stuff so we went and bought some shirts etc. Then there was the Trucco closing down sale as well (Shen, Trucco is now gone for good from Malaysia... I'm so depressed... But I managed to buy the remaining clothes - 12 pieces of clothing for RM1919! And it includes 2 long dresses.)

Over the weekend, Rommel has been in search of a suit so we also visited various shops we'd hoped would have decent suits - scoured The Gardens, Pavilion and even went to the Melium outlet in case they had decent Boss suits on sale. Came back with nothing so far. Sigh... the search continues.

Knit update:
Finished my first basic crochet shrug for myself. I liked the pattern so much since it's so easy and quick to crochet that I started another one in baby blue and am hoping to give it to one of the younger cousins when I'm done with it.
Also started on another mindless knitting project: a top for myself using the new Schachenmayer nomotto yarn Storia that I bought last week in Jet Sun. This is meant for knitting while at the cinema since it's just plain stockingnette in a round and I can knit it in darkness.

Hmm.... rather satisfied with my knitting progress over the weekend. Now I just need to take pictures and post them...

Knit shopping impulse... Help!!

Uh-oh... I have a sudden urge to do some damage to my yarn diet.

I've been good for the past few months. Haven't bought anything craft-related (except for some magazines) since 2 Dec! And my last purchase was 5 skeins from The Plucky Knitter. I think I deserve a pat on the back for being so "disciplined".

I think I tend to stick to my yarn diets better than food diets. Can't help it. One needs to eat to survive. And if one is going to eat, might as well make it a good meal.

So my mind is filled with all sorts of ideas on what sort of yarn to buy, what new project shall I cast on, should I make another throw to match the TV room downstairs so I can use it when watching the telly? And on the back of my mind, my conscience is telling me that I have loads of yarn sitting around in my room and I might never be able to reduce my stash (actually the thought of being swamped by yarn makes me happy).

What I need to buy are DPNs.... Just realised I actually have only 1 set of 4mm bamboos! Never really had a reason to buy DPNs since I dont make socks. Hmmm all the "reasons" why I need to visit Jet Sun today.... Hehehe... We'll see. Maybe I'll pop by at lunch time.

Quick knit update:
Been working on the Chantilly baby blankie as often as I can (which is not much on weekdays). I'm about 75% done I think and am on my 3rd skein. I'd bought 4 skeins of Katia Chantilly for this blankie but looks like I'll need no more than 3 skeins for it. Am now planning a small baby hat for the 4th skein.

Now back to work!