Gardening Update Number 1

So I moved house recently and had been a real enthusiastic gardener ever since.

And I'm so glad that it finally pay off.

So, I planted 4 new rose plants in late June, Pope John Paul II (White - the most fragrant white rose ever, according to the website), A Country Woman (Red), Paul Cezanne (Pink/White/Yellow, very cute combination), and Ebb Tide (Dark Purple - almost black).

Their growth are not the same, and the Ebb Tide grew faster during the winter season. Amazingly, 7 rose buds appeared :-) to my delight. And they're huge!!

These photos are taken late August and had cut down all the flowers and a little bit of the stem.

A few days after, 3 rose buds showed up on the shorter stems. I'm so happy with this rose plant. It's so recommended, it's so easy to maintain as well.

Just a shot of seasol - seaweed fertiliser mixed in water every month or two will do.

This is another photo I took of these flowers as decoration inside the house:

Notice the colour is so dark, it's almost black, very dramatic. It's really gothic in a way.

Photo taken side by side with my birthday card :-)

Purple Alaska Berry Bolero

Hello everyone... it's nice to finally update my blog.
I haven't finished too many projects lately :-) lazy me...
So, this one is a cute little bolero, again from Garnstudio, free pattern using Alaska yarn.
The yarn is a probably one of the heaviest yarn I've ever worked with and I think it gave me RSI.
So, I'm glad it's finally over :-)

I knitted this bolero during my holiday to Tea Gardens. It's a really lovely place, very famous for fishing and there is this fabric shop that has amazing stuff, quite on the expensive side though. The lady was teaching quilting to someone when I got there. Maybe I should take up quilting...

I love the big collar thing around the neck and waist.

Look at this berry pattern, really love it.

The material is so warm, perfect for a cold spring morning. Fingers crossed it will be warmer soon.

Completed 5th Sept 2011

Two Coloured Alpaca Slippers with huge flower

I have so much leftover yarn from knitting my brother's sweater. And luckily, I also had a pink alpaca yarn, leftover from one of the bolero that I knitted a long time ago.
So, I picked this pattern from Garnstudio and to make it nicer, I added the 3-tiered Alpaca flower.

I sooo love this flower pattern, will definitely make more for decorations. Maybe for candles or flower vases.

Simply gorgeous.

Completed 13th Aug 11

My Brother's Alpaca Sweater

After a really long wait, the sweater had finally completed...
It took over a month and a half in total. And I also stopped in between to work on other projects.
Now that this is done, I can move on and work on my outstanding projects (and very delayed projects).

The yarn is DROPS Alpaca, intentionally picked black to suit any work shirt.

I really like the ribs pattern on the chest, instantly transform boring black sweater into interesting.

Completed 7th Aug 11

Little Vest for Kayleigh

So, I was invited to a little girl's birthday party a few weekends ago and I decided to knit this small little bolero.
The material is really nice, soft and gorgeous colour.

The crochet border is such a highlight on this piece.

(Completed 15th July 2011)

Little Black Dress for Chelsea

I knitted this little black dress for my friend's dog. I always wanted to knit a dog sweater and this one is so cute. It's not actually a sweater, it's more like a dress, with frills at the end.
So Cute!!

CUTE FRILLS!!!

CUTE PEARLS!! HAHA!!

(Completed 7th July 2011)

Long Jumper in Seed St with DROPS Nepal

A few weeks ago I completed this long jumper for a friend's birthday gift. I chose this pattern because it's really cold at the moment here in Sydney and this jumper looks so warm and fluffy.

The  black colour is so elegant but yet feminine.

Had several issues with completing this jumper. First, I didn't order enough yarn, so I had to re-order them and the delivery was delayed significantly. Secondly, I had a problem with my left eye, the outer layer of the cornea came off and I had to stop knitting for a few weeks.

So, long story short, the gift was delayed, but it was completed. :-) Finally...

Cute turtle neck to protect from that cold breeze...

- Intricate cable and seed stitch pattern - 

(Completed on 28th June 2011)