Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…

Geez, I’ve been away from blogging for far too long!!!  In my absence, London has come and gone, WIPs have progressed, work’s getting more hectic (not really complaining), more yarn has been stashed… hehe… ok ok, one by one now…

London / Paris - what can I say?  It was a lovely vacation, besides the fact that it got a tad too warm in the later days when I was there.  Plus, I had really good company~  the beloved.  I really can’t ask for more.  It was two weeks of pure pampering.  Haha!  Not only was I pampered, the beloved got pampered as well (hey, it can’t be a one-way thing right!).    We spent 3Ds2Ns in Paris… the city of looovvvveeee… nothing much has changed since I was there in 2001; it’s still breathtakingly romantic and beautiful.  Oh the structures!  The atmosphere!  The food!  The cost of everything in EURO!  hahaha.  Needless to say, I didn’t buy much (it hurts to see it in Euro and having to convert it to RM!).  I was hoping to yarn and bead shop in London… but hmm…I didn’t run into any of the said shops!    Bummer.  I did go online to check out yarn shops, but all seemed so far away (my translation of far ~ anywhere that required two or more train changes!).  Heee!

But I did block the blue swallowtail and the black shetland shawls that I had finished, the two nights before I left for London (YES!  So last minute.  So ME!).  I know I did take pictures of ‘em being blocked…but I can’t seem to find them on the cam!  Wondered if I had accidentally deleted them whilst searching for memory card storage space in London (smart me brought only 1GB because I TOTALLY forgot to pick up the 2GB from the camera bag).  Oh well.  I have the shetland with me so I’d probably go take a picture of it… in due time. 

WIP Updates - The Richmore top is 99% complete   I actually only need to tuck in 5 tails.  But I’m lazy (figures), and, my head is on something else… will do it this weekend.  Oh I so promise!  I was too bored on the 12.5hrs flight to London, that I started and finished a mini crocheted shawl using leftover Japanese crochet yarn that I’ve had since like forever.  It turned out rather pretty but a tad too long.  Ah.  At least it ate up some of the time I had on a full-to-the-brim flight.

Scarf for the beloved went not very far in London, probably a few rows?  Hahaha.  I had to bring it home!  But then, I’ve been very productive on it since, and am on the last skein!  Or, what I THOUGHT was the last skein…   Found another skein of the Olympus Make Make in my closet last night!  haha hahaha!  Alright.  That one is seriously the last skein.  Heh heh!

A New Project and Yarn Stash – Remember the wrong-fit shrug that have pretty flowers on them?  I so want one in an off-white (that is too beige, and of course, does not fit me!) for a BIG event hopefully next year (need to start early coz we all know what a great procrastinator I am), and so, went to stash on the DMC #10 last week.  Sad to say, soft and smooth as it felt when I bought them, it didn’t feel that great crocheted up.    Thankfully, it was cheap.  Contemplated using the DMC Petra and did a swatch with whatever leftovers I had, soft it was, but looked humongous for the flowers   I had to order the ONline Hubner Filetta from my LYS… sucky thing is, both the DMC and ONline does not have an off-white color (natural white, not a bleached white) on their charts.  Was hoping KnitPicks had the alpaca/silk blend in natural white, but alas, it only came in variegated colors.  Sobs.  I’m not too happy with the Filetta as well.  It doesn’t seem as soft as the beige Filetta I had used.   Cost me much more than the DMC too… but I could go back to exchange for other yarn (minus the one that I had swatched with).

I wished the LYSs had more variety like in the States or in Japan.  It’s just almost impossible to find something I like here that I think is worth the $ I pay.    After endless searching, found an online store that stocked Olympus crochet yarn (felt them in Japan, soooo luxurious).  Was happy for a super short moment (like, 5 seconds?) … coz they are wholesalers, and would only entertain distributors…why oh why!

… it was after that… that I found the yarn of my dreams (for this project anyway).  How does 100% silk sound?  OH YEAH!  Plus, it’s about the same price (if not, just a tad more) with the Filetta yahooo!  They are located in Portland, OR (God bless America) and they do ship internationally.  Double yahoo!  I’ve sent in a request for more information on their colorway (plus shipping costs boo hoo hoo), hope they’ll reply soon!  Yay!  Oh I can’t wait!