Friday, September 14, 2012

Smile!!

I was reading my mail today and saw this breathtakingly beautiful landscape, fields of lavender in Provence, France. I can almost smell it from here!




Awww...Yeah flowers!

I also love this cute photo of a Hazel Dormouse.  It just makes me smile. Thank you for brightening up my day Dormouse!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Misai Kucing Tea

I have read that the Misai Kucing tea is known for its therapeutic value for generations. It grows up to about 1.5 metre high and the flowers's long filament was the factor that gave the plant its bizarre Malay name which literally means cat's whiskers.  It is recommended for good kidney function, prevention of urinary tract infections, maintaining optimal liver function and preventing gout. It has been used for generations to treat circulatory disorders, kidney stones, hypertension and diabetes. The leaves have diuretic elements that help eliminate uric acid in the body, a source of many physiological problems.

I was so happy when I found this plant growing nicely in my sister-in-law's house and immediately planted it in my little garden. This is my little garden of Misai Kucing in full bloom:



 I just love this beautiful flower with long filaments.


Even the side view is such a pretty sight don't you think!?

Sunday, September 9, 2012

WIP


I have started my first project for Tunisian crochet. It's a mobius wrap called Mystifying Embrace on the cover of this book :



This is my progress so far and it is slanting towards the right :


40% Bamboo 40% Merino 20% Nylon
Colour: Sage

I chain 68 instead of 80 because I only have 2 hanks of this sage colour yarn totalling 700 metres. It now measures about 13 inches for the width. Looks like it's going to be a small wrap.  Hopefully after blocking it will be bigger and solve the slanting problem.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

My First Punch Card

Today I manage to knit a little swatch with a punch card that I have punched:


I have been trying for days to knit with this first card that I made:


Lots of mistakes there as you can see! This is actually a fashion lace card that is meant for a Brother machine.  A friend told me that it can be used for my Silver Reed SK280 machine since my lace carriage can transfer and knit at the same time just like the Brother lace card. So far no luck yet but I will keep on trying. 

I love this lace pattern and am thinking of using it for a top with this yarn:



 Maybe I will knit the lace for the hem and yoke or sideways from sleeve to yoke and then sleeve again. Will see which one works better. Wish me luck!