Archive | July, 2010

Arcade Knitting

31 Jul

Friday, or the weekend, means we are out of the house and in a mall somewhere.  Today’s agenda is to watch The Last Airbender.  It was alright, nothing too earth-shattering but it was entertaining.  It was great to see what Jason Rathbone really looked like, without all that make-up, coloured lenses and stupid blonde wig in the Twilight Saga.  And there’s at least 3 sequels, if the kids are right.

One big plus in the previews is HP7 Parts 1 and 2.  I am re-reading the book now and I couldn’t help but compare what I’ve been reading to the glimpses of the scenes.  This s going to be awesome – in 3D too!   Oh, don’t mind the cheerful yellow mascot – he always crops up all over the place during summer.  He’s the mascot for Dubai Summer Surprises. (more…)

Mall Life

29 Jul

With temperatures rising up to 43-degree Celsius during the day, it’s a wonder how people in this city are still alive. It’s not so much the heat that kills you, but the humidity. You go out, in the shade and it’s a scorcher but then with high humidity levels you can hardly breathe without practically gasping for air. It’s like being a fish out of water!

How do we cope? We try to stay indoors as much as possible. And we have no less than 30 shopping malls to choose from where we can cool down and pass the time, do a bit of shopping, meet friends and get the kids entertained so they don’t drive you nuts.

That’s where we go on weekends, but only if we have to. I try to avoid that trip from the house to the car as much as possible. The heat is just nasty. So here we go, a few recent photos at the mall, Dubai Mall to be precise.

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Some knitting required

27 Jul

All that stashed yarn won’t knit itself, you know?  Unless you’re Molly Weasley.  She has no idea just how easy she has it!

Speaking of which, I started re-reading Deathly Hallows today. It’s so much better this time around. Everything is clearer and the story is much dearer to me now. I hope I finish this before the films come out.

The second Charybdis sock has a toe. Yay! I wanted to get this done asap but then I realized the Socks That Rawk KAL lasts for 3 months, so why am I rushing? I do have a second pair of socks to knit for the KAL, but that should be a breeze since it’s an Irishgirlieknits pattern.

More knitting happening after the jump.
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Another OBsession

26 Jul

Okay, now don’t laugh. I’m sure at some stage of your life before you got to here and now, you were once a fangirl. Come on, admit it. You caught every TV show/film, read every magazine article, surreptitiously hung posters in your room, scribbled names in the back page of your notebook and maybe, just maybe wrote fanfiction.

What? Who, me? Erm…moving on.

Yes, I was and still is a fangirl. But there was a period in my recent past which started off as some crazy fangirling but then brought me some of the most wonderful friendships in my life now. I’m proud to say that we outgrew that phase and came out more adult than we expected.

But of course, the fangirly moments were really awesome too! It was thanks to Jackie S that I have my very own, original autographed portrait (sort of) of Orlando Bloom. This was circa 2006 I think. I created a graphic wallpaper and posted it online, not saying where, and Jackie printed it off and took it with her while she waited for Orlando to appear at the Kingdom of Heaven premier in London.

There was much long distance squeeing on the phone when I got this in the mail.

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Sweet-a-licious

24 Jul

I have been knitting for a little less than 3 years now. My skills, I think, have grown although not as exponentially as my stash has. The same can be said fo rmy taste in both yarn types and colours and patterns. Whereas before I used to queue every single interesting pattern I come across, now I simply add them to my favourites then scrutinize the pattern to see if it’s something that would hold my interest and keep me going until I have a finished item.

Although that’s not the mantra I apply to all patterns because some holds my interest throughout the knititng process better than others. Miles of stockinette, for example, can only keep me focused for so long. Lace, on the other hand presents challenges which I take on with more enthusiasm. Depending on my mindset at the time of course.

Socks, knitted in the round, without seaming and with so many variations on the stitch pattern has endless possibilities. That is why I continue to knit them. I finished another pair in the last few days, it’s the test knit for Irishgirlieknits.

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Now this is obsession

21 Jul

It’s no secret that I am a fangirl. I just don’t show that side too much here in the blog. Not this blog anyway, but it’s predecessor LiveJournal. Oh the things you find there about fangirly stuff could make your hair curl.

No, I’m not that bad. Sure, I did the fanfiction thing, the shiny-100×100-icon thing, the odd wallpaper and banners and whatever, but that’s all boring now. I have other things I’m more interested in. I still have fangirl moments, like when I was at the mall and found this silver charm depicting a London police box. Yes, my Whovian peculiarities surfaced faster than you can name all 11 actors who played the Doctor!

In addition, I bought a “J” initial charm plus a cute little SLR camera charm. I have to be fair to the other loves of my life. I plan t o buy one or two charms at a time and fill up the leather chain eventually.

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Sockmania continues

21 Jul

Since I started knitting nearly 3 years ago, I have knitted 28 pairs of socks. Some of them were given away as gifts but most are kept in the wardrobe for when the weather gets cooler. I have maybe three pairs that I use for the office when I want to add a bit of funk to my mood. Black trouser socks 5 days a week does not help lift your mood at all.

I currently have 6 sock projects on the go, some getting more attention than others. Here are two recently half-done socks.

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Champagne candles

20 Jul

Every week, someone celebrates a birthday in our office. However, we don’t have a cake every time we have a birthday. It’s usually just the staff who gets cakes and flowers.

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Spring Swap and others

19 Jul

I recently signed up for a Spring Swap in the Sundara Yarn Love group on Ravelry. It’s not easy doing international swaps from the UAE since our postal system has gone, well postal. Luckily, I was paired up with Susan who is in Athens and therefore should be easier to send stuff to.

She was quicker though and my swap package arrived last week. Here’s a peek at what the big brown padded envelope included.   The pink things are toe separators for when you get a pedicure.  I reckon I’ll get a few laughs and strange looks at the salon if I decide  to take these along.  There is a cute project bag, a bar of Chesapeake soap, a travelling photo frame which doubles as a small pattern keeper and a notecard from Susan with a cute felted design on the front.  And of course there was yarn!

More detailed photo of the yarns after the jump.
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Beret madness

18 Jul

I completely forgot to publish this blog post. It has been languishing in the draft folder since before the blog move. Anyway, better late than never, as they always say.

This is my official project for the Amiras June 2010 KAL – the Snapdragon Tam does not count because I cast on before everyone else and finished it before we even officially started.

I’m not a hat person, but I do like the instant gratification you get from knitting a hat. Beret, tam, whatever. It’s in the round, no seaming necessary except to weave in two ends, do a bit of blocking and presto, you have a hat!

I used my leftover Luscious Single Silk from the Shawl That Jazz and still had a bit leftover. The beret looked like this when I was done with the knitting. More like a beanie,right? It came home to have a bath and a bit of rest over a dinner plate through the night.

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