A Little Brag!!

I received a message from the ravelry team today that they would like to feature my Crocheted Moccasin pattern as the Jess' Pick on their pattern page for the entire month of October. How cool is that!!!
I have been jumping up and down with excitement since morning. All ravelry members, do check out the page starting tomorrow.

Eid Clothes-- Done

The Eid clothes that I had been sewing for my kids are all done. I made two outfits for my daughter and one for my son.

My son's Shalwar Kameez is relatively simple. I did a bit of fabric painting around the neckline as I was short of time for any embroidery. The flower pattern is of my son's choice, as is the little chick button :)

I already posted the first outfit for dd. I made a little dupatta(stole) to go with it.

The second outfit is a ghagra (skirt) with a small shirt. This is also done in bright, festive fabric used for weddings and such. The embelishment is very traditional gotta work. I made a little dupatta to go with this as well.

The Blast

About three hours ago, we were relaxing after the iftar and maghrib prayers when we felt a deep thundering blast. My husband went out to have a look while I turned on the TV. Sure enough, it was on the news within few minutes. The Mariott hotel were the explosion ocurred is about 9-10 kms from our house and we could feel the impact there. The casuality count is still rising and we can hear the ambulances.

Our feelings: ????? ..Maybe we are numb..

A Typical Iftar

Iftar is the liveliest and most wonderful time of the day during Ramadan. Last evening I got a picture of our Iftar dishes. I think it is a good representation of what we usually eat at iftar (breaking of the fast). Starting off with water or date in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), we normally also have fruit chaat, dahi bhalay and pakoras. On this occassion we also had a few samosas and my husband's version of the french toast.
Fruit Chaat is basically a fruit salad with a variable seasonings. I like to add only a little sugar and orange juice. Dahi Bhalay is basically pakoras made of gram flour or lentil paste, dipped in yogurt,of course with a load of red and green peppers and other seasonings.

In craft going-ons, I am done with the back for baby jumpsuit. It is a Drops design, quick in garter st with simple inceases and decreases. Looks a little weird right now with long arms and legs but these are supposed to fold over. So it will look quite all right when done, inshaAllah.

Also, I'm nearly done with my daughter's second outfit and will start on my son's clothes this weekend, inshaAllah. Will post pics when both are done.

Eid Preparations

I am so busy and so tired these days. It is not because of the fasting but rather due to an excessive load of self-imposed chores. All these preparations for the Eid and the wedding later on, is wearing me down.
Next year, no handmade gift items unless those are done before Ramadan, inshaAllah. I have to do a few craft gift projects for my in-laws. Plus, seeing the baby surprise jacket lying around, I decided to make a jumpsuit as well and gift both to the newborn baby after all. (I may have to knit a cap as well, to round off the gift). Also, I decided to sew traditional Eid clothes for my kids. All this on top of the routine household jobs. Usually I enjoy all these activities, but for some reason my stamina is not up to the mark this year.
With all this, my February sweater is progressing at a very slow rate. I did finish my daughter's Eid dress today:

It is the tradtional Kameez(shirt) and Shalwar (pants). The embellishment on the shirt is taken from one of my wedding clothes and sewn onto the fabric in applique-fashion. I might make a small dupatta (stole) for my 2-year-old to acccompany this. With this will be matching bangles and mehndi (henna) for my little princess:), inshaAllah!
Next on my sewing table is a Kameez Shalwar for my son and then an outfit for my daughter for the upcoming wedding.

For My Mom

Although I have been quite late in jumping on the bandwagon, I did at last cast on for the February Lady Sweater. I am knitting this for my mom. The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease. So far, I have done the yoke and am just starting the lace portion. My modifications so far have been knitting the yoke in st st rather than garter, after the intial garter st border. Also I knit the eyelet row and the 2 adjacent rows in garter. I decided on st st because I was worried about the yardage (I have five balls at 180m/ball).

I have decided to go slow this time, because there is so much work for me right now. I have a lot of Eid preparations as well. Next year, I will try to do all these chores before the start of Ramadan, InshAllah, so I can concentrate on the fasts and their Ibada aspect. As it is, the material jobs take so much time and energy, there is very little left for the spiritual part.

Simple Toe-up Socks

I had started these about ten days ago as my first toe-up pair. These are for my son.I used the Universal Toe-up Sock Formula. The yarn is Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Colori Socka Color. I used 2.75 mm DPN's. I knit the two socks from opposite ends of the ball so as to equally divide the yarn and aprroximate the stripes.

I can't wait to have my son to return from school and try these on. He loves when I make something for him and I love his childish praises:) That is a little different from the lukewarm response from my husband when told that my next pair of socks was going to be for him.

Lilac Lace Cardigan

I started this cardigan last year in october. After knitting a few inches of the back, i got distracted with other projects and this went it into hibernation. I got it out this summer planning to finish it before fall. I entered the WIP wrestling event at ravelympics 2008 with the object of finishing it but ... Finally, I did finish it today, pattern and all!
The project details can be found in the pattern. The yarn I used was a local Pakistan brand. This being Ramadan, with me fasting and all, I did not feel upto doing much math. So the pattern below is for one size only. Maybe some day, I can add some othe sizes...maybe.

Lilac Lace Cardigan

Edited Sept 17,2008: To correct a few mistakes in the earlier version.

Materials:
· Bambino DK 100gm/ 300 m 4 balls lilac color OR any other yarn that gets the right gauge.
· Straight needles sizes 3.50 mm, 3.75mm, 4.00mm.
· Circular needles 3.75 mm
· Buttons
· Tapestry needle.

Size: 38-40 inch bust

Finished Measurements:
Sweater length: 24 inches
Chest circumference: 42 inches
Sleeve length: 23 inches

Gauge:
11 sts x 14 rows = 2 inches in textured lace with 3.75 mm needles
10 sts x 14 rows = 2 inches in horseshoe lace with 4.00 mm needles

Patterns:
Lace Pattern #1 (Textured Lace):
Row 1: k3,* yo, k1, k3tog, k1, yo, k3; rep from * across.
Row 2: P3,* k5, p3, rep from* across.
Repeat these two rows for the textured lace pattern.

Lace Pattern #2 (Horseshoe on Parade): 10 +1 sts
Row 1: k1,*yo, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k1, rep from *to .
Row 2: purl
Row 3: k2,* yo, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2, yo, k3*, rep from * to *, ending last repeat with k2.
Row 4: P
Row 5: k3,*yo, k1, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1, yo, k5, rep from * to *, ending last repeat with k3.
Row 6: P.
Row 7: K4,* yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k7, rep from * to *, ending last repeat with k4.
Row 8: P.

Abbreviations:
psso: pass slip st over
yo: yarn over
RS: right side
WS: wrong side

Method:
NOTE:
· Please read through the entire set of instructions before knitting.
· While doing the armhole, neck and sleeve shapings, please make sure the double decreases (sl1, k2tog, psso) match their corresponding yo’s in each row, otherwise you will mess up the number of sts on your needles.

BACK:
With 3.75 mm needles, cast on 120 sts and work in 1x1 twisted rib for 6 rows, increasing 3 sts evenly spaced across the last row (123 sts).
Change to 4.00mm needles and work in pattern #1 starting with row 1 of the pattern. Work until the piece measures 7.5 inches from the beginning.
Then change to 3.75mm needles and continue in pattern until 10.25 inches from the beginning. Change to 3.50mm needles and work 10 rows in 1x1 twisted rib, decreasing 20 sts evenly distributed across the last row.(103 sts)
Change to 4.00mm needles and work in horseshoe lace pattern over the central 101 sts, starting with row 1 of the pattern, working 1 st at each edge in st st.Knit until the horseshoe lace part measures 4.25 inches.
Armhole Shaping:
Working in horseshoe lace, decrease 5 sts at the beginning of next 2 row, 4 sts at the beginning of next 2 rows, then 3 sts at the beginning of next 2 rows.. Then dec 1 st at the beginning of the next 6 rows.(73 sts)
Continue in pattern till the horseshoe lace part measures 11 inches (22.5 inches from the beginning).
Neck Shaping:
Knit 30 sts in pattern, join another ball, cast off the next 13 sts, work in pattern to the end.(30 sts on both sides)
Working both sides at the same time, decrease 6 sts once, then 2 sts twice on every alternate row, at the neck edge. (20 sts on each side).
Work 2 more rows, ending with a WS row. Cast off 10 sts on the armhole edge on both sides. Work one more row.Cast off the remaining 10 sts on both sides.

RIGHT FRONT:
With 3.75 mm needles, cast on 58 sts and work in 1x1 twisted rib for 6 rows, increasing 1 sts evenly spaced across the last row (59sts).
Change to 4.00mm needles and work in pattern #1 starting with row 1 of the pattern. Work until the piece measures 7.5 inches from the beginning.
Then change to 3.75mm needles and continue in pattern until 10.25 inches from the beginning. Change to 3.50mm needles and work 10 rows in 1x1 twisted rib, decreasing 8 sts evenly distributed across the last row.(51 sts)
Change to 4.00mm needles and work in horseshoe lace pattern. Knit until the horseshoe lace part measures 4.25 inches, ending with a RS row.
Armhole Shaping:
Working in horseshoe lace, decrease 5 sts at the beginning of next row, 4 sts at the beginning of next alternate row, then 3 sts at the beginning of next alternate row. Then dec 1 st at the beginning of the next alternate row, 3 times.(36 sts)
AT THE SAME TIME, DECREASE AT NECK EDGE AS FOLLOWS:
Neck Shaping:
When the horseshoe lace portion measures 6 inches in length, start decreasing 1 st at the neck edge, every other row, a total of sixteen times. (20 sts)
Continue in pattern till the piece equals the back length before the shoulder decreases. Cast off 10 sts at the armhole edge. Work 1 more row, cast off remaining 10 sts.

LEFT FRONT:
Work at right front with the shapings reversed.

SLEEVES (make 2):
With 3.75 mm needles, cast on 46 sts and work 6 rows in 1x1 twisted rib. Change to 4.00mm needles and work in horseshoe lace pattern, increasing I st at both ends of the first row and then every 6th row, a total of 17 times.(80 sts) Continue in patt until sleeve measures 18 inches from the beginning.
Cast off 4 sts at the beg of next 2 rows (72 sts). Then cast off 2 sts at beg of next 4 rows (64 sts).
Then cast off 1 st at the beg of next 18 rows (46 sts).
Then cast off 2 sts at the beginning of next 4 rows (38 sts).
Cast off 3 sts at the beg of next 6 rows (20 sts), the cast off 5 sts at the beg of next 2 rows (10 sts). Cast off the remaining 10 sts.

Finishing:
Block the pieces. Join the shoulder seams.
Front Band:
With a long 3.75mm circular needle, the RS facing and beginning at the bottom of right front, pick up and knit 88 sts across the right front, then pick up and knit 40 sts across the right front neck , 36 sts across the back, 40 sts across the left front neck, and 88 sts across the right front. Work in 1x1 twisted rib, starting with the WS row,. On the third row, make four buttonholes( yo, k2tog), evenly spaced across the right front, between the upper neck edge and the lower edge of the waist ribbing. Work 2 more row in rib. Cast off in rib.

Sew in the sleeves and stitch the side and sleeve seams. Sew on buttons and weave in ends.

© copyright ummeyusuf , 2008 http://ummeyusuf.blogspot.com/This pattern is for personal, non-profit use only.

Welcome, Ramadan!

It's moon-sighting time here in Pakistan, tonight. If the moon is sighted (there is high probability according to the met dept), we will have the first fast tomorrow. It is exciting time for us. We will be out on our roof to try to see the moon. The holy month of Ramaddan has its own cool and peaceful routine. Besides the fast of course, there are the additional Taraweeh prayers at night. Also as all good deeds done during the month are to be rewarded several times more than in other months, muslims are at their best during the month. There is a lot of charity going on. There is also the festive part to the month with preparations for Iftar (breaking the fast) and for Eid which is at the start of next month. So, it will be a good, busy time for us, inshaAllah.
Regarding the knitting, I am still left with half a sleeve to knit on the lilac cardigan. I got side-tracked with some baking today. This is the cake I baked after...er..so many years.

Now I am off to eating the cake and then moon-sighting.