Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Progress on my Sage Cardigan

After finishing the front, I directly sew it together with the back. I wanted to know how it looks like. I grafted the shoulder together, then continue knitting the left and right colar until reached the back. Join the colar on the back, then grafted it into the body. It took me several days to do all this, as I never done it before. I unraveled several times before I got it right. Actually, I was not even sure whether I did it correctly or not.

Grafting the shoulder together

Join the colar on the back, then grafted it into the body.

This is how it looks like from the back

Attach the button



Tada....!

Now, I had to make the sleeves.

Mission Accomplished

Yup, Lauri sekarang sudah nggak pake diaper. Kecuali kalo dia lagi tidur siang dan tidur malam aku pakein diaper untuk jaga-jaga. Cuma seminggu aku nglatih dia. Dimulainya hari Senin kemarin (27 Nov) dan tepat Senin berikutnya (4 Dec) dia udah ngerti. Aku nggak nyangka sama sekali kalo secepat itu. Padahal persediaan Mami Poko (disposable diaper) nya masih bejibun.

Yup , Lauri didn’t wear diaper anymore, except when she was napping or sleeping at night, just in case. So far no wet diaper. Only took me a week to train her. Started on Monday 27 Nov, and exactly the next Monday 4 Dec, she had finally understood. I did not expect that it would be that fast. I still had a lot stock of Mami Poko (disposable diapers).

Sekarang, tiap dia mau pipis, dia bilang: “Mommy, sit down” sambil nunjuk ke pot. Ajaibnya lagi, nggak hanya dia ngerti kalo dia perlu duduk di pot untuk pipis, dia juga tau kalo dia perlu duduk di pot, untuk urusan satunya lagi (poo poo). Padahal aku belon ngajarin lho.

Now, every-time she wanted to pee, she would say:”Mommy, sit down” and pointed to the potty. The amazing thing was although I did not train her to do the other big business (poo poo), she automatically understood that she was supposed to sit on the potty to poo, too.

This is her expression the first time I sit her on the toilet

Kalo ada yang tertarik pengen tahu gimana proses aku nglatih, nih liat dibawah ini:

1. Sepanjang hari jangan dipake diaper. Pake celana dalam biasa. Ini supaya aku tahu kebiasaan dia pipis kapan aja.
2. Setiap jam tawarin dia untuk duduk di potty selama dia mau. Kalo dia udah nggak mau duduk ya sudah, jangan dipaksa duduk walaupun masih belon pipis.
3. Kalo pas aku mau buang air kecil, dia aku ajak. Supaya dia juga tau kalo aku juga perlu duduk di pot (toilet) untuk buang air kecil.
4. Kemungkinan besar dia akan pipis di celana. Lauri pipis di celana bolak balik sebelum dia akhirnya ngerti. Jangan dikasih disposable diaper yang versi celana selama proses pelatihan. Karena ini justru memperlambat proses pelatihan karena dia nggak merasa basah sama sekali.
5. Setelah 1 ato 2 hari aku tahu pola pipis dia. Lauri juga udah biasa duduk di pot. Akhirnya suatu hari, dia pipis di pot. Setelah sekali dia pipis di pot, selanjutnya dia aku dudukan dia di pot, pasti dia pipis.
   

Below are the process how I toilet-trained Lauri in case somebody interested:

1. Let her wore normal panty all day. So I knew her schedule of peeing.
2. Offerrd her to sit on the potty every hour as long as she wants. I did not force her if she did not want to sit.
3. When I wanted to pee, I would ask her to come along. Explained the process to her. This was to show her that I also needed to sit on the pot (toilet) to pee.
4. Big possibility that she would pee on the pants instead of potty. This was also part of the process to make her understood. Lauri peed on her pants many times before she understood. I did not use “pull up” disposable diaper (pants-like diaper). It only slowed the process, as she could not feel the wetness.
5. After 1 or 2 days, I knew her pee timing patterns, she also used to sit on the potty. So one day, when I put her on the potty, she just peed there. After that, every-time I sit her on the potty, she peed.

Wild Rose Crochet Top

Pattern: My Own

Source: NA

Materials: DMC Cebila size 10 Crochet Thread. Color: Wild Rose 6x 50 gram

Needles: 2.5 mm Tulip Crochet Hook

Total Cost: Thread USD 27.78 + Button USD.50

Start Date: 1 July 2006

Finish Date: 16 August 2006

Other entry this project: Here

Actually I finished this project last August, but I had no opportunity to take a photo. This was my first attempt to design a crochet top. I made the top part quite solid using shell pattern because I wanted to wear this without lining inside. I also did some decreasing after the bust area so it would have some shape. As you can see, the waist part is quite transparent. I was planning to weave in ribbon, but I could not find the matching color ribbon. So, in the end I left it as it is.

When I wore this out, it was noon time and the weather was very hot. However, because it had no lining, I did not feel hot. I could even feel the breeze, specially on my waist area.

Couldn't Recognize Mommy

Minggu kemarin, aku nyetelno Lauri VCD resepsi perkawinanku. Pertama dia ngeliat dengan penuh perhatian. Terus pas James muncul, dia bilang “Oooh, Papa”. Terus, dia liat ada Grandma and Grandpa, dia juga bilang “Ohhh, Bima, Bipa”.

Last week, I let Lauri watched my wedding video. At first, she watched with full attention, then when James appeared on the screen, she said “Ooooh, Papa”. Then, she also could recognize her Grandpa and her Grandma “Oohhh, Bee-pa..Bee-ma” (that is how she called her Grandpa and Grandma).

Walk with Bee-Ma in Gurney Drive in front of Gurney Plaza

Do I look like photo model if I pose like this?

How about like this?

Hi! Do you want my Autograph?

Mommy, where is my comb? My hair looks awfull

Tapi, pas aku muncul, dia diam aja. Berhubung dia diam aja, aku yang bilang “Ooohh, Mommy!”. Dia pancet diam aja. Mungkin karena aku pake make-up, dia bingung, kok nggak mirip Mommy, ya? Baru setelah aku ulang nyetel VCD itu 3 kali, baru dia ngeh kalo itu aku. Hehehehehe.

However, when I appeared on the screen, she kept quiet. Since she did not make a comment, I said “Ooooh, Mommy!” She still did not say anything. Perhaps because of the make-up and hair style I wore, she was confuse, why the lady on the screen did not look like mommy? Until I repeat the VCD three times, then she understood that it was me after all. Hehehehehe.

Senin kemarin aku mulai toilet train Lauri. Dia masih nggak ngerti sampe sekarang. Kalo dia aku dudukkan di toilet nggak mau pipis, tapi kalo diapernya udah terpasang, baru dia pipis. Tapi acara training nya agak terganggu berhubung kemarin sama hari ini, kita pergi ke Mall. Kemarin ke Gurney Mall untuk beli kosmetikku (ada sale), hari ini ke Queensbay Mall, Mall terbesar di Penang yang baru buka hari ini deket rumah.

Last Monday, I started to toilet train her. She still did not get it until now. When I put her on the toilet, she did not want to pee, but once I put on the diaper, she peed. There was some interruption on the toilet train because yesterday and today, we went to the Mall. Yesterday, we went to Gurney Mall to buy my cosmetics (one day sale), and today we went to Queensbay Mall, the biggest Mall in Penang that just opened today near my house.

Too tired to walk, so ask Bee-Pa to carry. Oh, I also got free Baloon...

Oh ya sekarang Lauri sudah isa ngancing baju sendiri lho. Pake bajunya masih nggak isa. Cuma isa masukkan tangan satu, tapi begitu mau masukkan tangan satunya dia masih nggak isa. Kadang isa masuk, tapi bajunya mluntir. Hehehehe.

Oh yeah, Lauri now already could button up her clothes by herself. She still could not wear her own blouse yet. Only could put on one sleeve, but the other sleeve, still could not. Sometimes, when she finally manage to put on, the blouse was twisted. Hehehehe.

My First Knitted Top Without Pattern

Actually this top was finished quite sometimes ago, but because at that time my camera was not back yet, I could not take a picture of it.

I made this top inspired by this pattern:


However, since I got the yarn very cheap (only RM 0.80 or USD 0.22/ball), it seemed such a waste to spend USD7.00 only for the pattern. I also thought, this would be a good knitting practice for me. If it is turn out not nice, I can simply throw it away and forget about it.

Pattern: My Own (inspired by Simple Knitted Bodice)
Source: NA
Materials: Croft Nylon DK, 100% nylon, 20 gram each, Made in England, Red Color (13 balls x 50 yards)
Needles: 3.5 mm Addi Turbo circular needle
Total Cost: RM 0.80 x 13 = RM10.40 or USD 2.80
Start Date: 20 Sep 2006
Finish Date: 27 Oct 2006

It turned out quite OK, although I wished that I knitted a bit longer before started the lace pattern on the waist, because as you can see on the photo, my bra was showing. Probably I should wear natural color bra if I wanted to wear this out. My original plan was to make the long sleeve version, but since this is not cotton, in the end I made short sleeve version so it would not too hot to wear out. The yarn itself was quite stretchy, so although I made this top with negative ease, it’s quite comfy.

Other entry about this project: starting

Today, 6 Years ago, We said "I do"

Lauri Fishing

Nggak beneran mancing, cuma pura-pura mancing. Pertama dia nggak tau caranya gimana. Tapi setelah diajari 2 kali sama James, dia langsung isa. Lucunya setelah dia dapet ikan, dia akan nunggu sampe James dan aku dapat ikan, baru dia naruh ikannya balik ke tempatnya. Dia juga isa nakalan (berhubung dia liat James nakalan). Kalo dia frustasi nggak isa masukkan umpan nya ke mulut ikan, ikan nya sama dia diambil, dibuka mulutnya dan umpannya dimasukkan ke mulut ikan.

Well, not really fishing, only pretending to fish. At first she did not know how to fish. After James showing her two times, she got the idea. The funny thing was, after she got the fish, she would wait for me and James to got the fish first, before she put the fish back to the place. She also learned to cheat (because she saw James cheat). If she got frustrated after several attempts could not put the bait into the fish’ mouth, she would pick up the fish, opened the mouth, and put the bait into the fish mouth.


Dia juga isa pura-pura digigit ikan. Sama dia jarinya dimasukkan ke mulut ikan, terus teriak: “Mommy, help me…help me….!”

She even could pretend to get bitten by the fish by putting her finger into the fish mouth and screamed: “Mommy, help me….help me….!”

Pas James masih di India 3 hari yang lalu, suatu pagi pas Lauri bangun tidur, dia liat di sisi ranjang biasanya James tidur ada guling ketutupan selimut. Mungkin dia pikir itu James. Jadi dia manggil manggil “Papa…Papa…What are you doing there?”. Terus berhubung nggak ada jawaban, sama dia selimutnya dibuka. Heheheheh… Bingung dia kok papanya nggak ada.

One morning, when James still in India 3 days ago, Lauri woke up and saw a pillow covered by blanket on the side where James normally sleep. She thought that it was her father, so she called “Papa…Papa…What are you doing there?” When she didn’t get any response, she opened the blanket. Heheheheh…. She just confused why the father was not there.

Oh ya, Lauri punya potongan rambut baru. Poninya dipotong sama emaknya. Nggak rata. Diliat, yang sebelah kiri lebih panjang, jadi sama emaknya dipotong lagi yang sebelah kiri,. Eh, motongnya kependekan, jadi sekarang yang sebelah kanan yang kepanjangan. Gitu mau dipotong lagi. Sama aku nggak boleh. Soale kalo dipotong terus kayak gitu bisa habis itu poni. Hehehehe.

Oh yeah, Lauri got new hair cut. Her fringe was cut by her Grandma. Seing that the left side was longer than the right, grandma cut it again. Eh, she cut too much. The result: the right side now was longer than the left side. When she attempted to cut again, I asked her not to. I just afraid that she would keep cutting until Lauri has no more fringe. Hehehehe.

Aiaiaiaia... My left fringe is shorter than the right one

Progress on The New Projects

After two weeks working on my light green/sage cardigan, I manage to finish the back. Yes, only the back. It’s very slow progress considering I only working on this project. I didn’t even touch my other projects. Well, what can I expect? The gauge is 8 sts x 10 rows in order to make 1x1 inch.

The top strand is the original, the bottom strand is after splitting it into two (because I don't want bulky cardigan)

As you can see on the photo, I put some texture on it. This is in order to keep me not to get bored with never ending stockinette. So far, I like with the result.

At first, I planned to work on the round in order to minimize the seaming job. But, after thinking about it, probably it’s not a good idea, since this is my first design, I want to know whether my measurement is correct. If I can finish the back first, at least I know whether the overall measurement is OK or not.

I also plan to try kitchener method to join the shoulder part, so I will get more polish and professional result. I hope I won’t screw it up. In order to do that, I keep all the stitches alive and just run a string through it for later.

Anyway, after I have finished the back, I directly washed and blocked it. To my satisfaction, the measurement was correct. My tension was consistent with the swatch. Furthermore, after washing, the stitches look even and nice. And it drapes nicely.

Now, it takes me 2 weeks to finish the back, so, it will takes me another 2 week to finish the front, and another 4 weeks to finish the two sleeves. Very long time.

Walking on The Sand

Hari Selasa kemarin aku ke dokter gigi. Habis dari dokter gigi, makan siang di restaurant dekat pantai. Waktu mau masuk ke mobil, kok cuacanya bagus. Nggak panas dan agak mendung. Jadi aku ajak Lauri jalan jalan di dekat pantai.

Waktu jalan-jalan di jalanan yang semenan, dia seneng sekali, tapi pas aku ajak dia jalan di pasir, dia takut. Nggak mau jalan dan minta gendong. Hehehehe. Mungkin karena dia nggak biasa, dan pikirnya kok jalannya nggak stabil. Jadi lebih amannya lebih baik minta gendong.

Dulu yang rebutan nonton TV ada 3 orang. Aku senengnya liat TV komedi barat. Mamanya James senengnya nonton serial kantonese, James senengnya nonton filem action. Sekarang tambah satu saingan. Lauri. Dia maunya filem kartun. Jadi kadang kalo James pulang kerja dan saluran TV nya dirubah, Lauri pasti protes: “Aaaah… Don’t want… Don’t want!”


Ini foto Lauri kalo di mobil. Tampang dia agak aneh berhubung mungkin udah kelamaan duduk di mobil. Hehehehe.

New Projects

I have finished my knitted red top. However, since I don’t have my camera, I can’t take a picture of it. It will have to wait until I got my camera back. I am planning to wear it on Chinese New Year.

Since I have no other WIP on knitting, I started planning to make another one. This time, I want to design it myself. Long time ago when I worked as an assistant lecturer and had to teach in non-AC room, I used to make my own cotton dress. I learned to make pattern and sew from my mother. Then later on when I worked in a big company, wearing a home made cotton dress did not look professional.



Anyway, I think knitting should be similar like sewing, I only need to translate it into stitches. Well, I have to try to find out.

For this project, I use 100% cotton yarn called Wendy Supreme that I got from Cucumber Path UK. Once again, I split the yarn in order to yet finer yarn. I use 3.25 mm needle. It will take forever to knit this, but I want to achieve thin and not so bulky result for me to be able to wear in this country.

Beside this, I also started another lace project. Its Candle Flame Scarf. This time I use JaggerSpun Zephyr (black color). Knit in black is not such a good idea. Very difficult to see the stitch. And I use black color to make lace? What was I thinking?

Lauri With Hat

Ini tingkah Lauri kalo lagi maen. Di foto ini dia lagi pake kaosku dan pake topi nya Bipa (alias grand-pa).

Kalo aku lagi melipat baju yang kering, biasanya aku suruh dia membantu. Nggak membantu yang repot-repot, cuma nyuruh dia ngambilin baju dan dikasihkan ke aku. Kalo aku udah selesai melipat satu baju, aku bilang : “Lauri” pasti dia cepetan ngambilin baju yang belon dilipat dari tumpukan. Tapi celakanya, kalo dia senang sama baju itu, dia pasti minta dipakaikan. Contohnya ya kayak di foto itu. Dia senang sama kaos merah ku. Akhirnya ya dipakai sama dia.

Pas Hari Raya kemarin, Lauri dan aku diajak James ke apartmentnya temen James (Andrew) dalam rangka kumpul-kumpul aja. Aku sama James udah kuatir aja kalo Lauri nakal. Apalagi di sana banyak barang barang kecil mudah pecah keleleran. Ini pertama kali nya sih aku sama James ke sana sejak Andrew pindah 3 tahun yang lalu.

Tapi ternyata Lauri lumayan nggak nakal. Pertama dia duduk di sofa anteng. Tapi mana bisa dia duduk diam diam lebih dari setengah jam. Tapi paling nggak kalo dia mulai mau megang barang, aku bilang NO, dia masih mau nurut. Jadi 3 jam di sana nggak ada barang pecah kok, hehehehehe. Ini pertama kali dia berkunjung ke rumah orang yang bukan family.

Cross-Stitch

My camera has not back yet. So, I can’t show my progress. I actually can use my handphone camera, but the result not so clear. So, better I wait until I got my camera back.

Since I don’t have camera to show photo, I used my scanner to scan these two cross stitch FO. Actually these are belong to my husband. He made them when he was 8 years old (I think). All these years, my mother in law still keep them. Now, she gave it to me and ask me to keep. Aren’t they precious.


The other day, I asked him whether he is interested to learn to knit. Too bad that he is not interested.

But, after more thinking, probably it’s a good thing he is not interested. Otherwise, he would ended up using my favourite needle or using my yarn. I think I let him stick to his golf.

Lauri's Hair

Rambutnya Lauri sudah lumayan panjang, ya? Biasanya kalo aku ajak dia pergi, pasti aku ikat pake karet. Kadang kuncir satu, kadang kuncir dua. Dia juga udah ngerti kalo mau jalan-jalan mesti ikat rambut dulu. Makanya, kalo dia liat aku salin, pasti dia tanya: “Kai kai? (maksudnya jalan-jalan dalam kantonese). Kalo aku bilang iya, dia bilang: “Mommy hair” maksudnya dia minta rambutnya untuk disisir dan diikat.

Akhir-akhir ini dia juga kalo habis bangun pagi, bisa nyanyi nyanyi sendiri. Kalimatnya sih nggak jelas, tapi ada nadanya. Kadang dia nyanyi: This Old Man atau Old McDonald has a Farm, atau kadang juga nyanyi Tammy.

Minggu kemarin dia ke Dokter untuk imunisasi. Berat dia sekarang 14.7 kg. Seperti biasa waktu disuntik nangis. Belon disuntik aja udah tau kalo bakal disuntik dan udah pasang muka mau nangis.

Next Project?

I am thinking to make this for my next project (after I have finished the current projects on hand hopefully).

Ivy from Knitty

The pattern called for Alpaca yarn. However, can you imagine wearing alpaca in this kind of climate? I don’t think so. I will be sweating like a pig. Or it will ended up in the closet.

So, I am thinking to substitute the yarn with cotton yarn. I bought cotton yarn from Elann. The yarn itself is very cheap, but the shipping cost is quite a fortune. I decided to ship using surface shipping, so it will quite sometimes before I got it (I need to finish the currect project anyway).

I choose this purple color (they call it Victorian Grape) because I want to match it with the necklace that my hubby bought for me recently.

My WIP news: it’s quite slow on my blue crocheted cardigan. This week I concentrated on my red knitted top. I almost finish the body part. Probably next week, I can start the sleeves. No picture because my camera is on repair. Need a month or so before I can get my camera back.

Mooncake Festival

Minggu lalu di dekat rumah ada pameran lantern dalam rangka menyambut Mid-Autumn Festival atau Mooncake Festival. Aku sama James bawa Lauri ke sana. Dapet lentera dari kertas, terus beberapa snack dari sponsor. Nggak lama di sana soalnya kebanyakan orang, jadi nggak isa relax.

Lauri was posing in front of one of the lantern. Very difficult to ask her to look at the camera as she kept looking at the lantern.

Habis dari sana kita ke Pizza Hut. Aduh, Lauri maunya makan sendiri. Padahal mangkuk, piringnya dari porselen. Aku takut kalo jatuh aja itu mangkuk. Tapi dilihat dari cara Lauri megang mangkuk sup, kayak dia udah ahli aja. Padahal ini pertama kalinya dia pegang itu mangkuk lho.

Lauri in Pizza HUT. This time she sat on the normal chair but she had no difficulty to reach food on the table

Hari Minggu yang lalu, Lauri diajak naik ferry dari mainland to Penang. Dia agak takut dan minta digendong terus, padahal biasanya dia minta jalan sendiri. Mungkin karena kapalnya goyang ato mungkin karena anginnya kenceng makanya dia takut.

Ride a ferry the first time. A bit afraid.

Film kartun favorit Lauri sekarang Shrek. Tiap kali aku mau nyetel TV pasti dia teriak: "Mommy Shrek". Kalo aku nyetel lainnya pasti dia protes: "Don’t want, don’t want this!" Terus kalo aku tanya: "Oh you want to see Shrek?" Dia jawab sambil ketawa: "OK, Shrek."

Terus dia juga paling hobby makan es batu. Kalo aku minum air pake es, pasti es nya diminta. Makanya aku sekarang menghindari minum pake es.

Finish the Back (of the Blue Crochet Cardigan)

I manage to finish the back of my blue crochet cardigan. I blocked it right away to make sure that everything is OK and the sizing is correct. The result? I love it. The drape, the softness, the stretch, everything. Knitting yarn is definitely softer than crochet yarn.

The shaping modification that I did also works well. This is the first time I modify the shaping. Normally, I am too lazy to do some modification. Afraid that if it’s not working, I have to rip the whole thing. However, I want this to be something that I will wear a lot and not something that only occupy my closet and never see sunlight, so I have to make sure it fit well on me.

By the way, the handphone on the photo was only to keep the book to stay open.

Lauri is 2-Years Old

Yesterday, Lauri was celebrating her second birthday. Time flew so fast.

Keeping in Touch

My friend A from Thailand (she has a very long name, so we are just called her A) just e-mail me saying that she is getting married next month. She was my class mate in US. Beside her, I still keep in touch with the other class mate. Sophie from China and May Ling from Taiwan. We were the only international student in the class. It happens that all of us are girls.

Thanks to the internet, we are still able to keep in touch.

My mother once told me that her grandfather, in order to get a better life, went back to China and left the pregnant wife and 4 childrens. The plan was, once he settled, he would pick them all. However, somehow there were no news from him EVER. Probably the ship sunk and he died. Another possibility was that he made it to China and somehow could not contact the wife, then got married and started a new life. There was no phone, no e-mail, no internet connection at that time.

The possibility that I might have relative that I never know make me freak out.

Anyway, the blue cardigan is making a nice progress. I almost reach the armpit decrease. Oh ya, before I forgot, here the pattern that I attempt to make:

The other day, when I am about to take this photo my battery is off, so I have to recharge my battery first. It’s from the same book as the white cardigan. However, the original pattern does not have shaping on the waist, so I made some modification there.