Muntu Stitches

I love cupcakes

Bee — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:31:04 +0000

(A little experimentation/messing around with the icing decor.)

I even made vegan chocolate chip cookies the day before. My goodness, I cannot eat all these by myself. Need to give them away. Now!

Love from Tampa

Bee — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:13:36 +0000

My life has been pretty busy that it’s really been difficult to blog consistently. I write blog entries in my head but when it comes down to posting them, all goes to naught. One of the exciting things that has happened to me in the last weeks was my visit to Tampa, Fl for a very good friend’s wedding. This wasn’t any ordinary wedding in my experience and I was excited to see it all. My friend is Indian and he was going to have the “works” at this wedding. They went all out and since the bride was the last daughter to get married, I was told it was a big deal. How big a deal? Well, my friend, as I like to call him, Dr. Desai arrived on a horse. Yes, a freakin’ horse! They had to close down the street for him!!!!

I don’t think he’s ever ridden one before.

The bride was beautiful. There were about four different events: the mehindi (henna) party, the gurba, ceremony and the reception.

She looked amazing!

I was blown away by all the colours and textures of the women’s saris. Our western dresses definitely paled in comparison.

Can you tell I loved the colours and the fabrics? It was fun to photograph definitely.

No, I didn’t get any knitting done that weekend. It was too dammed hot and humid in Tampa, and this wedding party kept me busy. We had a smashing time! Mostly because I got to see old friends and faces.

More pics here.

Checking in

Bee — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:59:31 +0000

I’m still here! I tend to write posts in my head throughout the day but when it actually comes down to doing it, it doesn’t quite happen. I am still knitting faithfully with a couple days here and there without during busier times. I’ve been quite bad at keeping track of my knits but it’s adding up and sometimes I feel when I post about older items, it’s a bit like cheating.

My latest knits and WIP are these neck warmers. The blue one is waiting for buttons and I just cast off the brown one today. Such simple easy knits really but that’s what I definitely need lately. My head has been too busy with plenty other non-knitting issues lately…and that sucks. I wonder how everyone manages to find time to knit? There are times when I end up sneaking my knits with me everywhere just to have to knit a row or sneak it in before bed time. A bit of a knit addict a daresay. Hah. Ok, now I just need buttons and some photos for this FO and to do it some justice. The Araucania Limari is almost lovely enough to rival the malabrigo!

Some of my favorite things

Bee — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:05:23 +0000

When times are tough, this is what I try to do. That, and focus on the positive. It’s hard but I gotta practice what I preach, right? So in pictorial form, here they are:

Dan

Dream in Color Yarn, a new favorite.

Koolhaas hat pattern.

Dessert, made up on the fly. Ingredients: chocolate muffin, neopolitan ice-cream, sans the chocolate, boysenberry syrup and love.

Hopefully this week will be better and that in the next few months, things will be better. It isn’t particularly serious but do you ever get those days when everything just goes wrong and you feel like a punching bag? It all came to head on Friday for me, although I’m not going to go into the particulars, but I still have that bad taste in my mouth. I really need to take my advice, and get over it though and I’m doing that by taking a personal day off tomorrow, or as I call it, a mental health day. I think as a teacher, it’s really important to get those days because it can be SO overwhelming. Hoping just do get some r&r, and some more knitting.

Can you tell that I love knitting the Koolhaas hat? Here’s the second one I’ve knit for Dan. The first, which I forgot to photograph, was in malabrigo and has pilled dreadfully after daily wear. I hope this one lasts longer.

Pattern: Koolhaas
Yarn: Dream in Color in Classy, Black Parade. Used about half a skein!
Needles: #7 and #5 circs
Pattern mods: only knit 3 repeats as the recipient prefers the hat snug. I found the Malabrigo grew quite a bit over daily and frequent wear.

Leap year

Bee — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:18:54 +0000

It feels good to wrap this month up and for it to coincide with Friday, the end of the week. To commemorate the start of March, my birthday month, I guess you could say I’ve already received birthday gifts. The one I’m quite excited by is this…

My brother bought the Nikon D300, and really has no more use for the D70 so he’s “loaned” it to me for an extended period of time. It’s great because all I can do is focus on buying lens, which I did and bought myself the 50mm lens. So, yay, to better photos and photo fun. My brother’s photos have been pretty inspiring and it’s really made me want to pick up the camera again. I used to shoot all the time with film but somehow lost interest along the way.

I love new hobbies but who has the time really? Hopefully I can find time for everything I enjoy doing and even with all the busy time lately, I’ve found time to squeeze in some knits. I have at least 3 FOs, Zephyr’s Juliet, Buttony and a Koolhaas but no time to model them yet. The Koolhaas already been put to lots of use that the Malabrigo is already pilling. (Already started another one in Dream in Color Worsted).

This knit (above) has been sitting a LONG while without buttons. I’m a horrible finisher, I’m realizing and I finally sat down last weekend to sew the buttons on. I’ll try to model it one of these days. And speaking of Unfinished FOs…almost done with this…..

It’s been warm here lately, and so hopefully I’ll get time this weekend to finish of the button loops and wear it next week. Cute, no?

Anyway, happy Leap Year! Off to work on the cue of movies sitting on my desktop…(who needs TV?)

Cleaning house

Bee — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:35:26 +0000

I’m sorta moved in but the new place is way bigger than the old spot, so I ran out of furniture. The older place had really nice built in shelves but other than that, had nothing else redeeming about it. That said, I’ve decided to do a little bit of yarn destashing. I have a ton of sock yarn and well, I just don’t know how I’m going to knit all these socks with all that yarn. So doing a major destash.

I put most of them on flickr and going to try to put them up on the Destashforcash blog.

Sweet Georgia yarn are some of what’s going on sale…got more Yarn Pirate, Yarntini and Lorna’s Laces. They just need to go to a new home that’ll put them to use…somehow.

Spread the word of the destash. Check out my Flickr set named appropriately, Yarn to Go.

Yarn, anyone?

Sad post without photos

Bee — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:16:00 +0000

This business of moving has been quite tiring. I’m about half way out of the boxes and most of my yarn is accessible to me. I’m a little burned for ideas on what to knit next. I mean, it’s not like I’ve not been knitting. I finished another Koolhaas hat and a scarf this weekend but I can’t wrap my head into finishing my Hourglass sweater or think about starting something else entirely.

Right now, my brain is just defaulting into knitting another Koolhaas hat. Dood, that hat is so super easy and looks fantastic. I want one for me. Might cast on for another hat tonight.

Photos of the new stuff another night.

One can never have too many.

Bee — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:52:25 +0000

Other than my latest purchases, there’s quite a lot going on at La Casa Muntu. Not too much knitting really except for a nice squishy scarf that I’m knitting up with some of this chunky Malabrigo. I love Malabrigo so much I bought 6 skeins that was on sale at Personal Threads Boutique earlier this month. It’s a nice, mindless pattern. One that is quite suitable for the onslaught of work and school stuff. I tell yah, I’m having second thoughts about grad school. It’s mighty fun but come Thursdays, I’m drained.

And as if it weren’t busy enough, I’m planning to move again at the end of this month. I just found a better place and looking forward to a nicer, cleaner apartment building. Not too much to ask, is it?

Malabrigo warmer

Bee — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:49:52 +0000

It’s a funny feeling when you get home and you want to knit but somehow can’t put the energy into it. I’ve finished my last project, a hat, a couple days ago and glad that it’s not sitting on needles waiting for me, unlike my poor hourglass sweater. However, I just spent the last two days being out of the house from approx 7am til 9.30pm with lots of typical southern California driving in between. It’s quite exhausting. I, particularly haven’t felt too enthusiastic about my night classes but both classes are, I admit, were lots of fun and very interesting. They remind me why I am in my field and why I chose to teach. I forget the power being around peers of the same field and who are in the same boat as myself, it suddenly doesn’t feel so lonely anymore.

It was however, hard to be at school during the wintery hours. It’s dark and cold. Ok, it isn’t snowy like many parts of the country but it’s cold, dammit! One of my new favorite knits have been neckwarmers. Quick and easy, and fits very well into the California winters. I knit this neckwarmer as fast as I can inhale the white chocolate raspberry chocolate cheesecake. I used a combination of two patterns from Yarnball boogie’s neckwarmer and the button cord from YarnAbuse’s Cashmere Neckwarmer. And of course, you can’t go wrong with Malabrigo.

Materials: Malabrigo Chunky in Charrua
Yarn source: eBay from WC Mercantile
Pattern: a combo of neck warmer from Yarnball Boogie and Cashmere (Linen stitch) neckwarmer
Pattern Source: www.yarnabuse.com/cashmere-neckwarmer/ and www.yarnballboogie.com
Needles: #10.5

I really want to knit some Fetching mittens next. My hands are coooold!

First day back and I’m exhausted

Bee — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:17:45 +0000

Day One of back to reality and I’m already wanting to go back into the holiday rabbit hole that was so warm and comfy. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’m off to a flying start as I also return to University classes tomorrow as well. During the last couple days of the holidays, I managed to squeeze in a little hat that practically flew off my needles: the cool ass Koolhass hat! (I’m sure this has been said/thought off many times already but I just couldn’t help myself.) I love this pattern because it looks so clever and complicated but it really wasn’t. This hat was knit for friend and now my boyfriend wants one. (I did tell him that he would want this hat after he saw my results!)

Yarn: Cascade 220
Yarn source: Unraveled Knitting in Monrovia, CA
Pattern: Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed
Pattern Source: Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007
Needles: circs, #5 and #7
Hat size: Large but only 4 repeats (hmmm?)

Notes about the pattern/yarn: One can’t go wrong with Cascade 220. The pattern was intuitive and pretty fast if you can cable without needing the cable needle. Otherwise, you might drive yourself mad with ALL the twisting in this pattern. I pretty much had the pattern memorized after the first repeat. Like I said, “intuitive.” I hope to knit many more of these for myself and friends. It can be truly an impressive gift to make just because it looks so good.

I’d type more but I’m passing out in front of the ‘puter. Happy Monday!