it was seattle's sky that convinced me that this city is forever going to be beautiful to me. on the way to the hotel, i saw the skyline and thought of frasier. it was sort of surreal when a scene so familiar to me on TV finally came alive. the buildings seem bigger. with flickering lights, they were traveling with the moving taxi i was in.

i woke up every morning to a misty, rainy sky. most of the time it cleared up by midday. in between seminars and talks, i found myself wondering towards pike place, the unpretentious fish market graced by visitors like myself. elliot bay is so beautiful, i love cities that anchor near water; its waves and sounds tend to soften the hustle bustle a city brings.

we went to an event one evening atop space needle. among luxurious hors d'oeuvres, drinks and people was the view of this metropolis, transforming from dusk till night. flickers of lights were much more vivid 520 feet above the ground.

and who can forget the food? cuisines of pacific rim are dearest to my heart. and the coffee! i can not escape starbucks. it's okay, i love them. the morning we were leaving, i was quite determined to taste the fresh bakery at le panier. i had a chocolate croissant and a cup of latte, they accompanied me all the way across town, each crisp and buttery bite was washed down with silky coffee froth. it was by far the most satisfying moment of this trip.

posted by blossom at 01:24 PM | Comments (15)

i'm traveling from the sunny south to seattle for a scientific conference today. the city that is so beautiful in my mind will finally come alive in my eyes. don't be shy to say hi if you see me there.

before i bring back pictures of seattle's rain and seattle's coffee, here's the progress shot of iris:

and the last installment of sister's kimono top. i can't wait to see them on her.

posted by blossom at 09:46 AM | Comments (13)

purly has lots of great ideas, she came up with "eye candy friday"- pictures of gorgeous things. i have none of those here. instead, i have pictures of previously promised intown bag, and sweater projects for this fall.

i'm hoping my friend would not check my post this weekend to find out about her bag, her amy butler's intown bag.

purple japanese print fabric lined with kaffe fassett's cotton

it is surprising how lovely these two tones of colors look together. kaffe fassett's cotton has lots of depth, the green you see here is actually a combination of blue and gold threads. so amazing. i modified the pattern and added a magnet snap. now, let's hope this girl likes it. she is not a crafter whatsoever, i sure hope she appreciates hand crafted goods.

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i'm making a couple sweaters for husband this fall (finally, he says!). this is lars from rowan36. i found some cheap rowan's plaid here, among other things.

the second one is LMKG's zipped cardi. the original pattern shows in variegated brown.

husband is obviously in a phase of warm color tones, he requested his in this deep orange color. i found another bag of rowanspun on sale. i love this yarn, can't wait to knit with it again.

i'm thinking of using brown zipper to maintain the contrast. who can suggest a good site for zippers. i want the kind joelle hoverson used with a little loop.

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for me, i am finally going to make roxie!!

roxie from rowan's big just got bigger, i'm making it in color temper

let's just hope i won't look like a grizzly when wearing it.

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completely non-knitting related topic: i learned about this website from one of y'all crafters, now i'm hooked!!! here's what i bought and finally came.

a cardigan in a bag! how cute!! the instruction says to create the crinkled effect, i must store the cardi twisted in the provided bag.

i love it.

posted by blossom at 08:17 PM | Comments (18)

silence in blogging often tranlates into hectic schedules in real life. i have been quite productive doing my craft but i haven't been able to find time to write something decent. iris bolero's back piece was finished couple weeks ago. i am half way through making another kimono top for my sister. this weekend, i finished amy butler's intown bag for a friend. she was dragged to the fabric store by me and on a whim saw some japanese inspired prints, hence, the bag!

i like the bag, so cute. can't wait to show it to you, after the recipient opens up the package.

piles of yarns i ordered are here. they will be sweaters for my husband, and for myself. this is my crafting priorities so far:

1) finish kimono top
2) finish iris bolero
3) finish lemon tree socks
4) start sweater #1 for husband
5) pick up butterfly and finish before winter

let's see how well this list goes in a couple months.

i'll be traveling again soon, maybe i will find time to write again before then.

posted by blossom at 01:08 PM | Comments (6)