Current Knitting Projects

Now what you've all been waiting for: pictures of my latest obsession. I learned to knit in elementary school from my mother (the queen of scarves, felted bags, and purchasing extensive amounts of yarn she will probably never use). My first project (mittens) was abandoned after I knit one mitten. I knit little things (hats, scarves, blankets) off an on, but recently I have dove into the hobby with reckless abandon. Except for Christmas gifts for J., thus far I seem very good at purchasing yarn and starting projects yet not nearly as successful at finishing projects.

1. Lotus Blossom Tank (Interweave Knits Summer 2006):

I started this one a couple of months ago. I was very excited about it but the impending deadline for #2 and my love of #3 have relegated this project to the bottom of the pile for now. I thought I was making great progress until I read the lotus blossom tank KAL and realized that I need to knit another lace repeat into the pattern for length purposes. Also, the bloggers who contribute to that site have made me a little worried about the fit of the pattern. LBT calls for bamboo yarn and I substituted 100% cotton, so I have NO idea of how it will turn out. If I do manage to finish this and it doesn't fit, I'm going to have to try to find someone to give it to.

2. Leaf lace pattern Baby Blanket:

I inherited the yarn for this project from a friend. I changed the pattern and decided to use it to knit a baby blanket for our friends who are expecting their first child in August, therefore this is my "top" priority. I added the leaf lace pattern to make the baby blue color seem less boy-ish, since we don't know the gender of the baby yet. I plan on adding a yellow border (in seed stitch or garter stitch) to make the blanket more gender-neutral. I'm not sure if my concept will work, so I'm also hoping for a baby boy!

And a close up of the leaf lace pattern:

3. Devan (knitty.com):

This is a cardigan that I am knitting for one of J.'s coworkers who just had their first baby. I thought it would take me a lot longer so I started knitting the 1-2 year size when the baby was 1 week old! The cardigan is knit on size 1 needles but the yarn is so much fun that I can knit it for hours. Currently both sides of the front are done and I'm about half-way done on both of the sleeves. I loved the version that Sarah knit so I am also using Marks & Kattens Clown yarn.

Sleeves (in progress)

Welcome

Welcome to my blog about my knitting, travels, and whatever else comes up in between. I was inspired to start blogging by Country Asian who originally tried to get me to take over his site. Although I have spent a few years in Japan and have many friends who refer to me as "half Asian," I am undeniably caucasian so I decided to create my own site.

Instead of introducing myself, I'm just going to jump right in to talking about some of the things in my life. I'll try to add in explanations as we go along.

We...

I guess as a start I should at least tell you who "we" are. We are myself and the author of the Country Asian blog. We met at a party when I was in college and J. was in law school. We've dated for 2 1/2 years and lived together for almost 2 of those years.

...just had our new couch delivered last weekend. This means that we currently have 2 pieces of "grown up" furniture (the first being my dining room table purchased about 2 months ago). Everything else in our apartment feels like dorm furniture--probably because it was with us in our college dorm. It doesn't help that despite the fact that we have lived here for more than a year we have yet to put up a single thing on our walls. I'm still getting used to the couch--it is by far the largest piece of furniture in our place and it really stands out. I think I'll like the look/color of it better when we have something else in our living room (an entertainment center, bookshelves, or anything). For those of you just dying to see my new couch (hi mom) here it is:

This weekend we went to Annapolis to go sailing and then to one of the partner's houses for a catered picnic. The weather was beautiful, Annapolis was beautiful, the house was beautiful--overall it was a great day. I really enjoy J.'s firm events because I know more of the people and their families at his work than I do at mine. Here's us on the boat!

After eating literally ALL DAY, we took some friends out to an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse. Their salad bar is very good, but still I get tired of the place after about 15 minutes--okay maybe it was because I was full when we walked in the door... As usual, I was the only non-lawyer at the table and it made me glad I haven't gone to law school. I'm interested in law, but I can't imagine us talking about law-related things more than we already do. So, that isn't the greatest reason to not go to law school, but it reinforces my more recent belief that American law school would not further my career.

Before this post gets any longer...signing off. Next post: pictures of each of my projects on-the-needles!