My New Hobby

Lately, I've been feeling the need to have a creative outlet. Unfortunately, most of the creative outlets I'd like to do require money. Photography is on the top of my list but the cost of a really nice digital SLR camera and an editing program like Photoshop is a little out of my price range right now. [You know, I can buy a bunch of little items and drop a $100 no problem, but I have a hard time buying any one item that costs more than $50. Anyone else have this problem?] I'd also love to take up sewing again, but again, I have a hard time investing the $100-$200 in a nice but simple machine when I haven't sewn in 10 years.

A few months ago, some of the women in my ward decided to start a knitting group for those who knew how to knit, those who wanted to improve their skills and those who wanted to learn. Well, I didn't have much of a desire to actually learn how to knit but I really needed some friends so I decided to join the group for the social aspect. However, in the process of gaining 4 great friends, I also learned how to knit.

I think it really helped that I had no burning desire to learn how to knit, otherwise I probably would have quit after the first week. I'm such a perfectionist that I prevent myself from trying new things because I hate to fail or to not have things come out perfectly. (Cooking/baking is different for me. While I want things to look beautiful and taste great, I don't feel as bad throwing out my mistakes or just eating the not-so-great products and trying again. Perhaps it's because my failures never stick around long enough to haunt me. Not like those few pages of scrapbooking I once attempted......) Anyway, I really didn't care how my first few knitting swatches looked so I just kept plugging away.

Plus, I knew I had access to lots of great yarn. Dongdaemun market is a crafty person's dream. It's two massive buildings filled floor to ceiling with absolutely everything you could possibly want: thread, fabrics, needles, yarn, ribbon, buttons, zippers, lace, fur, and more. You want it, they have it there. And all the yarn there is high quality. So a combination of good materials and good company impelled me to learn how to knit and I'm quite surprised at how much I enjoy doing it. I like having something to do with my hands, especially when I'm just sitting around watching TV. Plus, I just love the feeling of creating something with my own two hands.

I even bought myself this adorable knitting basket. It's the perfect size for my knitting supplies. Plus the cover is handy in keeping Suyom away from my balls of yarn.

I love how it opens up to reveal all the beautiful yarns. Of course, I've now spent probably more than $100 on yarns now (see what I mean about buying a lot of little things?) so I can't fit all my yarn into the basket but I have at least a skein of each color. Most of my yarn is 100% wool, though I did buy a beautiful pink mohair, for when I get really good, and a skein of gray acrylic to practice with.

See all my fun yarn? The orange and rust colored yarn is a present for my sister. I got a great deal on the rust-colored yarn (less than $10 for four skeins of 100 grams each) but the orange was a bit more costly. Of course, Suyom went and attacked one of the orange balls. The ball looks a little mangled, but the yarn is still in tact, thankfully. (What do you think, Cassy? I really need to mail them to you!)

I'm still just learning the basics right now and working on small and easy projects like scarves and hats, but I hope to become more advanced in time. I'm also trying to teach myself how to crotchet. While I like knitting, I prefer the patterns you can create by crotcheting.

This is my very first completed project: a scarf for David. I started knitting it with the gray acrylic just for fun and ended up finishing it. David really needed a scarf.....he has absolutely no winter clothes because he's never lived anywhere where it snows. Now I'm working on a black scarf and a black hat as well. I'm slow, but I'm getting better. Hopefully soon I can share more of my creations with you.