Projects!

I'm happy to report that several of my baby projects are coming along. I finished the blocks for my baby quilt tonight. I've got to sew all the blocks together and then sew on the border and backing but it's fun to see that I'm making progress, especially since I've never taken on such a large project before. (There were probably be many more quilts in my future. I really enjoy doing it.)

Of course, I've rearranged all the blocks a million times and I even re-did several blocks just to have a better selection of fabrics. Even now, looking at this photograph, I want to change about 3 blocks but I have to restrain myself and let it be. Otherwise, I'll never finish this project. Hopefully I'll be showing off the finished product soon.

A few weeks ago, my friend Amanda showed this cute animal hat idea to our knitting group. Since I needed a new knitting project--and since I already had a skein of the perfect tan yarn in my knitting basket--I decided to do it. I started knitting the hat in the round and by the end of the week, I was nearly done. But, as I was transferring my hat from the circular needles to sticks (which you need to do when you have less stitches to work with as you decrease at the top), I dropped a few stitches and couldn't figure out how to fix them. I decided to wait until our next knitting group to have Kathryn, the knitting goddess, fix the mess I had made. But as my luck would have it, sicknesses and cancellations and other events got in the way, and we didn't have any of our weekly knitting group get-togethers during March.

Today we had our knitting group (which often seconds as a group therapy session for all us crazy displaced military wives) and Kathryn was finally able to fix my hat so I could finish making the bear on top. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Here's a monkey (which my mom just sent me) modeling the cute bear hat.

And here's a closer view. It's a little silly but also ridiculously cute. I just hope it'll fit my little baby so I can admire my handiwork more. It's always nice to finish one project of the many I want to do!

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.