FO: Koolhaas

I kept meaning to post sooner than this, but life kept getting in the way. Also, I'm forgetful.

Here's a long overdue FO picture of my Koolhaas:




Pattern: Koolhaas
Yarn: Shokay Shambala (Colorway: Earth)
Needles: 7
Mods: None.


This hat is by far my favorite. I never even blocked it, just simply finished it and started wearing it. I like to think the snow blocked it for me later that winter. (This was finished in February.) Also, check out my awesome GWU football shirt. We're undefeated! Umm, but we don't have a football team so that's why.

As for my current project, it's coming along splendidly. I decided to start the Minimalist Cardigan. I'm about 10 inches into the back piece. The Louet Riverstone is lovely to work with, I'm really fond of how squishy it is.

I'm heading down to Mississippi tomorrow for my birthmother's wedding, so I'll have some long plane ride to work on the cardigan. I'm only knitting it on the Metro in the mornings (and people stare...) at the moment and progress is slow. Bleh.

Okay, that's all for now.

Jenn

Oh, what to do!?

Welp. I'm in a knitting rut again. It hasn't been easy these past few months. I've only knit two items during the summer, Carrie's hat and mittens set. For some reason, I don't want to knit on the metro, which is sad. It's prime knitting time.

I think the trains are just too crowded and I hate to be stared at. Normally, I sit in the third row, in the middle and hopefully by myself, so I can knit quietly without being bothered. In the morning and evening rushes, there's just too many people all over the place. And they stare at me! Oy vey.

Anyhow, I need to start a new project. It's time for a cardigan or sweater. I got some yarn for my birthday and I have some stashed yarn for specific projects. Here are the candidates for the first fall project:

Minimalist Cardigan (Yarn: Louet Riverstone Worsted)

Tangled Yoke Cardigan (Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed)

Central Park Hoodie (Yarn: Peace Fleece Worsted)

Tilted Duster (Yarn: GGH Solitaire)

I'm thinking I'm going to start with the Minimalist Cardigan, and hopefully move forward on this list during the fall and winter. Let me know what I should knit next!

Jenn

Kittens and Mittens

These kittens sure do grow fast. I'm having a lot of fun with my little critters.

Holly came in handy for some FO pictures of Carrie's mitten. Just the one mitten... I got a bit behind on her birthday presents. I sent the hat to her in time for her actual birthday, but the mittens were finished before my trip to see her in Boston. I actually finished the second mitten on the plane!



Pattern: Hermione's Cable and Bobble Mittens
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool
Needles: 6 (4mm)
Mods: I learned from others on Ravelry that these mittens were coming out extra long. To shorten them, I split for the thumb with the beginning of the second cable repeat. I started the decreases around the 3rd or 4th row in the third cable repeat, sort of working them in as I went.

In the end, they fit Carrie's fingers perfectly and she was super happy with her new winter items. Also, I had them kitten inspected for superior quality.



Jenn

Holly and Finnegan

As of yesterday evening, I am a mommy to these two adorable kittens, Holly and Finnegan.




Holly is the sweetest kitten. She loves to crawl into my lap. She's a polydactyl, meaning she has an extra toe on her front paws.






Finnegan is quite the trouble-maker. But after he's done knocking over everything and destroying a roll of toilet paper, he loves nothing more than to curl up in your lap and demand your attention.

Both of them are Maine Coon mixes, adopted from a rescue group. I adore them, so happy to have these little guys with me now. Now I can get some FO pics with kittens in them too! Life is good.



Jenn

Here it goes again.

I haven't been knitting again. Le sigh.

I'm not sure why. Another relationship fell apart, and while, yes, I've been nursing my broken heart, I had stopped knitting sometime in early July. Which is before the breakup.

I've been working on the Cherry cardigan and I finished the front left panel. It's rather long, despite being the measurements the pattern suggests, so I'm a tad concerned. Should I rip back a bit and shorten it? I've never knit a cardigan that needs to be seamed together, so I don't know if some of the length will disappear with seaming. Suggestions? When I hold it up to myself, it seems awfully long (and my torso is pretty average length).





Maybe if I can get this figured out it will rejuvenate my knitting spirit, yes?

Also, here's a long overdue FO shot of the Hermione Hat for Carrie. Whether I want to or not, I've got to start knitting away at the companion mittens for this project.






And in other news, there might possibly be some small furry felines in my next post. Hehe.

Jenn

Blogiversay

I meant to blog about my blogiversary, but I just never got around to it. I really hate to post without pictures, but I just haven't gotten around to taking any yet. So, I missed my blogiversary due to simply wanted a pretty to look at post.

Then I figured. Maybe I don't need to post pictures of knitting/my life. Instead, I present you with this very cute image of a baby dressed as a lobster in a pot.




Too cute. I'm attempting to get my brother Jason to dress up my nephew David in this outfit for his first Halloween. Too, too adorable. It's an almost lethal injection of cute. ::dies::

NOW, onto my blogiversary post I had intended:

Last year, around this time, my life was very, very different. In honor of the major changes in the past year, here's a life of my life last year and this year.

Last year I was:
learning to knit
interning at the Treasury Department
living on-campus
about to start my senior year of college
deciding to take the LSAT and go to law school
dating Peter
not able to drink legally

This year I am:
far more advanced in my knitting skills (I've knit a sweater, camisole, socks, hats, a hoodie, and so on and so forth.)
a full-time litigation clerk for a large law firm in DC
living in a townhouse in Alexandria with my car parked in the garage
a college graduate
preparing to retake the LSAT (not that I did bad that first time, just not well enough) and planning to apply next fall to law school
dating David, after a period of actually enjoying being single
able to drink, with a good tolerance and ability to quit when I realize I need to

Ah, life has changed. More in good ways, than bad. So Happy Blogiversary to me! Happy One Year of Knitting as well! And I'm excited to see how far along I've come when the next year rolls around.

Jenn

FO: Frock Camisole

As promised, the lovely Frock Camisole. All finished and wonderful.

Pattern: Frock Camisole (Interweave Knits, Spring 2008)

Yarn: Louisa Harding Cinnabar (Color #006)

Mods: None

This was a relatively easy, straight-forward knit. I finished in about a month, even with all my finals, projects and papers due. I really, really love this top. I wore it out the night after I finished it and it received a million compliments. People kept asking where I had bought it!

In which she graduates and knits.

Well, if you wonder where I've been. Here you go.

Yes, I graduated. I've got a lovely B.A. in English and Creative Writing with a minor in Criminal Justice. And a spiffy medal from GWU's Columbian College.

That's me and my brother Jason after the graduation ceremony. I had fourteen people come up, mostly family. It was crazy, stressful, amazing and wonderful, all at the same time. 

But now all of that is over. I spent a brief week home in NC and then I drove to my new home in Alexandria, VA about a week ago. Life is strange. I live in a gorgeous townhouse, I have my car here, I wake up in the morning, wear business casual clothing and head off on the metro to my full-time job in DC. It's a complete 180 from my life two weeks ago. 

I'm still adjusting. I miss GWU, my friends and the boyfriend. But I've not no reason to complain about how my life is going. Good job, wonderful living situation, great friends, fun coworkers, amazing boyfriend. It's just going to take some time to get into the new routine.

Ah, and in the knitting world, I started and finished the Frock Camisole. It's lovely. I'll get some FO pictures up soon. Right now, I'm starting on some small projects to work on during the commute to and from work. I've got a couple of sock pairs that need finishing and I've started the Hermione Cable and Bobble hat for my friend Carrie's birthday in September. I'm getting a head start on her present this year, since last year we attempted the heavily cabled Twisted Flower socks in a two week period. Wowzers.

So, that's all for now. Hopefully there will be more pictures soon!

Jenn