New Year, New Scarf

Being that I have terrible luck, and am almost always sick on birthdays and holidays, it was no surprise that I spent my New Year's Eve in bed sick. I'm feeling fine now, but seeing how the doctor's office wasn't open on New Year's Day, I stayed on the couch for most of the first day of 2009. Which is fine, because it gave me time to knit.

And, oh boy, did I knit. A whole scarf.




Granted, it's done on big needles with bulky yarn, but it still took me most the day. I've actually been planning on knitting this scarf since I started knitting a year and half ago. And I finally got to it...



Pattern: Georgiana Scarf
Yarn: Berocco Air in Geothermal
Mods: None

Love the yarn. Love the pattern. I'm actually 1/4th through another one for my SIL in the same yarn (though all green colors).

What a way to start the year!

Happy New Year!

Jenn

Merry Christmas from Santa's Newest Reindeers!

I passed this reindeer hat in Petsmart and couldn't resist. Finn actually enjoys wearing it. Holly, eh, not so much...

But anyhow, HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone!

Jenn

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