13 Days Until I Turn 30

Knitting.

I love it.

Strike that-

I'm obsessed with it!

I think I knit at least a few stitches every day--

and frankly I probably knit far too much for my aching shoulders.

I'm trying to be better about that...

but its not easy

because knitting is FUN and PORTABLE.

a great combination.

I took my first lesson the first week of November last year and then flew the next day to Virginia to crop for the weekend-- and thus had my own tutors, Anya & Nicole, there to help me get the basics down! That first project was a scarf for myself in a beautiful shade of turquoise... which I then took out because the teacher failed to tell me that a rib stitch would curl// not the affect I was going for...

I put that project on hold and started a rib stitch scarf with a border- to prevent the curling- in a nice soft dark grey/ a Christmas gift for my very best friend Krissy! [need to take a photo of that!]

I then moved onto a Basic Sampler scarf- to learn some new stitches. This became a soft-off white organic cotton scarf for my friend Megg, again for Christmas. It looks like this but in a creamy, vanilla off-white color.

My third project was a much bigger one. For Aila's first Christmas I wanted her to have something from her Godmother that she'd always remember. And I made a blanket. AC Moore had the organic cotton yarn I love on sale and I was able to afford to buy a whole bunch of it in these very girly, fun colors.

Neither of these are great pictures, sadly. But you can get the idea. Its knit with 2 strands of yarn so its super warm and extra soft!! By the week before Christmas when I finished this I officially had the knitting bug in my system! :)

Then we had some more babies on the way- and so I started in on baby blankets. I used this basket weave pattern twice- once for Garret, in blue, and once for Isabella (whom we didn't know to be a girl), in green.

I've also finished another girl blanket and a boy blanket for some other little ones who are due this summer! I have so much fun trying out new patterns though, and with the latest blanket I even learned how to knit 2 together and slip stitches and pass over! I'm making progress slowly but surely.

The last project I finished was a scarf for my Breast Cancer 3 Day Fundraiser. Of course I forgot to take a picture of that, but you can sort of see it in the photo of Kris and me in this post.

What am I working on now?

A scarf for me-- the first item I might actually complete for myself, in the same yarn I used for the scarf Kris won. It matches my winter coat and my Vera Bradley Mod Floral Pink bags.

What am I working on next?

My next project will be another baby blanket!

But shortly thereafter I'm planning to hit my local yarn shop and/or AC Moore to learn more and do something that's not just a plain old rectangle :) Time to learn how to make a garment of some sort, or a hat or gloves. I also need to learn how to change out color within the same row- I did it in rows with Aila's blanket but that's a little different. Time for something more advanced.

So that's the state-of-the-state with knitting here these days. I'm still very much a beginner but I'm reading and learning more all the time. I just need a little guidance to get all the way there.