I dwell too much on the inconveniences in my new life, so I decided to focus more on the conveniences—like the 24 hour pickup window at the post office. What a great idea. I got a postcard that I had a package waiting for my on Friday, and I suspected it might be from my secret pal. It was! I had to exercise serious self-control and not rip the package open right there at the all-night window. I patiently biked home and tore it open here. Look what I found inside:

A huge hank of wool! The color is great and I have already cast on to make some legwarmers for winter. Thanks secret pal—I love it.

I happened to have gone to the yarn store that very same day, and picked up a *few* things since I finally got paid. I don’t have any pictures, but I got some nice maroon “James Dean” wool to make the cable sweater from my last post, and I’m already working my way up the sleeves. I’m still whipping out some blanket squares before I send those in the next two weeks or so, and now I’m starting my legwarmers. In short: I have overcome my knitting boredom and now I have plenty to do!

Tonight I am showing some of my fellow ex-pats how to knit. I think we might be on our way to being the first Mie Stitch ‘n Bitch!

Posted by Molly at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. I have lots of new knitting material—just no time to post it! First, check out my sweater vest that I blocked last week. I finished the collar too, but I have yet to sew it all up since it has been in the 80’s and humid here and I really can’t imagine wearing it any time soon.

In other news, I met this really cool Swedish girl when I was staying with family friends in Nagoya this weekend. There were a few Swedish students at their house for the weekend as well, and I almost fell off my chair when she was explaining to them that her family has a yarn factory in Sweden. A YARN factory, what are the chances of that? Well we ended up getting along really well so we are going to try to go to Tokyo together to see a Swedish knitting show that is somewhat of a collaboration between her family’s company and a designer from Ikea. How cool is that? Now I just need to get over to Sweden and visit that factory!

Last but not least, it’s knitting season in Japan! I hit up the bookstore and found about 100 things that I want to make this year. I just don’t know where to start.

A boatneck with bell sleeves?

Cables?

Or maybe I'll start with the shawl, blanket, or legwarmers... There's always that knitted skirt too! I was supposed to get paid this week but someone did something wrong and I am left penniless for my big trip to the yarn store tonight. If I don't get paid by the end of the day today, maybe it's a sign from above...

Posted by Molly at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Thanks for all the comments about my finished project! I am feeling kind of guilty that it took me SO long, but hopefully the next one will be a breeze. I checked out the fall issue of knitty REALLY fast today, and I am trying hard to resist the urge to make this knitted skirt, skating queen. I KNOW that the chances of a knitted skirt being remotely flattering for me are very slim, but there is something about this skirt that I really want to make. The idea that it would be stretchy and that I could wear it to ride my bike is REALLY appealing. Well, the english club members are sure to be showing up soon, so I better get down to work. I will keep thinking about potential new projects...

Posted by Molly at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I promised pictures so pictures it is! I don't have internet at my apartment, even after the workmen tore it apart for two hours yesterday. But after all that, I'm pretty sure they are coming back in ten days to install it differently. But that shouldn't stop me from having fun on the internet at work. I realize that this is one of the smallest things I've made, but I have been toiling over it for several weeks now. Look at this fabulous piece of handiwork!

Here are some scary pictures of me concentrating as hard as I can to get some clear shots. I realize now that I need to wash my bathroom mirror.

With a triangular scarf/kerchief like this, I really feel like I should hold up a saloon with my posse.

Here is a picture of me looking thrilled that I finally finished this testy piece of knitting. I liked it enough to cast on for another one...

Posted by Molly at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Major thanks go to Jenny who made a great button that summarizes how I felt last night.

I finished my triangular lace scarf. WOOOHOOO! It is error-free to boot, so all those times I had to tear out and start over are now totally worth it. I finally had to get myself together and finish this project because I am going on a homestay this weekend and I wanted to bring something handmade for the mom in my family. See, all I need is a little deadline to get myself moving. Well I have some stellar pictures that I took last night after the umteenth earthquake in our area. I know there is nothing I can do, but those freak me out, so after it woke me up and I was wide awake blocking my scarf in the middle of the night. I have some pictures but my memory key is currently MIA so I couldn't bring them to school today. But if all goes as planned, I will be surfin the net on my at home cable connection this afternoon. Either way, there are some fab pictures on their way soon.

Posted by Molly at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today is info for my secret pal day. I don't have any really strong preferences but I did my best so I hope this is helpful!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I am definitely not a yarn snob. Although I do LIKE nice yarn (who doesn’t) I enjoy the occasional Lion Brand purchase. As long as it’s fun, I don’t really care where it came from.

2. Do you spin? Crochet? Well no. I sort of know how to crochet, but I can’t really figure it out on my own until I invest some real time in it.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Hmm… just dust, mold, cats and yellow #5. That cursed yellow dye is in everything tasty too! Even though I’m allergic to it, I usually make an exception and just deal with the consequences if its in something REALLY tasty that I want to eat. As long as I avoid Mello Yellow and Mountain Dew, I don’t think the trace amounts of it in candy will kill me. I’m also allergic to most scented lotions, too. (This answer makes me look like I’m no fun. But there’s nothing I can do! I am still a cool person, even though I have recently become allergic to the WORLD).

4. How long have you been knitting? I learned to knit when I was little but I gave up on it pretty quickly because I hadn’t discovered chunky yarn and I didn’t have the patience to finish anything. I picked it up again last Thanksgiving and I've been cookin' ever since.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I do, but I don’t know how to add it here. I’m going to try to put it in the sidebar later when I get a chance.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Grapefruit or citrus

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Unfortunately, yes.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I have been recently drawn to sewing but I haven’t done much aside from my pillowcases. I really want to get a sewing machine and make a quilt, but I think I’m going to wait and see how long I’ll be in Japan before I make any big investments.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD) I loooove music, and I think I can enjoy just about any type of music file on my computer and ipod. I mostly listen to rock and some pop-ish music, but I like all sorts of weird stuff.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Reds and pinks

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Living alone in the land of natural disasters, no pets.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) Hmm… whatever I do and wherever I go, I just want to have fun!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I have a hard time with favorites because I like almost everything! I realize this is probably not too helpful, but its just because I’m easy to please!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I’m not a huge fan of eyelash yarn, although I haven’t actually knitted with it so I guess I don’t really know. Otherwise I can’t think of anything I don’t like.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Well I am kind of in between knitting obsessions. I went through a big felting phase before I left home, but I haven’t totally gotten into the swing of things here. I’m currently having a love/hate relationship with lace knitting, but in the end I think I really like it and just need to pay more attention to what I’m doing.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I like knitting fun and useful stuff like a coffee sleeve or an ipod sleeve... I like to have big projects going on too, but there is something nice about knitting stuff that can be used to brighten up daily life. I just bought a magazine that has patterns for some placemats and decorations for the home that I want to figure out to liven up my apartment. I am also getting really into blanket squares and I'm going to start one for my apartment soon. I am looking forward to making a lot of winter accessories too. Basically, and this goes back to no. 13, I like almost everything!

17. What are you knitting right now? The lace kerchief, some blanket squares and a sweater vest. I really need more projects in the queue so I can get motivated to finish what I’m working on now.

18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiosity question for us) Ooh I love them! I need to have my poncho sent from home, but I am looking forward to a break in the heat so I can start wearing it around town!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I really have no preference.

20. How did you learn to knit? I don’t really know… but I remember working on a red scarf for what seemed like forever when I was little, and then just giving up on it when it was the perfect size for a teddy blanket. I think I was pretty gung-ho about knitting until I lost interest about 6 inches into it. I even have a Christmas tree ornament of knitting needles that I think I got that year.

21. How old is your oldest UFO? Not too old… just some socks that I have been working on since March or so. I love the idea of knitting socks, but when all is said and done, I am lured away from them by something much more exciting and much more fast-paced. I think I need to make some socks on needles bigger than 1 or 2 to get them finished.

Ok, that's all for now. Hopefully this give some insight into my knitting style that might not have been obvious on the blog. I have class now, but will hopefully have time to add some knitting content later!

Posted by Molly at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)