Hi there....

I had a baby boy on May 8, and before and after that, I could not update my blog, even could not touch my PC....so long.

Now, I think I have no power or time to update regularly my blog with nursing my baby.

But ladies, I knit.

I have finished my baby blanket and after that I made two baby hat, now I am sewing the last part of baby cardigan.

Maybe some months later, I would be back here. Maybe not. I don't know now....

Anyway, many many thanks, you kind visitors. I will continue to knit even if I could not continue this blog. Believe me.

Sudden surprise and sudden action. Last week, Monday January 12th evening we got an idea of moving before the baby due. After some search on net, contacted to a real estate agency for a rent on Tuesday. Got an appointment at Tuesday evening, met them, arranged some visit to apartments on Wednesday morning. Got a day off with DH on Wednesday, decided to rent an apartment around noon of Wednesday, contacted some moving companies in the afternoon. Got the confirmation of contract on Thursday, got three appointments of moving companies for estimate in this weekend. Sunday morning, decided the exact date of moving and the moving company, asked to bring cartons and stuffs within the day.


So far from last Sunday evening, there are cartons and cartons anywhere in my apartment!! Unbelievable, unbelievable.... We move on Saturday February 7th. So I cannot update here so often until this big event!! My apoligies...but I will try to show you some photos in due course.

Hi! I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year, especially about knitting!

Today I just show you my status for all current projects and one finished.

Last year I have known the yarn from Marr Haven, by KR. I bought a corn of sport weight natural white and two hanks of Bulky weight heather shade. This is the Bulky one:





I love this yarn, but not yet tried because I didn't find the appropriate project for the yarn. Some weeks ago, a cold and windy winter day when I went out for DS to play at a child park, I felt I absolutely need a warm cap for myself, which can cover not only my head but ears. You know it was parfect project for this simple-natural yarn. I made this as the last project for 2003. I used slightly less than one hank:





In my great surprise, this yarn is REALLY confortable to be next to skin, not at all itchy, warm, lighty. Now I am impatient to go out with it!


This is my glove, for right hand. Not yet made for the left.





"Harry"sweater for DS is slowly progressing. I did it almost at my parent's home while new year's days. This Topacio yarn is really knitted up very quickly, so if I concentrate seriously on the project it could be finished soon. Oh yes, it is easy to say, not to do, kind of things....





This is the yarn for second socks project for DH.





The project has casted on on January 2nd.





And this is the mentioned cotton blanket, which I have not worked on since last November. Now I am too busy for current winter projects in need, and the baby is due at the end of April. I would be in maternity leave from the beginning of March, so it would be waiting status until then.





Other than that, I have some waiting-for-cast-on project as usual. The next waiting one is a vest for DS, by Rowanspun DK yarn. I have just got these yarn, and impatient to use it!
And today, I received True 4ply botany shade "snowdrop"!

Christmas has passed rapidly....two days before Chirstmas, there is a national holiday in Japan. DS and I made this after the breakfast:




It was fun and we ate them immediately in the afternoon with strawberry milk juice. These are animal sweet bread!


For Chirstmas dinner, I made many special foods that my DH and DS love, but didn't make a cake for dessert, I bought it. Instead, I made a big jerry as second dessert:




with these fruits!





Oh, and of course I have been doing my knitting too! Look at the first Intarsia in my life:




This is my current glove project, as for myself, by Rowanspun 4ply. It looked nice...but unfortunately, I made a mistake. As you can see, I forgot to mark a hole for thumb! I ripped 3 or 4 rows, which broke a little this intarsia part, but I did it again with a hole mark. After that, I jointed the seam:




Now I am making the fingers. Will show you the progress next time. I found this intarsia part design in one of sweater named "Frost", appeared in Rowan Magazine #32. I liked it very much, and I had the idea to put it on gloves. I have kept this project idea from last winter, bought the yarn, and waited. This winter finally I can try and I like it. So as the glove design, it is my original!


And look at my Christmas shopping!!




These are for my dream project, "Nell" by Debbie Bliss, appeared as the cover page sweater of Rowan #28. (You can see a little at the above of the yarn) The required yarn are all discontinued Rowan True 4ply Botany, and the most part of them were found miraculously in Japan. Rowan Japan had these stocks, exept only one shade, 'snowdrop', which is cream white color. So far it is not included this set. I searched and searched globally by internet, and finally found it at one of Rowan stockist in England. I have ordered 2 balls....not yet arrived, but I won!

Since my knitting interest has been coming back, the first thing I did is to renew my subscripion to Rowan international membership. Last week I recerved this free gift, beautiful Rowanspun 4 ply yarns for cushion cover by Kaffe Fasette. I chose neutral shade. I love them!





If I would buy this same yarn with same quantity in Japan, without the cusion pattern, it should cost more than half of this subscription fee. Considering that, I believe it is not so expensive to pay for this high-price international membership fee.


So, now gloves.

From the last Monday, my son is putting this gloves....I made it last weekend, but actually I made a pair and a half.





To make this gloves, first I measured the hand of my DS, and by the swatch I calculated the size, and casted on. At first it looks good size, neat, just for this winter's his size. But when I finished the right hand and tried to put it on his hand, it was too small! This is the smaller one:




The navy big one is DH's one. Look the difference of size!

I made this on Saturday, and found out it didn't work. So I immediately re-calculated for more bigger one, and casted on. This second one is actually a little bit too big, and that is what I wanted, so far he could use it next winter!


I love this yarn, it is fun to knit. There is slitely less than two balls left, and I have a plan to knit a cap for him. And if there would be some of leftover, I would make the left one for the abandoned small glove, for my next baby for the future!


By the way, my next project is socks for DH, two gloves projects for myself, one is with intasia design by Rowanspun 4 ply and another is two color simple one. Also, I have not yet knited my this winter's scarf! Last winter, I made a scarf by Rowan biggy print, it looked very cool, but really fluffy and itchy to eyes! I don't so much like to use this scarf this year....
For this year, I will use Phildar's new yarn, Mouflon, which I have showed you in the photos of summer vacation. Oh, but the shade won't match for my new glove plan....then I have to make one another!! But, when?? Other than that, I have a DS's sweater working on as you know, and, and.....

So, I have to report the rest of the story ...
In addition to that lack of time, I had been supposed to attend to a family event for my uncle at the daytime of coming Saturday, and the same day at night, I had a friend's wedding party. I was in desparate situation.
Suddenly, on Thursday afternoon, I 've got a call from my DH, that he felt very bad and was heading to home from office. It found out that he had got a very bad flu, he cannot even eat any proper food for one full week from at that moment. He took a day off on Friday and stayed in bed all day, cancelled for my family event on Saturday, to which I anyway had to attend, and stayed alone at home calmly.


On sunday November 30 as his birthday, he was weak, sick, not able to eat. I had planned of course to prepare a birthday dinner for him, but no way in such a situation. Finally we decided that we had better to postponing to celebrate his birthday. Just the next weekend, we had planned to go to Onsen, Japanese spa hotel, away from Tokyo around two hours by train. He would get better by this weekend trip, and it would be nice idea to celabrate him at Onsen, since he had been looking forward very much to going there.


So. As a result, I've got one more week for his gloves. It is enough for me to do it. Yes. I was sure that I could make it. At that moment, his glove status was only 3cm of wrist part of first one. I have started only with Zarina yarn, without cashmire. It looks soft enough.


I worked at the gloves secretly. In the morning before leaving for work, at night after my DS went to bed, while my DH was watching DVD movies in the living room. Besides, I had a day off on that week's Friday. On that day, our office had a company event but I would not participate in it due to my pregnancy. Instead, I've got a day off. It became a real gift for me! I planned to work all day on the glove, I calcurated I could make a full left glove from morning to evening.
By the evening of Thursday, I have finishhed the right glove as planned. I casted on for the left one in the morning of that Friday, had finished around 4:00PM. I put them in the small box, wrapped with pale blue paper, with blue and silver ribbon. I hid it in the drawer which he never open, until Saturday.


On Saturday, I put this present at the bottom of our travel bag, covered with clothes. He carried this bag during the trip without knowing this present hidden for him!!


The Onsen hotel was fabulous, it was a real luxuary day. We enjoyed three different spa, had a cozy, clean and confortable room, delicious Japanese autumn-winter food....
And at night, after putting DS in bed, I put the present miraculously in front of him. How surprised he was! I myself was so happy because I could make it, and He looks very grateful for the present. He tried the gloves and told me it was really confortable and not at all itchy, though the size looked a little too big.

Since, he put this gloves everyday to office, proudly. Also, he started to put the socks I finished during summer vacation, and loves it very much. That makes me sooooo happy, too!


Anyway, I show you the mentioned gloves... very simple.




And I show you too the next gloves project for my DS. I bought and kept this Regia 6ply "crazy color" yarn for this purpose. To tell the truth, I have just finished this gloves today, but it is too long to report the story in this post today, so next time...

Long time no see again...but but but! Please, please cerebrate with me ladies, for me, my Muse of knitting has been really come back to me!! Please note this post is very long one....


This time, it was the reason why I didn't visit my blog for more than two weeks! I don't know from what I have to begin to tell you my story.....

My last post was on November 19, and I have gotten a big, really big 'something' like an explosion of urge for knitting. This time it was a real one and increadible. It arrived me on November 22, suddenly, in this weekend. It was unexpected urge, that I casted on for a back part of sweater for my DSin a sudden, with 'Topacio' of Varelia di Roma, and started to knit, knit, knit, and I finished this back!





As you know, it is smaller size than normal adult size, and it looks that it was a good 'rehabilitation' for me to come back. I have already casted on for the front part, which is not yet started.


After that, I began to complete the second sock for my DS, with 'Summersock' yarn, which I have started during my summer vacation, around four months ago!! And on the same day I finished the back of sweater, that was November 23, I re-start this sock and finished the day after.





And now you know ladies, my rehabilitation has been completed within this weekend, and now, I CAN knit!! I can knit as before in my ordinary life. Oh, of course I should share this good news with you as soon as possible, but you know, now I need time to knit more than anything!! My apologies for it, and I guess you could understand, if you know this real presure of knitting....


There is another episode.

Some of you might remember that I mentioned on the other post that at the end of November, there is my DH's birthday. It is November 30th and this year it was on Sunday. After this grateful shock, the first thing I thought about was that I might be able to create for him. But I had only one full week. What I can knit the fastest is a pair of gloves, and I am used to. I didn't have time and no choice, I decided to try it.


Last winter, I have made around 10 pair of gloves and mittens for adults and children over three months. I have not yet tried any complicated design like fairisle, but simply I love to knit five-finger gloves. First, it is very speedy to complete, since we use normally less than two balls. Second, it is useful for my life. I called me 'gloveknitter' so far.


But I mentioned before, my DH has some problem to touch wooly and knitty items. There is not so much that he could touch and use. It was the reason why I didn't made gloves for him last year though.
I thought about it, but I guessed if I could find the right yarn, we could solve this problem. First I thought to use cashmire yarn and tried to make swatch, but immediately I found out that it is too fragile and thin to knit alone. I went to LYS at lunchtime from office on November 25, oh it was very very long time that I didn't visit there neither, and looked for the right yarn.
I chose 'Zarina' from Filatura di Crosa, Italian 100% extra fine merino yarn, with bluemarine shade, which is the same color of his winter hat.


So, I was ready to start. It is increadibly soft and confortable yarn, I was sure that we can make it. I made swatch and calculated the size, casted on on November 26. I have no time!
Actually it looked impossible, but anyway I started and I imagined that when I cannot, I just give him a right glove for his Birthday and promise that I could give him the other by Christmas. It is not so smart, I know, but I did have no choice.


Oh, it is the time to leave now, I have to feed my family!! So please wait the rest of story a little bit....