Happy Friday + Knitting

Happy Friday! Thank you so much for all the kind comments and emails yesterday! I feel a little bit like the time M’s friends came over unannounced a few days ago. The house was in a state that could only be described as disastrous (cleaning was not a priority during the art show prep and supplies covered every available surface) and though I’ve known these friends a while, I don’t know them that well. I was a bit embarrassed to have them see the messy side of me, but I suddenly felt a lot more comfortable with them. After some furious tidying, my house is almost restored to its former semi-neatness, and now I’m eager to talk about making stuff.

So. Any crafter wanting to prove his or her mettle will usually attempt knitting at some point. That point came for me around 2007. I bought a copy of this book, some knitting needles and wool, and embarked on an epic task of adding/dropping stitches to create a sweater for M.

It took me a year.

The dark forest green wool I used is fantastic. It hardly pills, it’s mind-bogglingly warm, and the color brings out the verdant undertones of his blue-green eyes. The problem was that knitting a sweater for a man requires copious amounts of yarn. Crazy, crazy amounts. I kept running out and at one point had to make do with a similar-but-not-quite-right skein because I had literally purchased all the stock at two stores.

I was cursing that sweater by the time I finally finished it twelve months later. And to add insult to injury, despite my careful hand-washing and efforts of laying it out flat to dry, the darn thing kept shrinking. M adores this sweater because I remind him endlessly of all the sweat and tears that went into it, but I’ve begged him not to wear it — it now looks like a really bad fashion statement from the eighties and is hideously cropped on my man (but the sleeves keep getting longer…how??).

I’m afraid that I do not love knitting. However, I am a crafter out to prove my mettle and feel that the first project I took on was just too challenging for my skill level, and I didn’t give this ancient and highly respectable craft a fair shake. So I am going to try again this winter. My new knitting goal: a cowl. I will let you know how this pans out. Perhaps I will fall in love. I hope so.

Since I got all personal with y’all yesterday, I figured it’s high time I get over my phobia of getting my picture taken. I’ve been preparing to sew clothes for myself and it wouldn’t be any fun if I couldn’t share them with you. I decided to take baby steps and model M’s shrunken sweater. Hard to see here, but the sweater is actually quite roomy on me and makes me look like I have Michelin man arms.

Hi. I’m Sanae. Friends, I wore make-up for you. I rarely wear make-up these days. And my hair doesn’t look like that normally either. It’s always in some bizarre, frayed bun with pieces sticking out all over (I know that top knots are all the rage with the cool kids, but mine looks nothing like that). And because this was my first time with a tripod and remote, I kept cutting off weird parts of my body and face. It felt really odd and awkward taking pictures of myself, I must say. I can’t even go into how mortifying it was perusing them – I had no idea that I have a lazy eye and that my eyebrows are uneven! I didn’t use any Photoshop magic despite the enormous urge to do so.

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend everyone! I’ll be back on Monday with an outfit for K!

10 thoughts on “Happy Friday + Knitting

  1. How fun to see a picture of you, Sanae! So beautiful – I see now where K got her serious cuteness from:)
    I have tried jumping on the crochet/knitting bandwagon so many times myself. And it just never seems to stick. My mom is a master at both, so I’ve become quite lazy and just ask her to knit for me when I find a cute pattern:) Best of luck with the cowl – it seems like it should be a little more forgiving than a sweater.

    1. My mom is an expert at knitting and crocheting too – she whips out sweaters like they’re nothing. I do hope the cowl will make me a knitting convert. And thank you! Never underestimate the power of make-up. 🙂

  2. So nice to be able to put a face to your name! Isn’t it funny how we get so nervous about taking and posting pictures of ourselves online? We walk around with them every day, after all. 😉 But I know exactly what you mean… And you certainly don’t look like that crone you were speaking of yesterday!

    So excited for your knitting! I can’t believe that your first knitting project was a man’s sweater, crazy lady! I’m pretty impressed that you not only finished it but managed to get it to fit him. A cowl is perfect. Do you have a pattern and yarn picked out? Details, details! This is one of my absolute favorite cowl patterns- I made the longer version and the stitch pattern makes it look lovely when it’s looped in two. It’s also super easy. Have a great weekend!

      1. Oh Robin, this pattern looks awesome! Thank you! I knew I could count on you to point me in the right direction. And I totally looked like a crone when I was working that crazy job – it took 8 months of recuperating to reduce the haggard-ness, but there are still some deeply etched wrinkles from those days…

  3. I too am not keen on being photographed (my blog profile pic is a photo of a spanish playing card I had pinned up in my study). Good on you for allowing us to see your lovely face. Lazy eye and uneven eyebrows are not evident in the photo!

    1. Thank you, Marisa! So glad you feel the same way about self-portraits – I always make sure I’m behind the camera!

  4. hi Sanae!
    it’s been too long since I last wrote. I wanted to let you know that the wonderful outfits you made for our great-granddaughter are loved and well worn. she will be one in June. do you have any 12-24 months outfits available for me to choose one or two? would love to see them if you do.
    it looks like all is well with you and your lovely family.
    hope you all have a wonderful Easter and beginning of spring.
    Joni

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