Mom's Birthday Week

Every year for awhile now my mom has not been celebrating her birthday but we have all been celebrating the anniversary of her 39th birthday. Up until last year I was at the age when I could just pretend I was too young to buy or make her a decent present. This year however I am trying to find something that would hopefully mean something to her and she would cherish for awhile. So I am making three pairs of socks for her.  While also making a shirt that will be done by Christmas. I don't think that there is anyone else in the world that I would get this much effort from me.
These are constantly done in class and I love seeing people's expressions when they realize that socks were not always made on machines. I am like a lot of people. I knit to keep my foot out of my mouth when I am nervous. The only thing I hate is feeling like a machine when people see my knitting and think they can slide money across the table and I will pass them socks. But because no is not really in my vocabulary (its not I am the girl that helps you move, takes and picks you up from the airport, and will take care of your kids for free) I always say it more harshly than I mean to. Last Thursday in class my teacher decided to put me on the spot to look at my knitting in front of the class. One of the younger guys looks at me and says, "How much would that cost me?" Once again I am working on my declining request skills, (I am only 19 here!) I turn to him and say, "You couldn't afford it." Which of course creates the ever loved ohhhhh from everyone else. This was only the first week of class with these guys. Well eight more to go and hopefully I can redeem myself by then.

School

I have a serious issue that I should just own up to. I can't listen to anyone lecture unless I am knitting. School is extremely painful if I have to sit in a dark room for two hours watching a movie. Even if the teacher is absolutely riveting and strikes a note in my very soul I have such a hard time concentrating. So I always knit during class, I can answer every question correctly, laugh and cry at all the right times but my hands never cease motion. In my Acting I class it takes me away from my knitting shield. That beautiful protection that knitting has always provided is gone. I actually have to participate. While some find this good, I am a person who, if I have my knitting, loves listening to another person talk.

Everyone always says that life is too short to do something you don't enjoy. I believe school was designed to push that thought. My Father says it is a necessary evil. My Mother says that looking back I will be proud of the things I did. All I can say is that I hope so.

Sorry for the tangent, back to my WIPs. I currently have on the needles(This is all thankfully):

1.  The Dahlia Cardigan
2. A basic sock just a ribbed instep, for my Mommy's birthday. 
3. A triangular shawl pattern it has flowers on it, hoping it will look better after blocking
4. The tidal wave sock  

The Dahlia Cardigan still lays on my floor almost completely dry. It look beautiful and I can't wait to start on the sleeves. I will post a picture tomorrow. I always have a sock in progress. I have an incredible addiction for knitting socks. They are so pretty and always so much fun to knit. I normally knit all my socks on DPNs. But I have recently acquired a 8" circular needle in size 2. It is so tiny and cute! When doing a plain knitted instep sometimes it can be a pain whether using DPNs or circular needles to move all your needles around just to do more knits. But on 8" needles it is just  a continuous circle, just like doing a teeny tiny hat. It is handy but also easy to carry around anywhere. 

I have been craving cables lately and am on the lookout for the next pretty sweater pattern that has basic cables running through it. I have looked all over Ravelry and I haven't really seen anything yet that moves me. Hmm maybe an afghan, it is nice to have something warm to drape over your lap when you are knitting, especially if that is your knitting. 

Knitter's Tea

Yesterday Aloha Yarn hosted a tea and knit session. It was so much fun and everyone brought yummy baked goods. I even finished the body of my first sweater and first lace project.. It is the Dahlia Cardigan from Interweave Knits, Fall 2011 and can be found on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dahlia-cardigan. It is absolutely beautiful and I will post a picture of it soon, when I finally get batteries for my camera. Right now it is in the process of being blocked on my bedroom floor. I have never blocked lace before so I am excited to see how it turns out. The Yarn Harlot has always talked about how blocking lace is like magic so I am hoping for that same affect and trying to keep my cats off at the same time. They take a step forward realize the floor is wet that then keep walking across flicking their paws the whole time in anger.

First Post

I have been reading everyone's knitting blogs lately and have since been inspired to start my own. So I will take this first post to tell anyone that may ever stumble upon this blog a little about me:

My Ravelry is http://www.ravelry.com/people/Marastari please feel free to write me about anything.

I am 19 and live in Hawaii, which I love, even when island fever sets in. I never stop being amazed at how beautiful this island is. Even though living here means the rent everywhere is so expensive I'm stuck living with my parents still. 

I have been knitting for about a year and a half now but have only recently begun to take a step outside of the scarf safety net. I am constantly knitting socks, they just seem to fall off the needles. Although as much as I have tried larger garments like sweaters and afghans they always leave me tired. Although I do love the bragging rights when someone asked me where I bought my sweater as I'm sure every knitter does. 

As a Freshman in college and between jobs, I have time to knit constantly. I knit in class, while waiting for class to start, while trying to get the patience to actually do my homework, and if the traffic gets bad enough where I am not moving for awhile I knit in the car. 

I took up knitting so I could stop smoking and stop thinking, just in general. Knitting has become a passion which if I'm not thinking about I'm reading about and now I will be writing about. This blog now gives me a reason to take pictures of my knitting because the pressure on Ravelry isn't intense enough. I'm assuming if anyone reads my blog, (fingers crossed) they will want to see pictures and not just lines and lines of text. 

So here is a picture of some socks, made out of on your toes. I am a size eleven if you think that this picture just looks stretched out. Nope those are really the size of my feet. :)