baby blanket–in progress

began on thursday afternoon

square #1 finished, friday evening
modeled so beautifully by my new student, Eun

square #2 in progress, saturday evening

and, i forgot to add this to the pile of books i bought last week, but, a little reading–non-fiction–to go along with my knitting (if only i had three hands so that i could read and knit at the same time…)

Back to blogging….with a pile of books!

[books i've bought over the past few weeks: most of the titles are legible, but the bottom section is all Korean craft books (cross-stitch, crochet, sewing, cushions) and magazines (dwell, oprah, real simple, readymade, domino)]

I know, i haven’t been around online a lot lately…I guess i’ve kinda been hiding, sequestering myself in my home and doing nurturing/domestic stuff to help myself get over the fact that Mom and Jaret aren’t here any more…

I’ve barely let myself think about the whole month of April…the memories are in there somewhere, but i’m afraid to touch them, because they still might explode. But i’ve got lots of stories and pictures to share, which i will, as soon as it’s safe

First news: the green ripple is done! (Well, 99% done, i still have to finish sewing in the loose ends) Isn’t it great? It’s huge! and heavy!

And then with the leftovers, a granny-square afghan that looks like a flower garden It’s a lot smaller than the other, but it’s perfect for the couch…

When i started both of these, i originally planned on giving them away–but now there’s no way. I’m too attached! But I have plans for some floor mats and about 6 more blankets, four of which i am making for other people….

And i did a bit of playing with my lovely new oven:

[clockwise from top: ciabatta, english muffins, banana muffins, banana loaf, salmon and pasta casserole, ciabatta starter, green tea and yogurt panna cotta, breakfast sausages, crustless potato and tomato quiche, garlic and spinach dip, carbonara pasta with orange peppers. Recipes soon!]

—aaaaand, just on a side note, it’s been one year since Paul and I met (May 25th…we celebrated with some sparkling wine and another really great conversation) Thanks for being my friend, Jungho………oh! and thanks for introducing me to your amazing sister!!!

oooh! a meme! about books!

Found this really interesting meme on cosymakes‘ blog after I saw her mini granny squares post over on the grannysquares photo pool at flickr. Though she didn’t tag anyone, I’m doing it, and I hereby tag anyone who reads this post.

Look at the list of books below:
* Bold the ones you’ve read,
* Italicize the ones you want to read
* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I guess I haven’t done too badly. My favourites? The Lord of the Rings, Anne of Green Gables, The Power of One, The Alchemist, The Kite Runner, The Thorn Birds,The Time Traveller’s Wife, The Little Prince, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and The Good Earth.