You Might Wanna Sit Down for This One

An FO! What? She knits? Like with actual yarn and actual needles and actual k2tog's?

That's right, people. I knit. It's not just something I SAY I do. You know, like ruling the world and climbing Tibetan mountains.

Oh. Wiseguys. You want proof, you say? You can't handle the proof. (yes, I really just went there.)

I hereby christen this project: The Lt's Ancient Scarf.

I call it this because I really started it 5 years ago as my very first learn-to-knit scarf. You know, the very same garter stitch scarf we all learned to knit on. See, the thing is, I realized very early in my knitting career that I hate working in garter stitch. Did then, do today. So, I moved on to bigger and better things (a roll-brim baby hat in Noro Kureyon*) and blocked out the scarf.

*I learned to knit from a very progressive group of ladies at a FABULOUS teensy little yarn shop in New Orleans called the Quarter Stitch. They do not screw around with silly things like acrylic or patterns. My first pattern consisted of casting on "however many you feel like, sweetie." I learned to knit on hand-spun alpaca. My second project was in Noro Kureyon. What a luscious intro to yarn, eh?

ANYWAY...so I finally decided to finish the damn scarf. I dig it out of it's marination bag, and try to frog it, because every stitch was hideous. (And that's hard to accomplish on alpaca!) Well, the yarn was shot. OH NO!! This means I have to buy MORE alpaca!! Three delicious skeins (or was it 6?) of Blue Sky alpaca later, and this is what we've got. A thick fluffy gorgeous navy-grey-&-moss scarf for the Lt.

Some more pics and Japan stuff for you. These were all taken at/near the far northern tip of Okinawa, called Zanpa. It's gorgeous and blue and slate and really damn windy. Like, Chicago wind looks like a wussy little puff compared to this wind. The wind here is icy and biting and will cut through steel. Wool? This wind says "Bah" and waves it's paw at wool. I am not a fan of venturing out into this type of wind.

It happens that my husband has a particular affinity/obsession with taking horrendously unflattering photos of me suffering in this exact wind. Luckily for him, he brought me this beautiful lace scarf from Russia last summer. Not luckily for me, lace is full of holes. Here we see Russian Refugee Ashley:

There are photos of me from our trip up the California coast line where my lips are blue and my hair is blown literally horizontal from the wind.

However, he does have mad skilz capturing other items that look really beautiful in the wind. He got a lot of pretty shots of the coast line with cliffs and "roiling seas" and such, but the scale is just not done justice. I leave you with this postcard worthy shot: