Return of the blog! West Coast Edition!

Do people still blog? It's been a long time since I lasted posted to this blog - almost 3 years. What happened?! A lot. Since my last post, I became a workaholic at a new job, went totally crazy, had the last straw with winter, and finally quit the job and winter and moved to Los Angeles. But don't worry, I won't become, like, totally LA. I mean, you'll probably see more posts about smoothies and bootcamp, but I still eat lots of yummy bad food. I'll probably start a new home search sometime in the next year, which means new DIY projects. My new LA life allows me the time to be interesting again, in a crafty/cooking/old lady kind of way. Just the way I like it. So welcome to the new and not-quite-improved blog - West Coast Edition!

In the meantime, I've kept up my crafting obsession, especially as my friends and family have kept up their procreation activities. Most recently I finished some baby quilts. Quilting is great because it is so much faster than knitting. But it requires way more precision and careful measuring than I am capable of. Plus, I hate ironing and you have to iron every little piece, and then again and again. But these turned out beautiful and the recipients were happy with them.

Korean alphabet quilt - pattern from Monomo at Etsy

Amurican alphabet & numbers quilt - these were for twins so they both got their own

Baby Athena's quilt inspired by Cluck Cluck Sew

Most of the materials were fat quarters I bought at my favorite craft store in Cambridge, MA - Gather Here. For Athena's quilt I created one of the fabrics on Spoonflower.com using the logo from my college a capella group (which her mother was in). Surprisingly I also found some cute material at Target. Who knew Target carried fat quarters?

And in case you're wondering, Puppy is enjoying his new life in the California sun! Here he is modeling a cute dinosaur hat (Dino Cap by Kris Hanson on Ravelry)

Musicals, knitting, and a surprising new gadget

It's been a while since my last post. I haven't been doing much in the way of home improvement and crafts, because I have been busy in rehearsals for a community theater production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"!

I play the role of Marcy Park - an overachieving Asian student who is good at everything. Type casting! Just kidding. Sadly, I am not as accomplished as Ms. Park (she's a champion hockey player and can do splits) but I can spell. I was 2nd runner-up in the 1st Annual Juilliard Spelling Bee! (which may have also been the only annual bee).

I haven't been in a show since high school, and everyone else in the cast is much more talented and professional than me, but I hold my own and I'm having a blast. For those of you in the area, you can check us out the first three weekends in October at the Next Door Theater in Winchester, MA. Yes - it's in my hometown. And we now have ONE bar so we can grab a drink after the show!


I did manage to finish two knitting projects this summer - my only non-baby-related projects of the last few years. The first was a cute pair of fingerless gloves for my bestie, so she can wear them while studying in her new PhD program in her new home in Evanston, IL. We are very proud of her, but miss her oodles!

Can you see the little owls in the pattern?

The second project I finished this summer was a real labor of love. I purchased this beautiful silk/merino laceweight wool in Portland, OR, and it was probably the most money I've spent on a single ball of yarn. Actually 2 balls. I started this really pretty stole but had put it on hold for a year or two, and when I picked it back up again, I lost it in a cab! Devastating. Luckily, I had the second skein, and I started over with a whole new pattern. It didn't come out quite as nicely as the original, but it looks really pretty and is surprisingly warm for being so lightweight. The perfect summer wrap!

Rock Island shawl

Finally, the really big news...my dear and wonderful friend Charles who lived with me for a few weeks this summer, surprised me with the most amazing present ever. Actually, it was kind of a barter - in exchange for my beat-up 2001 Honda Civic, he bought me an awesome wireless mic karaoke machine!!!! So I guess I have made some improvements to the condo after all. I will never leave it again.

The song selection is decent, and I plan on buying more song chips to add to the collection (English and Korean!). You are all welcome to the new Do-Mi-Mi Karaoke Lounge!!!

Rockin' out with En Do-gue