Things Are Lookin' Up!

My knitting has been on the back burner for a while, however, thinks are looking up. I recently completed a small project for Mother Bear and I'm currently working on a Jeager cardigan I started last year. For the past month, I've been vacationing in Vietnam and Japan. Last month, I visited Vietnam where I stayed in Ho Chi Minh City and Pandarus Resort. There were many beautiful sights and the shopping was fantastic. The city was crowded with a variety of street vendors and markets offering great bargains. The main mode of transportation was scooters. There were hundreds of scooters with as many as four people on one. The weather was extremely hot and humid. Amidst the heat and humidity, I found a few ladies sitting on the sidewalk knitting sweaters and scarves. I also managed to find a few small yarn shops and a few sidewalk vendors selling yarn. The yarn was sold in plastic tote bags each containing 6 balls of yarn, 2-50g and 4-100g balls. At such a great bargain, I couldn't walk away without making a purchase. I purchased two bags of 100% Wool, one of mocha and one of powder blue. The pictures below are of Pandarus Resort, Ho Chi Minh City, a ride around the city with friends and my yarn purchase.

I decided to use some of the yarn I purchased in Vietnam to make a bear for the Mother Bear Project. The project is a non-profit group dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children, primarily those affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of hand-knit and crocheted bears. The pattern is simple and is a quick knit. I've volunteered to teach the pattern to a few ladies from my Church group. In a few weeks, I'll post pictures of our progress.

After returning from Vietnam, my husband and I decided to take our daughter to Fukuoka, Japan for Spring Break. The city was beautiful and pristine. We visited a few museums, but mostly we relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful city and the Cherry Blossoms. At the hotel, I asked about yarn shops in the area and was given directions to a craft store. Craft World was located on the fifth floor of the Hakata bus terminal. To my surprise, the store had a great selection of yarn, Japanese knitting books and the cutest knitting and crochet kits. In addition to yarn, the store had a large selection of beads, fabric, sewing notions and many other craft supplies. Luckily the store was near the hotel because I needed two visits before deciding on my purchase. On my second visit to the store, I decided to purchase a Let's Knit Series book, nine balls of Diababy...Diamond Knitting Yarn and a few knitting notions. I plan to use the yarn to make a baby blanket. My daughter, who enjoys making pom-pom animals, purchased a variety of Clover pom-pom makers in the picture below.