Pneumonia. Again.
Please play quietly amongst yourselves, I'll see you in a few days.
11 January 2012
08 January 2012
2011 Project Summary
Thanks for all of the well-wishes about our adoption of Dug the Dog. We are so happy to have him in our family, and he seems pretty pleased as well. Even the kitties don't have their noses too far out of joint - Jetsam is cautious, but not freaked out, and Pip is curious because if he could just get One.Good.Sniff. without Dug moving, he'd know what was going on ...
I made this mosaic of my 2011 craft projects (called so because one of them - the wreath - is not knitted, though technically it used knitting yarn to create), and though they are few, I'm pleased with all of them.
I was thinking that it seemed that I did more, and then I realized that two projects I was working on were sweaters that are still in progress, as well as the Graydon socks, which I haven't finished, because I'm not sure I like them that much after all. They are in a time-out at the moment, until I feel like picking them up again and deciding. In the end, they may be frogged and turned into regular plain socks, but that's a decision for the [probably near] future.
I'm in the process of deciding what projects I want to focus on for 2012, and how I want to approach things. Remember I said I've been giving some thought to a lot of things for this year? Well, that's one of them. I feel like I'm getting myself organized with a plan, which always makes me feel good about anything.
One thing that will be new to me starts this Tuesday evening, when I take the first in a series of five classes in Beginning Quilting at Spool, which is about a block and a half from my house. I have a class credit there, I've always loved quilts, and have actually tried to avoid actively taking a class, figuring that I didn't need yet another thing to become obsessed with ... however, I decided that I would just go ahead and take the class and find out how I feel about it. I would like to think that if I fall in love with quilting, I'll have learned from my experience with knitting that I don't have to have every piece of fabric I like, any more than I have to have every skein of yarn that I like ....
(I'll keep you posted on that one.)
I made this mosaic of my 2011 craft projects (called so because one of them - the wreath - is not knitted, though technically it used knitting yarn to create), and though they are few, I'm pleased with all of them.
I was thinking that it seemed that I did more, and then I realized that two projects I was working on were sweaters that are still in progress, as well as the Graydon socks, which I haven't finished, because I'm not sure I like them that much after all. They are in a time-out at the moment, until I feel like picking them up again and deciding. In the end, they may be frogged and turned into regular plain socks, but that's a decision for the [probably near] future.
I'm in the process of deciding what projects I want to focus on for 2012, and how I want to approach things. Remember I said I've been giving some thought to a lot of things for this year? Well, that's one of them. I feel like I'm getting myself organized with a plan, which always makes me feel good about anything.
One thing that will be new to me starts this Tuesday evening, when I take the first in a series of five classes in Beginning Quilting at Spool, which is about a block and a half from my house. I have a class credit there, I've always loved quilts, and have actually tried to avoid actively taking a class, figuring that I didn't need yet another thing to become obsessed with ... however, I decided that I would just go ahead and take the class and find out how I feel about it. I would like to think that if I fall in love with quilting, I'll have learned from my experience with knitting that I don't have to have every piece of fabric I like, any more than I have to have every skein of yarn that I like ....
(I'll keep you posted on that one.)
06 January 2012
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas ...
The shelter gave to me
an offici-ally adopted pup-py!
As of approximately 6:30 p.m. this evening, Dug the Dog is OUR boy!
04 January 2012
Getting All Philosophical on Myself
Here we are, four days into 2012. I'm getting over a killer cold, adjusting to having to actually go to work on a regular basis again, and trying to decide what's what. I've spent the last week or so doing a lot of thinking about things I've been reading, and listening to, and have some ideas for the what/why/how/where of myself for the coming year.
Over the New Year's weekend, my niece Amanda and her husband Patrick came up from Baltimore for a visit. We had a nice time, and as we were walking Dug the Dog on New Year's Eve, we were discussing New Year's Resolutions. I said that after a long time, I've realized that resolutions need to be realistic, and it had really changed the way I decided what I wanted to try and do for any given year. This year, I decided I "wanted to do better at everything." Meaning that I want to be mindful of what I am doing, and how I can be better at it, while not making myself thinking that I need to be the BEST at everything. There are some things I do very well, thank you very much, but there is always room for improvement, no matter how small.
Since then, I've been reading what others have to say about resolutions/goals/ideas - whatever you want to call them, and though some of it is the same old crapola, I did come across some things that resonated with me. And those things seem to be sticking with me, so in the coming posts, I'll be sharing the things I want to try this year that I'm feeling excited about.
I shall try not to get preachy, or sound superior, or bore you to death with my philosophical musings and decisions. But I thought you at least deserved a warning that they would be coming along, so you can plan your blog reading - or not - accordingly!
Over the New Year's weekend, my niece Amanda and her husband Patrick came up from Baltimore for a visit. We had a nice time, and as we were walking Dug the Dog on New Year's Eve, we were discussing New Year's Resolutions. I said that after a long time, I've realized that resolutions need to be realistic, and it had really changed the way I decided what I wanted to try and do for any given year. This year, I decided I "wanted to do better at everything." Meaning that I want to be mindful of what I am doing, and how I can be better at it, while not making myself thinking that I need to be the BEST at everything. There are some things I do very well, thank you very much, but there is always room for improvement, no matter how small.
Since then, I've been reading what others have to say about resolutions/goals/ideas - whatever you want to call them, and though some of it is the same old crapola, I did come across some things that resonated with me. And those things seem to be sticking with me, so in the coming posts, I'll be sharing the things I want to try this year that I'm feeling excited about.
I shall try not to get preachy, or sound superior, or bore you to death with my philosophical musings and decisions. But I thought you at least deserved a warning that they would be coming along, so you can plan your blog reading - or not - accordingly!
**********************************
In knitting news, I have a 2011 round-up to get ready, but I can show you four birthday gifts I knitted for four of my nieces' birthdays in November and December. Now that they have been gifted, apparently appreciated, and worn, I feel it's safe to let you see them in all of their glory:
Yep, they are varying yarns and colors, but they are all the Fetching pattern. Kinda sorta last-minute, I decided that I wanted to make fingerless gloves for each of these nieces. At first, I decided that I'd use four different patterns. Then I thought about it, and realized that it might be better to give them all the same pattern, just different colors/yarns. That way, it would not seem that so-and-so got a nicer pair. The other thing was, I had to have enough yarn already in my stash - no new yarn would be bought. I checked, and realized that I had some really nice stash yarns that would be enough for four pairs, and I was off!
I sorta became a Fetching knitting machine - as a matter of fact, by the time I reached Pair #4, I had the pattern memorized! But because they are quick, and interesting, and each one used a different color and/or brand of yarn, I wanted to see how they turned out, which definitely kept me knitting.
If you are interested in details, the information is all on Ravelry.
From left to right:
There are two more gifts I'm still finishing - a cowl for my friend/temporary boss, Clare, which is really more of a Thank You Gift than a Christmas gift, and the second Dashing for The Tim, originally meant to be for Christmas, but not thought of and/or started in a reasonable amount of time (at least not for the way I knit!). I guess those will have to be the first FOs of 2012. Sigh. So close and yet so far. But it's not a contest, and I want to do things better, remember? So it will be all in time, and it will be fine.
What are YOU up to for 2012??
01 January 2012
Happy New Year!
May you be blessed with
warmth in your home,
love in your heart,
peace in your soul,
and joy in your life.
-Irish blessing
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