Aaah! New Year!
Season of resolutions and new beginnings. For me, 2007 was a great year. I knitted my first ever scarf! Truly, I did! I always hated the endless nature of scarves and last year I was a confident enough knitter that I actually knitted 3 – 1 for my SIL for her birthday, 1 for my wonderful Stepmum forr HER Birthday (from Recycled silk – which she adores!) and one for me – which was my travelling knitting for a while.
I’ve made my first real lace things, done my first ever cables, knitted around 12 pairs of socks and 7 or so jumpers, dishcloths, and bags, felted stuff – 2 pairs of slippers and 5 bags, fallen in love with KnitPicks and Harmonies, started having more than 1 WIP, started a blog, met lots of wonderful blogpals (some face to face1) and ended up as a moderator on a Rav Group (with SPECIAL POWERS – WOOHOO!)
So for 2008:
I’ve already mentioned I want to knit from stash. I don’t know if I’ll make it to 10 jumpers (given that I need to buy some cotton from Bendi,) but I will try! I really do want to make lots of socks and have almost finished the 3rd SSoS pair and have already cast on the 4th pair and am ready to go on the 5th with my new Noro sock yarn (such pretty colours!). Bella has finally turned the corner and I’ve stopped the interminable but beautiful and hard-on-the-hands band and am on the cotton bit – nice soothing stocking stitch.
I’m going to do some more de-cluttering (all the STUFF that’s been accumulated), and I’m not going to stress about the fact that I’ll get one year older at the end of this month (46 - Oh my!!). I’ll spend more time on things related to knitting and blogging (that should be an easy one!), in an attempt to make it all more professional (eg writing articles and designing more). I’d like to do some dying and learn to use my drop spindle, and spinning wheel, but I’m not going to stress if I can’t fit that time in.
I’m going to make an effort to meet more of my blogpals in the flesh (that’s easy too!). I’m going to finally subscribe to Bloglines instead of clicking on everyone’s blog every day in the hope someone is making new posts about the fun stuff they’re doing.
I’ll definitely do more swaps – because the tea cosy was such fun!
I like Taph’s aim of buying something from an Australian independent producer every month, so I’ll try to do more of that!
I’ll try to be more organised and get rid of stuff and live in a tidier and less cluttered environment. And spend less money (especially on my credit card), and knit more.
I’ll make lists and have fun and spend lots of time doing fibre-y stuff with the kids! (We spent yesterday dyeing wool with food colouring and had lots of fun – more about that later)
I’d like to knit a real lace shawl (and have some gorgeous lace-weight of Spidey’s to do it with).
I’d also like to lose weight and get fitter (I can knit while walking, I’m sure), because then I’d get to knit more things because they wouldn’t need to be so big! Also, if I got fitter I’d probably live longer, and that would give me time to knit more stuff and become a cantankerous old lady – and poke people with knitting needles!
I’m also going to do some sewing this year – I’ve bought some fabric and want to make some project bags a bit like Rosered’s! (I’d also like to make some like 2Paws and Kate’s but am not sure I’m up to that yet!). I am also NOT going to try and build up a fabric stash because I need more stuff like I need a hole in the head.
There. That should be enough to keep me occupied for a while. There’s more – I should be gardening and cleaning out rooms and reading more and learning more things and knitting for charity and teaching more people to knit. But somehow I’ve got to fit my life in between all this other stuff, so if it happens, well and good, and if it doesn’t – well, there’s always next year!
Bore Da!
Ins and Outs
In
2 balls Noro sock yarn – yarn porn!
Norah Gaughan Volume 1
1 set harmony option ends
1 set harmony sock needles
Christmas pressies – including DPN holder and Small project bag (Thanks Kate and RoseRed)
Clothes and Undies
Perfume
Game
The Silver Spoon cook book
Walking with Dinosaurs DVD
8 tops for me – Op Shop, Rockmans, and mail order
1 dress
Nice soap and Tea
2 skeins gorgeous baby alpaca (Thanks Donyale!)
NB I received 13 not 12 balls of the Tencel/Wool mix from the lovely Donyale – so I’m fessing up to the extra one because I can’t count
20 balls Zara (on sale so not counting as stash!)
Large bag of Sale wool from Bendi
2 large plastic tubs for the looking after of aforementioned yarn
Other assorted little notions for Christmas
Out
23 jars – fruit and veg shop (jams and pickles)
70 egg cartons – fruit and veg shop
23 items of clothing – Women’s refuge
15 new items of underwear – Women’s refuge
2 pairs shoes – Lifeline
3 shirts – gift
2 nighties, 4 pairs trousers. 3 tops – gifts
Massive amount of old papers trashed, recycled and/or shredded (around 3 boxes full!)
Shake it all about
3 skeins of 14 ply stash wool, dyed with food colouring by kids and me – to be turned into hats!
Showing posts with label resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resolutions. Show all posts
Monday, January 7, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Christmas and Resolutions
New Years Eve already!!!
OK – whoever stole November please step forward!
Well, Christmas has been and gone (‘Already!’ sigh some, and ‘Again’ moan others) and brought its usual goodwill and pressies. My present were wonderful – just what I asked for from the Accountant (well, I had given him a list, with those things I especially wanted highlighted) and some great surprises (thank you Happy Spider, Taph, Rosered and Kate). I ate too much and didn’t drink quite enough (although there was a magnum of Moet supplied by my SIL and her partner on Boxing Day!). There was travel – there always is for us – and catching up with family.
The best bits – having my SIL stay (the Accountant’s sister) and bring her partner, both much loved by the kids; the expressions on the Princess’s and Destructoboy’s faces as they opened their Christmas Stockings – filled by Santa some time on Christmas eve, them again as they started practicing on the little bicycle with training wheels from Grandad and Nana, and their sheer unalloyed joy at the whole Christmas thing, from Princess being Mary on the Kindergarten float in the Christmas parade, all the way through to massive trampoline bouncing everyday since Boxing day!
In addition, because the Accountant is on holiday, I slipped off to the movies yesterday and saw my first film on the big screen since Chicago was released (around 5 years ago). There were about 10 people in the cinema on Sunday morning to watch The Golden Compass and I was one of them. Just for the record, I loved it (although this maybe partially because I was alone and could watch with the guilty pleasure of having slipped the leash). I adored Lyra’s knitted jacket – a mohair silk mix I would guess – while she was with the Gyptians. I also loved the fact that I saw it on the big screen instead of waiting for DVD release, for the fact there are likely to be 2 more, for the fabulous casting and for the fact I want to re-read (for the umpteenth time) the books. I was also rather glad to see that ‘Prince Caspian’ will be released in winter – I might have to book the babysitter to ensure I see that one!
I also received my teacosy swap parcel from the wonderful Sheila – she matched my kitchen colours absolutely perfectly and sent fabulous biscuits, chai, a whale tea towel from Canada and a skein of gorgeous Watercolour sock yarn from the Knittery! How lucky and spoilt I felt (and it arrived just before Christmas!)
I spent a very pleasant few hours over Christmas finally getting out the ball winder and swift I bought from Donny back in November (I think) and peacefully wound 29 skeins of sock yarn into balls. This made me realise I have rather a lot of sock yarn, given that I didn’t ball all of it, and this didn’t count any of the commercial yarns already in balls or those thoughtfully wound for me by hand painters and dyers. So please see the New Year Yarn Resolution a post or so back.
I did enjoy the winding, there’s something wonderful in watching a small piece of relatively simple machinery do its job gracefully and perfectly. I made gorgeous yarn cakes one after another – lovely.
On the knitting front, the band of the Bella Blouse grows immensely slowly – I am lucky to get four repeats (of the 32 I need) done in a night, as I apparently cannot count to 15 after 6pm. I have finished 1 Kaibashira sock in Fleece artist Somoko and love it and the pattern (and the little frilly cuff which takes ages and starts with 187 stitches), and think I need a mindless large project at some point soon.
The Princess coined a lovely word yesterday – ‘Stupideous’! I think this will be a very useful term and I intend to use it often for those things in life which are both stupid and hideous!
I forgot to mention Kate’s Pay it Forward scheme, in which I am participating in 2008. The first 3 people who request to be part of this on my blog will receive a handmade something or other during 2008. In order to receive this whatever-it-might-be, you must do the same – ask 3 people to participate and receive an item, and make something for another 3 people. I love the idea and am sure that being knitters, we will provide something just when it is needed!
Have a wonderful and safe New Year! Enjoy the last of 2007 and thanks for sticking with me this year!
OK – whoever stole November please step forward!
Well, Christmas has been and gone (‘Already!’ sigh some, and ‘Again’ moan others) and brought its usual goodwill and pressies. My present were wonderful – just what I asked for from the Accountant (well, I had given him a list, with those things I especially wanted highlighted) and some great surprises (thank you Happy Spider, Taph, Rosered and Kate). I ate too much and didn’t drink quite enough (although there was a magnum of Moet supplied by my SIL and her partner on Boxing Day!). There was travel – there always is for us – and catching up with family.
The best bits – having my SIL stay (the Accountant’s sister) and bring her partner, both much loved by the kids; the expressions on the Princess’s and Destructoboy’s faces as they opened their Christmas Stockings – filled by Santa some time on Christmas eve, them again as they started practicing on the little bicycle with training wheels from Grandad and Nana, and their sheer unalloyed joy at the whole Christmas thing, from Princess being Mary on the Kindergarten float in the Christmas parade, all the way through to massive trampoline bouncing everyday since Boxing day!
In addition, because the Accountant is on holiday, I slipped off to the movies yesterday and saw my first film on the big screen since Chicago was released (around 5 years ago). There were about 10 people in the cinema on Sunday morning to watch The Golden Compass and I was one of them. Just for the record, I loved it (although this maybe partially because I was alone and could watch with the guilty pleasure of having slipped the leash). I adored Lyra’s knitted jacket – a mohair silk mix I would guess – while she was with the Gyptians. I also loved the fact that I saw it on the big screen instead of waiting for DVD release, for the fact there are likely to be 2 more, for the fabulous casting and for the fact I want to re-read (for the umpteenth time) the books. I was also rather glad to see that ‘Prince Caspian’ will be released in winter – I might have to book the babysitter to ensure I see that one!
I also received my teacosy swap parcel from the wonderful Sheila – she matched my kitchen colours absolutely perfectly and sent fabulous biscuits, chai, a whale tea towel from Canada and a skein of gorgeous Watercolour sock yarn from the Knittery! How lucky and spoilt I felt (and it arrived just before Christmas!)
I spent a very pleasant few hours over Christmas finally getting out the ball winder and swift I bought from Donny back in November (I think) and peacefully wound 29 skeins of sock yarn into balls. This made me realise I have rather a lot of sock yarn, given that I didn’t ball all of it, and this didn’t count any of the commercial yarns already in balls or those thoughtfully wound for me by hand painters and dyers. So please see the New Year Yarn Resolution a post or so back.
I did enjoy the winding, there’s something wonderful in watching a small piece of relatively simple machinery do its job gracefully and perfectly. I made gorgeous yarn cakes one after another – lovely.
On the knitting front, the band of the Bella Blouse grows immensely slowly – I am lucky to get four repeats (of the 32 I need) done in a night, as I apparently cannot count to 15 after 6pm. I have finished 1 Kaibashira sock in Fleece artist Somoko and love it and the pattern (and the little frilly cuff which takes ages and starts with 187 stitches), and think I need a mindless large project at some point soon.
The Princess coined a lovely word yesterday – ‘Stupideous’! I think this will be a very useful term and I intend to use it often for those things in life which are both stupid and hideous!
I forgot to mention Kate’s Pay it Forward scheme, in which I am participating in 2008. The first 3 people who request to be part of this on my blog will receive a handmade something or other during 2008. In order to receive this whatever-it-might-be, you must do the same – ask 3 people to participate and receive an item, and make something for another 3 people. I love the idea and am sure that being knitters, we will provide something just when it is needed!
Have a wonderful and safe New Year! Enjoy the last of 2007 and thanks for sticking with me this year!
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