Remember two years ago--three years ago--when every single day had to include some form of knitting--or at least fiber art--since I can now crochet and such--every day or I just didn't feel good about myself?
Well, last year that really went to hell in a hand-basket. Alot happened last year. Alot. And I have been sort of not myself for two years now anyway--that's a lie--I haven't been myself in way longer than that.
Say 1993? 1994? to start?
Anyway--2008 was a really terrible year--even though it was an incredibly good year as well. In 2008 I finally got all my sh*t together.
Got on my feet financially. Bought my house. Killed the car. Moved--mostly. :-)
I found my happy place. I found a home.
I do not usually knit when upset--or if I go the opposite route--I knit alot. Obsessively and compulsively. Even if nothing comes of it. I will admit I am a bit on edge at the moment--or I have been up until today--today thus far has been a stellar day--talk about getting things done. Wah-hoo! :-)
I balked at the December holidays as I had set myself up a mighty task of many fiber-y things for many people. I failed miserably at most of those tasks. I did however manage to finally FINALLY finish the mermaid doll I have been promising my niece for what two years now? Yes, I am a bad auntie. It is true. But--I didn't want to KNIT another one--I wanted an amigurumi version. And I found it--on etsy . The doll went over tremendously well. I also managed to crochet some scarves and knit some scarves. And I am more than halfway done with a willie warmer--but I have until January 3 to finish that. The use of dpns that size makes my fingertips hurt--so I have been taking it in stages.
I have a real Scotsman that hangs around looking for weird things to wear beneath his kilt--and lucky me--I can knit--and crochet. Will wait to sew one from fleece for him.
Question: can someone explain to me the reason the bottom of the sac opens? I have asked a couple guys and they are all of the opinion it must be to vent and allow air in if things get a little warm. Is this true--or is there something we are all missing about such things? Enquiring minds want to know. :-)
However, once the kids were gone to the x's --and my house emptied of guests--I had no other desire than to pick up needles and yarn and DO something.
I have frogged no less than 2 shawls and roughly 6 hats. All for various reasons. I have been updating my ravelry space darn near daily--to my utter delight. I even frogged the old patons essence shawl that I had stopped when we were in WV. I reclaimed just over 2 skeins of patons essence again--and I am very happy about that. Now I am looking forward to recycling all those sweaters I have in storage waiting for me to get to them--
I have finished three hats. I have found out that I have one skein of yarn that is just not enough to finish a hat--though I tried very hard to make it work out--but it didn't.
The one thing I did finally learn was how not to start any project in the round by working things back and forth until I feel confident enough to join things and work around without having to worry about the stitches being twisted. Now I cast on and go working in the rounds from the get-go without worrying about the stitches
I have alot of planning to do for the coming year.
I decided not to buy any knitting or crocheting books--and then I saw some hats from 'Boutique Knits' and I thought--well--maybe just this one.......
but -- lucky me--I have connections who have library cards in the ST Louis County library system. Mwah haha. :-)
I need to decide what I am making for the kids -- I want to both sew them blankets and crochet them blankets.
I have a nesting instinct going on which is calling me to start thinking of what I am going to make for the forth-coming babies. I think I am going to focus on hats and booties and soakers and blankets and such simply because until I am actually pregnant I have no clue what season they will be bourn in--and although I get alot of conflicting information there I am erring on the side of caution--lest I put alot of effort into sweaters that are too small to begin with, the right size for the wrong season--or the wrong size for the right season...so I need to make a list there.
In 2008 I had planned to knit from my books--did I? Well, maybe a little. I bought too many patterns from etsy--and discovered that all patterns are not created equal--and I can use that as a hefty excuse not to make them up. Otherwise everyone I know would have had a very sushi holiday. :-)
My plan this year is to knit my own stuff. I am unpacking gobs of stuff--and I have TONS of patterns I have printed out and/or copied down--I mean binders and folders and just plain old stacks of paper covered with patterns all over the place. I have a 72 in tall bookcase full of nothing but fiber books--knitting, crocheting and the few spinning books I have. Full. In 2008 I did manage to release all the books I no longer wanted (on the fiber front at least--I am still working on the rest :-) )--and as I look over some of these books it dawns on me--I couldn't tell you what is inside most of these books--much less why I bought them--why I keep them--or what I could possibly desire to knit from them.
If i want a pattern for something--what's the first thing I do? I go to ravelry, of course. If I can't find it there for free I usually do not need it.
I spent hours yesterday trying to find my fleshed-out outline for my knitting book (remember that? it's still here, yes--I kind of laid it aside when I learned to crochet--because my crochet really expanded my knitting world--but now I actually want to work up the patterns in my own book--because that is one of my goals for 2009--to knit my own stuff from my own book so I can have examples so I can get the darn thing published!)--I think it must be in my boxes still at dad's--and I am not going for those until at least March -- simply because I am not going alone again--and E is not coming w me--she says she is far too afraid to move again--and she also thinks we will be moving within the year. I said if we do move, someone is moving us--we aren't doing it all by ourselves again. Note here: I said when we moved in here that we'd be here 3-5 years--but the more I think about what the small girl has to say the more i think she may be right--we may only be in this house a year before we sell it--but we aren't leaving this area for 3-5 years--long back story here that I am not getting into at the moment--lest I jinx it. :-)
I also lost one of E's holiday presents--I put it somewhere safe in the storage room--then re-arranged and stuffed full the storage room--and for the life of me cannot figure out what I did with the thing. It's an ant farm--with the blue gel stuff instead of sand. Yes, I got her ants instead of a snake--and thank goodness the ants are not actually in the thing. So--this pay check I am looking to buy some vertical storage things to sort and store paperwork in--rather than buying yet another bookcase. Plus, if I manage it correctly, I can have the sucker delivered--which for me is a god-send and about the only way I am going to get anything into this house as the car is still sitting in the carport awaiting the ever-unreachable claims adjuster to get off her butt and actually do something other than pretend to call me--when you call a person back within moments of her calling you and there's no answer--more than once--then the issue is not with you. Really. :-)
Also on the agenda is to set up a business here in the state I am living so that I am covered on that basis. I am trying to ponder if I should save the $500 for the car--or move forward on the business --which would be more--effective. But I have time to ponder that more--and saving the $500 makes me feel better in either direction anyway. I have to go talk to someone about the legal ins and outs there.
Typed 12/29/08 before my son came over and accidentally killed my computer monitor
more will be forth-coming asap :-)
