Happy New Year 2011

It’s hard to believe another year has slipped away! However, rather than reflect on the past, I feel it is important that I focus on the future. Perhaps this is a turning point for me. I need to think on the positive as Philippians 4:8 says “ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever, is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”


Of course, when one focuses on the future, one needs to have a goal. I don’t think I made many New Years resolutions last year as I feel I had little control of it. I had to surrender totally to where God was to take us. The surrender is still there, but I want to have a little direction for my life, at least the part I have some control over.

Here are some of my initial resolutions:

1. Declutter my home- I am reading a book called “The Joy of Less, Minimalist Living Guide: How to declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life.”

2. Find more time to connect with people. Build relationships. Visit more with people, especially those that have less support.

3. Read more. I’ve given up on TV-can’t get many channels in my area anyway. Most TV is bad news, too. I do not want cable-too expensive. I’ll stick to the internet and Kindle books.

4. Downsize my fiber inventory. Why am I keeping so much around? I have less time to use it.

5. Have fun with the grandkids. What a joy they are and a challenge. Give them a supportive, stable and loving living environment.

6. Read through Proverbs.

7. Loose weight: find time to exercise. Consider joining a gym.

8. Stick to my budget. Save up to take my grandkids to Disneyland.

9. Take a weekend trip before summer.

10. Experience Joy! Last year it was the Search for Joy. This year, I want to experience more Joy than ever before.

New Resolutions

Here I sit comtemplating the events of the past two weeks. I lament as I ponder…..is my holiday already over? How sad! I could use more days off. My company has left. The decorations are put away. I think my favorite decorations this year was my Outside angel……

I will miss its sparkle as it announces to the world in trumpet and song that Jesus was born! It looked great both in the day time and at night.
I finally have my house back and now there is no time to do the house projects I had planned during my break. I’ve started my resolutions. I have picked up an old UFO…the Babies and Bears Sweater, as well have spent some time planning a new one….the Milly Mop Sweater for my Grandaughter.

Babies and Bears Sweater: I purchased this pattern and yarn from Alamitos Bay Yarn Company last year while on a weekend trip in Long Beach. I fell in love with the sample cardigan that I thought would be perfect for my new grandchild to be born in August 08. I was impressed with the very soft Berrocco Comfort Yarn and was surprised something this soft should be acrylic. The one thing that holds me off this sweater is that it is in pieces and needs to be grafted together in Kitchener’s stitch. Kitchener’s is something I have very little patience for. However, I finally finished the 2nd sleeve side and very patiently grafted it together. I’m working on the hood now.

The sweater is very much like Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Sweater with a mitered front. I may lengthen it a bit so that my grandson, now 4 1/2 months may use it a little longer. It seems very roomy but if he is anything like his sister, he will stay a good sized baby and outgrow it quickly.

Something new: Milly Mop Cardigan Sweater: I wanted to try to make my 2 year old granddaughter a sweater. Looking through my knitting books I found in The Ultimate Knitter’s Guide, a cute but fairly simple sweater with a lacy border for a toddler. I looked around in my stash and finally found some brushed wool/rayon on a cone laying about. I started a swatch but realized this yarn was laceweight about 18 wraps per inch. I needed a fingering weight. So I wound up some cakes and 2-plyed it on my spinning wheel. It came out wonderfully soft and shiny. The only thing about this single yarn was that it was originally spun in the right direction (clockwise), which means I had to ply it on the left direction(counter clockwise). This direction tends to become unspun or untwisted with my style of knitting, the Eastern Uncrossed Method. To compensate for this, I tried to overspin it slightly.This way it would untwist less as I knit the fabric and still leave some twist to keep it together.

Rather than make a swatch, I started with the sleeve.

I figured that if I didn’t like it or the gauge was not right, a small sleeve would not be too much to rip out. My gauge turned out to be 26 sts/inches rather than 28 sts/in as the pattern required, but I think this will be close enough. Even if the sweater turns out to be a little big it will OK for her…more room to grow into.

I know my logic of one old and one new does not improve my status in reducing my UFOs. It only keeps me at the status quo. I may have to consider revising my plan to two old projects and one new as working projects. Stayed tuned to my progress…….

Felting fun and New Year's Resolutions

I’ve been slightly obsessed with felting Fuzzy Feet and other things. I’ve received so many complements on the slippers I’ve made that are so easy to make. The fuzzy feet pattern from Knitty.com is just like making a sock on Size 10.5 needles. They seem to knit up fast. Where socks knitted on Size 2 needles can frustrate and bore me to no end, these seem the opposite. I can make a pair in about 2-3 days.

Now that Christmas is over, I can again make some things for me. I started some fuzzy feet slippers for me in Red, my favorite color, at this time. Red is so bright and alive and lovely. A very warm and passionate color. After knitting these up I perused some of my felting pattern books. In the book Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas, I found a pattern for an oven mitt. It calls for Bulky weight yarn. I had some blue and red Patons Classic Wool (worsted weight) left over so I doubled it and knitted up a mitt.

After I put them into the machine to felt, they came out great.

My sister-in-law has been staying with us over the holidays and I asked her if she wanted me to make her some. She wanted a baby blue color. I made a trip to Michaels to get some yarn, but to my dismay, they didn’t have the color I wanted. They did, however, have some off white, so I decided to buy 2 skeins and dye it myself. I used some Createx liquid dye, mixing Blue Marine with Turquiose, in the immersion pot, and came out with the perfect color I wanted.

RESOLUTIONS.........

This year, I am making a commitment to using up my stash and reduce my UFO’s (unfinished objects). My New Years resolution is to either reduce my 20+ UFO’s to half in the next 2008 year. I am either going to finish them or frog them. This will be very hard for me, as I tend to get very sentimental and attached to some. It’s hard to think about all the work one puts into a project, just to rip it all out. I suppose as I’ve gotten older, I am realizing that life is just too short and I need to start “cleaning house” and make my life simpler.

Priority UFO’s to Finish

Walter’s Blue Cardigan
Branching out scarf
Crocheted Mocha Roca
Adult Surprise Jacket

UFO’s to Finish
Started % Completed Name of Project
Apr 06 80% Tropical Acrylic Shrug
Feb 06 60% Blueberry Ice wrap baby sweater
Feb 06 60% Yellow Baby Blanket
Mar 06 90% Crayon colored stripe sweater set
Pre-2000 50% Rasperry Fair Isle Mittens
Pre-2000 99% Robby’s Piano Socks
Jun 05 60% Natural Wool striped scarf
Pre-2000 99% Off White Aran Afghan
Dec 05 40% Knit Picks Multicolored FairIsle Vest
Jun 07 60% Lace Anklet

Think about frogging

Jan 06 40% Red Chenile Capelet
Pre-2000 50% White Cotton Sampler Vest
Pre-2000 80% Mohair Scarf
June 05 50% Black/Multi color Handspun sweater
(I can’t even remember what this looks like??)
Jun 05 25% Philosopher’s Technique Fair Isle Sweater
June 05 75% Cotton Flag sweater (Would probably bleed after the first wash anyway)
June 05 50% Blue Cotton crochet vest
Fall 05 50% Color Fair Isle Wool sock (?) Second sock syndrome
Pre-2000 50% Diamonds Woman’s sweater
Pre-2000 75 % Bulky Vest
July 07 10% Handspun Tencel Dog Paw’s Shawl
Oct 2007 30% Dad’s tofusies socks

Think about giving away to someone who can sew it up together or finish
Pre-2000 80% Baby Granny Square Blanket

Wow! I’ve already reduced the number of projects in half, at least in paper only, the real work will be much more difficult emotionally.

A frogging will I go…..A frogging will I go…Hi Ho the merry-oooh…a frogging will I go. ; D