Distractions

Lately I've been distracted by other things than what's on my needles - I'm enjoying working on my bat shawl and on my Trellis and Vine sweater, but I'm heeding the call of other projects.

Exhibit 1 - I can crochet! Is this the dark side? I can do a basic chain, single crochet and double crochet and make a ring, and now I'm browsing Ravelry for crochet patterns! Amigurumi here I come! It started with a custom knit request from one of my aunts for one of my cousins for a sort of headband that they saw in a shop. After conversing with my sister-in-law, Virginia, who is way more up with these sorts of fashion things than I am, I decided that even though it was crochet, Headband with Flower was the best choice.

Ravelry details - I used some cotton yarn from my stash, and it was done in an afternoon. Crochet is pretty cool and I like that it has rejuvenated how I browse patterns!

Exhibit 1a: I told you I couldn't stop crocheting. I made the another crochet flower and attached a clip to the back - haven't been able to get Lorelai to wear it yet.

Totally not blocked, the yarn is Schaefer Yarn "Laurel".

Exhibit 2: I went digging in the bags of projects I keep near my computer. So sad to have hibernating projects! I finished up a loaf of bread!

Ok, not really. This is better:

It's one of the Pile-able Pups from Mochimochiland - so cute. It was cute, but I think I have lost my momentum on this project and it may just be the one pup. But he's still pile-able, see?

Stuff on my dog. Other details about this are on here.

Exhibit 3: This sweater, Peace Baby has been in and out of hibernation for a while. I finished all the seaming and have to now go back and do the neck trim and the little design on the front.


I've also be distracted / inspired by these websites - go check them out!
*Craft Hope
*Sharing Our Gifts: 50 Gifts, 50 States
*ReadyMade's A Week Without Spending - written by Virginia - I really admire her taking on this challenge and look forward to her tips and revelations!

In the world of Lorelai, she's been really cute lately - this is a fun stage - there's been a lot of mimicking me throughout the day and her "helping" to clean or whatever.

Oh, and we're obsessed with the potty. Not actually using it, but playing with it. Using the cushy tushy part as a big bracelet, or something to look through, or pretend to drive a car...

Ambitions.

2010 is going to be HUGE, I just know it. I also know I've got big plans right at the moment (right before life happens and shifts my priorities), and I tend to take on way more than I should, and I tend to jump right in, and I know I stink at sticking to my resolutions. SO, this is my list of ambitions (or goals or resolutions, whatever.) for 2010, but several of them will hopefully last me for the next decade. Maybe I'll feel somewhat accountable if I post it and put it out there on the internet. (I have given up on 101 in 1000, so we'll see)

Knit / Craft-wise
**Knit from stash: My goal is to only buy yarn for specific projects, not just because of the pretty.

**Work on the crochet-skills: I've got a ton of patterns queued up for amigurumi and toys for Lorelai.

**10 Shawls in 2010: Having made two in 2009 and I do wear them (bandit style), gives me confidence that I can do this (maybe only 5 in 2010, but why not shoot for 10). I'm lurking on this knit-along, but with my current stash I would love to work up the following:
a. Swirl Shawl b. Milkweed Shawl c. Inconceivable d. Herbivore e. Frost Diamonds f. Citron g. Springtime Bandit h. Ishbel (take two - possible gift)i. Rorschach's Net j.Centrique

**Make us Christmas Stockings that match.

**Rav queue could use a bit more sorting through and tagging.

**More charity knitting (Schuyler Blanket Project, Sharing Our Gifts)

**Sweater a Month Challenge Since I spotted this I can’t stop thinking about it, so I guess that’s a good idea to join. I’m thinking that for myself I’ll be using the following strategies:
a. A mix of adult (me) and baby / toddler sweaters - will keep in interesting and will break things up as needed. I’ve got at least 6 babies that I want to knit for in the coming year and several toddlers as well.
b. I’ve got 1 sweater that was started in 2008, but has been hibernating since october. I am going to let that count as a half-sweater.
c. I’ve uncovered a sweater from a pile of WIPs that was started in 2005. It needs a button band fix, seams, ends woven in :) That will count as a quarter sweater.
d. As others have said - variety is key - bulky / super bulky will help, short sleeves will help. Vests? I want one (or two) and may count those as half-sweaters as well.

**Use my sock books and knit some socks! I need new ones!

**Design "something" or several "somethings" - share the design. Get listed on Rav as a designer.

House & Home & Life
**Stick to the menu planning.
**Try 1-2 recipes a week. Use the crock-pot (make it work)
**General organizing (I know what I need to do)
**Having no income already keeps my spending in check - so that will continue, but I am giving more thought to going back to work.
**Read more! (listening to audio books will count.)

Bloggy bits
**Post more frequently.
**Leave more comments (as Sara says, blogging is a two way street)
**Respond to comments (Blogger doesn't always lead me to a way to respond... gotta look into that!)

That should keep me busy, eh?

Holiday Hangover

Ahh. December 26. A day I look forward to especially since we have had the Lorax and have a Christmas marathon starting on Christmas Eve through Christmas night for the last 4 years. We travel to see family - and there is a lot of family to see. This year was probably the best yet - the Lorax is excited to see everyone, is social too (as she puts it "I'm going to go talk to some people") and is independent enough that we can let her roam about our location without too much worry. It was a very nice Christmas and we are so blessed to have such a generous family.

And I can finally post about some things that I made for gifts!

A Koolhaas hat for my youngest brother - I love this pattern though it took me several attempts to find my rhythm with the cables. Eventually I will make myself a hat like this. It is so cozy!


A lump of coal (pattern is on the knitpicks website) for my older younger brother, who one year as a kid actually did get coal in his stocking!


A pair of "Bella's Mittens" for my cousin. I had made this pattern earlier in the year as a sample for a class and loved them. I wish I could wear these - they are warm and snug just they way you would like them to be - however, with the lorax I find I do often need use of my fingers, so I don't do mittens too often. My cousin seemed to like them - she's a college kid - so I hope that she does get a lot of use out of them on campus.


Ok, so this isn't knit, it's sewn felt, and it's BACON! :) This was made for Dan and is just so cute and silly I had to make it as soon as I saw it online. I tend to take photos involving Jackson when he's been asleep because then he is quite compliant - seems like many photos lately have all caught him yawning!

And now I can look forward to non-gift knitting. I have several personal projects ready to go, two different samples that I hope to tell you about soon, and I'm considering a create-my-own-sock-club-thing, but that is still uncertain / in the works. Still need to deal with the Christmas aftermath. And I was lucky to receive a few knitting related gifts that I look forward to sharing here on the blog and putting to good use asap. Along with my new snow boots - apparently there is a big storm coming our way today / Monday! We will probably postpone picking Jackson up from his vacation until Tuesday or so due to the storm. He is so missed! The Lorax has been talking up building a snowman for a long time so some snow would be quite nice!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!