One Year (+ a couple days) Older

Well I started this post a couple days ago (Sunday to be specific) when it actually was my birthday (golden* birthday... ha!). But then work turned into hell and I got the flu. What a great birthday (to be fair, C was really nice and took me out to dinner -- when I thought I was up to it -- and made me a carrot cake and got me wonderful presents).

I have to admit I'm starting to feel old though. This has been my first real year out on my own. College and even heading back to Germany last year were sort of old hat -- something familiar enough that I felt I understood/could handle the situation. But now I've moved to a new city (though having C here with me has been a big asset, and made it not so intimidating!) and started a real job. One where I only get a certain number of vacation days (and not many!) and can be rather stressful at times. And then there's worrying about health insurance (luckily now well covered through my job, but I had to wrestle with crap "short-term" insurance for a while... ugh!) and car insurance and all other forms of insurance. Of course, this amount of worry and stress is really nothing new. It's just different.

But I've also loved having a place of my own (well.. C and I both, but you get the point)! Feeling like I could set down some roots (actually hanging pictures on walls!) because there is no set point when I know I'm going to be leaving. Actually being able to decorate. Setting up a craft(/guest :o)) room. And having a reliable income that covers more than rent/bills has been nice!

The past year+ has also brought about a lot of change in my knitting/fiber life as well. I knit my first pair of socks in Decemeber of 2006. I now buy yarn other than the acrylic super cheap stuff from non-craft stores. I started spinning (though admittedly haven't done much the past week). I got addicted to in to the online knitting community. Podcasts!

So all in all the past year has been great. I'm hoping for the same this year (though it certainly didn't start out that good... ).

Happy knitting.

* For those of you not familiar with the term, golden birthday refers to the birthday on which your age matches the day of the month (ie I just turned 24 on the 24th).

Ravelry

I know not all of you are on Ravelry (but if you want a great source of patterns/advice/knitting fun get on the waiting list!)....

but for those of you who are..

It's not completely pathetic that I'm bummed that it isn't working for me right now and I can't organize my yarn. Right? I mean.... it doesn't mean that I'm completely addicted. Right? Because we all know I can stop any time. And that I'm ... not... checking back every 5 ... 1... minute to see if it's working again. Right?

Also, I joined Sock Madness 2. It's a single elimination tournament where one knitter is paired up against another and a sock pattern is released. Whoever finishes first (or is the furthest after 2 weeks) moves on to the next round. This continues until there is only one final knitter remaining. It sounds like a bunch of fun and even if I'm eliminated in the first round (which is likely considering my work schedule and not being the speediest of knitters), I still get the patterns for all of the rounds. Unfortunately sign ups closed Tuesday night, so you can no longer register (I just found out about it Monday morning!). It starts mid-March though, so I'm hoping to get a lot of stuff accomplished before it starts!

Oooh.... Ravelry's working again......

The Additions

Well this is a little later than the week I gave myself, but my internet has been down the past couple days. So now I present to you the new additions of 2008.

Additions One and Two: Kitties!!



The one on the left is the girl Kati (Kah-tee), though we usually just call her "Girlie." The one on the right is the boy Buddy. They are brother and sister and born mid-August. We got them just after Christmas and they've been great. They love to snuggle and, other than their new trick of getting up on the table, I really couldn't ask for better cats.



Third to join, yet still a great addition: My new car!!



OK, this isn't my exact car. They had already taken the photo down and I haven't taken a picture of mine. It is the same color, model, and year though. Mine just has a few more features. It's a 2006 Ford Escape. My little Jetta was getting up there in miles (133,000) and wasn't liking all the crazy snow storms we were having. It wasn't what I was exactly hoping for, but it has 4WD and has handled the crappy weather well.

The fourth addition? Can you guess? It's fiber related....



Can you guess????


It's.....


a....


SPINNING WHEEL!!!!




That's a Lendrum DT. I got the complete package. I went to the local fiber shop and tried some out in mid-January, but they were out of Lendrums at the time. They finally got some in last weekend and I got to go pick it up last Monday. I've gotten a little spinning done in the last week.

My first mini skein:



Merino/Mohair blend in cream and brown
15 yds, 6 wpi

And my first real project:









Ply #1: 2.1 oz Romney "Green Ocean" by FiberMonster
Ply #2: ~1 oz blue Ashland Bay Merino Top and ~1 oz cream Merino/Mohair blend
196.5 yds, 10-12 wpi

I'm hoping that it'll be enough for some socks.

Well, I guess that's enough for now. This is a pretty picture heavy post. Until next time, happy knitting (or spinning!!)!

Goals for 2008

Hi all!

I know, it's been a while. I bet you're suprised to hear from me! I am hoping to change all of that really soon though. Even though it's already February, I've decided to list some fiber-related resolutions for the new year. I will update you soon on other things that have happened in the past 2 months including some new additions to the family (both living and not!).

Without Further Ado....

GOALS FOR 2008!

1) Knit from the stash. I have a lot of yarn that is just sitting around. And though it's beautiful, it really needs to be used. I'm not going to guarantee that I won't buy any yarn, I am going to limit myself to yarn for specific projects and stuff that is on sale. No full priced yarn!

2) Finish some of those WIPs! I have a ton of single socks that really need to be finished. And I doubt I need to tell you that I didn't get through that entire list of Christmas knitting. I really need to finish the things I start instead of buying more knitting bags to hold the ones I haven't finished! Also, I need to finish Rambling Rows in time to use next fall/winter.

3) Try some new techniques. I really want to knit a fair isle sweater for myself. And there is going to be a new fiber-related pursuit (you'll find out soon... it's one of the "additions" to the fam!) that I am excited about.

4) And one of the most important: blog at least once a week! I have really neglected this blog since I've moved back Stateside. I've neglected it so much I don't remember the little coding I had learned! So one of my big goals is to put something up here at least once a week. It doesn't have to have pictures or be anything huge, but I want to reconnect with the blog-o-sphere and start recording my thoughts and knitting progress again.

5) Keep a better paper journal too (or at least keep up better on Ravelry). I started a knitting journal back in Germany and haven't been keeping up with that either. Hopefully I'll be more organized all around.

6) Join the local Guild and meet new people! I found a great knitting group, but I would love to connect with people who are.... a little closer to my age.

7) Try not to let fiber stuff cut into time with C. I've been sitting on Ravelry a little too much lately. And though C is very supportive of my fiber habit, I feel I might be neglecting him a little. This doesn't mean don't knit, but maybe less of the cruising around Ravelry for hours.

OK, that's all for now. Wow. Seems like a lot more goals than I originally had on the top of my head. Hopefully I'll keep up with them though. And I will post some long promised pictures as well as pictures and details of the new additions in the coming days. I don't promise this weekend because I am working and picking up one of the new additions tomorrow!

Happy Knitting!

Sigh.

Man oh man. I am pathetic. Get me into something that requires me to blog and I stop doing it! The combination of second shift, holiday knitting and visitors has not been good for my blogging. Anyways, before I do absolutely anything else I really need to thank my SP 11 Mia!

Thank You Mia!!!

She spoiled me absolutely rotten despite my lack of acknowledgement on here. I think I've missed posting about a few packages (though pictures of all have been taken!) so I will do an extra special post with all the pictures this weekend when I have a lot more time. She was great at increasing my knitting library though (a book in each package!) and found some yarns that I had really wanted to try (or hadn't even heard of!). Thanks for making my fall great Mia!

In other knitting news:

Holiday Knitting List
* Icarus shawl for my grandma -- COMPLETE!
* Icarus shawl for my great aunt -- haven't started... yikes!
* Hat for my grandpa -- can't take too long.... right?
* Scarf for my mom -- about 1/2 way done
* Scarf for my dad -- barely begun
* Stocking for C -- COMPLETE!
* Stocking for me -- still in yarn form
* Socks for my future mother in law -- oh man I have a lot to do!
* Knitted Kitties for various nieces/nephews/secret pals -- I have a couple done

Sigh. It's going to have to be non-stop knitting (other than posting pictures!) this weekend. But knitting is... fun... right? RIGHT?! hahaha