…I’ve been on my yarn ban for 121 days!!! Dudes, that’s crazy! I can’t believe it’s been that long; it’s been so long in fact that I’ve been forgetting to keep track of the days and to mention it on my blog. Of course, I’ve had two or three moments of weakness, but hey, the yarn acquisition has halted dramatically over the last four months. I plan to continue my ban for the remainder of the year hopefully, or until I use up all my stash yarn (ha!).
That’s all I had to say for now.
It’s been a busy January so far. So busy, in fact, that I missed my own blogiversary. Oh NO! Well, January 6th marked two years since I started my blog, and I spent the time packing for a retreat to Prescott, rather than blogging. I was so excited because it was my first opportunity to wear my hand-knit mittens since I got them last March. It definitely was cold enough in Prescott at night to warrant mittens (and hats and scarves).
It’s also been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to post about my various Christmas gifts I made. Here are some pics:
Granny Chevron Ripple Blanket for my friend Bonnie. She is a wonderful host and needed a crochet blanket to make her house cozier.
Knit robot for nine month old Rylen. He loves the car I crocheted for him when he was born, so I knew this little boy needed a robot buddy.
Now I’m working on baby knits for my new niece set to make her debut sometime this spring. A pinwheel blanket is on the needles right now. It makes the third one I’ve made and quickly becoming my favorite baby blanket pattern. So fun to make.
Happy New Year! Last year was the first year that I started tracking my yarn yardage in order to see how much yarn I use on a monthly basis. After keeping track of each project, here is how much yarn I used in 2008….drum roll please…
63,613 yards
36.14 miles!!!!
No joke! I used an average of 5,000 to 8,000 yards of yarn a month, quickly adding up to a total such as that. I’m really kinda shocked at how much I used last year.
My resolution for 2009: Keep using up the stash, without adding too much more to it (let’s be realistic, I will probably add some yarn to it).
On Christmas Day, we went over to my aunt’s house. She happens to own a very feisty calico cat name Nina. I had brought my new sock project over with me that I started that morning to work on while visiting with family. When Nina saw yarn moving, she instantly came over to investigate:
Or rather, try to steal.
But she knew who was boss, and we came to a nice arrangement:
PS> I just realized this is the first time ever I have posted pics of a cat with my yarn on this blog in the almost two years since I started it. Well, I’m not much of a cat person, as you can tell from above photos.
It’s Christmas Day! I’ve never posted actually on this day of days, so I thought I would break with tradition. I managed to start and finish knitting one last minute, unplanned Christmas gift in time for last night to be given to the recipient. I only managed two knit Christmas gifts this year, and that’s okay. I’m already planning next year’s Christmas gifts, though.
The reason why I’m posting today, however, is because I wanted to share this with you:
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'” (Luke 2:8-14)
I thank God for the many blessings He has given me this year: my sister’s health, my family reuniting, new life on the way, a new church home and new friends, graduation (finally), and lots of time to knit and crochet for the ones I love.
May God bless you and your family this Christmas! He is the reason we celebrate!
So I found this site that if you type in a word, it will randomly generate slogans from pop culture, inserting that word. Here are just *a few* of my favorites:
This was the first one that stuck out to me:
Just funny:
Random:
Even more random:
My new question for strangers:
Need I say more?:
Possibly my new awesome catch-phrase:
Exactly!:
And last but not least, probably my favorite:
Yup.
I have been on my yarn ban for 83 days. Yarn acquisition has been very minimal, nearly non-existent. And I’ve been finishing a lot of stuff. ‘Tis the season for finishing projects. The stash, however, is not decreasing nearly as much as I would like, so I think I’m going to extend the ban to my birthday (March)….Maybe…
I’ll post more when I have pics of finished objects.
To get in the holiday mood, I thought I would devote this post to the seven scarves I made awhile back for the Special Olympics Winter Scarf Project.
When I received my Knit Simple Magazine for Holiday 2008 two months ago, I found an article about the Special Olympics Winter Scarf Project. Last year they asked local knitters and crocheters in the area hosting the event to make scarves for each of the athletes in order to welcome them to the city, to build up the spirit of the games, and to promote the idea that crafting connects both the crafters and the recipients. The initiative was such a success that they decided to open the donation up to the entire knitting/crocheting community in order to receive a goal of 5,000 scarves for the 2009 Special Olympics Winter Games.
After reading the article, I bought up the specific yarn in the colors indicated and immediately got to work on my scarves. I didn’t have an exact number in mind, so I decided to just keep making scarves until I ran out of the yarn that I purchased. For a solid week, I worked on nothing but blue and white scarves. I didn’t use any patterns, just picked stitches that I hadn’t used in a while, so it was satisfyingly mindless knitting and crocheting. I was content to just be working the same stitch pattern over and over again, content to put my mind on hold and just let the feel of the needles and the yarn in my hands be the only thing I thought about.
I ran out of yarn after seven scarves, and seven scarves is what I packed up in a box with individual hand-written notes to ship to the Special Olympics Scarf Project. Here’s a picture of all the finished scarves before being donated:
From Left to Right, here are the scarf pattern specifics:
At the time that I sent my scarves in almost two months ago, they had already received over 1,500 scarves and more were pouring in every day. I’m not sure how many they have now, but I’m sure they will reach their goal. That’s the great thing about knitters and crocheters–we are a generous community, willing to share our craft with all those around us.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive!” (Acts 20:35)
If anyone is interested, there is still time to make and donate scarves. Here’s the website to find out more info.
PS>Day 62 of my 100-day yarn ban is almost over. Happy First Day of December everyone!
This post has nothing to do with yarn or knitting or crocheting–it is something I wrote for my sisters and why I am thankful for them in my lives:
In past years, I’ve never given more than a few minutes’ thought to what I’m thankful for on the actual day of Thanksgiving—partly because I’m a fairly thankful person all throughout the year, and I know that God has given me many blessing that I try not to take for granted. But this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about how thankful I am for the miracle of life. Even more than that, I’ve been thinking about how I’m thankful I have my two sisters.
(LtoR: Me, Heather, Wendy; Thanksgiving 2008)I’m the oldest in my family, and I’ve always felt that it was my duty to somewhat watch out for my sisters, much to their disdain sometimes…I can remember Heather and Wendy telling me numerous times over the years that they already had one mother and didn’t need another one. Despite this tendency of mine, the three of us grew up close—we were each other’s playmates, partners-in-crime, rivals, confidantes, friends, memory-keepers. Although we’ve been fairly close through the years, I’ve never been the best at expressing my feelings towards them (and yelling in the heat of an argument doesn’t count). I’m the type of person that keeps my emotions tucked inside and can sometimes only find a way of letting them out by writing, so I thought I would write a little something about why I am so thankful for my sisters.
First of all, I’m glad Heather is alive. I know this sounds cliché, but I truly am grateful that God didn’t take her away from me. When Heather was diagnosed with cancer in April, I thought I might lose her and I couldn’t bear that thought. Many times all I could pray was “God, don’t take her away from me. I don’t know what I would do without her.” I don’t have any memories of my life without Heather; we are the closest in age, only twenty-two months apart. She caught up to me height-wise by the time she was two and I was four, and many strangers thought we were twins growing up, especially since we dressed alike most the time until I reached kindergarten. Heather continued to grow, even when I didn’t, and I’ve watched her become a lovely young woman. I have to admit that she’s prettier than me, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I envy her sometimes. If I had to use one word to describe Heather, it would be “beautiful.” She has a way of doing her hair and wearing makeup and perfume and putting together an outfit that I cannot even comprehend. But it’s more than just her outward appearance—she has an inner beauty that surpasses that of her exterior. She’s talkative and humorous and fiery and strong-willed and a fountain of joy. The thing I’ve learned the most from Heather is that life is meant to be beautiful.
Second, I’m glad Wendy was born. When Wendy moved out at the beginning of this year, I felt like a piece of me left with her. Although I hate to admit that we have never truly been as close as me and Heather are, I still couldn’t bear the thought of her not being in my life. She’s my baby sister and I have a different bond with her that I can’t explain in words. I think part of it is because I can actually remember going to the hospital to bring her home for the very first time. My mom always tells the story that as soon as I found out that she had had a girl, my reply was “A Wendy Kay, just what I always wanted!” I can remember Wendy as a baby, even before she learned to talk…and I remember after she learned to talk, cause she hasn’t stopped since. Although Heather wasn’t as fond of this new sister in the early years as I was, she soon grew to like her, and we made a little trio. Wendy is the baby of the family, so it’s always been hard for me to watch her get older. I used to think about what she would be like when she grew up, and I must admit that I dreaded the fact that she would change. To my surprise, though, she’s still the same in many ways. If I had to use one word to describe Wendy, it would be “personality.” Wendy has always had a confidence about her that I could never possess; I don’t know how she does it and many times I wish I could be more outgoing like her. She’s vivacious and spontaneous and self-assured and goofy and always sees the best in people. The thing I’ve learned the most from Wendy is that life isn’t meant to be so serious all the time.
I couldn’t imagine my life without Heather and Wendy, and I’m so glad that God has brought us all back together, has kept our trio whole. My mom has a saying and it goes something like this: “Parents and relatives will pass away, lovers and husbands will come and go, children and grandchildren may come later down the road, but no one will ever know you from cradle to grave like your sister.” I wanted to share this with everyone, including my sisters, because life is precious!
I love you both very much, more than these words could express!
I came to the conclusion today that some things just don’t work out.
For instance, a sweater I’ve been working on for two days in chunky yarn did not turn out at all. The shoulders were too big, the button band didn’t meet in the front in the right places, the seed stitch pattern done on size 19 needles made me look tubby (which I am not, thank you very much), and to top it all off, I ran out of yarn. So I stuffed it back in the bag and decided to ignore it for a while until I can make time to frog it. I didn’t feel like ripping it back right now, so it can linger in its ugliness.
Sweaters are wonderful when they work out, but awful when they don’t (obviously…just thought I’d point that out). All the other sweaters I’ve made have always been fine, albeit not exactly how I imagined, but what thing that I make ever is? However, this sweater attempt did not work out, and I think I know why:
I don’t like to follow patterns exactly. I’m a little bit of a know-it-all sometimes, and sometimes, I just think I know a better way of doing things than what the designer of the pattern suggests. This quality is great to possess–most of the time–because it means I can improvise, improve, adapt. It makes my work original and unique and wonderfully mine. The downside, though, is that sometimes my changes are not always for the better (obviously, as in this most recent case).
So for now, my failure shall sit in a bag until I can face it again and change it (sometimes I wish this approach worked in life). I still think the yarn will be used for a sweater, just a different one (obviously, again).
And the lesson in all of this would be: when all else fails, go crochet some granny squares.
Kountingsheep 