Buh-bye 2006

It’s been quite a year. There’s been plenty of the good and there has also been the not so good. I look forward to the new year, but I won’t even begin to guess what my adventures might be. You never know where life is going to take you, or what it will bring. This is one of the things I’ve learned in life, and I sometimes receive reminders of this fact. They can be pleasant surprises or dreadful shocks, but both leave me thinking, “I never would have guessed.” You might guess what variety the most recent of these reminders has been, but we’re moving on from that. I’m choosing to laugh and shake my head.

I am still working on my mom’s Snowmen & Skates vest. It would be reasonable for me to be finished by the end of January. I have set it aside temporarily because I have been getting frustrated with it. I think I’m going to need to order another ball of Knit Picks Palette in Cream. I don’t think the rest of this ball is going to get me through. I must say that I feel a bit frustrated that I bought what the pattern calls for and might not have enough. I’m concerned that there could be a problem with the pattern. My sense that it could be something on Knit Picks' end was magnified when my first attempt to try out my new Options set (Christmas present) resulted in the discovery of a defective cord as I attempted to cast on my first stitch. I’ve already contacted them and they are sending me a replacement. My bigger worry is that I have made some error and this vest is going to be all wrong. It looks alright, but I wondered if my vision is clouded by all the things that keep a knitter from seeing that she has made a terrible mistake and continuing on to end up with a horrific mass of wool and sorrow.

While I’m taking my break from the vest, I’m swatching for Arwen, and have begun a couple other projects. I need some socks on the needles, and I decided that Traveler’s Stockings from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road would be a good choice. I’m past the lacy cuff portion and onto the first chart. Flipping through my current IK, my daughter (who had the audacity to turn 18 on Christmas Eve) saw a picture of a purse she wants. This made me happy, so I have picked up the yarn and cast-on for this project, too.

I am again signed up for Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge. It changes up a bit each year. I liked the program best that they had when I enrolled for the first time three years ago. I wonder what it will be like this time around. You might want to check it out for yourselves. There is good information, and it usually helps to inspire me to change up my exercise routine. The fact that I have given exercise a permanent part in my life is another one of those things I never would have guessed. It still isn’t my favorite thing, but I’ve stopped treating it as an option and accepted that this is what I do. I have yet to take a picture of my exercise space and stuff, but I’ll get on that soon.

I’m so glad I gave spinning the time it needs this year. I’m still spindling along on the same spinning project that I’ve been engaged in for several months now. I’m okay with the fact that I’m slow at spinning, and that is another big step for me. I enjoy it, and have many new fibers to explore. Just think, soon I will be knitting with my own handspun.

Thank you for being part of my life in 2006. Happy New Year!