2008 - A Year in Retrospect (in pictures)

Go get yourselves a coffee, donut, and a butt cushion for your chair. You're going to be here awhile.

Let's start with the knitting content shall we?

2008 FO list

12 sweaters

5 cowls (1 is not pictured)

3 balls of fiber spun

1 pair of socks

1 shrug

1 shawl

1 christening gown set

1 baby hat

and 1 birthday cupcake

Not bad at all. Oh note, that the UFO picture of Rogue at the far right bottom is in there b/c, folks, it's FINALLY done. In fact, I finished the last sleeve last night. It's blocking and waiting for it's photo shoot on Jan 1,2008. After 2 long years, many fights, in and out of love, and many bouts of not being on speaking terms, I've ended the 2 year relationship and kicked the UFO status out. Yay!

Some notable knitting accomplishments for 2008:

1. I bought myself a Schacht Ladybug and learned to spin with my partner in crime, Sairy, thanks to Jessica (Zarzuela)and Christine CheekyRedHead!
2. I went to Rhinebeck for the first time and lost most of my self control with THAT much fiber/yarn.
3. I started my first large shawl project, the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl.
4. I am back in love with socks (thanks to Sairy).
   I won the Ravelry Olympics for 2008 and 2006. I will compete in 2010.
5. I did more gift knitting this year. I finished sweaters for both my Mother and MIL.
6. I did some more detailed cabling this year.
7. Learned to start a toe-up sock (12/30/08, hey it still counts)
8. Noticed my knitting skills and speed have greatly improved compared to last year.
9. Joined Plurk back in October and has expanded my ties with even more knitters outside of Ravelry.

Two of the most notable accomplishments for me this year, knitting-wise, is finishing an intricately cabled sweater, Silver Belle, for the 2008 Ravelympics. I also made a fun YouTube video to accompany the Ravelry camaraderie on this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhJwx6geVE.

Secondly, learning to spin was a big deal to me. I have been bitten by the spinning bug and I love it. In fact, I am in (Jessica's) Zarzuela's Fibers Fiber Club and joined a spin-a-long for the same fiber. I think spinning has inspired me to bring my knitting/crocheting to levels. I'm proud of continuing my quest to learn old crafts and make them new. I love the idea of renewable resources and not necessarily being forced to rely on things commerically available. If I want laceweight in a specific color, by golly, I'll spin it. Maybe I want chunky, I'll do that to. The possibilities are endless, not to mention, I have a lifeline of talented spinners right at my fingertips. That beats the gym shorts off of having to take a class with an instructor I don't know any day.

For 2009, I am writing down goals this year, rather than post projects I want to knit. Since my crafting as evolved so much this year, I don't want to limit myself to things I may not want to make later on down the road. I don't think these goals are unobtainable or lofty either considering my accomplishments for this year.

2009 Crafting Goals

1. Cast on for St. Brigid (Alice Starmore) on January 1, 2009
2. Do a substantial colorwork project with steeks
3. Finish my lace shawl
4. Learn to spin lace weight and also learn to Navajo ply
5. Must.knit.more.socks
6. Knit a sweater out of handspun fiber
7. Attempt to make one of my design sketches a reality
8. Knit more from stash. I need to get my books/magazines under control also.
9. Knit Roland his first pair of socks. He picked Malabrigo sock. That's mah boy.
10. Get a little crocheting in. It the first craft I learned when I was 8. I miss it

This year has been a whirlwind. There's always the good and bad. The bad may seems the worst at the time, but you know what, the good stuff was what came to mind first. I think that's got to tell you something.

I got a bit of travel back in this year also, both work and personal. I went to my godson's christening in Iowa, went back o Ireland, the highlight of my year, I went to Disney TWICE, I went to Puerto Rico and lived through an earthquake on the 16th floor, visited my BFF in Florida, and got a chance to explore San Francisco while away for work.

I still don't have my stress level under control as I would like it to be, but that's an ongoing process. There were more things tossed onto my plate this year making the latter half of the year difficult. I really fell off the wagon of regular blogging and blog-reading, although Plurk has allowed me to stay in touch with folks. I am considering joining a 365 day project to get myself back into that. Unless I'm on my deathbed, there should be no reason that I can't pop in and say boo on a daily basis.

2009 Personal Goals:

1. Find the gym again and become more heart-healthy
2. Change eating habits to help my existing GERD issues
3. My work-life balance will always need work, although I have gotten much better
4. Return to Ireland in October and get Roland on vacation to the Grand Canyon in February
5. Try to keep my office a little more organized
6. Find a better sleep schedule and find a way to kick my insomnia
7. Get my vegetable garden going again. I miss it.
8. Renovate my office space. It needs a new, happy color and modern furniture
9. Get my pictures into organized photo albums
10. Volunteer and rescue another dog
11. Make it to Maryland Sheep and Wool
12. Finish some of my quilt tops that just need quilting
    I guess we need to round out my last post for the year with a year in pictures.

2008 began with baby christening gowns....

...and much anticipated babies.

Special February birthdays...

...resulted in special surprises and lifetime memories.

The return to Ireland to see old friends....

...also resulted in new ones.


Life bonds were strengthened....

...and work bonds were weakened


Another healthy happy year past in human years...

...and in dog years.Knitting misbehaved... ...and was recklessly remedied.

History was witnessed.... and made just the same.We had angry pirates.....

And yarn ones....

...And very, very drunk ones.


We had knitter's weddings....

And knitter's festivals...
With lots of fiber friends....

....fiber craziness

...and more expensive fiber craziness.


There were Rhinebeck fiber hauls...

...SnB friends....

...and Ravelry friends ... ....that are also life friends...

....and the ultimate blackmail photo of the century.

There was more Disney in October.....and more fun in Tampa for Halloween

There were distant bridges....

....and bridging the distance.

And willing, I'll continue down my path for another year. Thank you all for your friendship and support, your camaraderie and laughter. I wish you all the peace, love, and health in 2009.

Yule Saying

A Bayberry candle burnt to the sprocket,

Brings warmth to the heart and wealth to the pocket.

Happy 2009 dear friends.