2008 - A Year in Retrospect (in pictures)
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Some notable knitting accomplishments for 2008:
- I bought myself a Schacht Ladybug and learned to spin with my partner in crime, Sairy, thanks to Jessica (Zarzuela)and Christine CheekyRedHead!
- I went to Rhinebeck for the first time and lost most of my self control with THAT much fiber/yarn.
- I started my first large shawl project, the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl.
- I am back in love with socks (thanks to Sairy).
I won the Ravelry Olympics for 2008 and 2006. I will compete in 2010. - I did more gift knitting this year. I finished sweaters for both my Mother and MIL.
- I did some more detailed cabling this year.
- Learned to start a toe-up sock (12/30/08, hey it still counts)
- Noticed my knitting skills and speed have greatly improved compared to last year.
- 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- Cast on for St. Brigid (Alice Starmore) on January 1, 2009
- Do a substantial colorwork project with steeks
- Finish my lace shawl
- Learn to spin lace weight and also learn to Navajo ply
- Must.knit.more.socks
- Knit a sweater out of handspun fiber
- Attempt to make one of my design sketches a reality
- Knit more from stash. I need to get my books/magazines under control also.
- Knit Roland his first pair of socks. He picked Malabrigo sock. That's mah boy.
- 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:
- Find the gym again and become more heart-healthy
- Change eating habits to help my existing GERD issues
- My work-life balance will always need work, although I have gotten much better
- Return to Ireland in October and get Roland on vacation to the Grand Canyon in February
- Try to keep my office a little more organized
- Find a better sleep schedule and find a way to kick my insomnia
- Get my vegetable garden going again. I miss it.
- Renovate my office space. It needs a new, happy color and modern furniture
- Get my pictures into organized photo albums
- Volunteer and rescue another dog
- Make it to Maryland Sheep and Wool
- 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.
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Life bonds were strengthened....
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We had knitter's weddings....
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