New Year

Welcome 2018! I have attempted to give the blog a new look. Gone are the dandelions blowing, and I am attempting to clean up some of the sidebars. It may take a few tries to get it the way I like it. I hope everyone who reads this enjoyed a good end to the 2017 year, surrounded by loved ones.

We had a nice Christmas, with Daniel home from Virginia, and Peter home from college in Pullman.

 Christmas Eve it snowed, and we made it safely to Grandma Chapman's home through the Portland snow and freezing rain.

 Christmas morning it has always been the tradition to open the stockings first. The children used to look a lot more excited, but they have become too cool, I guess. And some of them need coffee to function in the mornings now.

 Steve and I are working on the art of selfie taking.

 Steve's mom is looking very sweet in this picture.

I finished the socks from the yarn I bought in Annapolis for Daniel. These and the Stashbuster socks for Peter were my only handmade gifts this Christmas. I have two more pairs on the needles right now which may be future Christmas presents, or "just because" presents, for Steve and the boys. But I am a little bored with sock knitting for the moment.

New Year's resolutions: actually, not anything specific. Read more, blog and write more, knit more, finish more quilts; improve the Latin for Duolingo course, which now has more than 650 learners on Memrise (ironically, a better host than Duolingo); get the house organized, organize health and dental care for those of us who need it, organize Tertia's affairs as we are now officially her guardians. Mostly, we have some major purchases and expenses that are overdue; many are holdovers from 2017, which was full of unexpected expenses. So very unpoetical, but that is why the creative things are important.

Wishing everyone a happy, productive and healthy 2018!

...And, It's the New Year!

...So far, it has not been as relaxing as I had hoped. But my hopes were probably unrealistic. Peter had a car accident Sunday - fortunately, no injuries - and is dealing with needing to get back to WSU tomorrow while his car is not drivable yet. My sister had another cardiac "event" Monday and is hoping to be released from the ICU today. At under 40, she is a bit young to have heart attacks but she has a rare condition that apparently makes them more common; this time, it seems that she just needs to have her medication adjusted. All of this has not helped any plans I might or might not have had to get healthy, get more sleep, have less stress and stay positive in 2017. But as I've often thought, these holidays are superficial and self-imposed anyway. We do what we can. And God sees us through.

So to deal with all the extra stress I have been trying to control some of the things I actually can. After following it on facebook for two years I am finally starting with the Declutter challenge. Today was counters... I spent a whole lot more than 15 minutes and half of my kitchen counters are clean. I am working on getting back to regularly posting my Latin for Duolingo lessons, although that will probably be tomorrow at the earliest. And I have been busy on the En Provence mystery quilt. Bonnie was kind enough to post the last clue on New Year's Day... but it contains about 5 times as much work as any of the other clues. I feel quite content that I have all the individual components made now and ready to be seamed together into blocks and then the whole quilt. Some overachievers on the fb page have already quilted the whole thing! I can't even.

I like greens and yellows together -- Hobbit colors! Part of the fun of these mystery quilts for me is the process of working intensively with a few colors, and getting my fabrics organized bit by bit. I now feel pretty comfortable with Bonnie Hunter's scrap user's system, and most of my fabric is now organized that way.

 My 2" strips are now vastly expanded, neatly rolled up and crammed into the plastic storage box ready for the next time. I have a LOT of greens. I would have even more blues, but there wouldn't be room for them right now so I haven't felt the need to cut them. Before the "reveal" post came out, I had these three block possibilities on my design wall:

 Of course they do not include the units that were in part 7, but I was hoping to include these in the Mystery link-up post which didn't happen this week.

 Like I said, I was feeling really good about how well I was keeping up with the challenge until the last part came out and all the speedy people have pictures of their finished, and some even quilted, tops.

The finished quilt will be so pretty! We will see how much more I can get done before next Monday, but I can guarantee right now that it will not be a finished quilt by then.

Putting 2015 to Rest

2015... the year I pretty much became convinced we are re-living the fall of Rome, and our civilization is crumbling from within. I won't be sad it's done, but I'm not terribly optimistic, big picture, about the prospects for 2016.

George Will's column, highlighting the absurdities of the year without even touching on ISIS, Planned Parenthood,  Donald Trump, or gay marriage, is well worth a read. But it may depress you even more. I do hope for better things in 2016, on a family and community level maybe. I hardly dare hope for national or global sanity, let alone wisdom and good leadership. I think we are too far gone for that.

I do want to begin blogging more in 2016, or rather, return to blogging regularly and thoughtfully. It is a delicate balance between the real need for self-expression and the terrible burden, real or perceived, of being a crazy voice in the wilderness. It makes blogging exclusively about quilting and knitting, as much as I enjoy them, seem shallow and trivial, even self-serving. It makes blogging about education and the finer points of Latin grammar seem naive and pedantic. But those are also the topics that need to come out of my brain, for balance, for being grounded in a world where thought crimes lead to beheadings or prison sentences or having your life savings confiscated because you declined to bake a cake.  I promised a long time ago that this blog would be eclectic. I'll try to live up to that in 2016.

New Year's Eve

It's not a great secret that I've been a somewhat negligent blogger lately.  More randomday posts than usual, less of the daily discipline of thinking coherently about something and writing it down.  I still love writing, and I'm still thinking thoughts both deep and frivolous that I'd like, in theory, to share with anyone who cares to read them.  It just hasn't happened as much lately, partly because it's more of a struggle to find a calm and centered mental place for writing.  I could have made myself write more, but it would have felt inauthentic to push a perky blog-voice on myself when I haven't really been all that perky.  But I'd like to get back to it more in 2015.

I'm not a huge one for New Year's resolutions, just as I'm not a big fan of all the little semi-superstitious rituals we do around holiday times.  I'm not, but then again, I find myself a little at loose ends without them.  I am sitting here at 11:15 p.m. on New Year's Eve and deciding not to do a big post about the year in review, and feeling a bit anxious and unsettled about it.  But hey, it's been a bit more random lately and I celebrate random too.  This evening, for example, we picked up Grandma and took her and the kids to the Petra House Jordanian restaurant.  Then after dropping Grandma back at her place we came home and played board games... Taboo, Clue, and Apples to Apples.  The girls are too hyper to go to sleep but they are heading toward bed; Tertia has had her rubber bands put on her braces and Quarta is at least not talking constantly and is hopefully reading in bed.  Meanwhile I opened a bottle of sparkling peach moscato and am sipping a half glass of it while the fireworks go off all around the neighborhood and the boys watch an episode of Psych.  Steve is too tired to stay up any longer and I would go to bed earlier if I could fall asleep easily.  And maybe I can, but probably not until the fireworks calm down after midnight.  I printed off the final clue in the Grand Illusion mystery, even though I have only finished the first three clues and have quite a bit of catchup to do.

So in brief, a few year in review things:  I read a lot of books, some of them of significant literary value, but have fallen away from reviewing them here.  I'd like to get back to that.  I really plowed my energies into the Duolingo website and app... starting a year ago with Italian on my then-new Kindle Fire, I worked steadily to learn Italian to prove my often-repeated advice that knowing Latin makes learning any Romance language much easier.  It did... I finished Italian in May, and also in May, I flew through a rapid review of my French which had lain dormant for 25 years.  Then I started Spanish, frequently noting the similarities with Italian, and then German over the summer.  I also started Dutch but have not pushed far with it because it is so close to German.  I did finish the German just a few days ago, and I'm setting a general New Year's resolution to advance through Dutch, and add a Scandinavian language and at least one other to my mix.  I'd also like to look more seriously at the Indo-European textbooks Steve got me last Christmas, which will be a little more meaningful with the broader experience of modern European languages I now have.  I haven't figured out ways of writing perky blog posts about language study quite yet, but I'm sure game to try.

I still knit and sew and quilt, but there has been quite a bit less of it at this particular stage of life, and my photography and documentation of my work has been quite a bit less than before.  I'd like to ramp it back up, but perhaps in a thoughtful way that won't overload my patience, if I can figure out the perfect balance.  I find I need to work with my hands to stay centered for the other work that isn't considered optional.  And I need to write down what I am thinking in some format, or life loses some of its purpose.  It's completely secondary whether anyone reads it.

So, kind readers, I wish you all a happy New Year, and that you may find the magic balance between creativity and chaos.

New Year's Eve

It's the last day of 2012, snow is falling instead of rain, and here is Secundus living in the moment.  A little after this was taken he drove in the snow for the first time and we bought some clothes at the store with Grandma's Christmas money.

Wrapping it up for the year:

These are the quilts I finished in 2012.

These are the 12 shawls I knit in 2012.  I also spun and knit one sweater last summer and am turning the heels on a pair of socks.

Final stash report for the year:

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 94.5 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date: 28 yards
Net used for 2012: 66.5 yards

Yarn used this week: 0 yards
Yarn used year to date: 7786 yards
Yarn added this week: 0 yards
Yarn added year to date: 3503 yards (all handspun, not purchased)
Net used for 2012: 4283 yards

I bought no fiber or yarn all year, and I bought only a miniscule amount of quilting fabric (most of the added was gifted by family members).  So I think it was a successful year of using up stash.  I am going to allow myself to do a little judicious fabric shopping next year (I'm running short of white backgrounds for Easy Street), and I might buy yarn if I want to make a sweater, but no single skeins on impulse.  I still have a substantial yarn stash from reclaimed thrift store sweaters to shop for inspiration.

Goals for 2013 -- Well, first off we have the Last Noel this Friday.  After that, I want to knit socks for Steve and Daniel, finish the Easy Street mystery quilt, and clean and organize my sewing area.  I'm not anticipating doing any insane challenges like 12-shawls-2012 next year.  We'll just take it as it comes.

I made a double recipe of fudge this afternoon, and Steve is working on a double recipe of those candied fruit cookies now.  Spaghetti and meat sauce is on the menu for tonight and then pulled pork sandwiches for tomorrow.  Quarta picked out her new hamster this morning: it is a Russian dwarf hamster, female, named Winky.  She's a bit nippy but acclimating to her new habitat fairly well.

Happy New Year to one and all!

Quilting and Sewing Year in Review

These are the finished quilts I produced this year.  Left column, top to bottom: Crumbs quilt for Cedar Tree auction, Play Ball quilt for auction, Aunt Maggie's Quilt.  Center top: Jack's Chain. Center bottom: Feathered Star wallhanging. Right top to bottom: Framed In quilt, Log Cabin, Anita's Arrowheads.  Not pictured is a mini-Jack's Chain made with extra blocks.

Last year I set some goals for sewing UFO's, inspired by Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.  She would randomly draw a number each month and we were supposed to finish our UFO goal.  Here's my list, with completed goals in red:

1. Aunt Maggie's Quilt: finished top, needs machine quilting and binding
2. Framed in Quilt: finished top, needs machine quilting and binding
3. Log cabin... Sew blocks together into quilt top (and quilting and binding)
4. 1996 Piecemaker's Calendar quilt: prepare half of applique for setting triangles
5. " " (I prepared the appliques but the top isn't finished yet)
6. Classical-themed tote bag
7. Feathered Star: make a decision and finish top (and quilting and binding)
8. Bowling-style knitting bag
9. Jack's Chain: piece half of remaining blocks
10. " " (and quilting and binding, and I even wrote a tutorial)
11. Kit for three-quarters bag from Connecting Threads in Whirlwind Romance
12. Pieced blanket of felted wool squares from old sweaters

There were four months that I didn't even bother to do the project: my bag projects got no love, and I didn't do the felted wool blanket either.  But I did quilt and bind three of the tops on the list, which wasn't required, so I feel like I can declare victory and maybe I'll eventually do those bags.

Judy is doing her UFO challenge in a different way in 2013, I'm probably not going to set yearly goals, but I'm very pleased with how many projects I finished, especially considering some of them were more than 5 years old.

These are my current quilt WIPs/ UFOs.  There's that applique for the 1996 Piecemaker's calendar quilt taunting me still, yes, we're working on our second decade.  Orca Bay is a top in need of quilting; so is the Farmer's Wife.  Easy Street is in process, and on bottom right are some crumbs blocks that I hope will become the next Cedar Tree signature quilt.

Goals for the new year... other than finishing the above WIPs and UFOs, I don't really know.  Here is a list, in no particular order, of the WIPs, UFOs and wannabe projects still hanging around, and maybe I'll be inspired to get to them, maybe not.  I might do my own random number drawing, we'll see.

1. 1996 Piecemaker's Calendar quilt - hand applique, add embellishments, and finish top
2. Classical-themed tote bag
3. Bowling-style knitting bag
4. Three-quarters bag (kit from Connecting Threads)
5. Felted wool blanket
6. Orca Bay quilting and binding
7. Farmer's Wife quilting and binding
8. Easy Street mystery quilt top
9. Easy Street quilting and binding
10. Crumbs auction quilt
11. Hooked Rug in Mariner's Compass design
12. heirloom linen blouse
13. wool stuffed toy cat
14. boxers in 3 different fabrics (at least)
15. Frugal Patch quilt
16. Civil War repro/ pine needles quilt
17. Flannel baby quilts
18. Set up an Etsy shop to help finance college educations
19. the ultimate ongoing project: clean and organize sewing area!
20. and have fun, or everything else is pointless.

Okay, that might keep me busy even if I don't start anything new.

Yarn Barf

To celebrate the New Year, I cast on two new knitting projects: the first, Argylefest: my first attempt at the lovely Scottish tartan-inspired socks using the intarsia technique, much avoided by modern knitters.  I'm using Knit Picks yarn for those in 4 different colors and have to manipulate the bobbins carefully to keep them from tangling.  Because I knew it would probably be slow-moving and frustrating, I also chose for the first of a possible 12-in-12 shawls challenge The Age of Brass and Steam, a very simple shawl pattern, mostly stockinette stitch with a few yarn overs and occasional garter stitch, in quite possibly my favorite yarn of all time, Madeline Tosh Merino Light (colorway "nutmeg").  I anticipated a nice, relaxing knit.

So guess which project I'm ready to throw across the room right now?

The argyles are progressing slowly but neatly.  Knit Picks yarn doesn't tangle very easily, and the little baking pan is keeping the bobbins from running away too far.  The ToshMerinoLight, on the other hand, because of its single strand construction and the grabbiness of the merino wool, seems to be very prone to the phenomenon known to knitters as "yarn barf."  (For some reason, this is not a common phrase among non-knitters.  I had to repeat it multiple times this afternoon to uncomprehending stares).  You see an excellent (if incredibly frustrating) example on the right of the picture above.  It happens when the unsuspecting knitter pulls the yarn from the center of a center-pull ball (specially wound yesterday) and the working end of the yarn catches onto a strand from somewhere in the very middle of the skein, and hauls it out of its neat packaging way too early, thus creating a very bad tangle which will take most of an afternoon to undo.  During that time, of course, no knitting can take place.

So now you know what yarn barf is.  I seem to get it a lot; I can usually work through it and untangle it, but I think from now on if I get any more TML, I'll unwind it from the outside of the ball, not the center.

Sometimes yarn barf happens when your daughter left a ball of yarn in her coat pocket and that gets thrown in the washer and dryer along with big brother's clothes (and he forgot his wallet, too!)

In that case, the yarn was Red Heart acrylic and I just cut the yarn off the jeans and threw it away.  I cannot do that with Tosh Merino Light.  I did give the wallet back to Primigenitus.  This reminded me of my poem, the one I published here for "Poem in my pocket day."

Happy New Year, everyone, and may you weather the inevitable frustrations of life this year!

New Year's Eve

What else to play on New Years' Eve?  There's a beautiful acapella version of this that I mislabeled 20 years ago and I will probably never be able to find the artist for, but this is the right tune.  Or you can link to this version by Mairi Campbell.  Either way, I've always liked this tune better than the one you're more likely to hear.

2011 Reading Challenge Recap

For the last 3 years now I have kept track of all the books or book-equivalents I've read, in a thread in the Ravelry Book Challenge group.  What... doesn't everybody use a social networking site for knitters to keep track of books read?  It makes perfect sense to me.  I met my goal of reading 100 books in 2011.  I do have a somewhat flexible definition of "book" and "read."  I count audiobooks, magazines (as long as I've read almost all of the issues in a year), craft books, children's books, and lecture series or classes.  It all goes to the improving of the mind.  Mostly.  I find it helpful to categorize my reading by the categories of fiction (which includes all fiction, bedtime stories for the kids as well as what I read for fun), craft-related nonfiction/ how-to, and other nonfiction.

I've managed a good number of book reviews on the blog (* beside the books I remember doing; I don't have time to link back to all of them now but you can search tags for "book review") and am planning to review a few of these still.  If you want to request a review of one of these that I haven't already done, drop me a comment! I love doing book reviews. I've got similar goals for 2012 reading, and will be trying to work in more reviews.

Fiction:
(1) Inkspell, Cornelia Funke (audiobook) Jan.
(2) Emperor: Time’s Tapestry Book 1, Stephen Baxter, Jan. *
(3) Calling on Dragons, Patricia Wrede (audiobook), Jan.
(4) Teatime for the Traditionally Built, Alexander McCall Smith, Jan. *
(5) Letters from Pemberley, Jane Dawkins, Jan. *
(6) Persona non Grata, Ruth Downie, Feb. *
(7) Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Feb.
(8) The Five Fakirs of Faizabad, P.B. Kerr, Feb. *
(9) The Double Comfort Safari Club, Alexander McCall Smith, Feb. *
(10) Death of a Valentine, M.C. Beaton, Mar. *
(11) Septimus Heap book 1: Magyk, Angie Sage, (audiobook), March *
(12) The Overton Window, Glenn Beck, March *
(13) Septimus Heap 2: Flyte, Angie Sage, March *
(14) Little Men, Louisa May Alcott, (audiobook) March *
(15) How Right You Are, Jeeves, P.G. Wodehouse, (audiobook with Ian Carmichael), Apr. *
(16) Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne, (audiobook) Apr. *
(17) The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle, (audiobook) Apr. *
(18) Vanity Fair, William Thackeray, (audiobook, partial) Apr.
(19) Septimus Heap 3: Physik, Angie Sage, Apr. *
(20) King of Shadows, Susan Cooper, (audiobook with Jim Dale) Apr. *
(21) Septimus Heap 4: Queste, Angie Sage, Apr. *
(22) Septimus Heap 5: Syren, Angie Sage, May *
(23) Freddy the Pilot, Walter Brooks (audiobook), May
(24) Dove Song, Kristine Franklin, June *
(25) Minders, Diana Hendry, June
(26) Saturnalia, Lindsey Davis, June
(27) Septimus Heap 6: Darke, Angie Sage, July *
(28) Clan of the Cave Bear, Jean Auel, July *
(29) The Child’s Homer, Padraic Colum, (audiobook) July *
(30) Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Laura Amy Schlitz (audiobook) July *
(31) The Time Machine, H.G. Wells, (audiobook) July *
(32) The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy, P.G. Wodehouse, (audiobook) July *
(33) Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates (audiobook) July *
(34) The Valley of Horses, Jean Auel, Aug.
(35) Redwall, Brian Jaques, Aug.
(36) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling, Aug. *
(37) Guardians of Gahoole book 1: The Capture, Kathryn Lasky, (audiobook) Aug.
(38) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling, Aug. *
(39) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling, Sep. *
(40) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling, Sep. *
(41) Guardians of Gahoole book 2: The Journey, Kathryn Lasky (audiobook) Oct.
(42) North by Northanger, Carrie Bebris, Oct.
(43) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling, Oct.
(44) Conqueror, Time’s Tapestry book 2, Stephen Baxter, Oct.
(45) Charlotte Collins, Jennifer Becton, Oct.
(46) Death of a Chimney Sweep, M.C. Beaton, Oct.
(47) Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Oct.
(48) The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, Alexander McCall Smith, Nov.
(49) Son of Neptune, Rick Riordan, Nov.
(50) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling, Dec.
(51) The Gray Wolf and other stories, George MacDonald, Dec.
(52) Inkdeath, Cornelia Funke (audiobook) Dec.
(53) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, Dec.

Nonfiction, craft-related:
(1) Alice Starmore’s Book of Fair Isle Knitting, Jan.
(2) Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously, Adrienne Martini , Jan. *
(3) Knitting America, Susan Strawn, Feb.
(4) Socks from the Toe Up, Wendy Johnson, Feb.
(5) A Knitter’s Almanac, Elizabeth Zimmerman, March
(6) Tudor Roses, Alice Starmore, March
(7) Quilts en Provence, Kaffe Fassett, Apr.
(8) Quilt Romance, Kaffe Fassett, May
(9) Blogging for Dummies, May *
(10) The IT Girls’ Guide to Blogging with Moxie, May *
(11) Best of Fons & Porter Scrap Quilts, Sept.
(12) The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt, Laurie Aaron Hird, Sept.
(13) 1001 Patchwork Designs, Maggie Malone, Sept.
(14) ABCs of Longarm Quilting, Patricia Barry, Nov.
(15) Lots of Scraps, It’s time to Quilt, Stauffer and Hatch, Nov.
(16) Denyse Schmidt Quilts, Nov.
(17) More Quilts from the Quiltmaker’s Gift, Joanne Line, Nov.
(18) Log Cabin Quilts with Attitude, Sharon Rotz, Nov.
(19) The Gentle Art of Knitting, Jane Brockett, Dec.

Nonfiction, philosophy, history, language, etc:
(1) The 10 Big Lies about America, Michael Medved, Jan.
(2) Clutter Cure, Judi Culbertson, Jan. *
(3) Textiles: 5000 years, Harris, Feb.
(4) Into the Region of Awe: Mysticism in C.S. Lewis, David C. Downing, Feb. *
(5) What’s so Great about Christianity, Dinesh D’Souza, March *
(6) 365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy, James Delingpole, Apr.
(7) If Democrats had any Brains, They’d be Republicans, Ann Coulter, Apr. *
(8) Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, Jennifer Armstrong, May *
(9) The “American Way”: Family and Community in the Shaping of the American Identity, Allan Carlson, May *
(10) Henle Latin I, May
(11) Henle Latin II, May
(12) An Unexpected Journey: Discovering Reformed Christianity, W. Robert Godfrey, May *
(13) Myths of Greece and Rome, H.A. Guerber, June *
(14) Life After Death: The Evidence, Dinesh D’Souza, June *
(15) Godless, Ann Coulter, June *
(16) Before the Flood:the Biblical flood as a real event and how it changed the course of civilization, Ian Wilson, July *
(17) The Teaching Company: Popes and the Papacy: a History, Thomas F. X. Noble, (CDs) July
(18) The Golden Bough, James Frazer, July *
(19) Demonic: How the Liberal Mob is Endangering America, Ann Coulter, August *
(20) Veritas Teacher Training conference 2011 lecture series, Matt Whitling et al., Aug.
(21) 1st OPC Summer Bible Study on Joshua, Tom Bradshaw, Aug.
(22) The Parthenon Code: Mankind’s History in Marble, Robert Johnson, Sept. *
(23) Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog, Kitty Burns Florey, Sept. *
(24) 1st OPC Sunday School class on Westminster Confession, Dec.
(25) Muzzled, Juan Williams, Dec.
(26) World Magazine, 2011
(27) and (28) The Old and New Testaments. Counting this as 2 books (instead of 66), this brings me to a total of 100 books. I followed a chronological reading plan.

Knitting Goals for the New Year

Knitting and quilting are both something of an obsession with me.  I do approach the two crafts in different ways: I think I am basically a process quilter who loves the end product; while I am a product knitter who loves the process of getting there. I tend to go on jags in both knitting and quilting; but because knitting takes so much longer, it's a bigger deal if I commit to trying to carry out some insane challenge in one year... like the year 2009, when I made 12 sweaters (well, 11 sweaters and one dress)in 12 months.  There was a Ravelry group to enable me, and I was too stubborn to quit.  Besides, I really needed a bunch of new sweaters.  I still wear the April, June, October, and December sweaters a lot.  But there is no denying that the National Knit a Sweater a Month Dodecathon (NaKniSweMoDo09) was pretty all-consuming while it was going on, and I haven't managed to meet a challenge like that since, either in knitting or quilting.  I've pretty much decided to knit (and spin) what makes me happy and try to maintain a balance of making garments that I or family members need/want with the relaxing process knitting that I also enjoy.

Last week I posted about my quilting UFOs and WIPs and goals for 2012. I'm pretty sure that if I manage to finish all 12 of those sewing UFOs I'll be doing really well.  But there is a small chance that I will jump into one or more knitting challenges as well.  I've been queuing lace shawl patterns like a madwoman for over a year.  And there is a 12 shawls in 2012 group, as well as the 12 sweaters in 2012 group.  I will probably try to finish at least 3 shawls.  I've done fairly well, all things considered, at meeting my goals for 2011 as listed last New Years' Eve.  I did make the things I wanted to make (socks, sweaters, shawls) and I'm happy with them.  And in the process, I've had a lot of fun blogging about them.

Knitting goals for 2012, spelled out:

• argyle socks.  I am becoming seriously obsessed with making argyle socks right now.
• 3 or more shawls.  Should I go for the big 12 in 12 challenge?
• finish the On Your Toes sweater, and make at least one more. Preferably the twin of the orange Rhinebeck by Proxy pictured in the collage, for my sister Beth. 
• (fill in the blank with whatever strikes my fancy at the time)

Sewing UFOs and WIPs: Goals for the New Year

Back in June when I last took stock of the situation, I described the difference, at least in my mind, between a UFO and a WIP.  An UnFinished Object is something that languishes, almost forgotten and possibly unloved, for 6 months, a year, or even longer, producing disproportionate amounts of guilt and other negative emotions in the process.  A Work In Progress can be anything that you are currently working on ("currently" meaning that it easily springs to mind as something you are working on without having to sort through layers of unpleasant repressed memories), and is usually characterized by a fair amount of creative agitation, mess, and occasional bad temper.  Still, WIPs by definition are things that a crafter is interested in and thus have an obvious advantage.  There are WIP Wednesday linkup parties to monitor their progression, and crafters really LIKE to talk about them.  UFOs, not so much.  I listed 11 UFOs, all of them quilt-related, without batting an eye, and resolved to finish a few of them.  I actually did: the Shirt-Stripe Boxes quilt and the quilting for my MIL's Japanese Lanterns quilt.  But that's still a drop in the bucket, and new UFOs have sprung up since then.

Now, at the close of the old year, I have discovered Patchwork Times, where Judy Laquidara hosts a yearly challenge to finish up some of those long-term UFOs.  This really appeals to me.  I think the way it works is, I post my list of 12 UFOs that I would like to get finished in 2012.  Then, every month Judy will draw a random number and we work on that numbered project.  I had no trouble coming up with 12 UFOs by splitting some of my bigger challenges into parts and counting projects for which I've bought patterns and fabric but not even started.  So here's my list:

1. Aunt Maggie's Quilt: finished top, needs machine quilting and binding
2. Framed in Quilt (pictured above): finished top, needs machine quilting and binding
3. Log cabin... more blocks? Sew blocks together into quilt top
4. 1996 Piecemaker's Calendar quilt (pictured at top): prepare half of applique for setting triangles
5. " "
6. Classical-themed tote bag
7. Feathered Star (pictured above): make a decision and finish top
8. Bowling-style knitting bag (was a sew-along in a Ravelry group over a year ago)
9. Jack's Chain: piece half of remaining blocks
10. " "
11. Kit for three-quarters bag from Connecting Threads in Whirlwind Romance
12. Pieced blanket of felted wool squares from old sweaters

If I don't make it on any of these 12 goals, there's no penalty of course, but at least I have blog fodder and camaraderie while I'm trying.  I reserve the right to go on an obsessive finishing streak and work on something out of order, too.  That COULD happen.  If it does, here are a few extra projects to throw in for a bonus:

1. Hooked Rug in Mariner's Compass design
2. heirloom linen blouse
3. wool stuffed toy cat
4. boxers in 3 different fabrics (I was supposed to make them for Christmas. Ha!)

In addition to working on those long-term UFOs, here are my current WIPs that will probably be in play for at least the first 3 months of 2012:

1. Farmer's Wife Quilt (79 of 111  blocks complete)
2. Orca Bay mystery quilt (halfway through clue 4)
3. Sports quilt for Cedar Tree auction (This is really a UFO but I'm giving myself a March deadline)
4. Crumb-along quilt for auction
5. conversion to Bonnie Hunter's Scrap-User's system... ongoing

And then, of course I will probably start any number of new quilts.  I have some ideas but I'll wait to share them, lest they be counted as UFOs and start to produce guilt.

I'll do another post sometime soon about my knitting goals for the new year, because I approach knitting UFOs and WIPs in a completely different way than sewing ones.

Ars longa, vita brevis

Art is long, and time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

- from Psalm of Life, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

http://www.potw.org/archive/potw232.html

My oldest son and I have similar taste in literature. He is memorizing the above poem, in complete form, for a student competition. It was always a favorite of mine in my younger years as well. The above verse, however, strikes me now as a bit of a downer. Hippocrates, he of the Hippocratic oath, gave us "ars longa vita brevis." Basically, there's a lot to learn and life's not long enough.

Work proceeds on my current cardigan, a fair-isle stranded knitting project called Green Mountain Gardens, made of yarns reclaimed from unraveled thrift store finds. I finished the body over Christmas break and sewed and cut the steeks. Steeks are a way of knitting complex colorwork in the round without having to turn and purl the back side: after knitting is complete, you sew some reinforcing stitches so the knitting won't unravel, then cut the areas where you want an opening.
I am of the "don't think about it too much, just do it" school of steeking, so I sewed and cut them immediately after I finished knitting the section, and without photographing the process. I finished the bands where the buttons (actually clasps) will go and the neckband, so all the finishing has been done that can be done at this point...

and the sleeves have been started.

I am wearing my Father Time socks today...

The last day of 2010, time for looking back at the old year and planning for the new. I tell my mythology students about Saturn/Chronos, old "Father Time" with his sickle, saturnine personality and sinister aspect. Well, here are my "Skew" socks in the "Father Time" colorway of sea sock yarn by Three Irish Girls. This was the single most expensive skein of yarn I ever bought and needed a memorable pattern to do it justice. I call them "Time Warp" socks; you can read more about them on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/projects/CarpeLanam/skew.

In other news, I am making slow progress at decoding the mysteries of my new laptop. Thanks to vast amounts of tech assistance by husband and #1 son, I may actually be able to keep up with a blog this go-round. More importantly, I may be able to cope when I return to school next week and the big hulk on my desktop is gone and I have only this slimmed-down machine to keep the classes running.

Goals for 2011 (if no one reads my blog it won't matter if I fail, right?):

• Finish 5 sweaters
• 6 pairs of socks, some for every member of the family
• 2 or 3 shawls
• 5 quilts. More if I can.
• Clean and organize the crafting area before someone schedules an intervention with one of those HGTV shows.
• Read a lot. 100 books or book-equivalents is a nice goal but I haven't quite made it even by counting magazines and lecture series.

Okay, so those aren't really New Year's resolutions, they're more like general guidelines. I like it that way. Happy New Year, everyone.