it's a wrap

My whole knitterly year is contained in a 4x4x6 inch tote.

I collected my yarn labels here as faithfully as I could. While took some pictures and also uploaded some of my projects to ravelry, this tiny tote is the best proof I have that I did knit something this year:



70 skeins of yarn, adding up to 10,119 yards knitted up. There were one or two skeins in there that I ended up using for tying off my hand dyed yarn. They are included in the yardage because they are gone from the stash, and that is a good thing.




All in all I also dyed approximately 2000 skeins, which explains the rather small number of yards knitted up...the new challenge for 2010 will be to knit up 2010 yards from stash per month. We'll see how I do, because I've accumulated a bit of roving too and it begs to be spun up...

What are your knitterly plans for the new year?

I wish you all a wonderful New Year. May you enjoy your craft in good health.

This is the last post on this blog. You will still be able to go back and read what's here, but from now on I will be focusing on The Periwinkle Sheep blog.

Thank you so much for being here with me this whole time. I hope to see you on the other side -- *

re-group

Emma donning an elf hat made by Crafty Girl

As my dear knitting friend Cathy pointed out in the comments, this blog has been very quiet. I've been very quiet.

I could say there has been a lot going on, and you could say that that is true -- but who doesn't have a lot going on, especially this time of year?

Tall Son came down with mono at the end of his semester but is now home and on the road to recovery. Thank you for your well wishes. Dyeing has slowed down a bit, since I rely on warmer weather to help me out with it. I am doing quite a bit of knitting, or was, until a major case of tendonitis had me leave the needles idle. No, Christmas knitting was not finished in time. I am taking any and all anti-inflammatory available, icing my elbow, etc. Nonetheless, baking and wrapping some gifts had me nauseous from the pain yesterday so I think I need to re-group a little. Anybody got a new, pain-free knitting style to teach me? Obviously the one I've been trusting for 38 years is not working any more....

Another reason for my relative quiet is that I have come to the conclusion that I can't keep up two blogs anymore. As of the new year, I will focus on the "other" blog, and let this one go idle. I have the sneaking suspicion that I've lost readership in the process of trying to have two blogs - and who can blame you? It's not like I'm offering you one riveting story or project after another over here!

There were a whole bunch of things that I meant to report on but simply didn't have to time to report on. Yes I took pictures and composed blog posts - in my head. Whole lot of good that does you! It's like buying a new knitting book, yarn, and needles, and then not making anything. Can't call myself a blogger if I don't blog.

For now, I would like to wish everyone who celebrates, a very Merry Christmas. If you're traveling, stay safe. We'll be home, taking it easy. I'll try to catch you up on a few things before the year is out, and before I'll move on over to the new digs.

consider this

All weekend -- and I hope it was a good one for you, this Thanksgiving, with seeing family and friends!! -- I was trying to avoid even noticing the shopping frenzy that everyone was trying to talk us consumers into. Every time I turned on the news it was more stats about how many shoppers went out and shopped and how much they spent.

Stores opening at 5 am, 3 am, midnight even. Trying to lure us with rockbottom prices, on stuff that we really don't NEED. Then I heard about the Story of Stuff. It takes less than a trip to the mall to watch it.

I might be preaching to the choir here, because knitters already know that Giving means Making Something.

Or if you can't make something, consider buying something handmade.

Or if you're already done with making something, bless your heart, maybe you could find half an hour here and there to make some good warm mittens? To give to your local rescue mission?

I also just found this very worthy cause. The deadline isn't until January.

You bet your sweet skein of Lamb's Pride I'll be making some mittens. Thank you Bonnie for bringing my attention to it.