2011 Resolutions

So, it is yet another new year and I am still doing the same things, well, mostly the same things. That means yet another list of un-meaningful resolutions. But hopefully since this is out in public, I can keep myself a little more motivated... We will see.

2011 RESOLUTIONS

1. I am going to really put some time in on my spinning wheel this year. I paid for it, I should use it. Plus, my friend sent me some AMAZING roving from Australia!! The purple braids are beautiful. Then you go to the bags and OMG!! soft as melted butter. I rolled in them for a bit :) I am not sure what kind of fiber they are. But most definitely very beautiful and SOFT!! Got to make sure I spin these with some experience!! I would love to make something out of them, but just not sure what!! Needles to say, I need to return the favor. Road trip!!

2. I am going to knit from my stash. I have five, count them five, well, maybe 6 or 7, plastic bins full of yarn in the garage and there is still MORE in my house. I have been watching the show "Hoarders" on A&E. OMG!! I know that my house is not as bad as the people on the show, but I do feel that there is just way to much stuff that is just taking space in our house.

Little side note here: Our house has two adults that have lived there most of their lives, MIL and BF. So it is full of their stuff. Then we have a roommate that had a house before he moved in. He is really good about being only in his room, but I think that is not fair, he has lived here long enough that he should be apart of the house, if he wants. Then we add me. My stuff is the most visible and I really don't have that much, but it was the last stuff to add to the house so it is on top of everything. Or was anyways, now it is mostly in the garage and my office area.

3. I am going to make a GIANT effort to keep my house useable this year. We tend to start stacking things in corners and by the end of the month, we loose that area to STUFF!! Not any more.

4. Work on getting the garage into a useable area. I don't have to park the car in there. But it would be nice if I had the choice to. Or at least a good storage area. Organized and neat.

5. Work on programming for the MAC and iPad/iPhone/iPod. I don't have school anymore, so I should actually be doing something in the programming field.

6. Either get a programming job or work on our home based business. One or the other needs to start making money.

7. Live life, laugh often and love hard. Enough said.

8. Actually try to blog this year. See how it goes. I would like to actually have my thoughts out there in the world instead of just being in my house, in my head or going through other peoples ears.

9. I would actually like to make our house, our house. I know that is redundant, but if you knew me, you would understand. (See note above). I would actually like to have some nice things that belong to us and not BF's mom or sister or father or anyone else in the family. I would like to look around and see us, not "his mom's" house. It's not like his mom lives here every day, well at the moment, but not sure how long. She is here maybe 4 to 7 days out of an entire month. I think it is time to make a home or move.

There are other resolutions, but they are on a more personal level and I do not feel like sharing with the public on those.

Crafting:

I am knitting/crocheting projects for two groups. One is the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup (Hufflepuff) and the other is Nerd Wars (Dumbledore's Army). I am deciding if I want to be captain in the Nerd Wars group. It would be different, but do I have the time? Really?

Birthday:

Yesterday was my 29th Birthday. I don't feel any different than when I was 21. Is that how it actually is supposed to feel? Am I really supposed to just go year by year and not really feel any different than the last 8? What am I going to accomplish this year to make it different? I need to feel a change and for the most part it started last year and is continuing. Where is my life going? Is there going to be kids or am I satisfied with having my Niece and Nephews?

These type of thoughts were going through my head as I tried to sleep last night and really couldn't. Why is my birthday so close to the new year, it sucks because one's mind is always looking for a way to change the next year, then bam, my birthday shows up and screws with my head, makes me start looking about my entire life instead of just one year. What the heck is up with that?

Closing Thoughts:

Well I believe this is a good start. Hopefully I will be writing most days. I really don't do much at the moment. But soon I hope that will change. I will defiantly start writing about my knitting, crocheting, spinning and hopefully the thoughts that run though my head. I DO NOT guarantee that I will not complain, I will, though, try keep it to a minimum and let you know before hand.

I would like to start writing my column again, but I just don't seem to have any ideas on what to do with it. I will look into that and see what I can come up with. Maybe it will just be a weekly blog thing that I can learn something new and let you, the reader, know about it. Well, that is if anyone reads this thing. It will at least keep my stash of notebooks down to a minimum.

Well, that is the end of this entry. I am going to work harder on keeping track of things. I just hope life doesn't get too busy.

Happy Knitting! or what nots. :)

A new year, a new start

For the most part this blog, though very neglected, has been for just my column that has been published in The Columbia Basin Farmer. Since it is a new year and my life has seemed to calm down again, for the time being, I think it is time that I actually start writing some more.

So I will start off by how I got involved with writing Needles and Hooks.

I worked for our weekly local newspaper, The Othello Outlook, and one of the previous editors approached me and asked if I would write a column. I did not have the time at the time to put that much into a column and was not going to put something out there just to be published. I told her I would think about it.

I worked on my first column off and on for about a year before I approached anyone about it. By that time there was a new editor and I was not sure if I would be able to pitch it right. I decided that a weekly column was still out of my time range so I settled for the then monthly publication, The Columbia Basin Farmer. Well, little to my knowledge the publisher was changing the time frame for the its publication to every two months (6 issues a year).

That time frame worked well for me. I was still attending college at the time and was only happy to have more time to work on it. So the pitch went extremely well. He was more than happy to include it. So that was the birth of Needles and Hooks.

As you can see, I have neglected to place all of them on the blog, but that should change here shortly. I am in the process of getting the master files of the publications (the ones that have actually been edited) and now have the time to post them.

I will start to actually write some more knitting content and soon spinning. I have gotten a drop spindle from a friend far far away from me for Christmas. (She is so sweet.) So, with the new drop spindle, the book Respect the Spindle, and various videos from the web, I should be up and spinning in no time. Wait, its that time thing again. I really got to think all the things I want to do through more often.

Ok, so the good part of finally graduating (got the diploma on the 19th in the mail) is that I have some free time to knit and spin. I have actually queued 70 projects on my Ravelry page. This is not good, not at all!!

I have 18 actual projects planed out. Yarn and everything. I have done a stash busting/organizing/cataloging the last few weeks and should now have an idea of where all my yarn is. The worst part is that I really should find a pattern for most of it and get it out of the storage bins. (Not much room in my house.)

So here is my project list so far, I hope you can read my short hand.

PROJECTS THAT HAVE YARN AND HAVE BEEN STARTED:

~ Amy's Socks: Twisted Stitch Socks in Aussi Sock, color no. WS07 Pink.

~ Darla's Gloves: My own pattern in Drops Alpaca, color no. 6360 Denim.

~ Felted Bag No. 2: Just needs the handles knit and felted.

~Hexagon Blanket: Using up some Red Heart in my stash.

~Lena's Bag: Knit Pick's Sipalu Bag in Pallet (Frog and redo).

~ Amy's Scarf: My own pattern in Aussi Sock, color no. WS26 Blue Dream.

~ Joey's Blanket: Little Girl's Favorite Throw (the stitch works well for boys too) in Pound of Love color no. 110 Denim

PROJECTS THAT HAVE YARN AND NOT STARTED:

~ Emma's Blanket: Little Girl's Favorite Throw (the stitch works well for boys too) in Pound of Love color no. 102 Bubble Gum.

~ Wrapped in Ragg: Mary Maxim Kit, for Christmas 2010 for myself.

~Knit Pick's Karin Tote for myself.

~Prismatic Scarf in yarn given to me by a friend in Australia, The Knittery, color Moonlight.

~ Jaywalkers in Noro, color no. S240 (another gift that came from Australia).

~ Monkey in Happy Feet, color no. 18 (black and grays).

~ RPMs in Happy Feet, color no. 26 (blues).

~ Nutkin n Happy Feet, color no. 25 (pinks with some lime green).

~ Vinnland in Araucania, color no. 310 Ranco Multy. (Another gift that came from Australia).

~ Navie in Aussi Sock, color no. WS05 Charcoal.

~ Endpaper Mitts in Patons Kroy Socks, color no. 54042 Gentry Grey and 54044 Mercury.

PROJECTS WITHOUT YARNS:

~ Outside In Socks

~ Springgrass Socks

~ Boyfriend Socks

~ Celtic Braid Socks

~ Clessidra Socks

~ Hendra Socks

~ Firestarter Socks

~ Baudelaire Socks

~ Zonki Socks

~ Knotty Gloves

~ Log Cabin Square Afghan

~ Celtic Braid Afghan

~ Serenity Shawl

~ Evangeline Gloves

~ Gir

These are just the patterns that I got off Ravelry or were in kits that I requested for Christmas, or was requested from my niece (she wanted another blanket). I have 59 books that have made it on to my Ravelry page and a few more that didn't, all on knitting or crocheting. I have yet to go threw them and pick the patterns I want out of them. But this seems to be a good start so far!!

Well, I think I am done for this post. I will write at you later.

~ Danie