The Bog of Lost Scholars

9 January 2011

2011 Craft Goals

Filed under: Crafts — Castiron @ 20:44

My craft goals for 2011:

1. Finish all the projects started before 2011 (except for sweaters/vests) in 2011:

  • Blue Curacao Shawl
  • CTH Peacock Socks
  • Hobby Horse
  • Katika
  • Garden Gate Socks
  • Bear Rug
  • Copper Penny Socks
  • Linen Bag
  • Loud Escher Socks
  • Shall We Dance Doily
  • Medallion Travel Bag
  • Spot Check Socks
  • Microsock

Exception: the Heere Be Dragone shawl (if I finish that, great, but since it takes so long to do a row, I’m not holding my breath on it).

2. Finish at least two sweaters/vests that I started before 2011 in 2011. My options:

  • Humphrey Vest
  • Al-Araaf Sweater
  • Sherwood
  • Japanese Vest
  • Portland Sweater
  • Arietta
  • Oblique
  • Flutter Cardigan
  • Neon Turkish Sweater
  • Lace Coverup
  • Aran sweater

(Oblique will almost certainly be done by the end of this month if I work on it at all. The other is likely to be Sherwood or one of the vests, though I might surprise myself with one of the others.)

3. Successfully complete the 52 Projects in 52 Weeks challenge in June and sign up for another year of it.

4. Start at least ten projects with stash I’ve had for more than two years.

5. When I buy new yarn, start the project it’s intended for within a month of purchase.

6. Make at least ten projects from patterns that have no Ravelry pattern photo (i.e. my Needlecraft for Today patterns), and take a good picture that can be used as the pattern photo.

7. Start a blanket to use up sock yarn scraps.

8. Start at least one project from my stash of wool that’s stored in the freezer; my husband would like more room for actual food.

9. Weave some towels from the gazillion cones of cotton yarn I’ve bought.

10. Go through the bins of yarn I got with my loom, and log everything I want to keep in my Ravelry stash.

11. Knit five pairs of plain socks.

12. Use all the remaining yarn from the Loopy Ewe orders that made me a Loopy Groupie.

13. Knit all the kid sweaters that I’ve bought yarn for (one in progress, three unstarted).

14. Reduce my knitting/crochet yarn stash so that it fits on my allotted yarn shelves (or at least is out of the closets).

15. Start working regularly on all the cross-stitch and sewing projects.

16. Keep practicing spinning.

1 January 2011

A New Year’s Story

Filed under: Uncategorized — Castiron @ 01:31

On New Year’s Eve, just before midnight, someone comes to every house.

Maybe it’s an angel, a messenger of God. Maybe it’s a brownie, or another one of the Fair Folk. Maybe it’s the old woman from countless tales who judges the young traveller. Maybe it’s a sentient being arising from radio waves. Maybe it’s the ghost of one of your ancestors — a woman who learned in a hard school and later became its teacher.

Whoever it is, someone comes to every house and inspects.

Under the chests and behind the television. In the drawers and in your hard drives. On the top shelf of the closet and in the bottom drawer of the desk. In that corner of the fridge where leftovers go to die. Over the toilet and in front of the stove.

That shelf in the utilities room that holds carpet left by the house’s previous owners and the eggshells from seventy-two baby lizards. That box in the closet that holds the present you forgot to give to one of your friends. That pile behind the sofa where your missing library book is. Someone looks at all of it.

Now, some people say that the visitor expects a perfect house before they’ll bestow their blessings on the next year. If the past year’s dirt is under the rug, or the past year’s dishes on the counter, or the past year’s laundry mildewing in the washing machine, or the past year’s bills sitting unpaid, then someone will bring you more dirt, more mess, more trouble.

But if someone sees a perfect house, everything in order, everything clean, everything incapable of improvement, why should someone bestow a blessing where it’s clearly not needed?

No, someone isn’t looking for perfection. Someone is looking for good.

The dishes are piled by the sink, but the guests are enjoying food and drink.

The bathroom tiles need scrubbing, but there is a full roll of toilet paper.

The files are full of old papers, but the shelves are full of beloved books.

The checking account is near empty, but it is balanced.

The laundry is piled up, but the baby creating the laundry is being rocked and sung to.

And someone looks at what has been done out of what could be done, and someone smiles, and someone leaves a blessing.

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