*waves* It's been a while...

It’s been a while since I’ve written, but maybe life will slow down a bit soon, and I’ll have more time to write in my blog. January was nuts. The wedding was perfect, and then we got a few family obligations out of the way. I was even able to get a little knitting done. As a January crafting recap, these are the projects I finished:

One of the things I wanted to do this year was have some crafting goals. I would like to challenge myself with learning a couple of new techniques, and taking on some larger projects. My 2009 goals:

Complete and empty my UFO bin – by June 1st
Stranded Colorwork – completed! Feb/09 with Endpaper Mitts
Beaded knitting – by end of May
Entrelac – July goal
Attempt a fitted garment – by end of August
Complete a skein of homespun yarn – by end of April
Actually complete one of my design ideas, make sketches of others – year long
Work almost exclusively from stash – two yarn buying exceptions: honeymoon in April and birthday. Buying yarn for gift knitting is allowed. – year long
Learn to quilt – make quilted wall hanging – in May/June
Mousey cross stitch – start in May; finish by end of November

In plant news, it’s been warm enough the past couple of days, that I got to put all of the plants out from the garage. I think I’ll have to move them back in this weekend, but I think 5 or 6 days of real sunlight and fresh air will do them good. My office plants are kicking ass, as well, and my phalaenopsis is about to bless me with his first flower of the year. The largest bud started opening today =) My little christmas cactus cutting is making lots of new leaves, the cattleya has some interesting new growth, and the dendrobium is putting up new leaves. The violets aren’t thrilled with how cold it’s been in here this winter, but warmer days are coming fast. I think I’ll take the big dracaena tree home once the warmth comes to stay, and maybe bring the big leaf plant in. It’s doing well in the laundry room, though…it even put up flowers! Barton and I were given daffodils as a wedding present and they’re not enjoying the laundry room quite as much. Hopefully they’ll be able to go outside and stay there soon. I’m thinking of splitting my english ivy into 3 or 4 smaller plants. It’s just too big to take to work as it is, but I don’t think it’s getting enough light at home.

It’s getting to be about that time for me to think about what I want to do with the garden. I still have plenty of seeds from last year, and I think we could have an excellent crop of herbs and vegetables. The old owners left a ton of pots, too, so I can play with some more decorative plants, as well. It’s been such a gloomy winter, I’m really looking forward to getting outside and playing in the dirt =)

There were two other challenges I considered taking up this year, but with the way the first two months are going, I think I would be quite foolish to attempt them in 2009. I can start preparing for 2010, though ;) I would really like to attempt the Project 365 photography challenge, as well as the 52 in 52 book reading challenge. I have more than enough books to read, to fulfill the latter, and playing with the camera to get better pictures of my plants and crafts has sparked an interest in improving my photography skills.

Christmas Tree Happiness

Barton and I decorated the tree tonight, and I love the way it turned out. Beth gave us our first couple ornament a week or two ago, and it has a place of honor near the top of the tree =)

Faith

I need to not be so pms-y and have a little faith. My swap package was received, and apparently well loved, so I got grumbly over nothing. I think I shall blame the crazy hostess of the retirement party I had to attend yesterday evening for my mood. I'm gonna miss Daryl, but it'll be nice to no longer have to deal with his wife and her delusions. Now for a happy Friede pic (I have so got to make me one of these)...

Grumbly Musings

I've participated in three swaps now, and I'm not sure I'll do any others. The first two were massive swaps making quilt blocks and quilted postcards for quite a large number of people. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but I thought my issues might just be the scale. So, I signed up for a small scale ornament swap where I just have to make things for one person. I was quite pleased with the package I received, and I thought things were going well with the package I sent. I wanted to create something unique and different, that fit within things that she seemed to like. Apparently, I missed the mark. I haven't actually heard from her, but I know she's been online, and I know her package was delivered two days ago. Even if she's been busy, a quick note to say she got it doesn't seem like too much to ask. She may have it and love it, she may have it and hate it, or something may have gone oddly wrong with the post office, and she may not have it at all. I'm just bummed I don't know something. I loved the little ornament I made, and could easily have kept it for myself. Perhaps I'm just selfish, but the experience hasn't been as satisfying as I thought it would be.

Monogamous Knitting Woes

I have been attempting to stay focused on my Christmas knitting since mid-November, and I must say, I've done fairly well. I've finished a couple, and made good progress on others. I *ahem* joined a fun and quick ornament swap to shake things up a bit, but that was a rather small loss of present-time in the grand scheme of things. I have to say, though, that I am incredibly bored. The pressure to finish the presents I'm fairly certain I have the time to finish, and the strength to resist casting on those that I don't think I'll have time for is driving me crazy. The big culprit in all of this is the shawl I promised to make Mamaw...like before Easter. I had nearly an entire year to do it, but didn't get serious about giving it to her for Christmas until all of the moving insanity (which, for the record, is the exact wrong time). I happen to love the way the 40% of the shawl that I've finished looks, and everyone in the family who I've shown it to seems to gush over it. I just don't think I'm cut out for this one project at a time mentality. I miss my piles of wips waiting for me to pick them up and give them a few hours of my time, and then happily going back on the shelf while I give the next project a little love. I miss my variety. In theory, I think Christmas knitting is a nice idea, but I don't know that I'll ever put this pressure on myself again. If I make things for people in the future, it'll be because I just feel like doing it, and they'll get it whenever it works out.

Joy Journal

I was reading an article on dealing with stress and anxiety, and one of the things they recommended was keeping a joy journal. Their thought is that writing down small moments of delight will help put troubles in perspective. I found this super cute little reporter-style journal a few weeks ago while Christmas shopping, and couldn't resist buying it for myself (even though I have a ton of empty journals piled up around the house). It came with the words "Everything starts somewhere. Here's your somewhere". The two ideas seem too perfect for me to ignore. I started my joy journal yesterday with a nice make-me-smile Oreo moment. It's small and rugged enough to travel with me in my purse, so I shouldn't ever really find myself without it. I'm excited to be able to look back months from now, and smile at my happy moments =)

Reformatting

Having three blogs to maintain is a bit much, so I've changed it up a bit. I'll keep spot thief, but make it private, and use it for journaling things I don't quite want to share with the entire world. The rest of it will go here. A little crafting, a little gardening, and probably quite a few cat pics.

I'm in the process of knitting up my Christmas gifts. I've managed to finish 2 of them, but still have 4 to go. Once I've worked my way through that, I have a couple of items I want to make for the wedding, but I may run out of time. I've got my fingers crossed that it works out. I am also making plans for the things I hope to accomplish next year. I've set aside yarn in bags with pattern names for the Personal FG Club, and I may set up a few more with random small projects to keep me entertained throughout the year. I would also like to spin up some of that fiber Heather sent me, and quilt a wall hanging.

Now that I'm in the house, I feel like life is starting to settle down. The cats/dog integration is going as well as could be expected, and I think we're getting to where we can all coexist. Friendship will hopefully come in time, but for now I'm quite excited by indifference. The wedding plans are coming together as well. The biggest thing still hanging is what I'm going to wear ;) I'm thinking I might get started on that one next weekend. Should be something to look forward to!