Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny…}

Last Friday night we were worn out.

Three weeks of packing plus work plus Christmas will do that to you.

We all needed a break from everything going on so my husband made the executive decision to keep us all home last Saturday with our only plans being meals. Brian watched the game and he totally handled the laundry, the boys spent most of the afternoon outside, we watched a movie and played some games... and I spent the day knitting. I promise that I did feed everyone at mostly appropriate times (and made a new favorite for dinner) and a few of those knitting hours were spent outside in a chair so that I could knit while supervising children, but I'm serious about the all day knit-fest.

That mini knitting retreat was the best remedy to if-I-have-to-pack-another-box-I’ll-scream-itis ever.

By 10 p.m. I was grafting the toe of the sock that only been a 4-inch cuff at 8 a.m. that morning. I might actually reach my tiny little sock knitting goal this year! And the bonus is that this was stash yarn, which totally counts for the stash challenge.

How has your knitting year started off?

And Other Things

I have three clipboards of lists- one clipboard for the studio, one for homeschool, and one for "life". My lists include menu plans, calendars for the next three studio years, future knitting projects, the second grade booklist I'm working on building, the recital list for this year, and the most important list of all... our list titled Direction.


It's our goals for the year. These are goals by and for everyone in the family because most of all what I want for our home is reationship and community. Everyone's opinions and efforts are valuable and helping each other accomplish what we set out to do builds that community.


This list isn't complete (it never has been- sometimes you don't know what is important to you to get done until September...) but it gives us the direction for our year so that we move together into the new year. Some of it is vague or pretty obvious, but *I* like having it down on paper. Not everything will happen, but we'll work toward everything as we can.

The first third of our year is already pretty full, taken up with packing and moving and baby having. The months following that have a very distinct "nothing" planned as we get to know the newest member of our family, and then in the early fall we move into another official school year, this time with two official students.


Mostly I'm sure much of my year shall be spent on getting the new house to become OUR house and creating new learning and making areas there. I am *excited* about our new learning area at the new house! No longer will we be stuck in a room far off from the action, but our school day will be close to the most important room for our family- the kitchen.


I have a far-off and lofty dream of being unpacked within 6 months of the move (hey- it's a goal, okay? You can stop laughing...) but I will have a new baby just two months after the move, so we'll see how that one turns out.


I'm planning to re-establish our usual eating habits. Over the last several months of time spent at the hospital, then hospice, then away from our home as we help my father-in-law adjust to being on his own for the first time in 40 years, our eating habits have been horribly disjointed. We'll be moving again soon and after the move we plan to get back to our normal pattern of homemade food, eating in season and fresh as much as possible.


We have a family project in the works- something to last through the year, finding places for old traditions and maybe adding something new as the new house becomes our new home.  More to come in this space as we work on this in the coming months.




The boys have big plans to try out soccer and basketball this year, but of course to still play baseball in the summer. Ender endeavors to be outside "pretty much all the time" and Ezra has plans for some serious art work, including making a whole book.


And my husband? Well, he's talking about going back to school for a third time... maybe this fall, maybe not. We'll see how that one turns out.




For the most part we're planning a pretty quiet year- mostly getting used to the changes from the first part and re-establishing ourselves as we set up in a new place and add another little one. I'm taking a lot of time off from the studio when baby girl gets here and totally resetting my work schedule in the fall... It's a lot of change in one year, but I can't even explain the excitement behind it, particularly knowing that this is a big step forward toward the intentional life we've been building.

Yarn Along and Knitting Goals

{Knitting along with Ginny this week}

Yes, that's a new shawl and *not* the mittens I'm supposed to be finishing...

One of the lesser known side effects after a long stint of non-knitting is cast-on-itis, which made it's way to my house for several days last week and got in the way of finishing my mother's Christmas mittens (which are now 2+ weeks overdue, ahem).

So now there are mittens still on the needles (though not that long from complete- 4 hours maybe?), a shawl begun, and because of our BABY GIRL news I also cast on a little sweater, and I'm up to two hats that need their bands sewn on. And I also knit up Schmatta over a few hours (though it still needs buttons).

The only problem is that I have no "easy knit" to take along on the car- the kind I can pick up and put down as the boys need help with math or legos or that I can knit a row or two on while waiting on that student that's running 3 minutes late. So I *really* need to start something else, right???

I hit New Years Eve and realized I was fishing for yarn to cast on *another* project without thinking about all the projects currently in the works and I did stop myself. I work better with a plan and if I had continued casting on I would have put myself into a knitter's coma. I really don't do well with more than 4 or 5 projects all waiting to be finished, but neither do I do well with committing fully to just one knit.

I started out intending to make a project list to put in my Rav queue, but then I was grumpy trying to narrow myself down to certain projects, so it really became more of a goal list:


1. Complete 12 knitting projects by the end of the year. I'm admittedly aiming small, but we will be moving again in the first half of the year AND having a baby. There's canning season (and I just don't knit much then) plus I'd like to make friends with my sewing machine again at some point...

2. Knit from stash for most projects this year. As I said the other day, my stash has hit an uncomfortable level for me and I really want the finished projects that are intended to come out of that pile of yarn. This isn't restrictive- I can still buy for other projects if I want, but most of this year's knitting will be from stash. Kelly is running a fun linky for this sort of thing- join up if you want to play along too!

3. Complete 1 pair of socks. I love the idea of knitting socks and last year set out to knit at least 6 pair before getting derailed. Apparently I just don't have sock-knitting mojo. I planned for just 1 little sock per month last year, and I got about 2 socks in (and not even two socks of the same pair!) and called it quits. There are fit problems that I need to solve before I seriously move forward on sock knitting, but I'm determined to get 1 good pair for myself this year.

4. Learn to knit lace with bobbles. I see lots of lace shawls I really love that include bobbles, so I want to learn. I've made 1 half-hearted attempt at learning but really didn't have the time to sit down with it and gave up quickly. I will have the time this year at a couple of points- I just have to sit down and do it!

5. Learn to knit colorwork using both hands. I have done a small amount of colorwork, but I know I need to learn to do it holding one color in each hand. It will go faster and I'll ultimately be happier because of it. I just can't seem to get even tension with it yet, but I want to practice "the right way" this year so that I will do more color work.

6. Learn the uses of other cast-ons and use them in the right situations. I rely heavily on the long-tail cast-on for pretty much everything because it's the cast-on I'm comfortable with. I've used other cast-ons when called for, but I want to really know why and when to use other cast-ons.

7. Improve my finishing techniques. I'm decent at kitchener stitch and mattress stitch, but I'd like to learn the three needle bind-off and sewn bind-offs.

Is this the year that I finally knit a fair isle sweater?

Learn to spin?

Take a chance on a steek?

Not sure. But I'll be sure to share if I do.

What are your knitting plans for this year?

Stashing

I recently had occasion to pack up about 70% of my knitting stash and realized exactly how much I have.... several shawls worth, a couple sweaters worth, countless balls of sock yarn, plus the recent acquisition of yarn towards baby projects. It is certainly NOT as much as a lot of yarn stash-ers have, but it has definitely outgrown the space I have dedicated to yarn, and that means I need to get knitting before I buy anything else.




See, knitters include people of all stashing types, and I just happen to be one of those folks that tends to stash for planned projects. When I get a little bit of yarn money together I plan the next few projects I'd like to make and then order accordingly. I don't have yarn money available to me at all times- it tends to come to me in chunks at a few different points in the year and  I try to take advantage so that I never go without knitting. Because of this buying trend I typically only have a few projects worth of yarn in my stash at any time. I'm not really sure how this big of a stash took hold- I know some of it was a gift from a friend, some from my mom when she de-stashed (she's a quilter who knits on great occasion and recently got rid of a lot of yarn she's sure she'll never use), and some happened when we moved suddenly to help take care of my father-in-law after my mother-in-law died. I took some things with me from the stash, but bought more when I didn't have what I needed at the time... so I kind of have two small stashes right now- the one at our house and one at my father-in-laws... but when you add two small stashes together it equals "not so small stash" and that is just not good for me (or the storage space I have for yarn!)


I'm planning to knit from stash for as long as possible in 2012, not out of some kind of knitter's torture, but because I have lots of yarn intended for projects that I *really* like and want to see made. I also have some WIPs that were started last spring or summer that didn't end up getting completed (even though I do tend to be a finish-the-project knitter) and I'd like to see those finished. I'll buy new yarn if necessary for something, but the bulk of my 2012 knitting will be knitting with what I have on hand.

What kind of stasher are you? Am I some kind of weirdo? I really don't buy yarn just because I see it and like it- I'm always worried that I'll find the perfect project for it and then not have enough of that perfect yarn, or worse that I'll never make it into anything and it will sit in the stash for another decade or two. I can't stand to buy something (especially something beautiful) that will go unused!

2011 in Books

Can I just start by saying I look forward to this post all year long? I love to read, but it was one of the first hobbies that got lost after my first son was born. I realized about a year later that the only thing I'd really read in that year was a parenting book or two, and made a serious shift. Now I keep track every year, at least of my fiction reads. I tried to better track my non-fiction reads this year, but looking through the list I noticed several titles were missing (I know I read at least 5 canning books)... I'm going to do better next year!


My goal is to read 20 fiction titles every year and this year I made it to 23. I read a lot of YA titles- a lot were recommended to me by students, and some I was reading "ahead" for my kids. I really like to keep up on trendy titles so that I know exactly what we're dealing with when my kids ask to read them. Now that Ender is starting to read some chapter books on his own I know that day is just around the corner for our family.

What was the best new (to you) author you discovered this year? Suzanne Collins. I read The Hunger Games trilogy in May/June and it is definitely one of my favorte series now. In fact, I plan to read it again next month in preparation for the movie release this spring.

What was your favorite new (to you) series? The Hunger Games Trilogy, as I mentioned above. Second place goes to Gone and it's sequels by Michael Grant. Those books are *not* for everyone, with a sci-fi lean and some horror elements, but it was well written with some interesting characters. I am NOT a horror fan at all and there were places in these books that I was glad I was reading during daylight (but I know I'm a little more easily freaked out than most).

Book that made you cry? The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I think this book renewed my faith in well written non-fiction.

Book that made you laugh out loud? All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Hilarious for knitters. :)

Book that totally changed your perspective on something? Canning for a New Generation by Lianna Krissoff. I've canned a little bit in the past, but usually just freezer jam. This book opened me up to feeling like a lot of different things were not only possible but pretty darn easy... and sooooo worth it to be eating our own food through the whole year, rather than only in the summer!

Best homeschooling book? The Core by Leigh Bortins. This is such a balanced approach to what we are looking for for our family. The Well-Trained Mind was a great jumping off point in pointing us toward materials that fit us well, but it feels so strict in what *must* be accomplished each year, and that is not always true for everyone- and that kind of restriction always makes me instinctively feel like it won't work for us.

While I'm not necessarily interested in joining a Classical Conversations group with my very young kids, we will be using much of the method here. My boys already love to memorize, and the fact that it only takes 24 weeks out of our usual 40 week school year means we have 16 weeks to explore interests or really sit on one week of material if they find something they really like.

Worst book that you managed to finish? Um, I don't really read bad books any more. If I listed books that I've started but not finished my reading list would be significantly longer. I used to feel compelled to finish everything, but my TBR list is just way too long and I want to get through the good stuff, you know? I did finish The Red Pyramid, but I had to push myself through. You know, Rick Riordan's stories and characters are really interesting but the writing is just bad. I do want to know what happens next but at the same time, the writing skill makes me groan and I have to put it aside for something else for awhile.

Most disappointing Book? Matched by Ally Condie. It felt like it was written to try to fit in with the Hunger Games fans, but it just doesn't resonate the way Hunger Games does. Many of the characters are flat or seem to be there just to help the plot get to the next point.

Best book-that-was-better-than-the-movie? Hahahaha... Twilight. Not even a close race. I'm not a huge Twilight fan, but I did read them again after a discussion with a friend (who suggested that I wasn't remembering the books accurately since it was about 2 years ago that I read them through in the course of a week). Just like The Percy Jackson books, the Twilight books have a compelling story but are badly written and I'm concerned about the underlying message of Bella and Edward's relationship. But the movie? I don't know how anyone who watched the movies knew at all what was going on.

Most over-hyped book of the year? Delirium by Lauren Conrad. It was a great idea, but felt flat to me.

Best young adult book of the year? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Book You’ve been meaning to read for years and finally got to? The Artemis Fowl books. My husband has told me for ages that I would like them, and I finally read the first few this year.

Read aloud that the family enjoyed the most? Charlotte's Web! What a fun read.

Best non-fiction? I read a lot of really good non-fiction this year, but the one that I think is going to really affect our family is The Rhythm of Family by Amanda Blake Soule.

All-around best story of the year? The Hunger Games again. I know, I know. Broken record, right? I just really liked this trilogy!

Book that you feel is so integral to your library, you’d even pay full price for it? Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss, 3 R's by Dr. Ruth Beechick, and The Core by Leigh Bortins. I pull these out every few months as I plan the next quarter's goals and book lists.



Complete List for 2011:

Goal: 20 fiction books


Fiction:

1. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (January)

2. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (January)

3. Worst Case by James Patterson (February)

4. Stolen Children by Peg Kehret (February)

5. The Magic Half by Annie Barrows (February)

6. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (February)

7. Redwall by Brian Jacques (March)

8. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (May)

9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (May)

10. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (June)

11. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (June)

12. The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (June)

13. Gone by Michael Grant (July)

14. Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey (July)

15. Delirium by Lauren Oliver (August)

16. Matched by Ally Condie (August)

17. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (September)

18. Hunger by Michael Grant (September)

19. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (October)

20. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (October)

21. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (November)

22. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (November)

23. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (December)



Non-Fiction:

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (March)

2. Decision Points by George W. Bush (March)

3. Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont (April)

4. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (April)

5. Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee (April)

6. Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff (May)

7. The Core by Leigh Bortins (June)

8. The 3 R's by Ruth Beechick (July)

9.  Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss (July)

10. The Rhythm of Family by Amanda Blake Soule (October)

11. All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (December)