Knitting!

I love to knit and most of what I knit (okay, ALL of what I knit) is for someone else...which is just fine because I love seeing people's reactions when they open a gift and realize it's something I made for them.

Even with the wedding coming up I wanted to have a knitting project on the go and it just so happens I have several friends/family members who are either expecting or plan to be expecting in the near future. What does this mean? BABY BLANKETS of course!

And, really, blankets are quite easy (or can be, if you source the right pattern). Here's one I've started already:

 

Because I don't know the gender of any of the unborn babes, I'm either using gender neutral solids or this awesome pastel variegated yarn. And even though this looks all fancy-shmancy, it's a simple 4-row pattern that is repeated to the desired length, with the lacy looks being made by yarn-overs. I found this pattern on the big ball of yarn so it was a two-for-one kind of thing. And the best part of going with the pattern on the yarn ball label is that I know right away that I have the proper yarn and how much I need to get. 

This is blanket #1 and I'll be sure to post a picture of it when I'm finished. Blankets #2 and #3 will follow. This one here is for the friend who is currently with child; she's not due until April so I've got a bit of time yet. (Should I be invited to a baby shower, I figure I've got until March, which works too.) The other two blankets I have a bit more time for but I'll make sure they are good and ready for when my other baby mamas are ready!

The year that will be

Sometimes the idea and effort and focus of losing weight can become all-encompassing for me and, while it's an important thing for me to accomplish this year, there are other things I want to do. Now, these are not resolutions because I don't do resolutions. Rather, these are things I want to add/add more of to my life to keep my life fun and interesting and not just about weight loss and points.

Here's what else I'd like to do this year:

1 - Read more
I used to think I had to read more literary books because that was something I should do but I've decided pish-posh to that; I'm just going to read more of what makes me happy. I should be able to knock off a book every two weeks and I've started a reading list that will more than get me started for the first six months or so. Right now I read mostly on the subway to and from work but I want to make more time at home for reading, whether finding an hour on the weekend or going to bed earlier so I can curl up with my kitty and good book. Some of the books I will be reading this year include Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan; We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver; The Passage by Justin Cronin; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern; The Guardians by Andrew Pyper; and Redeemer by Jo Nesbo (the second book in his Harry Hole series), among others. And I've got about 30 books in queue in my Kobo library, waiting for me to buy and read them. So much reading!

2 - Do 10 push-ups
For all the weights I lift I haven't yet become strong enough to do 10 consecutive, good form push-ups. I'd like to be able to get beyond 10, but it's a good place to start.

3 - Knit a sweater that fits
I knit three sweaters this past fall and none turned out just right. In fact, all three were too big throughout the body. This year, I will knit a sweater that FITS dammit!

4 - Be a storyteller
I've always had this pipe dream of writing a book. And of course in my dream it goes on to be an international bestseller and I'm able to quit my day job and work from home and write oodles of internationally bestselling - yet still critically acclaimed - books and live the life of a brilliant writer. Which I guess is why I've never actually written anything as I don't want to see this dream completely fall apart. But it's not just the writing I want to do; I want to be a good storyteller and I want to be able to translate that skill into writing. Really, though, I just want to be able to put out a good yarn. That would make me happy.

5 - Buy clothes that fit me well, regardless of the size on the tag
It's high time I stopped being controlled by the sizes on clothing tags. I'll admit, a lot of that comes from having a boyfriend who is tall and slender and lighter than me. I know that's a really stupid reason to not want to buy clothes of a certain size but it makes me feel huge(r) next to him. The kicker? He couldn't care less. It's all my hang-up. And it's time to let it go.

I think this is a pretty good list. I'm going to keep all these things in mind and work at accomplishing them all. Bring on the year!

Have a Happy Monday with...knitting

Do you like to knit?  I like to knit.  In fact, I love to knit.  When people ask what I can knit I like to say, "Anything!"  And I'm pretty sure I could knit anything - at least I'll try.  I may not always succeed but sometimes I'll end up with something great, like a monkey:

 

 

Someone had to keep an eye on the cupcakes.

I also decided I could make fingerless gloves without a pattern.  Okay, it wasn't completely without a pattern; rather, I took elements from a few different patterns and then made it up as I went when I got stuck.  I must say, I was rather pleased with the result:

Birthday gloves for the Beau.

I go through fazes with my knitting; sometimes I can knock off a bunch of things in a week and other times it will take me months to knit a simple square.  But I do so enjoy it and one day I will have all my yarn and needles and patterns and accessories organized and at my fingertips for whatever project strikes me.  But until then, I'll just keep on churning out the monkeys and gloves and one day I'll finish that square that is going to become a pillow for the kitty.