Putting Some Romance Back Into My Life

One group that I didn't drop out of over on Ravelry was the "52 Books in 52 Weeks" group. They are a nice group of people, and getting book suggestions by the bucketful really helps me at work. And so far, I have read 3 books in 3 weeks, so I am still on target for the challenge. Granted, I have read anything particularly intellectual, but happily that isn't part of the challenge.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey was a very interesting mystery. It was not a typical mystery by any stretch of the imagination. But I really enjoyed the application of police procedure to an historical enigma. I think it will be a very successful book for discussion.

And then I started reading Jayne Ann Krentz. I have read two of her books in a row. I don't know what has gotten into me. I haven't read romance novels since I was a teenager. And I never read books by the same author back to back. But I enjoy spending time with her characters, and there is enough suspense in the books to keep this veteran mystery reader interested. One of my usual complaints about romance novels is that the men aren't written in a realistic manner. But Krentz's characters all seem realistic to me. So I am happily putting some romance back into my life with Krentz's books.

Now I need to select my next book. My mom is having some outpatient surgery tomorrow, so I should have some time while I'm waiting to both read and knit. At least, I'll bring both things with me to keep me occupied. (It's so nice to have hobbies - I'm never bored!) I should be good and read The Memory Keeper's Daughter so that I can go to book discussion next week. But I have a sneaking suspicion that another romance novel might just win out! I'll let you know what I decide.

And This is Why I Blog...

...because nothing else really motivates me to finish projects up.

I got busy yesterday and got some things ready for their photo op. Here's my first FO of the year, which has been waiting since January 7th to have 4 measly ends woven in.
It's a crocheted V-Stitch scarf, made with Elsbeth Lavold Hempathy. The Hempathy was interesting to crochet with. It felt very stiff in my hand, but the scarf itself is soft and drapey, which I wouldn't have expected.

I have also been making WUA squares. I started with a box of scraps,
and so far, I have made 13 squares.
I have made a small dent in the box, but I still have plenty of scraps left. However, I am going to take a break from making squares. I am working on mittens for The Bridge Project, and then I want to make some chemo hats to donate to my crochet guild. And I'm still working on my various scarf projects. So more FOs to come!

Crying Uncle and Feeling Better

After all my enthusiasm for my 2009 challenges that I felt in December, I've spent the past 2 weeks wrestling with, well, malaise seems to be the best word for it. It took some time to figure it out, but I finally had to admit that I was feeling overwhelmed. Not only was I stretched too thin, I was spending way too much time trying to keep up with everything online and failing miserably. So this weekend, I have pared way back on the groups I am trying to participate in, and I have a new resolution for 2009. I may belong to fewer groups, but I intend to be a better member of the groups I do belong to. I also decided that I miss blogging here, so I intend to get back to blogging regularly, too.

So, to begin with, I have dropped out of all but 7 groups on Ravelry. The hardest decision was to give up on my beloved Stash Knitdown group. But with over 2600 members in the group this year, I simply could not keep up with reading all the posts, much less posting myself. If I missed even a day, I was a hundred posts behind. I also decided that I had gotten about as much as I could from the group. So my stash busting will continue, but this year I am going it alone (no doubt with a little help from my friends in the real world). I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but as soon as I left the group, I knew I had made the right decision.

I have also given up on the Winter of Lace. I tried swatching for the February Lady Sweater and couldn't get gauge, so there went my major lace project. I also got way behind reading all the posts over there, so I have given up on that KAL as well.

Hopefully I will have some FOs soon. I am busy making WUA squares for Homespun Helpers, using up all sorts of scrap yarn. I have also started some mittens for The Bridge Project. And I'm still working on scarves. Most importantly, I am enjoying my projects again and feeling more in control of my crafting life. That's a good place to be.

Slower Going

So after I posted about my 2008 FO totals and my 2009 challenges last week, it occurred to me that I can actually make fewer items this year and still meet my 2009 goals. Really, I am looking at making 52 small items and 4 sweaters. If I can do that, I will be happy. In turn, this will free up time for the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. Maybe, just maybe, I will finally achieve a balance this year between all my hobbies!

So right now, I am happily working on 5 scarves and 1 shawl, mostly in the evenings. I will hopefully start my first sweater next weekend. And I read most of The Daughter of Time this weekend. I feel much less rushed about everything, which is very nice and relaxing. And it actually feels good to give myself permission to read, and to rediscover how much I enjoy a good book.

I Did It!

I couldn't wait until tomorrow, so I started tallying my yardage this afternoon. It took counting yardage used in some WIPs, but I got the total up to just over 10 miles for the year. Yeah! Anything I use up this evening will just be gravy. Now, next year, I'm going to try again for a mile a month. Just add that to my list of challenges for 2009.

And speaking of the 2009 challenges, I completely forgot this morning about Winter of Lace. I really don't have a clue how I'm going to keep that many balls in the air, but I intend to have fun trying!

I'm Kind of Stunned!

I just went through all of my 2008 posts and tallied up my FOs for each month. The final numbers have me a bit stunned. So far, I have finished 122 items this year. (If I get off this computer soon, that number might yet increase.) I made 12 items for me or my dh, and I made 2 gifts. That means that I made 108 items that I either donated to charity or to sell to raise money for nonprofit groups. And I wasn't even trying to reach a particular goal. (I should add that these numbers are the best I can come up with. I really kind of lost track this year.) Wow!

2009 Challenges

Ok, so there are a lot of challenges that begin tomorrow, and I need to get them organized in my mind. There's the 100 skeins challenge, which I'm ready for, and the Personal Sweater Club, which I am also ready for. Then there's the 52 small items in 52 weeks challenge, which I had forgotten I had signed up for until I was just going through some of my older posts on Ravelry. That one I'm not so ready for, although I always seem to have smaller items I am working on for charity or the guild, so I should be ok there. Then there's the ongoing challenges: the Bridge Project and Homespun Helper's WUA square drive in January and chemo hats/preemie blankets/items to sell in April for the crochet guild. Whew!

Then there's the new biggie that I haven't even blogged about yet. I noticed a new Ravelry group last week - 52 Books in 52 Weeks. My first thought was that I would join and follow how the group does, but I couldn't possibly read 52 books in a year. Then, as I started reading posts and posting there myself, I decided that even if I didn't make the goal, if the group got me to read more, then it would be a good thing. And now I seem to be plotting strategy to see if I can accomplish the whole goal. The group is extremely enthusiastic and friendly, so I am really excited about reading again, which feels really good.

The strategy I am going to use includes identifying short books in my collection, to fill in when I bog down in a longer book, and audiobooks. With my Christmas money, I bought a new iPod Touch, and I have already downloaded 2 audiobooks onto it. However, I also intend to read from my stash of books, instead of bringing stacks of books home from the library and ignoring them for 3 weeks. There are a lot of books that I really should try to read, because they are popular and the patrons want to talk about them. So those will be a priority.

The first 3 books will be: The Daughter of Time by Jacqueline Tey (I'm thinking about leading a book discussion on this book in April, so I need to read it and see if it will work); The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (the library's January book discussion book, so why not); and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (I want to see if she's as whiney as everyone says she is). I have 2 audiobooks on an mp3 player (that I can no longer download to, hence the new iPod): My Life in France by Julia Child (which I started sometime this year and want to finish); and A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. And yesterday I downloaded The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan and The Rosewood Casket by Sharon McCrumb. That should carry me well into February! And definitely expect more book blogging around here in 2009.

So I am very excited for tomorrow and a little bummed that I am entertaining the family and so won't be able to really get started on my challenges until Friday. (It will be wonderful to see the family tomorrow, but still!)

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. See you all in 2009!