Fiber Goals and the Chesapeake Bay

Hi. Sorry I've been gone for a while. I got very frustrated that I can't add photos to the blog and just stayed away for a while after several unsuccessful attempts aggravated me way too much. Sigh. One day I'll figure out how to get current photos from my phone and I pad to this blog.

ETA - I did it! i figured it out! WooHoo!!!!!!

I came home from work feeling under the weather yesterday. I think I have a cold … I went to bed and rested last night and plan to take it easy today, resting and taking lots of Vitamin C so I can try to fight it off. I am too busy at home and at work to get sick. Also, some of our patients have a compromised immune system and don't need me sharing germs with them.  So, I am doing laundry, posting this blog post and maybe decorating the tree today. I am sleeping in the guest room so I don't share my cold with my husband. The shopping I have left to do will happen tomorrow or Monday evening. I still have some stocking stuffers to buy. I love stocking stuffer shopping. We did the bulk of it the other night but when I tallied things up we need a few more things. But not today. Today I work on getting healthier.

Since I last wrote we have been fishing 3 different days. The weather being so unseasonably warm has allowed me to go out on the boat without freezing and being miserable. We went to Point Lookout State Park last weekend and stayed over night.

This was the Chesapeake Bay at about 9:30 am on December 13. :-))

We went fishing both days and brought home a nice striped bass, which we ate upon our return. Yum!

The boat motor has been winterized, though we still have work to do on the boat itself for winter storage. Boats are a lot of work and money! But when you are out there on the water it all seems worthwhile. :-)

Knitting - I've made progress on the Architexture shawl/stole (I am past the halfway point).
Lilli Pilli is moving slowly. I have to really pay attention to the stitch pattern. I have it memorized but I have to pay attention when knitting it in order to avoid mistakes. Its the same with the Conflagration scarf. Actually more so. I have to have no distractions at all for that knitting so it hasn't progressed at all.
I started my second blanket for the Alzheimer's group Alice's Embrace. The pattern I had planned to knit didn't look as good as I thought so I chose another one and it is moving along nicely. I am using up Plymouth Encore  (left over from eldest son's blanket from many years ago) and a bit of woolese yarn also. These blankets were great stash busters. Unfortunately I have to buy 2 skeins of the sand color to finish the second blanket. I used about 10 skeins from stash though, so that's good. I'll be looking for more of these types of projects for next year.

Bob's sweater front and back have been finished for a while. I blocked the pieces and hope to seam it this weekend so I can pick up stitches for the sleeves and get back to work on it. I have a few other projects on the needles but those are my main projects right now. I want to finish at least one of those projects before I pick up anything else.

I have had a change of heart regarding my plans for next year. I was planning to make 2016 the year of finishing UFOs. I have so many ….. I faced the fact that I was setting myself up for failure, though, with a plan like that. Instead of all UFOs, I plan to choose 1 UFO per month and either finish or frog it. That will allow me to knit/start current projects also. I have some yarn in my stash that I am dying to knit. So, one goal for 2016 is to work down my UFOs in a systematic and regular way.

Another goal is to take part in a monthly knitting challenge. I belong to a Ravelry group called Sock yarn Round Robin. They do a lot of swaps but they also have a monthly challenge. (things such as knit a lace project or knit something with buttons, ties or other fasteners) You can choose your challenge and your project to fulfill that challenge. You get points for each according to yarn weight and yardage used but of course the points don't get awarded until you finish the project. I started this year but not at the start and didn't plan things out well, so I dropped out. For 2016 I will plan out my challenges and what I will knit for each. I can change my mind, of course, but if I plan it well, I should be able to double dip on some KALs and finish the projects I start instead of adding more UFOs.

I enjoy this group a lot and have taken part in some of their swaps. I just received my package from the latest swap and I love it!

Finally I have some self striping yarn! The colors are hot pink, purple and a bright green. I received a Christmas project bag that looks very well made and is cute without being juvenile. I also got some great looking stitch markers with a fish on the lead marker. Considering how much time we spend fishing, I thought that was especially cool. Oh, and my swap partner added some Masham fiber

 for me to spin. I really enjoyed my previous spinning experience with Masham but I lost most of it in a singles snarl that I just couldn't salvage. Now I can try again. I have some other fiber that looks like it would work well with this Masham so I will be able to make something nice with it. Maybe mitts and a hat?

A main goal for me for the next year is to not buy yarn. I have lots, I love it and need to knit with it. I am giving myself a few exceptions, such as MDSW. I know I won't be able to stay home or not buy yarn if I go, so I am accepting that and allowing yarn purchases at that time. I  will also allow a purchase if I need a gift and can't find a workable yarn in my stash or if I need yarn to finish a project.

I want to spin more fiber and spin more regularly. I want to spin with a purpose in mind so that I am not converting fiber stash into yarn stash. I want to knit with my handspun.

I plan to participate in the Canadian Crazy Train KAL that starts on January 1 but I am not going to participate in the Tour de Sock or Sock Sniper KALs this year. I haven't knitted the patterns the last few years so why sign up? I'll follow along and cheer people on and that will be enough.

I will also plan on doing  a few other KALs that fit with my planned projects for the year. I enjoy the camaraderie of KALs, the enthusiasm and sharing of progress and problems. It enhances my knitting fun.

I think the weekend of Christmas I will review my UFOs and choose the first few that I want to address in the new year and keep them in the house. The rest go out to the shed in an effort to declutter the house. I hope the challenges for next year are posted on the Sock yarn Round Robin thread because I would like to find the yarn for the first few projects and keep that in the house and easily available as well. I don't want to change plans because I can't get to the yarn in the middle of a snow storm or some other foul weather.

I feel good about these goals. I think they are reasonable and since I spend so much time knitting, I feel better that there is a general plan with flexibility. Lately I have been getting frustrated by lack of organization. I don't want to set hard and fast rules for my hobby but I want to accomplish certain things and I think this way (flexible goals) will work.

Since I finally got the photos to upload, my next post will include some back tracking to show you some photos from Rhinebeck and our vacation in Montauk this year. Until then, stay healthy and happy.