Resolutions

I've never been one for resolutions. Ok, ok, I've made resolutions, so I'll rephrase. I've never been one for sticking to resolutions. I guess that's pretty universal - does anybody really? I resolve on January 1 to take better care of myself. And by January 4 I'm eating a bowl of Corn Pops and three - yes, just three - bites of chocolate cake for lunch. Not one of my better moments.

But I guess you have to keep trying. The chocolate cake went into the trash, and I spent the next day trying to declutter our family room - another one of those resolutions: get our house organized and decluttered. So as I'm going through the tangle of yarn, needles, hooks, beads and wire that resides in a basket by my couch - a literal tangle of all these things, mind you- I start to think that I really should be making some crafty type resolutions as well. Keeping better track of and organizing my supplies immediately springs to mind. But it seems the right time of year to set goals for myself creatively. And considering how knitting/crochet/crafty stuff somehow always seem to take priority over those other pesky tasks like, say, cleaning and organizing, perhaps these are resolutions I might actually be able to stick to.

So in no particular order, and off the top of my head.... this year, I want to:

• Knit and FINISH a sweater for myself.
• Explore colorwork a little more - work more with Fair Isle and try intarsia.
• Start and hopefully finish a blanket for my son.
• Work more with wire knitting and crochet.
• Decrease my yarn stash by (gulp) half.
• Learn needle felting.
• Post at least weekly to my blog.

I think I like creative resolutions a lot more than the other kind. Now off to decrease that stash of mine - starting with a nice chunk of Brooks Farm Solo Silk leftover from my Clapotis.

So tell me, what are your creative resolutions?

It's done! It's done!

I'm so excited to post pictures, but that will have to wait - in the meantime, I just wanted to share my excitement. My Clapotis is finished!

Did you ever have a project that seemed to, for the lack of a better term, gum up the works, creatively speaking? This was mine. I felt like I couldn't work on any other projects until it was done - it seemed like if I just put a few good evenings into it, I could get it finished. Unfortunately, there is a stretch of this project that is just SO boring, I didn't want to work on it. So I was stuck. I couldn't post on my blog because I wasn't "making" anything. (As an aside, I need to correct that and figure out what I can do to keep my blog active while I'm in the midst of projects. I am baking stuff all the time, but it was never really my intention to do a baking blog. I really wanted it to be a mix. But that's a conversation that's best left to my own mind - likely late at night, when I should be sleeping. )

But now, it's finished. Finished! I'm so happy. I can't wait for the weather to cool down a bit again so I can wear it. And I'll take some pictures this afternoon. As an added bonus, I'm feeling incredibly creative again. It's like the floodgates have opened back up. I'm ready to start... HOLIDAY projects. Family, you've been warned. And maybe a sweater for myself too - my first! I'm thinking I'll continue jumping on the bandwagon of popular Ravelry patterns and try out the February Lady.

Inspiration

I love when inspiration strikes. Or in this case, when it shows up in my inbox.

Kathleen Cubley over at Knitting Daily blogs today about her experience working with silk stainless steel yarn. Her inspiration to try out the yarn came from (surprise!) the fall issue of Interweave Knits, of which the Knitting Daily blog is affiliated. The project is the Hoarfrost Mobius, designed by Annie Modesitt, and made using a new yarn from Lion Brand's LB Collection, Wool Stainless Steel. It is beautiful, although I could never pull off the "mobius over my head ethereal beauty" look the model's got going on.

I have been intrigued by the idea of this yarn since I first saw a few jewelry projects using it earlier this year. They came out of the book "Elements of Style: Knit & Crochet Jewelry with Wire, Fiber, Felt & Beads" by Rosemary Hill. The yarn Hill used, Habu Silk Stainless steel, is gorgeous, but hard to find. And frankly, I was a little intimidated to try it out. But Cubley says I have no reason to be:

I know—when you think "stainless" you don't think "yarn." If you're like me, you think "refrigerator."

But it's really an amazing yarn; you really wouldn't know it's stainless steel unless you pinch it—it keeps the pinch. But it also straightens out beautifully. It's a unique yarn—and not at all scary when you're working with it—that you really have to try in order to appreciate.

I love the idea of combining the flexible hold of wire with the feel and drape of silk or wool. I already have a bunch of ideas I'd love to try out with it.

Now if I could only find the inspiration to finish the projects I've already started (Clapotis, I'm looking at you...)