The New Year begins...

Full of promise.   It is a huge thought that this baby year will only have 364 more days to realize that promise.

For me, it's like a wedding.  So much hope for the future.  So much happiness.

Or the perfection of a newborn baby.  Who will she become?  
 

On this first morning of 2011,  the sky is blue and the sun pours rosy light on a leafless tree.

In a few weeks those branches will swell with fragile buds.

It's hard not to be moved by the tenderness of new life however it shows itself.   And a new year is no different.  What is our part in making our future grow beautiful, healthy and strong?

Looking back

2010 is almost over.

It was hot...

and cold.

There were accomplishments.  The garden we had prepared the fall before gave us an abundance of delicious edibles all summer and into the fall.  There's stuff on shelves and in the freezer still with that taste of summer.

I made progress with my piano journey.  I finished one beginner book and have performed a couple of times at student workshops.  While, I still have difficulty getting my fingers to behave,  I can read and play what I read - slowly.

There were pleasures:  new and old.  Watching my son create in the kitchen was a new and rare treat during the Christmas holiday.  I'm sure our kitchen wasn't quite like the restaurant kitchen where he cooks  for a living.  He brought his own knives.

There was time to spend on walks through the woods.

And always lots and lots of yarn to be knit up.
 

 
But my very favorite memory of 2010 is the time we spent at Lake Idabel.  That week of sun, lake, rest and respite from the world was one of the best holidays ever.

And now I'm looking forward to 2011.  Wishing everyone a happy New Year full of discoveries, pleasures, and celebrations.

Progress

This two-handed knitting is getting easier.  Not sure if I'm doing it 'right' or not but the rows are going faster and it looks the way it's supposed to.  What more could I ask?

I'm pretty happy with these little squirrels.  Aren't they cute?  The rest of the mitten is snowflakes and will be done today.  Then I can start on the second one and have two warm mittens before it gets cold again.  It's always colder in January here. 

Then, I'm dreaming of the Meditation Mitts in pink and gray.  OK,  I admit it.  I may be hooked already on a technique I was never going to do again - ever.  Eggplant magic, for sure..

Stranded squirrels

There are knitting techniques that I don't really enjoy.  Stranded knitting is one of them.  So, I don't do it and I tend to be somewhat negative about it.  But, I used to feel the same way about eggplant.  Every couple of years, I'd cook it up - usually a new recipe - and give it another try.  And, one day, the magic happened.  I now not only tolerate eggplant,  I actually like it. 

Why wouldn't this method work for a disliked knitting technique, too?  My mother taught me to knit years and years ago.  But mostly, I'm a self-taught knitter because she really only taught the basics.  For the past few years,there's been an explosion of ways to knit that are new to me.  There are so many cool techniques out there to learn that I've continued to avoid the stranded knitting thing.  As I was taught, I had to carry all my colors around with me which resulted in a huge tangle of yarns.  I learned to use bobbins to keep a semblance of order but it didn't make me much happier.  How I accomplished anything and retained my sanity I don't know.  Must have been that younger brain. 

Here I am, heading into the New Year and looking  for a little something to keep my hands warm.  Stranded knitting certainly does that.  I began one mitten pattern and abandoned it in mound of tangled yarn.  Determined to give it a better try, I went back to the patterns and found this one.  It was even more complex than the one I'd given up one.  How crazy am I?  Never mind,  I cast on and decided that I would - without any previous experience - try holding one of the colors in my left hand.  That was my 'aha!' moment.  It's still a learning thing but it's sure a lot easier without the yarns winding round each other.  Such a little change - big difference. 

Here's what I managed to get done last night.  These are my tall pines which will segue into a row of cute squirrels.  When I saw a big gray squirrel sitting on the deck, I knew it was meant to be.  This knitting is almost fun and maybe it's addictive.  Or maybe I just want to get it done.  Not sure - but I am kind of glued to the couch with my needles and yarn in hand.