10 mittens I want to knit

I have a deep and abiding love of Mittens.  When I was little, my Mom made my brother and me many things.  She sewed us outfits and stuffed animals.  But the only thing I can remember my Mom ever knitting me was a pair of white mittens with cables running up the back of each hand.  I have no idea what ever happened to those mittens, but I remember them very fondly and someday I’ll make myself a pair.

As it so happens, I am currently working on a pair of mittens that are lined and color work.  I’m making up the pattern as I go along.  It will end up being a combination of Estonian and Norwegian patterns.

Although I love mittens, I’ve never really taken time to look at patterns.  I live in a cold climate, but it never occurred to me that I could have more than just one or two pair of mittens.  After going down Ravelry mitten pattern rabbit hole, I think maybe a whole wardrobe of mittens might be in order; mittens for good, for every day, just because it’s Monday and because I’m in a silly mood.  I’ve got to go look at yarn to knit my mitten wardrobe.  Here are my top 16 favorite Mittens (No, I couldn’t pick just 10).

1.       Cable-mittens

2.       Norwegian snowflake

3.       mittens-with-a-twist

4.       selbu-mitten

5.       norwegian-mittens

6.       thrummed-mittens

7.       sea-mineral-mittens

8.       piggy-mittens

9.       kilronan-mittens

10.   offset-cable-mittens

11.   simple-chunky-mittens

12.   detour-mittens

13.   lined-sock-monkey-mitten

14.   mn-warm-mittens

15.   rosebud-mittens

16.   ukrainian-rose-mittens

 

For more 10 on Tuesday go see Carole Knits

 

Ten on Tuesday: Thankfulness

I have neglected this blog for a very long time.  I had great and grand plans when I started this almost a year ago.  But as you can see, I haven't done a very good job following through with those plans.  So what better way to jump back into my blog than by doing a 10 on Tuesday, and what better 10 things to write about than the 10 things I'm thankful for.

1. The first and most important thing I am thankful for is my family.  I am very lucky to have wonderful, healthy children and a very supportive husband.  But I am also very fortunate to still have my parents and extended family, who are still constantly teaching me new things.  I also have wonderful in-laws who are alway there for us when we need them.
 
2. My wonderful, giving friends.  My best friends are the friends with whom I went to highschool.  They have always been and continue to be my biggest supporters and sometimes instigators.
 
3. After the financial crisis of the last few years, I feel so very thankful to own our home.  It's not big, or fancy but it is ours.  It keeps us warm and dry, what more could a person ask.
 
4. I have enough.  There is always more that I want, but I'm thankful that I have enough:  enough food, enough love, enough of everything that is truely important.
 
5. I have always struggled with having faith in a power greater than myself.  I believe in God, but it seems to be a constant struggle to maintain that faith.  So when I am content with that belief, I'm thankful for simply having faith and not doubting it.  Even though I know tomorrow I may be struggling again, just for today I'm not and that makes me thankful.
 
6. I am healthy and started the couch to 5K program.  I never thought I'd be a person that enjoyed running, but I really enjoying conquering each workout.
 
7. I have a good job, which I enjoy. I work with some really great people and the work is challenging.  I am blessed to work with people who not only think about their own careers, but also do what they can to help mine advance as well.
 
8. I am thankful to be able to sew, knit and spin because I want to and not because I have to in order to clothe my family.  I enjoy these hobbies, often time they keep me sane.  However if I had to do them, I think they would lose their enjoyment.
 
9. Social Media.  I have learned so much from people all over the world due to Plurk, Twitter and Ravelry.  I have seen how, no matter what country we live in, our lives really are not very different.  I love being able to turn on my computer and read the thoughts of someone a hundred miles away and realize that they are going through some of the same things I am.  It makes the world less large and scary.
 
10. Podcasts, both audio and video have taught me about knitting, spinning, history.  They have given me an appreciation for classic literature, even when I haven't always loved it.  Just like social media, I've learned that we are all more similar than we are different.

*****
Join the fun! Sign up for Ten on Tuesday here.

Goals

I wasn't very active last week.  So I'm recommitting myself to a couple mini goals.  They are:

1. Doing more than 20 min of yoga every morning.
2. Walking every work day at lunch.

My ultimate goal is to be able to run.  I want to be able to run a whole mile.

Yes, there is a story behind that goal.  In highschool gym class, 25 + years ago, we were supposed to run a mile in a set time limit to pass the class.  I couldn't do it, although the gym teacher took pitty on me and passed me anyway.  I guess that was an A for effort moment.  It was embarrassing and humiliating not to be able to run more than 1/2 way around the track without losing my breath and I was only 17. My friends came out just to encourage me to keep going after they had finished, walking and running with me.  They were wonderfully supportive.  Now all these years later, it still really bothers me that I wasn't able to do that one thing.  It is important to me to finally know that I can do it.  I can run a mile.

Busy, Busy, Busy

We have had an abnormally warm winter this year.  And now we are having an unusually early spring.  Today it is 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  This temperature, this time of year is just not normal.  But since it's been so warm, we were able to get the motorcycle running and out for a short ride yesterday.  I'm hoping to do a lot more riding this year.

I haven't gotten much knitting done.  And my spinning has been almost nonexistent.  But is has been for a good reason.  I have been working really hard in school.  My goal is to be able to graduate with honors.  I  believe I can do it with a bit of hard work.  The trick right now is to get through it without letting my family down.

Here is an update on my 2012 goals.

I have the following goals for 2012:-Progress

1. Ride 1000 miles this season-We are starting early so I might make this.
2. Be able to run 1 mile-As you can see below I have a fitness plan and I'm still working on this one.
3. Knit through several of the sock patterns in “Knit, Sock, Love” by Cookie A-I've started one of these socks.
4. Finish knitting my Eleanor shawl-I'm still working on the first ball of yarn but I'm making some progress
5. Blog once per week-I haven't been doing very good on this one but I can still turn it around
6. Spin some fiber once per week-I haven't been doing well on this one either.

Fitness Plans:

I lost approximately 15 lbs on weight watchers a little more than a year ago.  But since then, I have steadily gained some of it back.  That is when I decided to go back on the plan. 

I realized this morning, that just by signing up and logging my points I won't get where I want to be.  I really have to work at this to get to my goals.  This is where I've fallen down.  So, I am committing myself to actually working on getting fit.

Yes, I did say fit.  The number on the scale, although a little bothersome, isn't my main problem.  It is the fact when I sit down, I have little fat rolls that make my skin touch itself.  It is that I get winded after riding my bicycle for 6 minutes.  It is that I had to go down to a lighter bowling ball because I'm just not strong enough to throw my 15 lb ball.  I want to be active and healthy.

So starting today, I am going to do something active everyday.  Whether it is walking for 30 min at lunch, bowling, or going for a bike ride.

I caught it. . .

I pretty much ignored most crazes.  I ordinarily don’t feel the need to knit what everyone else is knitting, knit with the yarn that is the latest or greatest or really do much of anything everyone is supposedly doing.  However, I have wanted to try Wollmeise for quite a while.  I’ve never been able to catch an update and I’ll be darned if I drive my self crazy waiting for one to occur. But thanks to Twitter, I finally caught a Wollmeise update at the Loopy Ewe.   I’ll post pictures when it comes in.

Here are some of the projects I’m working on:

This is Trillian in Shaefer Anne.  I am really like the miles of garter stitch.  It is really more relaxing than I’d imagined it could be.

This is the very beginning of Cookie A’s Hedera socks.  I’m knitting it in Online Supersocke.

My Lady Eleanor is coming along.  I’m knitting it in Regia fingering weight rather than the DK weight that was called for in the pattern.  I like the width of it but I’m a little concerned about it I’ll have enough yarn to make it long enough.

Okay, so that is all for my knitting this week.  I did a little shopping today.  I bought a mini tripod to help with my pictures.

And for a better workout. . .

Starting Over

I am starting over again.  I deleted my blogs because I thought they were just too much work to update.  It is a lot of work but I found I missed putting my thoughts to paper, so to speak.  So here I am, creating a new blog.  One blog that will contain all of me.  I will no longer segment myself to acceptable pieces for different audiences.

I ride a Honda 1300 VTX.  I knit.  I spin fiber to create yarn.  I hang with the same friends that I have had since high school.  I am 40+ years old and I like who I am finally becoming, all the different parts no matter how strange they seem when put together.  So you are likely to get a very diverse range of subjects.

It’s just after New Years and it’s the time we all think about what the brand new year holds.  And how it will be brighter and shinier than last year.  I quit making resolutions two years ago.  Instead I create goals.  I hear you saying ‘what the heck is the difference?’  Well to me the difference is that goals are more fluid and can change as I change. 

I have the following goals for 2012:

1. Ride 1000 miles this season
2. Be able to run 1 mile
3. Knit through several of the sock patterns in “Knit, Sock, Love” by Cookie A
4. Finish knitting my Eleanor shawl
5. Blog once per week
6. Spin some fiber once per week

I believe these are very manageable, smart goals.

 

Take Care & Keep the Shiny Side Up.