Etherknitter

Today is one of those monochromatic days after a snowfall; there is color but there is not.  A three day weekend, no commute, awakening without alarms, knitting to be done.  Delicious.

I have not been a monogamous knitter.  Five projects:  Mr E's saddle shoulder pullover in Cumbria, a Kelbourne Woolens hat in Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 02 (cables!), a cowl made of merino/cashmere Northlight Fibers, the Kaffe Fassett color scarf, and an acrylic fuzzy cowl for product rather than process.

This latter one is a PITA to knit.  What was I thinking?  I ordered the yarn because it looked so warm and cozy.  It is.  But I didn't have the right needle for the pattern.  I borrowed #13 dpns.  But the stitches kept falling off the ends.  I discovered this by chance two separate times, could barely identify what qualified as a stitch with all the fuzz going on, and finally ripped it out to start over again.  I ordered a #15 16" circ (which I will probably never use again), and it is in progress.  Even counting cast-on stitches is a challenge.  Despite all this, I have continued, and hope to have something wearable before winter is done.  (I don't even have a stitch marker big enough for these needles, and had to manufacture one.  That is the blue yarn you see in the picture.)

I am going to try to restart a stalled UFO this weekend.  Wish me good fortune.

 

New Year's 2020 and Blogiversary

Fifteen years ago, I hit "publish" on the first post.  Time has the same elusive nature to me that it has for most:  where does it go?  Rather than approaching the unanswerable, the time is better for the word of the year.

The prior years' words have been

2015:  Presence
2016:  Resilience
2017:  None
2018:  Patience
2019:  Equanimity

The last one was difficult.  Hard to remember in the moment when it was most needed, harder to remember how to get to its achievement.  I am a touch farther along the path.

So this year is a year of summary.  I will not repeat prior years' words, even if merited.  What I will do, however, is choose a word that seems so appropriate and needed, that I am surprised that it took me til 2020 to think of it.

Consolidation.  So much, in one word.  Consolidate the prior years' work from 2015 and forward.  Consolidate the various endeavors of my current life.  Organize stuff that needs organization.  Get rid of stuff that has outlived its purpose.  Get rid of stuff that no longer has relevance.  It is a fantastic word, because it refers to possessions, and papers, and inner life goings-on.  It also means not adding more things to consolidate.   

This one is easy to remember, and easier to track.  

Happy New Year to all those who lurk here and cheer me on in the journey!  Do you have a word, too?