Hello, readers.
Happy new year!
Yes, I do realise that I am about a week late with my greetings, and that I have totally missed the Christmas greetings. This year (or should I say, "last year") we decided to spend the 2011 Christmas holidays on the road. We spent the last 2 and a half weeks on the road, but more of that later.
We now welcome 2012 with open arms, and I, in particular, am looking forward to a better year than 2011 as 2011 was a mixed bag, and I hope this year's bag of surprises holds more pleasant than unpleasant ones.
Celia's Basket saw more pattern activity than hand-dyed yarn in 2011. I am coming to terms with the reality of trying to run a hand-dyed yarn business without a proper workshop or studio. It is just too hard. My focus has moved to pattern-writing, something that I can do in small chunks that gives me great pleasure. I fit pattern writing into my evenings, a few minutes or a couple of hours after work daily, and I can manage to complete my patterns without too much stress. Hand-dyeing, on the other hand, requires me to set up, do the dyeing, clean up, wait for the yarn to dry (rainy weather is not your friend here) and then check the yarn for faults before photographing and listing in the store. I simply do not have the time for that anymore. Our weekends are too precious.
In 2012, you will see more patterns from me. There will be a few store stock updates, but I am planning to dye in large batches or to allow pre-ordering so that I don't have to photograph and list each skein separately. If you're after semi-solid colours in adult garment quantities, you'll be happy to hear that I will be working on that this year. My plan is to dye up a small selection of semi-solid colours from which you can order larger quantities - dyed to order.
I have about 6 incomplete patterns that require testing. That will probably be the first cab off the rank this year as they are mostly complete. I have another dozen or so less complete patterns that require editing, tweaking and testing. There some scare are some scarves, hats, shawls and children's garments. The adult garments.. well, there are two but not in any shape to be released in the near future! If I work hard, perhaps they will be done by the end of the year.
This poor neglected blog... ever since the birth of Alex, it hasn't seen that much activity, has it? Certainly not enough to keep the readership up. I suppose the erratic posts and unpredictability of it has not really helped. In 2012, there will be at least 1 post a month. I am committing to that for now. If you are on Facebook, you can follow the blog using the
Networked Blogs app.
You will also see more food-related posts. I am a foodie at heart, and I married one, and as it turns out, I am raising one too! I enjoy cooking for the family. I have two willing "testers" who happily sample my experiments. We also enjoy trying out new eateries and I want to share that with you. In 2012, I am looking forward to widening my cooking repertoire and trying a few new restaurants.
In 2011, Alex moved for a daycare with a preschool program to a preschool and he thrived. He had a great time there and we were sorry when the year ended. We watched him grow and mature. In 2012, he starts primary school. On February 1st, he will be a "big school boy" as he calls himself. Perhaps I will shed a tear watching him enter the school gates, as my little baby is now all grown up, or perhaps I won't. The past few years have gone by quickly, and I can't believe he is the same baby we met 5 years ago. It has not always been easy, but the good times have made the harder times all worth while. I am sure all you parents out there will agree. We're all set for school. Aside from sports shoes, all uniform items have been purchased and we're ready to go!
In terms of personal crafting, I have big aims for this year. A few months ago, I upgraded my small Ashford knitters loom to a larger rigid heddle loom. It is still sitting under the guest bed, and has not been used yet. I intend to weave a couple of shawls and a few scarves on it. Weaving is such a calming activity. Passing the shuttle back and forth is almost like meditation. The action is automatic and soothing. I need more meditation in my life. 2012 is, I hope, a year of less stress and more contentment.
During the Christmas trip. I also started a
Nuvem using a 300g ball of Wollmeise lacegarn in the colour Taube. I weighed it today, and I have barely knitted 50g!! So, with that in mind, Nuvem is going to be a long term project. I intend to complete by my birthday which is in June. I want to wear it this winter! I also have a couple of unfinished projects which need to be finished. Aside from that I am not committing to any more. I will just "go with flow".
So.. that is the year that was.. and who knows what the year that will be holds. Let's just go with it and see what happens.
Happy new year, everyone!!
Labels: new year
