hooked, i tell you

January's end and I'm pleased to say I've started with the reading. Here are the first 4 books I chose

That works out at one a week. In fact I read the knitter's book of wool (review coming soon) over 2.5 weeks and the Millennium Trilogy in 5 days! I LOVED the latter and have never been so enthralled by/enamoured of a character. I'd heard good things about The Millennium Trilogy from Tina (book club books years ago) but didn't discover them for myself until I saw the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the sake of a few hours with Daniel Craig. And just like that, I was hooked. The next day I went online to order the books but couldn't get the trilogy in the covers I like (at the price I wanted) so had a bit of a runaround - 2 from Smith's and the 3rd from Amazon - finally I could settle down to read the first. Then we saw the movie again. On completing the trilogy, I ordered the original DVDs (Swedish version). They should arrive any minute now. 

Hooked, I tell you.

January also brought some good walks and nice Yorkshire views my way.

The big item on the news yesterday was London 2012 (yeah, I think the logo is daft too), The Olympics to you. As the BBC showed footage of throngs of commuters on the tube and aired peoples' concerns that travel would be a logistical nightmare during that fortnight, I was ever so grateful for this beautiful county I now call home.

hidden from the morning sun

In contrast to the last three years, winter is yet to make "a proper appearance" in my neck of the woods. But we woke to ground frost yesterday, so the boy and I seized the opportunity to photograph those little diamonds of ice that cling to blades of grass, branches, moss on drystone walls and anything else that's hidden from the morning sun. 

It was a lovely walk in the woods.

in 2012 I will...aka the road to hell & good intentions

aka my 2012 resolutions.

• READ MORE new BOOKS: I hope to reacquaint myself with the classics, including all those books I had to read in high school, mostly without true appreciation. Because rushing through half a book for tomorrow's literature class is not any way to read. re-reading old favourites doesn't fall under "reading more".
• WRITE MORE: I will buy myself a beautiful journal (this should increase my chances of writing in it) and reconnect with my inner voice. I'll fill my journal with poetry and thoughts (including my views on current affairs, politics and religion) so that many years from now I can look back in pride/amazement/shock/horror/shame at what my life was like. Did I tell you that while unpacking, I found both volumes (yeah, I wrote a helluva  lot) of poems written in my late teens to early twenties and thought, "chuffin' heck, I was $%*^& emo!"? Of course I didn't tell you that. 
• PLAN MEALS: S and I are in the "rotating through a handful of recipes" camp when it comes to meals; only venturing out of our comfort zone (with mixed success) when supermarket offers dictate. I'm especially keen on spreading my dessert wings, an area in which I oscillate between this, that and t'other. Literally 3 tried and trusted desserts! Embarrassingly.
• CONCLUDE HOUSE DECORATING: This is doable as there's just the hallway to repaint (it seems I am very particular about colours) and the living room to paint. Then I can move on to hanging pictures, making more curtains (Oh, I haven't shown you my first pair yet, have i?) and other finishing touches.
• COMPLETE CRAFT PROJECTS IN A TIMELY MANNER. end of. which brings me nicely on to my next point:
• FIND A ROUTINE THAT WORKS! and stick to it or die trying! No more robbing Peter to pay Paul.
• EXPLORE. We've started doing this and are thoroughly enjoying our adventures and judging by comments received, this is something my blog readers enjoy too. 
• GO ON MORE BIKE RIDES. It's been ages since my last long bike ride! In fairness, last summer I was riddled with allergies and poor health in general and so didn't get out much. This year will be different, I hope.

the next item is not a hard and fast "resolution" but something I would love to accomplish

• MAKE 1 PROJECT FROM EVERY CRAFT BOOK I OWN! (not counting stitch dictionaries, reference books and such). I suppose I'd best go count how many books we're talking about here.

So what do you think? Will I manage the lot? Most of it? Some of it? A mere couple (o you of little faith)? Do any of my resolutions coincide with yours? Do you fancy a "resolution-a-long"? 

beret is done

My beret is done! It was a quick knit of a well written pattern. The yarn was a surprise, being thinner than any worsted weight yarn I have used. In a blind test, I'd've labelled it DK or sport. 

Project details

Pattern: Ashwyn Beret by Wendy Neal

Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Primo Worsted in dandylion

Quantity: 82g of a 100g skein

Needles: 4mm (should've used 3.75 but this size will be PERFECT for wearing with hair extensions which I do in winter :)

Modifications: none

dance with me tonight

This song makes my spirit smile.

At 1:16a.m., S was long gone and I was still dancing in the living room.




What's put a smile on your face lately?

use it or...

As I mentioned last day, I'm knitting again (yay!). I bet you were wondering when that would happen, eh. That makes 2 of us. Casting on was trickier than it should have been even though it was nothing more than the knit version of an amigurumi starter ring thing. I guess that old saying, "Use it or lose it", aka, "You snooze, you lose" has some truth to it. But I got there in the end and it's been smooth sailing since. 

I'm using Plucky Knitter's Primo worsted and loving its thick, springy feel. The pattern is Ashwyn Beret, the first of my winter pairings. 

Yes, my beret will be yellow. Deal with it.

partway through my first

Here we are at the start of another year and I must say, 2011 was rather good to me. I hope 2012 is just as good for you - filled with crafty inspiration, love, laughter and good health. 

Everywhere I look I see collages representing 2011 accomplishments so I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon with a collage of my own.

I asked Santa for crafting books and whad'ya know, he obliged! I'm partway through my first - the Knitter's book of wool - and will write a review once I'm through. When these were added to my wish list, I thought they'd just be reference books to flip through when I needed questions answered. I hadn't a clue they'd prove interesting enough to read from cover to cover (excluding patterns). 

I cast on a hat the other day, it took a while to figure out how. It had been that long :(