A New Look

In the next few posts, I hope to show off some of the projects I worked on during my winter break. First, my dining room has a new look, finally! This project used to be in my sidebar under other craft projects, but after two years with no progress I took it off to save myself the embarrassment. This is after I bought the foam nearly eight years ago. My mom actually helped a lot, and used her mad skills in using material efficiently to make two more cushions than I'd originally intended, without buying any additional fabric (don't ask me how she does it, but it is rather miraculous). I am rather pleased with how they turned out, and I even had enough fabric left to make a cafe curtain for the window over the sink. We are going for an earthy Italian look in our kitchen/dining room, with gold, green, and orange/red as the main colors. I also have a few fruit-themed decorative items, so this fabric really fit in nicely.

No Resolve

I am slowly catching up on blogs, work, and rest just as my break is coming to an end. I've noticed that the annual New Year's posts are full of recaps and reflection on the year, knitting, and how we did on last year's resolutions. Not one to break from tradition, I will try to do the same. This year is rather a mixed bag. For me personally it was one of the best years of my life because my daughter was born. We have settled into our new house and are both relatively happy with our career progress. For the country and much of the world, however, the economic downturn and increased unemployment has made this a very difficult year. We also elected a new president, which was not only historic, but gives many hope that the economy and other things will improve in the coming years. I am choosing to reflect on the positive right now, and enjoy looking back on the lovely memories of watching my daughter grow and change in her first year.

As for knitting, I can't say that it was a stellar year for finished objects. In 2008 I completed 3 hats, a scarf, 2 baby blankets, a baby sweater, a bib, a pair of baby mitts, and a pair of booties. Seeing it listed does make it seem a bit less terrible than I thought, especially when taking into account the fact that RJ really monopolized most of my time this year (and rightfully so).
And then there are my resolutions from last year:

1. organize, organize, organize
I made some progress on this. Organization is an ungoing battle.

2. finish the projects in my sidebar
I didn't do too badly with this resolution. I frogged a couple lingering projects and finally finished others just recently. I also modified my sidebar to better reflect things I'm actively working on. With my mom's help and Theresa's inspiration in sewing her first garment I've also started sewing again, which helped me complete a few more projects.

3. Learn to cable and do colorwork
I didn't really get to this, but sleep deprivation and learning new techniques don't mix. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I get to the more complicated knit stuffs. For now, I am just exploring the amazing array of things that can be done with knit and purl. ;)

How about some resolutions for 2009? With RJ, a big increase in my course load (thanks to the depleted California budget), and the hubby taking some evening classes, I will be as busy as ever this year. I think my knitting resolution this year will be to try to knit a little each day. Even just a row a day will keep me going. To help with that, I will bring a small project to work and have several easy things around the house to work on. My real hope is that knitting each day will help use up some of the stash, so I can make room for more stash of course. I figure it's the least I can do to help reinvigorate the economy. ;)

When Nerds Knit

First off, my long absence is related to some rather large household projects which my parents helped me with over the holidays. They are some very energetic people, and they remind me that it's Ok to start a project even if you aren't sure it'll turn out. I tend to research things to death before I start, which sometimes means that I never get around to starting a major project. With my mom to guide me, I finished the kitchen chair cushions finally. I bought the foam for these an embarrasing 8 years ago. Yikes! I will snap some photos to post tomorrow. I also made cushions for the new window seat my dad built (yes, he is the most talented carpenter in the world!). We also painted the living room, fixed a couple lamps and a light fixture, put up a shelf/wine glass holder in the dining room, and finished countless other small projects around the house. I need my parents to visit more often! Since I don't have any project photos yet to share, here is RJ's holiday photo. Doesn't she look cute with pigtails?



Finally, here is a link to some really cool knitted brains. I really wish I had thought of this. As a neuroscientist and a knitter I feel like I should add to the collection. Any thoughts on how to knit the fusiform gyrus?