The Best of Christmas 2011

In no particular order, these are my favorite Christmas-related things for this year (prepare for the over-use of exclamation marks!):

1. Hanging out with friends and family: It's always great to catch up with my college friends, and my sister when she's back from WA!  (I have to admit, I'm not always great about staying in touch; should fixing that be my New Year's resolution?).

2. Teaching music students: There is nothing more satisfying, as a teacher, than seeing/hearing your students improve and encouraging their love of music!

3. Warm Weather and Christmas Day Running: As a runner who only runs outside (due to finances) this has been the best December in my memory for running outside with all the 40 and 30 degree temperatures!  Also, spending Christmas morning running a couple miles with my sister was way more fun than loafing in pajamas by the tree!

4. New Books:  One of my favorite things about Christmas is that my mother, the librarian, always finds interesting books for my presents.  This year I got Sheepish by Catherine Friend (which you can find on Amazon) which is a hilarious account of the author's conversion from city-dweller, to farmer, to fiber freak!  It's a pretty quick read (I think I finished it after 2 days) but includes some interesting historical details on knitting and sheep.  Who knew that by taking up knitting I was saving the planet? 

5. Pajamas: For as long as I can remember, I've received one new set of pajamas for Christmas every year (which, when you add it up, amounts to a lot of pajamas).  This year's set is a purple sheep-y pair! 

6. Running Watch: No, my watch is not running away, but I use it when running!  My racing goal for the new year is to run at least 1 half-marathon, and this watch is waterproof, and doubles as a heart monitor.  Bring on the rainy/windy/snowy/cold/hot days; I'm ready to run!

7. Sweaters: I am slightly embarrassed to admit, as a knitter, that I frequently fall in love with mass-produced sweaters.  Pretty much anything that's wool, has cables, is cream and/or has a graphic Fair Isle design makes my heart swoon. 

8. The Sound of Music: Who doesn't love this musical? 

9. The Hobbit Trailer: Thank you Peter Jackson!  As a Hobbit fan, I first had it read to me when I was 6, and have re-read it since many times, I am super excited to see the film when it comes out next Christmas!  Yessssss, preciousssss.  (If you haven't seen it yet, you should!)

10. Baking: I finally have a Kitchen-Aid (best kitchen tool ever!) which I have been enjoying by making stollen, rolls, biscotti and other delicious things!

Ravelry and other Procrastinations

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted any knitting (or other) updates here.  My goal this year was to post updates at least monthly, but that’s kind of out the window now, and here is why:

It all started in October, when one of my friends from the horn ensemble I play with asked me to cat sit for him, which involved me spending cat time at their house.  Because there is only so much time I can spend patting and playing with the furry guys, I stopped by the library to pick up some reads and happened across The KnitGrrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear (which you can find on Amazon). 

 I imagined that the book would be mostly about the logistics of how to start designing (gauges, mathematics, sizing, etc.) which would be helpful to me, as I had been contemplating how to start doing some designing.  I’ve got really good knitting skills, and am good with numbers, and, not being employed full time, I have lots of time which I could devote to design work.  However, the KnitGrrrl Guide is actually more about the business end of design.  There are sections on where and how you can sell your patterns, shipping codes for Etsy sellers, recommendations for design software (or cheap alternatives), general advice for legal issues like copyright, and interviews with successful designers.  The book is also organized very clearly, so if there’s just one subject you want to address, you can find it easily.  There is also a section on media and advertising, with the biggest piece of advice (that I came away with) being to create a Ravelry account, friend people and join groups to create a design-base.

 I had avoided Ravelry, mostly because I didn’t want to start another account (there are already so many social media outlets out there that I felt like I didn’t need another one) but at the book’s advice, I signed up and joined a couple groups including a designer’s group and a testing group.  Since then, I’ve been busy working on test-knit projects, finding new patterns and yarns and new knitting people (instead of updating here).  So far, everyone that I’ve talked with and knitted for has been really pleasant and inspiring!  And I have done absolutely no new design-work.  Go figure!

Be ready for more project updates soon!  If you can't wait though, check my project page on Ravelry (ID: Vivaciousknitter).