Goals & Intentions for 2012...Spin/Knit Update

Firstly, Happy New Year to one and all.  I hope it's going to be a good year for everyone.

Over the last few years I've not done resolutions.  I do intentions or goals.  Here's my list geared toward 2012:

1. Continue on my "get healthier" path.  The weight is slowly coming down and I'm avoiding the back surgery so far.

2. Work on a walking regime.  Pat needs to set up my treadmill so I can use it in the basement.

3. Spin/Knit down at least one bin of each in my stash.

4. Finish knitting my old UFO/WIP sweater from 2009, which I'm making with my handspun. 

5. Finish spinning the yarn for my second handspun sweater and knit it.

6. Use my handspun either in knitting, crochet, felting, or weaving instead of just looking at it.

7. Use my spindles instead of letting them decorate the shelf in the hutch of my desk.

8. Use both my looms which includes investing the time in proper lessons.

Knitting:  As I said last time, I finished my Multnomah Shawl.  Here's a picture of it blocking on my bed:

Here's a picture of the above mentioned sweater in progress.  I jokingly call this my never ending sweater.  It was finished in 2009 except for the button band and was too small and short.  After ripping out the yoke, it sat in time out for about a year.  Time was spent adding about 3 inches to the body, gussets in the arm section and to the sleeves.  Currently, I'm re-knitting the yoke.  The button band is being deleted in favor of a simple trim and frog clips instead. I only have the last decrease section of the yoke (about 20 rows) and the edging left to do.

Last week I won a copy of "Thin Ice" from Diane of the Knitabulls Podcast.  I decided to dye the yarn for this as well as a couple other projects.  New Year's Day found me in my dye room downstairs.  Here's a picture of four skeins of yarn.  The natural one is for another shawl called "My Wish".  I previously dyed a gray variegated to alternate with the natural.  The pink/lilac is for a pair of socks.  The two skeins of blue/silver/white skeins are for Thin Ice.  It looks sort of greenish blue but it's really a very light blue.  The yarn took a long time to dry so casting on of the blue shawl is happening tonight.

 Spinning:  The Cornflower blue fiber is finished and I started a braid of pink/magenta/purple/greenish gray Rambouillet fiber I had dyed last year.  There's 8 ounces of it so it should make a nice size project.