January 1, 2009: I'm not going to say what my future is going to be like or make any resolutions this year - instead I'm going to take the advice of a few blogs I read and focus on a word. My word is simple, "Forward". Everything in 2009 is about moving forward. Moving forward to things that I've been waiting years, maybe all my life, to do. Big things, teeny tiny things, but all very meaningful - and this is the year I'll, hopefully, get to accomplish some of them.
The above is from my first blog entry of 2009 and I have to say that, even though I may not have consciously focused on the word "forward" as much as I could have, I certainly moved forward. I'm not sure what teeny tiny things I was thinking of but I know I accomplished the big things. Getting married and moving to England were really beyond big and we have our fingers crossed that this year will bring even more big things forward. For now, though, it's time to pick out a new word for this new year.
My word is a few days late this year because I've really been feeling a bit indecisive. The word I finally settled on, though, is the one that came to mind when I first started thinking about it.
I've been working on this post for two days now because it's incredibly hard to think about color in the dead of winter when everything is some shade of white, gray, brown or black. That said, there are two blogs - do you mind if i knit and Attic24 - that I've been following for a few months now that are a daily dose of colorful inspiration and also part of the reason I chose the word 'color' this year. When I scroll through Google Reader I almost always look first to see if they have new posts. Not only do they post beautiful (and well lit, I have to add) photos but their writing is so positive that it's hard not to feel good once you've finished reading. These two women also make me want to cover my couches in colorful granny squares.
For Matt's sake, though, I think maybe I'll just start with a cushion cover or two.
Adding color to my knitting will be a little hard since one of my new year's resolutions is to save money by using yarn from my stash as much as possible and, as Chris said, learning to "work from the yarn end, and not the pattern end of knitting." I already have a lot of green yarn because I Love Green so when I do buy yarn I'm going to go for colors I don't normally use - blues, pinks, reds, yellows and oranges...pretty much any color of the rainbow that isn't green. I'm going to do the same thing with my wardrobe - no more black and brown and maybe a little less green there, too. I was trying a bunch of things on a month or so ago and even the woman who showed me to my dressing room commented on the fact that everything I had was green.
I also want to make color a state of mind, too, and channel some of the positivity that color inspires. That's the kind of color I could really use right now while there's snow on the ground and the temperatures are in single digits. That and a handful of crocheted flowers....
In closing, a colorful palette of talented inspiration!
1. finished hexagon baby blanket, 2. Stack of happy crochet, 3. Crochet flowers, 4. ♥ colors, 5. Untitled, 6. petals, 7. Flower Power, 8. Flower Brooches (Bloemenbroches), 9. Granny squares, 10. Untitled, 11. Crochet Flowers, 12. That potholder., 13. prize winning rosettes, 14. rainbow acorn color wheel, 15. grannylicious, 16. Colourful cotton bag.., 17. granny garland, 18. All 5 Potholders Together, 19. Pastora, 20. Scrapghan - Progress Photo #2, 21. Granny squares, 22. Winter Project, 23. Mum's cushions, 24. Festa do Divino, 25. Babette ProgressWhile at Barnes and Noble the other day picking up Cooks Illustrated and Crochet Today (because it has the cutest acorn box pattern ever), I sat down in the craft section (cleverly placed right by the craft magazines) and leafed through a book that caught my eye, Patchwork Style. It's been out for a few months and I've read several reviews of it but it wasn't until I actually put my hands on it that I realized I kind of wanted to own it. I kind of want to sew again and it's been a long time. The last sewing projects I worked on were simple things like aprons and purses, made without putting the amount of care into them as I probably would now. A lot of projects in Patchwork Style are still simple as well but that very simplicity is so appealing.
A day or so later I was trying to catch up on a few blogs on my Google Reader and found that - after checking for posts from my friends - I was scrolling quickly to the bottom where a few blogs I've only recently started to read were listed. A lot of them are about sewing. Misako Mimoko, House on Hill Road, Junker Jane, Made By Petchy and mairuru - I think I have a blog crush on her. Look at these book covers and these little drawstring bags - all stitched by hand! I've read Posie Get Cozy for a long time and recently added a "love" tag to this post about her "sewing story." This makes me want to quilt. I bought a stash of quilting supplies and books several years ago but never really did anything with it. And I have squares for a crazy quilt that some long gone relative (a great great aunt?) started that I'm determined to finish some day.
If I ever get to Salisbury*, I'm going to live minutes from a great little fabric shop called Fabric Land (craziest website ever, I think). I think, when my things arrive (they're due August 30th and I'm a little afraid they might actually beat me there), I'm going to have to do a little fabric browsing (although I really should use what I have - when I consolidated for the move, my fabric stash filled two plastic bins but new fabric in a new country is so much more exciting), get out my machine and do a little sewing at my little blue desk (I don't actually have a blue desk but it's something else I have the urge to own).
And I also might have to stop by the bookstore for Patchwork Style - my suitcases are already overflowing but I'll bet I could at least squeeze it in my carry on....
*Small visa update - Friday Matt called the consulate in Chicago where my visa is being processed. He couldn't get a hold of a real person but the recording did say that they're having "technical difficulties" and visas have been delayed. Sigh. It's kind of good news to know that it hasn't been seven weeks just because they can't decide if they should allow me in the country or not but...it's still not great news.