LIVE NOW, PROCRASTINATE LATER

     
A sign on my kitchen wall reads:   LIVE NOW

 PROCRASTINATE LATER  

     I found it very funny when I bought this sign,  but over time I have come to see how true these words really are.  Live Now. I figured I would do just that when I retired. I would have time to do all the things I wanted to do. I was sure I'd have time to "stop and smell the roses" and to read through the mile high stack of books  that were just taking up space.  I imagined catching up  with friends for coffee, lunch or a walk.   The truth of the matter is; I don't have time, and I don't know why.  My unfinished items remain unfinished and my "to do " list gets longer each day!  I am more behind than I was when I worked full time.   So keeping in mind the old saying: 

Time and Tide wait for no man.

 (or woman)

  I am back to treading water and trying to make up for lost time..... LIVE

     Last year I joined my first ever Ravelry Christmas Swap. It was so much fun that I signed up again this year. ( I would highly recommend it if you knit or crochet and want a warm and inviting group of people to share your enthusiasm with. )

     I bought my pattern Willamette online from an independent designer, Jen Wolfe Kaiseer. The scarf/shawl is beautiful. It worked up quickly and the pattern was easy to follow. My swap partner loved it so much that  I decided to make it again this year but in a different color. The yarn of course came from my stash. I finished it today, it will go in the mail tomorrow....Then maybe I will go for a walk.  

Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

    

Im sorry about the picture quality.
The shawl is actually shades of blue and gray and not as dark as it appears. 

Happy Holidays

LOVE and PEACE

Jackie

New Year's Resolution Failures #1 and #2

 Well,  It seems that  my New Years Resolution this year was a bit "hefty". I resolved to read at least two books per month while still attempting to finish projects that I start.  At the time it seemed doable, even for me. What I didn't take into consideration though was the depth and length of  said book. Sure,  I could easily consume a couple of "light" reads but instead I chose; 

Born Survivors , 

 by Wendy Holden

 You will hear no regret here though, I loved every minute of this book even though periodically I had to stop and recover from the horrific things I was taking in. I can't wait to find "more about these " Holocaust surviving"  infants and what they are doing today to ensure that we

 NEVER FORGET!

P.S. Oh, I missed the deadline for my knitted Welcome Blanket Project!

http://www.welcomeblanket.org

I'll keep you posted about this #2 failure soon.

PEACE AND LOVE

UGG....

Roughly  three years ago I came across this free "look a like"   Ugg bootie pattern on Ravelry and I knew I had to make them. Many of my friend's children were now having children of their own and I knew they would be the perfect gift. I even bought the pink and blue yarn.    (Of course what else?)  Like most projects, I started with gusto and then eventually put it aside when other more pressing matters came my way.  Is it any  surprise that I didn't finished them? I doubt it. The precious  babies came into the world as expected and none of them were to wear the  intended booties. Until now   When I heard that a close friend of my  daughter was expecting, I knew I had the perfect gift. Again I dug through my stash and unearthed the pattern,  needles and yarn that I needed  and  went to work on the little, bitty booties.   I knit 2 pair,  1 blue and  1 pink as the sex of the baby was to be a surprise.   We all waited not so patiently until  we finally got the news.   

"IT'S A BOY "

The blue Uggs were promptly shipped out to California. 

Oh, and the pink ones are ready and waiting  for the next little baby girl that comes along. How about that; for the first time in my life I'm ready and waiting.

You can find this delightful  free pattern  at Madmonkeyknits . She has many free patterns listed on her webpage. 

PEACE AND LOVE 

So Far....So Good

As a lifelong procrastinator I have enjoyed little success with keeping  New Year's Resolutions. Try as I may,  by the middle of January I am already feeling the sting of disappointment as another promise "withers and dies."  I am an optimist at heart and despite my grim failures I journey on. I have hope. On December 31, 2018  I resolved to read more books;  two per month to be exact. I am happy to report, SO FAR! SO GOOD! Earlier this month I read 

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, 

by Gail Honeyman

and yesterday I finished 

The Woman In The Window, 

by A.J. Finn

I loved them both.  Feeling a bit self righteous today I settled down with my February selection and began to read.  A page or two in I remember the unfinished knitted booties I had started and left undone.  The  supposedly "quick gift"  I was making for a friend who is expecting her first baby. I began  knitting them over 7 months ago and she is due to deliver any day now. Oh well, book down and needles up.

Maybe I don't have a procrastination problem after all. Maybe I have a time management problem,  either way...

 something's got to give.

 PEACE AND LOVE

Frankie's Blankie - A Mission Accomplished

Happy New Year 

Only once in my life can I recall actually "making AND keeping" a NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION.  On December 31, 1975, I resolved to quit smoking...and quit I did. My first born son had just turned 6 months old, I  now had a good reasons to stop smoking. 
It has now been 44 years, 
and 44 Resolutions 
and 44 failures;

 until NOW that is.

On December 31, 2018  I resolved to hone my knitting skills. While I loved the art of knitting I couldn't do much more than knit and purl. I thought that the beautiful stitch patterns others did were beyond my ability. So I made my silent promise and  joined a group on  Ravelry  called Frankie's Blankie moderated By Frankie Brown creator of Frankie's Knitted Stuff.  Under Frankie's tutelage and over the period of one year we would learn 48 new stitch patterns and create one knitted square each week, sewing them together as we went along . At the end of the year we would add a border. Our reward was our very own, beautiful, handmade blanket.
 WEll , believe it or not 

I did it......I stuck it out!  

I FINALLY KEPT MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION.

TA-DA

Through thick and thin and with the encouragement and support of a lovely knitting community I did it. 

Sure, I may have neglected this BLOG but in the process of taking this class I have kept my commitment to finishing things that I start and to use up the mountain of STASH
 I have accumulated. 

So, yes I am still a procrastinator but maybe not so hopeless after all, so it is in the spirit of Hope that I once again make a New Year's Resolution for 2019

I resolve to read more books this year (at least 2 per month)

Stay tuned to see how that works out for me. 

Happy New Year.

Hazel keeps an eye on my progress.