A Year in One Post

Well, it was an interesting year. Mom had a kidney transplant in February, and I got the flu. Work had a month of complete insanity, where I worked for three weeks without a day off, working for more than 8 hours for most of those days. Good for the wallet, bad for the knitting goals. Went to several fiber festivals, including a few that were new to me: Maryland Sheep and Wool, Crooked River Fiber Fling, Michigan Fiber Festival. Also hit up the Great Lakes Fiber Show, and went to Rhinebeck again. Already have reservations for this year, woo-hoo! Ended the year with some hospital time - my dad had knee surgery on Dec 28, and on Dec 29 I drove my mom to be admitted with pneumonia. The enforced knitting time allowed me to meet my goal of 52 pairs, though. Yay for felted clogs!

I did not meet all of my goals, but did get a lot accomplished.

First, let's record the the annual book list so I can clear out that widget.

Books Read in 2011

001. The Luck Runs Out, Charlotte MacLeod
002. Wrack and Rune, Charlotte MacLeod
003. Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums, Stephen Asma
004. Hillbilly Gothic: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood, Adrienne Martini
005. Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously, Adrienne Martini
006. Ash, Malinda Lo
007. Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories, Truman Capote
008. Labyrinth, Kate Mosse
009. Welcome to the Jungle (graphic novel), Jim Butcher
010. Old Filth, Jane Gardam
011. Zeitoun, Dave Eggers
012. The Gospel of Judas, Simon Mawer
013. Sepulchre, Kate Mosse
014. The Whistleblower: Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors, and One Woman's Fight for Justice, Kathryn Bolkovac with Cari Lynn
015. The Dragon Seekers: How an Extraordinary Circle of Fossilists Discovered the Dinosaurs and Paved the Way for Darwin, Christopher McGowan
016. Bee Season, Myla Goldberg
017. The Winter Ghosts, Kate Mosse
018. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson
019. The Owl Killers, Karen Maitland
020. Barnum Brown: The Man Who Discovered Tyrannosaurus Rex, Lowell Dingus and Mark A. Norell
021. The Man in the Wooden Hat, Jane Gardam
022. Emotionally Weird, Kate Atkinson
023. The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards
024. The Perfect Man, Naeem Murr
025. Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Kate Atkinson
026. When Will There Be Good News? Kate Atkinson
027. One Good Turn, Kate Atkinson
028. Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead, Scott Kenemore
029. The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
030, Started Early, Took My Dog, Kate Atkinson
031. Agnes and the Hitman, Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
032. The Postmistress, Sarah Blake
033. Gentleman and Players, Joanne Harris
034. An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison
035. Company of Liars, Karen Maitland
036. Lover Mine, J.R. Ward
037. The Silent Miaow: A Manual for Kittens, Strays, and Homeless Cats, Paul Gallico
038. Return to Sullivans Island, Dorothea Benton Frank
039. Lowcountry Summer, Dorothea Benton Frank
040. Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins, Donald C. Johansen and Kate Wong
041. You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News: Shocking but Utterly True Facts, Cracked.com
042. Kraken: The Curious, Exciting,m and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid, Wendy Williams
043. The Carpet People, Terry Pratchett
044. The Wild Things, Dave Eggers
045. Last Call, Tim Powers
046. The Unlikely Ones, Mary Brown
047. Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome
048. Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews
049. Magic Burns, Ilona Andrews
050. Magic Strikes, Ilona Andrews
051. A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend, Emily Horner
052. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente
053. Magic Bleeds, Ilona Andrews
054. Stranger Things Happen, Kelly Link
055. Heartless, Gail Carriger
056. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
057. Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things, Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee
058. Unearthing the Dragon: The Great Feathered Dinosaur Discovery, Mark Norell
059. The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway
060. Nerd Do Well: A Small Boy's Journey to Becoming a Big Kid, Simon Pegg
061. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
062. Bright's Passage, Josh Ritter
063. How to Bake a Perfect Life, Barbara O'Neal
064. Flamingo Fatale, Jimmie Ruth Evans
065. The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder
066. Ghost Story, Jim Butcher
067. The People on Privilege Hill, Jane Gardam
068. There Will Be Dragons, John Ringo
069. Emerald Sea, John Ringo
070. Against the Tide, John Ringo
071. East of the Sun, West of the Moon, John Ringo
072. God on the Rocks, Jane Gardam
073. Hounded, Kevin Hearne
074. Feed, Mira Grant
075. Deadline, Mira Grant
076. Hexed, Kevin Hearne
077. All Wound Up, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
078. Hammered, Kevin Hearne
079. Snuff, Terry Pratchett
080. Tall, Dark, & Dead, Tate Hallaway
081. The Princess & the Penis, RJ Silver
082. Bedtime Stories for Children You Hate, Antoinette Bergin
083. The Tale of St. Picklas, Nicholas Pfeifer
084. A Walk in the Snark, Rachel Thompson
085. I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum
086. The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams Bianco
087. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
088. Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell

As far as 2011 goals, well, I made 52 pairs and a few random things. I didn't knit any sweaters, and I didn't even finish those that I started in 2010. Argh. Add them to the list for 2012...

I didn't make my goal of 100 books, either, and didn't even touch anything cross-stitch related. I'm not sure if I knit more yarn than I acquired. Maybe.

Goals for 2012:

Knit my Blanket of Insanity. 5000 yards of bulky weight yarn, size 13 needle, and oodles and oodles of cables. Printed the pattern today.

Participating in a 12 FOs in 2012 KAL. I can finish 12 things, right?

Get back to sweater knitting. Possibly knit the Autumn Rose Pullover since the world is going to end.

Knit more socks. I don't have enough. Would like to make a pair a month, but we'll see if that really happens.

KNIT ALL OF THE THINGS!!!1!!1!! Maybe a goal will be to play the lottery more often so I actually have a chance at winning, so I can be independently wealthy and stay home and knit all day.

Finish things. I really have a lot of WIPs and UFOs, and I need to finish or frog many of them. Finishing would be preferred, but sometimes frogging is a better option.

Wear pajamas as often as possible. (Yes, I want to succeed at *something*, why do you ask?)

That's all I can think of now. May post later if I have any more brilliant ideas. Part 4 of my summer shawl KAL was released today, and I'd like to work on that tonight.



Actually, maybe I will share some pictures first. You like pictures, right?

First FO of 2012. Hat made from Claudia Handpainted Single Ply yarn won from the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival. Yarn stained my hands blue, and the hat needed four rinses before the rinse water was anything resembling clear, but the colors make me happy every time I see it, so it's a win.



Thrummed bunny slippers for my mom, made while she was in the hospital.



Scarf for my MIL. Really like the colors, and the yarn is not bad at all for acrylic.



Zuzu, because she still loves her alpaca blanket.



Clogs make good kitty capes.



And kitty cushions.



We also bought Zuzu new chairs this year.



Beaded shawls make good blankets.



Oh! Should also talk about Huxley. The fox in the cowl (at least the brown/grey parts) is knit from fox fur, plyed with cashmere. Many thanks go to the Wildlife Resources staff at CMNH for sharing Huxley's fur with me.



My friend Rebecca spun the yarn for that shawl. I love it!



My birthday project. Love the colors, just wish it was a tad bigger.



My friend Nicole spun the yarn for this scarf. I am so lucky to have such talented and generous friends!



First FO of 2011



I have been lax in sharing silly Zuzu pictures. She got a snuggie for Christmas last year.



She also got to attack an opossum. She would have killed it, too, if it hadn't been for that meddling glass door!



I also put things on her head.





I occasionally make her wear her snuggie.



Anyway, I should get knitting. To close, FORK YOU!!



Happy 2012!