Word for the Year

As we begin 2018, contemplating last year and full of hope and inspiration for the new year to come, I have come to a conclusion. I don't like new year's resolutions. If you noticed my past new year's blogs, I don't believe I've managed to keep any of them. The materials for the quilt I want to make are still hanging in the closet (so patiently) and the garland of mini Christmas balls awaits quietly in its box, plus others still in limbo. Sigh.

Anyway, I've given up on resolutions, but I discovered a new concept - coming up with one word to focus your year around. I like this! So I have decided this year will be about ORGANIZATION. Last fall my husband put in a new floor/baseboard and painted the back bedroom for me so I could turn it into my craft room. It's not really a studio because it still has a bedroom set and my air walker in it, but it now has great craft organizing potential. So my first priority is to really go through every yarn, ribbon, pin and whatnot I own so I don't have to search for an hour to find them! (Somehow I don't look at that type of searching as an "adventure" anymore; tiresome is more like it.) And, yes, this was on my to-do list from last year, but of course other things got in the way.

I also need to organize my time, my blogs, and my social sites to improve the little business I have (click here), and my intention is to try to list one pattern or product a month. I want to start using my yarn stash, and I'm currently working on an afghan from stashed yarn (see photos). It was going to be a housewarming gift for my son and his girlfriend, but then I was told they have plenty of blankets and throws, so I guess I'll sell it in my store. I'm using Caron simply soft with an H hook and alternating front post dcs, which is really giving it a subtle but nice texture.

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Recapping 2017, though, I did manage to cut out refined sugar/carbs, lower my salt intake, and lose about 7 lbs - not much, I know, but I'm afraid the Sugar Monster got me at Christmas and I regained a few. BUT, I just had my regular blood tests done and everything came back fine! I also decided to invest in an air walker, and I think this will help me while being very gentle on the joints. So this looks like a pretty good start to 2018!

Your pink & blue & grey & indigo afghan with front post DCs is quite beautiful. Is it your own design?

I first started crocheting more than 40 years ago, as a teenager, and I don't recall ever coming across things like front post DCs or back post DCs or long singles or chainless foundations and so on. To your knowledge, are these relatively new inventions or did I just never notice them? Thanks. Congrats on getting a craft room. I too want to organize but there is just no room except a corner of the living room. (Oh, well...)

Thank you! And yes, this is my own design, but it really isn't complicated. In terms of the history, I really don't know when fpdc/bpdc started being popular, but you might not have come across it just because of the patterns you chose. I learned crochet basics at 11 yrs old, but I didn't really get into it until I was 31, when I took up 3D lace ornaments. There were no fp/bp stitches in that type of work that I recall. It wasn't till later that I fell in love with "textured" stitches that I began using them. And the craft room - well, the organizing is slow going but it will get done!

very pretty!