Sunday, January 27, 2013

Happy New Year!!

Wow, 2013 is certainly flying by!!  So sorry to wish all of you well in the coming year so late in the month, but I hope all of you enjoy good health and happiness!!

I've been very busy with my chemo, going once a week until the end of March.  To keep myself occupied during my sessions, I've been trying my hand at a few new things.....

First of all, I tried my hand at knitting.  Never really been very good at knitting, much better at crochet (since I was four years old), so thought I would try a fancy scarf.

Of course, I had to rip it out at least six times, but I finished it!!  It looks wonderful with my coat and is light and lacy.  The yarn does all the work and the knitting was minimal, which is a perfect combination for my skill level.

Then, I tried my hand a knitting with regular yarn....

It's a bit curly, which makes it looks much skinnier than it really is.
Again, after many rip outs, I managed to make a long skinny scarf with the help of a good friend teaching me a new technique.  My brain appreciated this different way of knitting, called German or Swedish knitting, and I was able to feel confident in my new found ability.  I can now look at knitting patterns with greater appreciation and hopes of finishing.

While we were on our trip to the United Kingdom, I picked up a package of wool charms that came with a pattern from Magees to make this handbag.  

Pretty wild color combinations for wool--I just love it!!

Thought the sheep lining was a nice touch!
Making this bag was exciting--there was a substantial part of directions missing and I figured it out anyway (yippee!!),  learned how to attach (and find on the internet--not as easy as it sounds!!) leather handles and install magnetic closures. 

So, you can see how I've spent my month so far!  What have you been doing??  Would love to see a post from you letting me know what you're working on. 

There will be another posting in January for my BOM "Curly Top" coming soon--hope you'll be able to participate!!