1/15/12: New Year, New Blog!

It's mid-January, sort of the beginning of the year.  No resolutions were made because I know I won't keep them.  Making promises to myself and not keeping them just makes me feel as if I've somehow failed at something very "important."  Flying by the seat of my jeans is what I prefer.

Not making promises does not mean I've not thought about "important" things. 

Getting healthier is right near the top, as it is for almost everyone.  Eating green vegetables may never be a priority, but I've learned that some famous, in-shape people (i.e. Anderson Cooper who had never eaten spinach until he tasted it on his TV show a couple of months ago), do not eat them either.  When he told his audience he'd never had it, they tsk-tsk'd at him.  His response: "What? Are you my mother?"  Ha!

Another item I've been thinking about is doing something with my talent(s) that might help others.  Since retiring last year, I've had some time to knit.  Heaven knows I have stashed away enough yarn to last until the Second Coming.  I have begun to knit hats for charity.  These are, for now, children's hats, but other items for kids and other folks may follow as time permits.  Since my hands must be busy, and the yarn is plentiful, this is something I can do for others. 

This may turn into a knitting blog as time goes on.  Fair warning.  I've "discovered" Elizabeth Zimmerman this winter and fallen in love with her techniques, and especially with her zest for all things garter stitch!  Someone once said (or I read it somewhere) that she was like an knitting "engineer."  I think of her as the Albert Einstein of knitting. 

A couple years ago, I started making her Baby Surprise Jackets from a pamphlet from Schoolhouse Press and couldn't stop.  Now I'm making her hats that look like bonnets, all garter stitch, the pattern for which is in the book called "Knit One, Knit All" that has been compiled of many of her garter stitch projects.  These hats are addictive!  If you have this book, the pattern calls for a bulky or chunky yarn, but I found if you use worsted weight, soft yarn, (I've been using Plymouth's Encore) it makes an adorable baby/child hat that knits up fast and looks sweet!

Pictures later!