Goodbye 2010... Hello 2011

2010 was the year of lace and handspun for me.  I did attempt to knit 10 shawls in 2010, but only made half of my goal.  I actually started nine shawls this year, three of which are in various states of completion and the last one needs to be ripped and started over.  I really think that the reason I did not reach my goal was because I spun for most of my shawls.  Two handspun mitts, a cowl, a baby gift and an owl made for a fun 2010.  I wasn't nearly as productive as I was in '09 but I think I lost some knitting mojo this year.  I hope that '11 will bring more inspiration, both creatively and through my blog.



Despite the uninspired knitting I was inspired to spin up a storm.  I managed to spin about 5446 yards, all shown except for one in the mosaic.  I tried some new fibers this year, and learned to love merino/tencel once more.  I'm excited for this year, I will be joining more fiber clubs and trying different fibers in attempt to break out of my merino/bamboo box I'm in.

2010 also found Scott and I traveling across the Atlantic for the first time.  I have yet to write up our adventure in England, which I'm slowly but surely doing.  We had such a blast seeing so many amazing places.

We also made our home a bit more ours by installing a patio and turning one of the bedrooms into a craft room.  Hopefully this summer won't be as hot and we will be able to enjoy our patio a bit more.

I also tried my hand at gardening for the first time.  I started seeds, albeit a bit too early, planted a workable but not the best vegetable garden.  I made some mistakes but despite the poor planning and placement of plants it still yielded a good amount of food.  I also tried canning for the first time.  My summer jam turned out more like soft jelly candy than spreadable jam but my apple butter was simply amazing.  This summer I want to can a bunch more jams and vegetables.  I'm hoping that my fledgling raspberry patch will thrive.

This year I hope to:
knit more sweaters and socks
spin a variety of fibers
write in my blog once a week
plant a bigger garden
can more foods

What are your hopes and dreams for 2011?

T-Day

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!

How we spent our summer vacation, or how to lay a patio in a month.

hen we purchased our home, the backyard wasn’t much to speak of:


The previous owners unfortunately mistreated their dogs and penned them off in a gravel filled enclosure which was quite an eyesore.



There was also no place to sit and enjoy a fine summer night so we decided that we needed to lay a patio. My father came by and helped us design a space that would make sense. The first step was to remove all the grass where the new pavers would be. Throughout the job Scott was able to use many cool machines such as a sod cutter, allowing us to pull up the grass more easily and repurpose it in the gravel pit.



Once that was cut out the stairs had to go; the original design had you exiting the house and walking down the stairs directly to your left. I thought it made more sense to widen the deck a bit allowing more than one person to stand at the top, raise the platform to make a less awkward step down and have the stairs lead straight down. This allows for easier entertaining and access to the house.



The ground was tamped down.

Then a layer of gravel was tamped in place.

(As you can see from the photos the swing set was removed and I planted a nice vegetable garden in its place.)

Then a layer of sand was set.



Pavers were laid.



A special sand and cement mixture was swept between the pavers.



The deck was built and furniture added.