Anticipating a New Year

In my old age, I look forward more and more to New Year's weekend.  It is such a nice calm time in my family.  No pressure, gifts are done, girls entertained with new gifts, visiting with family and friends is over.  The weekend stretches out as a restful peaceful time.  I'm hoping to go to movies with the girls and then again just with my mom.  Because I'm off Monday, January 3 but the girls have school!  Whoo Hoo!  So I will take my mom out for lunch and a movie that we will like without having to appease my girls.  In between I plan on some naps snuggled under a throw and knitting and spinning as much as I can fit in. 



 Last night I plied some fine singles of merino and cashmere together.  It took over 2 hours of solid fast plying and I quickly transferred it to my niddy noddy to sit on over night.  It is some of the finest spinning I've done to date, I had a few spots where I hadn't spun the single tightly enough so it drifted apart in the plying, but I was able to spit splice in place or felt it grab the other single immediately and wound tightly together.  I think I will set the twist a bit more aggressively than I normally do, I'll go back and forth between hot and cold soaks to make sure it will hold nicely.

I also started a new project just for me, I'm working on a new pair of mittens, they are from the Vogue Knitting: Mittens and Gloves book, they are the Hugs and Kisses pair.  I can see the circle hugs easily, the "X" for kisses is there, but seems to sit in the background more for me.  You can't tell from this shot, but the body of the mittens are blue and white, only the cuff has the rusty color.  I'm using up some odds and ends in the white and the rust, but the blue is from Three Irish Girls and it is beautiful.  Just maybe after the New Years weekend, I will have a new pair of mittens?  With how snowy this winter has already proven to be, they will come in handy!  (bad pun)

Here is to a new year full of adventures, joys, sorrows that lead to new paths, and much laughter.  My eyes are looking ahead, the past is behind and new beginnings are waiting to be explored!