I hope you had a wonderful December and a great holiday season.  I know it is all very cliche to say, but this year – specifically these last three months – sped by at lightning pace.  Our various projects at work and home have taken up almost every bit of free time, leaving very little for the extracurricular… most specifically blogging, knitting, and photography.  I have managed to sneak a few minutes here and there reading on the Kindle that I got for my birthday in November (in a short word:  LOVE) but most of that came when I was in bed with the flu the days after Christmas!

Alas, another year passes… it’s been a challenging year in a lot of ways, but I like to think that these challenges have helped me grow, making next year (and following years) all the better…

My knitting production has been on the slow side this year – and I do hope to remedy that with some mega-production next year!

16 projects – and wow, looking at this mosaic, it shows that I was a pretty selfish knitter this year… *sheepish*. I did knit a mere 2 things for Baby V… of course, I did knit lots of gifts in 2009… but I hope to do more in 2011. The biggest plus is that ALL of these knits were stashbusts – all yarn that was at least a year in the stash before knitting. That is pretty impressive to me I need to continue on with that tradition in 2011!

2010 also brought some fun travels for us – we got to go to the Vancouver Olympics after a lot of planning – worth every second!

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We were also fortunate to be able to go to the northwest again when we went to Alaska in July…

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Well I know what I am planning to do tomorrow – not all of 2011, but tomorrow!  I will be casting on for a hat for the Ravelry Puck This January Hat Trick knitalong   My hockey-loving knitting pals and I have done this for three years: We knit 3 hats in January and have lots of fun doing it!  You are more than welcome to join us!

Of course, I have a lot to catch you up on, so, I’ll let the photos – and a few words – tell the story:

Late October:  lots of apples – mom and dad and I did a little daytrip over to West Virginia where we bought a couple of bushels.  I did a lot of canning and baking – like these apple cider cupcakes, for instance.

More floor + painting!  The entire second floor of the house is done:  Kris’s office, my office/craft room, the master bedroom and closet, the hallway, and half the stairway to the first floor.  Lots of work and lots of reward.  It feels like a whole new place, even though we moved in 9 years ago this month.

Mimi + Baby V came to town!  It was such a joy to see them both – Baby V turned one at the end of September.  She’s the belle of the ball and seeing my sister and her was an absolutely wonderful treat.  I had a Baby Owlet sweater waiting for her arrival.  Full details about the pullover are on my Ravelry notebook page.

I turned 30.  It wasn’t all that bad.

Thanksgiving with the W family – wonderful times!  We were rocking the red this year

Haircut (bangs are back!) and a new tweedy vertical stripe scarf.  Ravelry Notebook Page for the scarf here!

House is decorated for the holidays and while still under renovation, things are pretty ordered.  More renos to come – first floor flooring, and some kitchen upgrades… but that can probably wait till 2011.

~ More knitting to share next time ~

Thanks as always for reading

Many of my peers from those early days of knit blogs have stopped blogging.  Some have even stopped knitting.  Some have turned their creative attentions to something completely new:  other craft endeavors, writing, entrepeneurial pursuits… It’s intriguing to watch these changes over time.

LollyKnitting Around has changed significantly.  My posts used to be very knit-centric and very frequent.  Before Ravelry and Flickr were common, we told each other about a few inches of knit progress.  There was an occasional post on something else, but I felt that it would be betraying people to write about anything else at length considering that “KNITTING” was in the title of the blog.  I don’t necessarily feel this way anymore, which is evidenced by the scores of non-knitting posts. Thankfully, it seems that many of you have done the same thing – the blog becomes a reflection of you, and while it includes knitting, it is also about other things.

I have noticed that blog reading seems to be on a down-swing right now.  Or at least, I notice that in myself.  Unfortunately, I don’t read as many blogs as I used to… but at the same time, many blogs are not as frequently updated.  With my new Twitter fascination, it is mini-blog posts throughout the day… usually more opinionated and banal than the things I share here, but fun all the same.  Do you notice a difference in your blog-reading/blogging habits?

After a bit of exploration, I think I have settled into a pretty happy routine.  The blog is not as frequently updated – and the blog is not all about knitting.  As you know, I blog about what I am interested in.  Sometimes that is knitting, and sometimes it is travel and vegan food.  It seems to be something related to photography for the most part.  You have watched the passion grow and have seen the results.  Photography is a new love, and I would love to do more of it.  As before, travel remains one of my ambitions, and I hope to continue traveling to new places and sharing those details here. 

Sometimes I get ambitious and think about branching out into some new avenues: writing, publishing, exhibiting photographs… and if an opportunity came my way, I wouldn’t turn it down… but the fact remains the same:  this blog brings enjoyment.  There were many days in the past when I considered shutting it down, and I am glad that I reconsidered. 

I don’t thank you all enough ~ please know how much I value your comments and feedback!  After six years I can say that I blog for myself and for my own memories… where in the beginning, I blogged more for the interactions with others and the feedback…  but what a joy it is to know that you are out there reading along! 

Many thanks for traveling along with me!

**Six photos of stones from my travels – a milestone marking each year of the blog:  Photo 1 -The rock stacks “inuksuit” on the bank in Vancouver, BC.  Photo 2 – The stone formations at Joshua Tree National Park, California.  Photo 3 - Rocky Coastline The Ovens Natural Park, Nova Scotia.  Photo 4 – Stones in the snow, Massanutten Mountain, Virginia.  Photo 5 - Incan ashlar stones at Saqsayhuaman, Cusco, Peru.  Photo 6 – Meditation garden and stone labyrinth, Shrine of St. Therese, Juneau, Alaska.

The beautiful and talented Lucy at {a black pepper} tagged me for this project “10 Things You Don’t Know About Me”… and it was hard to come up with a list, but I thought I would give it a try. Perhaps it should be called “10 Things Some of You Might Not Know About Me”.  Since I divulged some of this information on Flickr late last week, I thought I would add an extra two especially for the blog

1 – One of the reasons that I took up knitting in 2003 was because I am always cold. I wear knits year round because I work in the cold environment of a basement archive, so shawls, mitts, and cardigans are always on hand.

2 – I don’t wear much jewelry. I usually wear a simple meaningful necklace (a souvenir or a gift to remind me of a place or a person) and my wedding band.

3 – I have my ears pierced twice in each ear, but haven’t worn earrings since my sister’s wedding in October 2008. I don’t think that the holes have closed though.

4 – One of my goals for 2010 is to learn Spanish. I am using Rosetta Stone (a generous Christmas/anniversary gift from Kris) and am really enjoying it so far.

5 – I have several friends from Spanish-speaking countries who promise that they will practice with me once I become more conversational.

6 – I am hoping to travel more through South America. I loved our Peru trip in 2007 so much that I want to go back. Argentina and Chile are next on the list.

7 – I was homeschooled for two years when I was young – 4th and 5th grade – and went back to regular school in 6th grade.

8 – I have recently become (a little) obsessed with 2 games on Kris’s Xbox: Peggle and Kingdom for Keflings.

9 – I am not a phone or a gadget person… I was a late adopter for cell phones, and still use a “pay as you go” service. However, I will admit to using Kris’s Blackberry on occasion for checking the web…

10 – I recently started a sprout garden – I use the sprouts for green smoothies and for salad toppings. My favorites (so far) have been the French lentils.

11 – The album officially “drops” tomorrow, but I have been listening to the new Vampire Weekend constantly on NPR’s Music site.  Wow.  I loved the first one so much, and this second one is amazing.  The one that stays with me the most is “Diplomat’s Son”.  Total win.

12 – I became a vegetarian when I was 14 years old.  I was never a big meat eater, but after seeing the movie Babe, I switched.  Yeah, I know that pigs don’t really talk, but that movie did help me realize a few things.  Additionally, I switched to a vegan diet after my struggles with Lyme disease in 2008. You never know when and how those life-changing moments are going to come!

Care to share your own list?  I would love to read…

We got our first snow in Maryland, and it was quite a pretty one!  My dear friend Vicki and I had made plans earlier in the week to go over to Takoma Park to attend a free yoga class taught by our friend Kath.  We all graduated from the teacher training program together, and now we are able to attend each others’ classes.  It is a joy!  As Vicki and I drove down towards the city, the snow flakes grew in size – like cotton balls falling from the sky.  It was lovely!

We grabbed some breakfast at a local diner, and had a little time to spare before we went to yoga – so Vicki and I pulled out our knitting.  She just took up knitting and she is learning so fast!  Such even gauge and stitches!  I told her she would be knitting sweaters in no time

…as Vicki worked on her lovely Noro scarf, I worked on (surprise!) Olympics sweater sleeves… lots of progress to show on that front, so more later…

In the meantime, as a celebration of my first snow day this winter, I wanted to do a little contest:  Tell me your favorite snowy memory and have a chance at this prize: 

Classic Elite 9103:  Snow Day pattern booklet – sweaters, cardigans, vests, hats, scarves!  all to keep you warm and toasty on your own snow days!  (You can see all the patterns inside here)

  ***

 So, tell me a story about your snow-covered memories:  building a snowman, sledding, ice skating, snowball fight – anything!  I would love to hear!  …and then you have a chance to win!

1973.3 yards ( +/- 1″)

So, that means that the winners of this contest are:

• Mary at Tactless Wonder with her guess of 1974

• Nadine at Balkan Style with her guess of 1975

Thank you so much for playing and for leaving so many wonderful and heartfelt comments!  You all are amazing   I really liked ever green knits suggestion about a little retrospective of posts from previous years… I am compiling a list now.  As an archivist, you can imagine that I like doing such things.

…and because no post can go photo-less on my blog, here is my recently compiled mosaic of favorite photos from this past week on Flickr.  I really enjoy making these and they are a real point of inspiration for me. (Click on the photo for details about the photos!)

Huh… five years.  Time flies!

I am not sure how many of you have been around since the beginning, but that is no matter…  because I just want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart!  It is truly an honor to walk alongside you (virtually and in real life!)  on this journey.  I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet many of you, and I hope to meet many more of you in the future!  Thanks for reading and for being a part of my life!  *Much love and gratitude!*

As is the custom in this region of “Bloglandia”, I am planning to run a contest for my fifth blogiversary – but I wanted to put a little spin on it

I have been in organization/cleaning mode this past week, and I have come across hundreds of little yarn scraps – too much to throw away, but not enough to really do anything with.  Some are leftover balls from projects, some are yarn samples.  I have used these scraps in the past to make the Rapunzel scarves, but I can’t keep up with the supply…  So, I decided to start making a ball – a scraptacular ball – with plans to start a scraptacular project.  I am planning a big garishly colored blanket with these scraps… like only a blanket a knitter could love and appreciate.  The brilliant Chawne suggested a quilt that radiated out from the center, like Larissa’s Barn Raising quilt squares from her book Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together.  I love this idea, as it would be quite easy to add to with new scraps.   I may just have to come up with several ideas, as scraps are never going to be gone from my stash!

 How many yards / meters do you think are in this scraptacular ball??

Care to venture a guess?

Hints:  It is packed tight and has a little weight to it, and it took me about 100 minutes to wind this ball up (aka watching this past week’s amazing episode of True Blood episode twice).  There are at least 75 individual yarn scraps in this ball at this point.

And for the winners – two winners who come closest to the final yardage – a choice between these two prizes:

 Fleece Artist Goldilocks Kit – in rich indigo purple.  540 yards of silk/mohair boucle for the Goldilocks shawl – a triangular garter stitch shawl – pattern on the label.  I bought this in Nova Scotia, the home of Fleece Artist, last year.

Hunt Valley Cashmere -a Maryland supplier of this pale pink 100% cashmere.  1.95 oz skein.   Perfect for a cowl or mitts.

Contest is open till Thursday (8/13) at 5:00pm EST. 

Even if you don’t care to be in the contest, I would still love to hear from you    Once again, thank you, dear friends, for so many happy years!

Bella announces the first winner:

(I caught her mid-yawn, but it kind of looks like she is talking, right?)

**Dana at Read, Write, Knit, Panic! gets the Cowboy Kerchief scarf kit! 

I originally intended to do only one giveaway, but I was so moved by your thoughtful responses that I wanted to do another one – you all are so amazing and generous!  Your responses meant so much to me, and I have read them several times over!

…and Jen announces the next winner:

**Rasa Chambers! gets the (other) Cowboy Kerchief kit!
 

Congratulations!  and many thanks (again) for taking the time to read my blog

(If you want to see more photos of all my furry babies, check out my photostream on Flickr!)

**Ladies, please contact me by email so that I can get your info and get the prizes to you very soon!

Four years of LollyKnitting Around. I can’t believe how time flies.

Sometimes, I can’t imagine my life without the blog, and in turn, all of you.  I am blessed to be a part of this vibrant community. I thank you so much for coming to visit and taking the time to share yourselves and your creativity.  You inspire me.

Many thanks, my friends~

**The above graphic is a wordle word cloud.  I entered many words:  things that I care about and love, places I have been and experiences I have had, and words that (I think) describe me.  If you make one, please let me know – I would love to see the visual representation of you!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was 17 and had just finished my junior year of high school. My family moved to Maryland from New Mexico in January of 1998, and while the transition was not too difficult, there were new things to get used to… like this cute boy in my American History class… and well, you may remember that story. The summer of ’98 was low-key. I got a summer job doing HTML at a tech company, and we visited my family in Alabama. It was the last time we got to see my grandmother in a healthy state, as she got sick and passed away in 1999.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today the weekend?

• Company picnic at a nearby park today - so, my plan?  eat a little ice cream and play bingo.
• Sleep in tomorrow morning - till at least 7:00am.
• Work on my projects:  I have several knits near completion, and a new warp on the loom.
• Brunch with dear Bec, recipient of the afghan that I recently started working on again.
• More reading and (listening to) books – really enjoying this book and this audiobook right now.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

fresh fruits, ice cream, and yogurt

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

• Fiber/reading/yoga/writing/photography FULL time
• Pay off the house
• Give money to the family
• Help fund research and development for sustainable alternative energies (this would enable me to travel everywhere without having “greenie guilt“)
• Donate to an array of respectable organizations

5) Places I have lived:

I was born in Morristown, Tennessee.  We moved to Houston, Texas when I was very young, and my middle sister was born there.  I do have some vague memories of this time.  We then moved to Jackson, Mississippi for a short time before going to Phoenix, Arizona.  We moved to Worland, Wyoming where I started school.  My youngest sister was born there.  Then, we moved to Hedgesville, West Virginia where we stayed for three years before moving to Roswell, New Mexico.  I spent most of my “definitive” years of childhood in Roswell, so when asked where I grew up, I say New Mexico.  When I was 17, we moved to Crofton, Maryland.  For college, I lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and now Kris and I live in Columbia, Maryland.  I have lived in Maryland longer than any other place.  There are times I want to leave the hustle and bustle of the DC-area, but there are also some amazing things to do and see here – plus our jobs! – so we enjoy it overall.

6) Jobs I have had:

• Babysitter
• HTML editor
• Library Page
• Bookstore Manager
• Library Assistant
• Graduate Student (TA)
• Archivist

Photos above: 1) a very unique succulent plant in my small dish garden 2) fresh strawberries and peaches from the farmers’ market, now frozen for treats all year long 3) a sneak peek at Tess Designer Yarns new sock line – Twinkle Toes (silk, nylon, merino) and Baby Bunny (merino/angora/nylon)… perfect for the water element of Project Spectrum, no?