I wish I had more to report! I’ve been crocheting like crazy on my potholders for the swap. I’ve completed 3 of the five, along with side #1 of potholder 4. Just one and half to go! I’m enjoying making these more than I thought I would, but I admit I’m hitting the crocheted potholder wall.

In other news, I’m keeping busy with other plans for crafty adventure. I think my motivation has a lot to do with the longer days. This winter really was tough, and the last few weeks have been super-cloudy and cold. It was amazing yesterday that by the time I got home from work, it was still so light outside:

I must be solar-powered, because I always manage to get more done on days when it’s sunny outside.

My plans for this weekend include more baking, and some more crocheting. Hopefully I’ll have some finished potholder photos to share on Monday.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Last night after work, our neighborhood looked like this:

And this morning, it looked like this:

We got a few inches of snow overnight, with a couple more expected this morning.

But I was snug and warm, wearing my Fair Isle hat and my One Row Scarf:

Granted, I left the shoveling to Mr. Martini… but he’s got a hand knit scarf of his own to wear, so I don’t feel too guilty.

I made another loaf of bread this weekend, the same recipe as last week only I substituted bread flour for all purpose flour and the results were AMAZING. So much better. To paraphrase Julia Child – work with the best ingredients you can afford, they make all the difference. It’s true! In this case, the bread was fluffier and the crust was chewier and all in all it just tasted so much better.

I have no photo of the bread, though, since it was eaten rather quickly. I will say, though, that my library requests are now filled with bread baking books, including the following:

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

The Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Oh, the bread we’ll be eating! The best part is, I can knit while it bakes. Maybe that’s how I’ll get my knitting mojo back!

In fact, I’m so excited about the new decade, I’ve decided to refocus my attention on my 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days list. You can find a copy of the entire list here, if you so desire.

As for the crafty items on the list, I’ve completed a few, including:

15. Take a sewing class
53. Knit myself a sweater
54. Knit Mr. Martini hat & scarf set (he likes the scarf I made him, but claims he doesn’t need a hat)
55. Finish or frog all current knitting WIPs
58. Sew pillows for living room
62. Make a photo light box
97. Take a photography class

And I’ve made excellent progress on #23 – Sell or use entire current yarn stash (as of 3/18/08). Here’s one of my handy dandy graphs to show my progress:

As you can see, I only have 17% more to go! It helped that I donated a HUGE bag of yarn to charity back in October.

Remember, this doesn’t mean I’m down to no yarn stash – I’ve continued to buy yarn in the meantime, but I’ve been much more selective about my yarn purchases. When I started knitting, I didn’t know my own tastes as well, and ended up with a lot of yarn I never, ever would have used. Most of that has been sold or donated to people who will be able to appreciate it more than I can. And that’s a good thing.

As for the rest of 2010, I’m going to keep focusing on projects I want to make, that I find interesting or teach me something new. I’m also going to use my 101 in 1001 list as inspiration for new projects, rather than forcing myself to work my way through things. If I don’t manage to finish every item, that’s OK. But when I wrote the list, I had an interest in learning about beading and sewing and quilting. I still do, even if it’s just to try them out and find out if they are something I would really enjoy, or something that was fun to try and put aside for other crafts I like more.

I’m already getting excited about what this year is going to bring. Happy New Year, again, and happy crafting!

I had planned to get more crafty fun done this week, but I was distracted by a new toy: a new (to me) used refurbished Apple MacBook! My previous clamshell iBook had been dying a slow, sad death, and it was time for an upgrade. A few months of saving and a surprise mini-windfall put me over the top, and I got a great deal on a used computer! It’s actually better than my current desktop, and I think I’ll be transferring most of my files from the PC to the Mac in the coming weeks. I totally love it.

Plus, it has Photobooth, which means I can take pictures of myself and see what I look like while surfing the web! OK, I actually do take a minute to hand-comb my hair and smile pretty for the camera, but it’s still pretty cool.

New haircut! Yay!

And with that, I’m going to sign off and finish sewing a couple of buttons onto one sweater, and finishing the hem on a hat before the New Year’s activities begin. Which in our case, includes sitting on the couch, watching a Torchwood DVDs. Woo-hoo!

I hope you all have a safe and happy new year! Happy 2010!