Yarn Abroad!

Guess what arrived in the post today?

The Ferdinand Magellan Yarn Abroad box, full with fiber goodness, straight from Brooklyn, NY, sent by the fabulous Tawana of Rooted in Knit-Reality.

I immediately dug into the box, and look at all the fantastic things she sent me:


Honestly, I am overwhelmed! There is some beautiful Crown Mountain Farms Superwash Merino in the colourway 'Brown Eyed Girl' (it's me! it's me!), some Soy Silk and Cashmere fibre and some pure Cashmere (pure Cashmere!!), both undyed. There were also some sweets, half of which didn't even make it onto the picture because they were eaten immediately, and she even packed a little something for the Bean - some cute little stripey socks and a cool baby vest which I can't wait to dress him in!!

Thank you so much Tawana, this is a fantastic parcel!

Plans

This morning I have been browsing blogs. This has become a rare treat for me, ever since the little bean came into our lives, because nowadays relaxing time at the computer or anywhere else and in any form that means I have both my hands free to do some typing, knitting, sewing, or even cleaning, is a rarity. I am not complaining, mind, because the little bean is continuing to be a little miracle to me and I am spending many hours each day gazing at hime and cataloging all the little things that he learns every day in my mind. I never knew parenthood would be this way, would be so much like being in love, would mean that I could spend hours just looking at and caring for this little bebe without wanting anything else. It's not something that can be imagined, I think, when you don't yet have children. Still, it all means that I don't get much done nowadays that requires the use of both of my hands - typing comments for example, or knitting.
What I noticed, though, when I spent some time browsing this morning, is that everyone seems to have those fantastic New Year's Resolutions. I don't have any.

It made me think, though, and I do have resolutions and plans. For example, I would like to de-stash a little this year. I have bags and bags full of yarn, and still I keep buying more. So I guess my resolution is that I will use up some of that stash. Iwill still have to buy some yarn, for example when I am making things for the bean, but I should be able to get a good few cardigans and sweaters out of the yarn that I have stashed away everywhere.

2) I want to finally sew up my first quilt. I managed to get all the pieces layed out a few weeks back when we were at MIL's place and I had some space to play, but I still haven't managed to sew anything together.

3) I want to finally put all the things I have been saving for that purpose on ebay - there are clothes, and some yarn, and some other stuff, and I just never seem to get round to doing this. I am now bribing myself with Amy Butler fabric from the money I am hoping to make.

4) I want to start spinning again. I have really missed this, but again, spinning with the bean has been a bit tricky... Maybe I can figure out a way of balancing him on my lap while spinning at the same time!

5) I want to finally attend the knitting group in this area. It's so close by, yet I have not managed to get there yet.

6) I want to go to a meeting of the Spinner's Guild in York. It sounds fabulous and it would be great to meet other spinners. Again, I haven't had time for this so far.

7) I want to be better at keeping in touch with friends. I am notoriously bad at phoning or writing to friends, or even at returning phonecalls. It's odd, really - I think about my friends all the time and I love meeting up, but returning calls? Soooo difficult! Part of this is probably that I'm not mad keen on talking on the phone, but partly it's just bad time management. So, here's hoping that there is room for improvement!

Right, the bean is stirring, so I will have to end my list of resolutions. We'll see how it goes...

Back in action...

I trust all of you have survived xmas and New Year in one piece?!

We went to Germany so my relatives could worship the bean and we really had a good time. I was particularly excited about the fact that my dad had volunteered to cook the goose. This freed me up enormously and I have to say that he really did a good job, the meal was delicious!

Other than that, life continues to be both slow and hectic - it may not make much sense, but this is what it feels like for me. On the one hand, everything has slowed down since the arrival of the bean, and on the other hand things have got, if that is at all possible, even more chaotic... I have so many plans and yet so little time to spend on any of my numerous projects. At the same time the fact that I am not working means that I have far too much time on my hands to hatch crazy plans.

My newest pet-plan is a little cafe in the tiny cottage next door... I already know that it most likely will not happen, mainly because I also want to go back to work at a university at some point in the next few months, but still, how much fun this could be! I could even sell some wool and fibre and maybe some fabric on the side... I even have fairly clear ideas what I would want the place to look like - I would buy mismatching antique chairs from car boot sales and auctions around here and put some rugs on the floor. The walls could be painted cream and there would be some cute curtains, possibly made from some Amy Butler fabric... Candles on every table, possibly mismatching tablecloths. I could offer a selection of homemade cakes (my fantasies about a working kitchen are coming through here!) and simple meals. In the summer we could set up some tables and chairs in the garden. But alas, I will not have the time to do any of it!

Sometimes too much education can really hold you up... but I feel I have to - and want to - use this title I can put in front of my name now, and to do that I will have to return to academia. This in turn means that my job will eat up each and every minute that I don't wrestle away from it to spend it with the ever-delightful bean and our little family, so plans for cafes and the like will have to remain on ice for the foreseeable future.

But enough of this - I thought I'd show you something that arrived in the post the other day:


Incredibly cute, no? This arrived directly from Japan, where friends of ours are living right now. It's a traditional Japanese dress. The bean hasn't worn it yet, but I can't wait to find an occasion to dress him in it!

Also, Jane tagged me for a meme:

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1) As a child I used to hate cheese but thought it would be the coolest thing ever to eat a slice of bread with slices of hard cheese on it. To pretend I would cut chilled butter into thick slices and eat it on crisp bread.

2) When I was seven or eight I did (and passed) a bicycle road-worthiness test but now I can’t even take one hand off the handlebar to indicate.

3) I can’t click my fingers.

4) When I think of something that I have done that I find embarrassing and don’t like to think about, I immediately start singing. I have no idea why I do this, and it’s completely involuntary, but it happens every time.

5) I own over 30 90-minute tapes of music from the 1980s, compiled by a friend of mine with whom I lost contact years ago. I love them all.

6) I used to sleepwalk for years, and I still frequently talk in my sleep or sit up in bed suddenly. D tells me about this in the morning but I very rarely have any recollection of it.

I rather liked this one as it made me think about all the little oddities we have, so I am going to tag a few people as well: Craftylilly, Kids & Knits, Opportunity Knits, Mog's Blog, Clothesknit, Fair Isle Fibres. Obviously no worries if you don't have time to do this (I'm not usually a very meme-y person either), so don't feel hassled! ;-)