Happy 2010!

Thank you for the good wishes for 2010 - of course I hope for a good year to come, but I cannot really say that the last year was terribly bad. The worst bit for me was the moaning and groaning of people all around, who - on looking closer - sometimes really should blame themselves for the the situations they are in - or aren't really all thad badly off - compared to many others around the globe! I know that there are plenty of people who suffer - but it seems to me that most complaints come from people, who still have a comparably comfortable life? anyway - I would like the ice on the roads to go away - but I realise that in the grand scheme of things it's only a small blip:))

I don't usually make new year's resolutions either - I find that it makes more sense to just go ahead with whatever should be done at the time you feel it should happen - or it won't last in the new year anyway. so I won't list all my UFO's and swear to whoever that I'll finish many more in the year to come. I won't start nordic walking either - even though I know I should get more exercise (why don't they combine a gadget for exercise with a good spinning wheel?:)) I have seen many blogs just now, where people set themselves mottos for the coming year - but I don't think all that much about the things I do - I just do them. maybe this sounds stupid or shallow, but I already try to keep my stash reasonable, I try not to consume too much, I try to be as eco-friendly as I can etc. of course there is always room for improvement, but I don't really see a need to write about a goal - that I try to reach all year every year?

anyway - enough musing - back to the practical side of life. I won't bore you with another "white ireland with beautiful blue sky" picture - though this is exactly how it looks outside just now. the weird thing - the fields are green again, or only dusted in white, where the heavy frost from last night hasn't burned away - it's just the roads that are sparkly white, covered with a thick plate of ice from one side to the other. this must look rather odd from above!

I can however show you a photo of an exchange project I worked on for the OLG. the theme was "stars" of any kind - but my recipient hinted that she could use a set of potholders, so I tried a star theme on this. I admit that the idea for the design isn't mine, I found the pattern here. I did change it however. I used only dark blue and bright yellow fine cotton; I added several rows here and there to make the middle thicker; I didn't crochet both sides together, but put them together by knitting an i-cord around, which also formed the hanging loop.

I tested the potholder with the circular needle still in - just to check if it's thick enough for use or not. it seemed ok to me, so I put both halves together without further lining. I think I am going to make myself a pair or two as well - typical household for a textile freak: I make things for others all the time, but make do with the most basic designs myself:))

the blue stitch markers were a little "starry" extra - when I saw the starshaped beads in my box, I couldn't resist them:)) luckily everything arrived - it looked for a while as if the package had vanished in the pre-christmas rush!

enough babbling from me for now - I do have to get some work done around here. just have a look at the new icon on the side - FFF stands for first friday freebie - something for the embroiderers or patchworkers among us. a very generous offer of a nice freebie once a month - thank you, Kaaren!