Happy New Year! Any plans for NYE? We had planned to attend a smallish neighborhood party but it was cancelled because of the recent uptick of covid. We are now going to have a quiet dinner at home and then wrap ourselves in blankets and walk over to another neighbor's house at 9 for a champagne toast around a bonfire. I think most of the neighbors are going, we live on a small street, and it sounds just as fun, and also safe and quiet, a perfect ending for another not-so-great year.  

Besides my new knitting projects below, I've taken on a very ambitious project: DEEP cleaning such as I've never done before. I always do my spring cleaning in winter after I pack away the Christmas decorations because in actual spring I am busy in the garden. I admit that I love to clean and I often stress-clean; some people stress eat, others stress exercise (I wish) and others, like me, stress clean. I am a terrible worry wart and cleaning relaxes me and takes my mind off my worries. I guess any time you can get up and be active is good, and the benefits of stress cleaning is dirt removal and stress removal. Since I decluttered over the last two years, I thought, this should be a snap with nothing too terribly dirty, right? Wrong, the cobwebs and gunk I'm finding is shocking. 

I don't know how I got such a cleaning bee in my bonnet, but once I committed to going in deep and thorough, it's become addictive. To take this on I've been cleaning in no particular order, and don't have much of a plan except at some point in January or February, every piece of furniture will be moved into the center of the room, emptied out, cleaned inside, under and behind; every bit of floor, wall, woodwork, cupboard, drawer, closet and window will be washed and sorted inside and out.  To do this I don't use much more than a bucket of warm soapy water (I love a combination of Mr. Clean with a teaspoon of Dawn mixed with warm water), micro-fiber cloths, a magic eraser, a few specialty brushes, my vacuum cleaner and a step ladder. I clean for a few hours in the morning and always try to finish by noon. I like to clean but don't want to clean every day, so I am being nice to myself and allowing eight weeks to cross the finish line. I'll report back to let you know how it's going or if I've lost interest (please no) and if I think it was worth it (hope so). If you have already purged and organized and are keeping to the one-in, one-out rule, a deep clean is the next step. If you haven't already de-cluttered, and you want to, I encourage you to get on with it. Do a little at a time, your own way, and don't worry about what influencers are doing. 

M works-in-progress include some gorgeous patterns and yarn. Here they are:

I love knitting this one. I'm using Shimo by Ito, a blend of 80% wool and 20% silk. It's divine, so soft and easy to knit. The reviewers say it blooms after blocking, but even if not, it's still gorgeous as is. The pattern is Ren by Japanese designer, Yamagara. I absolutely love knitting it. The cable pattern is addictive. My project page Shimo by Ito

This is my movie knit. I always need one project that is super mindless and this is perfect. Billow by Shibui is just lovely, easy to knit and so soft. I'm using Pollen, Abyss, Ivory, Noire and Tar. The pattern is Medley by Lucinda Inglesias and is free with a yarn purchase. I found the yarn at my lys.

I gathered up my odds and ends of leftover fluffy yarns such as Kidsilk Haze, Rowan Patina Selects and Alpaca Classic for this throw. My colors are shades of soft pink, white, brown, gray, charcoal, navy and mustard. The pattern from Tin Can Knits is fun and makes a nice TV knit.   Bounce by Tin Can Knits My project page

However, I've set the Tin Can knit aside and my new TV knit is my Christmas gift. I ordered the kit a few months ago and put it away without even opening it and told my husband he bought my Christmas gift and thank you very much. I was so happy to open it on Christmas morning that I cast on right away and knit a few inches throughout the day. The pattern uses short rows to make the crazy stripes and Cheeky Merino Joy by Rosy Green Wool, the most yummy yarn ever! I purchased the kit from the Rosy Green website and think they are wonderful to work with. Their prices for yarn and shipping from Germany are decent, plus they have good communication. I highly recommend them and have purchased kits from them twice. my project page purchase the pattern by Felicia Di Bono purchase the kit from Rosy Green Wool

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I don't know how it happened that all my current works-in-progress are black and gray or black and white, but even with no color, there is some very happy knitting on my needles. Below is Betagen by Theresa Shingler using Rosy Green Wool's Manx Merino Fine, a blend of Merino wool and Manx Loaghtan, a sheep breed I hadn't heard of. This came as a kit from the Rosy Green site. The yarn is gorgeous and soft and I have high hopes that I'll love this sweater; it sure is fun to knit. I keep this project in my knitting room. It uses size two needles throughout so is fairly slow going.

The project below is Fonda by Caitlin Hunter. another fun knit that I keep in the family room. This pattern just struck my fancy and when I realized that I could use the marled Shelter I had in my stash and just maybe the big bobbles would look like the aggies we used to play with as children, I knew I had to make it. Those beautiful swirled agate marbles were the ones I loved the most. We had a lovely bag of marbles that I think came from my grandad's house and might have been our uncle's marbles. I do remember they were gorgeous. Do kids still play marbles or jacks and even knows what aggies are? I was huge jacks fan and a bit of a champ in my little neighborhood group. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will love this sweater as much as I think I will.

I'm also getting some yarn for Christmas. My husband asked me if I had bought myself a gift that he can wrap up and give me. I told him not to worry that he was going to give me a doozy of a present. I hope it arrives before Christmas! You all take care!

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