Two Years, Let's Celebrate

Today is my two year blogiversary. Hooray! I’ve kept up for two years, although I have been lagging a bit in posting lately. My son helped me start this blog because I wanted to join in swaps and KALs and I needed one to join them. Now I look at this as a way to link with the thousands of other knitters and bloggers around the world. I actually spend more time on Ravelry than on this blog, but I like knowing it is here and I can show my FOs and share some stories and pictures with my friends and family. Two years has been both a long time and the blink of an eye. My life and circumstances haven’t changed that much, which is for the best. I did try a few new knitting techniques and projects. I have, I hope, mastered lace and finished two lovely stoles, even if I have slow down if I don’t want mistakes. I’ve also discovered luxury yarns, for better or worse. Somehow I can’t even touch acrylic anymore and Malabrigo is the yarn of choice. I made a cashmere hat and hope to be able to use more of that in the future. I’ve tried silk blends and even sea silk, but I love to knit with wool the best. I’ll keep trying to find a lightweight summer yarn though. Cotton is usually just too stiff but I intend to try some new blends.
My immediate goal is to try to reduce my stash. I’ve got a lot of basic wool yarn and a few odd balls of interesting Noro and some blends. It is so tempting to buy more, especially since I may visit the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival for the first time and will probably go to Rhinebeck again this year. Also, I have discovered two lovely yarn stores in Montclair, NJ, about a half hour from my home, and they both have great selections of tempting yarn. I have a bad habit of keeping every last little piece of every yarn associated with every project. All these little odds and ends and left over extra skeins have made my house pretty messy. I’ll try to part with some of these soon, just not yet!
So here I am, hopefully for at least a few years more. And here is my latest project, my finished Mr. Greenjeans cardigan from Knitty. It took a backseat for a while due to Malabrigo March and I had to force myself to take it up again but I am glad I did. It is very comfortable and was certainly easy to make, thanks to almost no finishing. Sometimes sweaters made in the round seem like they will take forever but when they are finished it is a pleasure.
I don't want to forget to add a thank you to my husband for most of these lovely pictures, and also for the pride and appreciation he shows at every thing I make. Oh yes, and for driving me to every yarn store and festival I can find.
So here is to a lot more finished objects in the future, and to all of you who read this blog. I don’t know who is out there, but I am sure it is a friend.