New projects for the new year....

I had some problems posting last week and lost a good one, so this is really my first post of the new year. I don't normally make resolutions, but I have a couple of knitting resolutions:

1. Figure out what to do with the pink cotton I've had for ages and actually get it done in time for the warm weather.
2. Learn to spin.
3. Rather than mad knitting in Nov and Dec for all the nieces and nephews, take the time to knit something bigger and better for their birthdays, thereby, spreading the cheer throughout the year. (most challenging resolution!)
4. Knit something nice for myself periodically. (already started on this one)

I think that's enough for now....baby steps.

So I started on a really cool sweater from Chic Knits called Ariann. Bought the yarn, knitted several inches, frogged, knitted, frogged, knitted and got help, frogged. And that was the final frogging for me. I switched patterns. When I was originally looking for a pattern, it was between Ariann and the Central Park Hoodie. So now I've gone back to the CPH. Here's what I did during my lunch hour yesterday.

Thursday they had this staff development day that was all about learning how to manage stress and take time for yourself. Overall it was very enjoyable, but during the presentation, I kept thinking about my latest knitting project (in my tote bag) and would it be rude to knit during the presentation and what would my coworkers think? Did I have the nerve to pull it out. In the end, I left it in the bag, but resolved to work on knitting in public. My fear is that others will think I'm not paying attention or interested in what's going on, but that's not the case. I really can knit and listen, watch a movie, or talk.

I'm going to try to be more bold about my knitting in the future. At the end of our staff day we went to a place where you paint pottery. Now, I like to paint, but I'm not good at it, so the pressure of having to paint with others when it's not what I do best was getting to me, so I just did this plain candy dish with polka dots and left as quickly as I could so I could go home and knit (i.e. relax for real). If I'm brave enough, I'll show the bowl on here in a couple of weeks when it's ready.