Let's Get It Started

Happy new year, friends! I was very happy to wake up in my own bed, though less happy to see snow outside when I peeked out the window this morning. We got home yesterday afternoon, a little later than planned, but having taken a flight that was significantly less bumpy than the one that took us to Florida. We were sorry to leave less than 24 hours after my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew got there, but some time with them was better than none, and we plan to take dinner to their house when they get back on Saturday.

Our New Year's Eve was very low key. The Mister went to do the grocery shopping after dropping us and our luggage off at home, and we had snacks for dinner (mac and cheese bites, pigs in a blanket, and veggies and dip). We all got into our PJs and watched an episode of The Crown before bed, which was well before midnight. And this morning we all slept in one last time. Tomorrow the Mister and I both go back to work, though Mo has an extra day off (it's an in-service day) and will be home with me. I wasn't rushing to finish up lots of things yesterday, but I did manage to finish a book on the way home from the airport and last night I finished the tubular bind-off on my Birch Pullover:

I have tried it on and can report that it fits well; I expect I'll gain a little more length when I block it, but right now it's hitting just at my hips, which is great for me. Up next are the sleeves, and I hope those will go relatively quickly.

I have long since stopped trying to make new year's resolutions because I never keep them, but I certainly do take time at the beginning of the year to come up with some general goals I'd like to keep in mind for the year ahead. So here is what I'm thinking about for 2024:

• Knit more sweaters. I've gotten a little bored with the sweaters I have in my drawer, especially because I tend to wear the same ones again and again because they fit me well. I also have quite a few sweater quantities of yarn in my stash, so why not use them? I have a few patterns in mind, but at the top of the list is obviously finishing Birch.
• Knit from stash. I won't say I'm not going to buy any yarn at all, but the fact of the matter is that I have more than enough yarn already and there's really no need to buy it. The key is going to be finding the right patterns for the yarn I have rather than starting with a pattern and then buying yarn for it.
• Get caught up on my Southern Cross Fibre club and spin down more fiber stash. I don't know exactly how many shipments of SCF club I have on hand (in part because one arrived while we were away and I still have to collect it from our neighbor), but I know it's less than 10. That is a much more manageable total than I started with last year, so I think it's quite realistic to expect to get caught up this year, perhaps even in the first quarter or half of this year. Once I'm on top of SCF stash, I can work on reducing other fiber stash.
• Read books I already own. Between Kindle deals and finding books in Little Free Libraries, I've acquired a lot of new-to-me books in the past year. They don't do me any good just sitting on a shelf, whether physical or digital, and I bought or took them because I was interested in reading them, so I should do that! I'm still going to put books on hold from the library, of course, but I'd like to prioritize the books that have been wanting to read for a while.

Today, I'm hoping to get out for a run, provided it's not too "slippy" (as the yinzers say) outside, and then I'm hoping to start as I mean to go on this year: a little knitting, a little reading, a little spinning, and spending time with my family. Tomorrow it's back to the grind.

I hope this first day of 2024 brings happiness and relaxation, and I hope it's a happy, healthy year for you and your loved ones!