Creating in the new year

I didn't do much in the way of reflecting of the year gone by or dreaming of the future ahead of us like I did last year (it started here and went on for several days after that).  I did, however, request that each of our family members write down two things on New Year's Eve.  The first was what we wanted to leave behind in 2013 (which were thrown into the fire that evening) and the second was one thing we wanted to bring into our lives in 2014.  Those little pieces of paper are sitting in our kitchen right now, waiting for a home so we can glance at them occasionally and remember the one goal we set for ourselves this year.

My goal for 2014 was to do more creating with my hands.  Sure, I have done much creating over the past month, and in little bursts here and there before that.  And as much as I love making for others, I became gun-shy about making things for myself after attempting to make myself a tunic that looked more like a potato sack (likely the most beautiful potato sack I've ever seen, but not very flattering).  After that experience, I found an on-line sewing class on Craftsy dedicated exclusively to knits, and impulsively bought it.  And there it has sat, a mere click and password away.

Well, the weather turned frigid, the basement was begging to be cleaned out, and so while Chris did the hard work of sifting through boxes of stuff, I grabbed some jogging fleece from my stash (my contribution to reducing the volume of stuff in the basement) and started to sew.

In the span of an afternoon, a garment was made.  While it may only look like a utilitarian hoodie, it's warm and cozy, it fits just right, and it's something I'm proud of.

With one success under my belt and a bit more confidence, I'm off to sew up a long-sleeved V-neck t-shirt next.  Fingers crossed this one works out as well as the hoodie!