good endings

Every year I love this time of transition from the old year to the new.  I am not a loud celebrator, I am a quiet one.  I like to look back on the year, and think of my accomplishments and look forward to the new year and things I might do better.  I also like to spend New Year's eve cleaning house, both literally and figuratively so that I can start the new year with a clean, shiny plate ready for all the life I'm going to heap on it.

It's also a good time to get your financial house in order.  This year I raised a bit of money for charity, and gave a bit more personally.  I gave charity donations in honor of my family for the holidays and I gave locally to charities right here at home.  And one of the nice things about giving to charity is that it's tax deductible, so December 31, I usually give a little bit more if I can.  My favorite charities for 2011 were Mercy Corps, and Doctors without Borders.   

In my professional life, this year I set a goal to design more, and to design some things other than socks.  And I think I accomplished that.  I released 39 patterns!  21 were socks and 18 were non-socks so that was a personal best. A big part of that tally were the patterns from my two sock clubs.  Here are the last installments of Art & Sole, Olympia shawl and Mackintosh sock,

and the Illuminations club, Floridia sock and Fortune Cookie sock.

Both clubs went out with a bang with luxurious yarns.  The Art & Sole club got Tracks of Bison sock yarn from Alisha goes Around, and the Illuminations club got Caricia (with cashmere! yum!) from Textiles a Mano.  In case you've been wanting the patterns from either of these clubs, today is the last day to purchase.  Tonight they go out of circulation and the patterns won't be released for at least a year.

In my personal life, 2011 was a good year, and a hard year.  I began 2011 feeling a bit lonely and isolated.  I hadn't realized how hard moving to another state would be when we came here - it was wonderful, don't get me wrong, it's just that I didn't know it would also be hard.  So 2011 was my year of making friends and roots - and I had to consciously work at it.  Not since I was in elementary school have I thought so hard about making friends.  And now that 2011 is almost out the door, I look around at all the wonderful new friends I've made here and I feel happy and lucky to have landed in Eugene. 

I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying the end of 2011, whether you like to do it in a boistrous, rollicking party fashion, a quiet contemplative fashion, or a "don't let the door hit ya on the way out" fashion, and that you're getting ready for all the life that's going to be on your plate in 2012!  Here's to good endings!

 

 

Comments

[Sarah Hauschka]

Hi Janel

I've been enjoying your blog ... And the chai with garam masala which you mentioned earlier! I'll be in Eugene the weekend of Jan 20 for a few days going to concerts and vIsiting friends. If timing was right, maybe we could say Hi to each other if our spare moments happened to mesh.

I loved looking at your socks, especially Deco. I may just knit the cowl as a gift to myself.

Hugs, Sarah

[kt]

Some happy highlights of 2011 were those knitting events at your house - the swap and the tea party. Thanks for hosting, and for the yarn. I'm in progress on a sweater using the merino/yak. Cheers!