WWMW - Goal!

When I started with Runagogo in January, it was with the goal of walking one hundred miles by April 1. I measured out some walking routes, grabbed my trusty walking companion Buddy and started out with great determination. I made that goal and then, along with the rest of the GoGo crowd, set further goals as the year went on. Although I walked some of those miles while on vacation at the Grand Canyon and other places, Buddy was my steady companion for the vast majority of those miles. And on Monday night, we made our final goal for the year -- four hundred miles. Good Buddy! Go ahead and take a nap now; you deserve it!

While Buddy and I will certainly keep walking, I won't be keeping track of miles anymore, at least not on the blog. One of the great pleasures I have is being able to walk three mornings a week, as normally I only work four days a week. There is no better way, I think, to start the day than to do so with a walk that takes in some beautiful scenery. And since there are mountains in every direction, the scenery is never lacking. Even out in the backyard, the rosemary is still blooming and pine cones are heavy on my pine tree.

It seems like more than just a few knitbloggers are attempting to knit up all their WIPs before the end of the year. While that would be impossible for me to do, I am working up a real desire to finish my projects off. I've been working on the Moderne Baby Blanket, and tonight I am turning the heel on the second Mystery sock. These socks are the only thing this year that I am knitting on a deadline. It doesn't seem to have been as good of a year for getting knitting time in as last year was; at least that's how it seems to me. Sometimes I get frustrated at not having more FOs to show you all, but believe me, I am enjoying the knitting process thoroughly when I do sit down with needles in hand. And whenever I find myself getting discouraged at not getting more done, quantity wise, I remind myself that it is quality, not quantity, that counts. If I am enjoying the process, and it is giving me a measure of calmness and peacefulness and pleasure, then it doesn't matter how many pairs of socks or how many scarves or shawls I finish. The knitting is doing what it is meant to do.

But I still do want to finish things, and I wish I could show you the Mystery socks. But I can show you the new pair of gauntlets I have cast on. I figure it's not to early to start knitting for next Christmas, since I'm not going to make it with anything for this one. The pattern is Natalya by Jody Pirrello and the yarn is Brown Sheep Prairie Silk in Jewelled Moss. I had an urge to do some cables and this will fill the need quite nicely. And this is the first piece I am doing cables without a cable needle. Who would have thought it would be so simple?