Seasonal Yarn and Patterns

One of my favorite yarn stores is Fibre Space in Alexandria, Virginia.  I've only been there twice, but it's a great yarn store.  A week or two ago, I received one of their regular emails. They were featuring a bundle of mini-hanks of yarn from Blue Sky Fibers. I purchased the Fright and Delight set.

What attracted me to this set were the free patterns from Blue Sky Fibers.  I downloaded the pumpkins, acorns, and leaf patterns (from this page). 

Travel Craft Planning

I like to take crafting with me when we travel, and I have found, through trial and error, that what I pack makes a difference in what I accomplish.

I am most successful if I pack a planned craft project.  For example, in the photo above are eight cards I made on a trip to Columbus.  This is what I packed:

• Stamped map background, trimmed to fit on the card bases
• Card bases, cut and folded
• Focal image, stamped
• Sentiments, stamped and trimmed, ready for use.
• Limited markers to color the focal images
• Adhesives 
• Scissors

When I have a plan and the materials to complete it, I can spend some time - usually in the evenings, when we are back in the room, watching TV, putting it all together.  Packing supplies in this kit-like fashion not only gives me a plan, but it eliminates the "what will I do" feeling.  

Alternatively, when I have taken a large bag of supplies with no plan, I don't do anything. I don't even break open the bag.

Reading Goals

I've been thinking about goals - reading goals, specifically - and the real effects they have on reading.  

My reading goals this year are:

• Read at least 30% new to me books.  I like to re-read books, but I want to make sure I am always reading some new material.  In truth, I have no trouble meeting this 30% goal.  Last year, I had this goal, and I read 69% new books (books I had never read before).  I think this goal achieves a good balance between indulging in my reading joy of re-reading great books (or books I read a long time ago) and making sure I am reading new things, too.
• Read at least four books that will help my spiritual growth. So far this year, I've read three, and I have a fourth one almost complete.  Last year, because of a class I took, I far exceeded this goal.  I think this one is a good goal that makes sure I am reading books for spiritual growth, and am still leaving room for books for fun.

Reading, for me, is mainly for the joy and pleasure of it. I like storytelling and stories - books are great stories to read for fun.  I also read for intellectual and spiritual growth - and I like doing that. I want goals that will help me to balance the fun of reading with my reading purposes.  These two goals are doing that.

I don't have a written goal for how many books to read in a year. Last year, I read 52 books.  I just looked that up as I was writing this post, and I was surprised to find it wasn't 48. In my mind, I have have had the goal of reading 50 books for the year - what I thought was two more than last year.  Does it really matter how many books I read? No. But I can see the unintended consequence of this unwritten goal.  I find myself choosing books that are shorter than others so that I can read more of them. That isn't a goal of mine; I don't mind long books. I don't want to avoid them. I makes me wonder if I should switch to a page number goal, or just forget it. In 2022, I read 35 books, and it was fine.  I don't really need a goal to encourage reading - I read.  

But still - 50 books sounds great to me.