2016 Review

I can't skip the review of my crafty 2016, so here it is - a collage of the things I made last year. One of my goals for 2016 was to try new yarn and this I did - I've been ordering Italian bobbin yarn online. I'm so glad I dared to step into the land of bobbin yarn - it makes such a difference after years of knitting the same colors and textures of the narrow range of yarns offered in our yarn shops offline.
My first cone yarn adventure was Gaby's poncho, which I knit with baby alpaca - so soft and warm, an amazing yarn. I also knitted with cotton and linen band yarn, a Bulgarian cotton and viscose band yarn, which so far shows very good wearability and a luxury wool and silk yarn, ordered from a Turkish online yarn shop. And for my 2017 yarn adventures I've stacked a dozen of cones of Italian bobbin merino. Exploring new yarn is as much a pleasure as experimenting with new patterns.
Six sweaters, one big shawl and a number of accessories - my hands were busy this year:

As for my other hobby - hiking and traveling - in 2016 we visited three countries - Serbia, the Check Republic and Greece and climbed twelve mountain peaks in eight mountains, most of these for the first time. The highlights of our hiking adventures:

 Todorini Kukli in the Balkan Mountains

 Peak Ibur in Rila Mountains

Peak Bezbog in Pirin Mountains

and my favourite - Malyovitza in Rila Mountains

It's always fun to come back to your New Year resolutions. Reading mine for 2016, it seems I've accomplished only half of what I've had in mind and some of my goals were actually worth pursuing.

• Spanish - I did study Spanish for 3/4 of the year, gradually dropping from four lessons per week to one lesson per week until October, when I just dropped it. This year I plan to resume the lessons, finish the course and start a new, more advanced one. I love learning languages.
• Exercise my left hand - I lost interest in that and I don't think I'll continue, for now.
• Exercises on the cross trainer - this I did with variable success. I managed to loose a couple of kilograms I had gained last winter and due to the cross trainer and mainly to our running routine in the park this summer and autumn I felt in my peak form. But winter stepped in and I'm quickly loosing my muscle strength and durability - so yes, that's a goal I'm keeping for this year too.
• Try new yarn and dye more yarn - most of my knitting last year was with new yarn and I'll continue and expand that experience. And I'm curious to experiment with dyeing too.
• Hand made jewelry - I made a crochet bracelet, which I have to finish and blog about. I also bought some jewelry materials, so all I need now is inspiration.
• Sew a garment - never did that. I only refashioned an old maternity dress and sewed a weapon bag for Gaby's aikido practice. In 2017 I would really like to do more sewing.

And a new goal for 2017 - be braver. I'd like to overcome my fear of driving and at least give it a try in the summer. And another goal - plan and organize a sightseeing excursion abroad on our own. Apart from our sea holidays in Greece, so far we've always traveled with agencies and guides, but I'd like to venture it without an organized group.

So, that's it. I love new beginnings and New Year's Eve is probably one of my most favourite holidays, with the (often short-lived) burst of hope and will-power to do better and step out of one's comfort zone. I wish you all a happy, healthy, peaceful and successful 2017!

2015 - The Recap

A collage of the knitting that went on this year on the blog - mostly cardigans for Gaby, it seems. Alex still firmly refuses to wear hand-knitted clothes, while Gaby wears cardigans and sweaters to school almost every day and enjoys them, sometimes bringing me compliments for my knitwork from her schoolmates.

The year may seem not that productive as the previous years, probably because I also did some cross stitching, which I haven't finished yet, lots of puzzles and quite a lot of hiking and traveling. We hiked many places and climbed quite a few peaks on Pirin, Vitosha, the Balkan mountain, Ruy, Rila, Plana, Cherna Gora. Among these are the five mountain summits we climbed this year:

Ruy (1706 м) - husband and I took part in the International Climbing of  Mt. Ruy. 

One of the difficult climbs, with some extra steep elevation

Cherni Vruh (2290 м) - the yearly climb of Vitosha's highest, 

this time the entire family present

Vihren (2914 м) - the highest of Pirin, the most extreme climbing this year

Manastirishte (1338 м) - the highest of Plana, more like 

a walk in the park than mountain climbing, very relaxing hike

Tumba (1129 м) - we had to travel to Cherna Gora twice to find its highest peak,

 but I'm glad we did, as the place is very pleasant for hiking

And a few New Year resolutions or rather suggestions, craft and non-craft related:

• Resume learning Spanish. My goal this year is four 30 min lessons per week. I've actually started this week and I'm already four lessons ahead.
• Exercise using my left hand. I'm a right-handed person, but I've decided I want to develop some left-hand skills, so I started some basic left-hand writing exercises, brushing my teeth with my left hand and eating with my left-hand, when I remember to practice. My aim is not to become ambidextrous, but rather to develop my brain and to have fun, learning something new.
• Exercise on the cross trainer for 15-20 min every day. I've been doing this for the past couple of weeks, skipping a day here and there. Easily achievable, and still - rarely done, and we've had the machine for almost 10 years now.
• Try new yarn and dye more yarn. Though I prefer seeing and touching and feeling yarn before buying it, I'll have to start ordering online
• Try my hand at hand-made jewelry
• Sew a garment. I've been piling fabrics and Burda magazines, it's high time I dared and cut into them.

But no matter whether I follow the above or not, I hope 2016 will be a healthy, productive, successful and happy year for all of us -  my family and you, my friends!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!

Cross Stitch Greeting Cards

The three cross stitch greeting cards I managed to finish this season. The one with the two bells turned to be too big and complicated for a card, now I know that I should stick to simpler patterns and fewer colors when choosing a greeting card.