The Year

This year has been difficult for me.  Somehow I have felt out of "sync", like I have been a little off and not able to do anything.  I know that I have done some things, am I just doing less and that is the problem.  Am I not doing "everything" that I feel I should, so I feel like I do nothing?  It is a hard thing to face and to figure what I can do to bring myself out of it.

On the whole, I look at my life with a smile and so thankful for everything and everybody around me.  I am so blessed to have been able to do so much.  Why do I feel I am not able to do enough?  Do I have a deep down feeling that I need to do more to "repay" the world for giving me such a good life?  Am I just thinking too much?  Are the American politics just wearing me down?

When I was taking pictures and posting earlier this year, I seem to have been doing a great deal and having a wonderful time.  But this fall I have been slower at recognizing the joy in my life.  I need to get my joy back and enjoy life.

In September our season tickets to the Utah Symphony/Opera started and I have loved being able to listen to live music.  I have been able to hear pieces that are well known to me and be introduced to new music to learn about.  Utah Opera productions seem to get better each year.  Romeo and Juliet was not my favorite over the past couple of years, but the voices that they bring in are fantastic and I enjoy the sets and production.

In October I was able to take a workshop from Bonnie Inouye and it was fantastic.  She is so knowledgeable and I have been wanting to take a workshop from her for a while.  This one was Big Twill and she introduced a few things in ways I had never thought about before.  

Look at the cool movement in her sampler.

Her workshop was a continuation of the interest that I have in the "Echo and Iris" book and the techniques covered in it.  I had some classes and a workshop in Reno this summer that fell under that study heading and this workshop added to the knowledge I have acquired.  

I had two self study directions that I tried this year.  "Echo and Iris" was one and the other is crackle.  I have been working on a sampler exploring the structure of crackle.  I have woven it before, but I wanted to really understand the possibilities.  I am not sure that I have it down yet, but I will finish that sampler and move on to a couple of projects to try learning more  I plan to continue the crackle study next year and will be taking a workshop from Susan Wilson to help me learn more.  So one of the first things to do in the new year is to finish the crackle sampler.

I will also continue the echo and iris study line in the next year.  I have a couple of projects that I want to put one to extend my understanding of the four color work.  I want to understand a little about picking colors out to make the design look iridescent.  I worked through some of the book when I was doing some double weave this summer in the Spady class, but there is so much more in that book.  I hope to do a four color piece on the crackle sampler, I like the turned crackle and want to see how it can be done to give the iridescence.

I have worked to empty some looms.  The big push was to get the RH looms empty and put away.  I have three done and one to go.  I need to spend less time on the internet and more time on my weaving.  I have a lot of plans and need to work a little harder on "follow through".

This year, Christmas was the year of the bad lights.  I had one garland with the center lights out.  I replaced it with an led set.  I hope this garland lasts longer.  I have four garlands on top of three of the bookshelves/cabinets in the house and one on the stairs coming into the house. 

We have a couple of small trees outside by the front door.  This year the lights did this.

There must have been a short in that section of the tree lights, because every one of the bulbs was burned out.  My husband found the look very disturbing so he bought a small string of lights and wrapped them over the top of the tree.  The trees looked great for about a week, then the other tree did the same thing.  My DH bought another string of lights and wrapped them on top of that tree.  Now the bottoms of the two trees are out.  Like I said a bad year for lights.  I had my DH buy two additional strings of lights, so I can strip down these trees and relight them and put new colored ornaments on them.  The beautiful red ornaments that I originally put on these trees have faded to an orange color so it is time to re-do them.  So that is another project for me to do after the 12 days of Christmas when we take down the greenery.