Finished in the Nick of Time

Dear Mom,

I had my doubts. Could I finish knitting the long vest I hoped to wear to church on Christmas Eve? I had selflessly put that knitting on hold to finish weaving dishtowels, baking scones, wrapping gifts, and all that other stuff on my Christmas to-do list. But what to wear should I not finish that vest? I had no back-up plan. Every free moment in those last few days before the 24th were spent knittingknittingknitting. Not all bad, and I'd be the only one disappointed if I didn't finish- no body would be going without a gift.
In the wee hours of Christmas Eve (1:30am, to be exact) I put the last blocking pin in, turned the ceiling fan in the guest room on HIGH, and went to bed hoping the thing would be dry before church services in the afternoon.
It was.

Barely.

I modified this pattern , adding length. I am pleased with the results.

The yarn I used is Misti Alpaca's Hand Paint Baby Suri Silk, which I am not finding on the Misti Alpaca web page, so it may be discontinued. Nice stuff, though, and it took 5 skeins for this project. I bought all that I could find when a local yarn shop closed a few years ago, and still have 4 skeins left. Enough for a simple turtleneck or pullover, maybe.
I started 2011 with the goal of knitting a pair of socks each month. Some month's socks were a little delayed, but I have so far managed to finish knitting 11 pairs of socks. The first sock of pair #12 is halfway done and I feel confident that I'll get this last pair finished before the ball drops on the 31st.

Will I knit another 12 pairs in 2012? Probably not. But I did like this goal and it did help me work my way through my sock yarn stash. I have other little projects and the yarn for them that I'd like to get done and right now I am thinking I may alternate those with socks each month. I need to organize the inventory and see what I come up with.

I am enjoying these last quiet days of 2011, resting, reading and knitting. I probably think this to myself at this time every year, but I really need to learn to slow down and savor the important moments. I am forever thinking about what comes next, what the next project or book will be, what tasks are waiting for me to manage them,and how to efficiently multi task them all.... and some of that has to be. Family and Home obligations are important, and I don't mind being the person that oversees laundry, meals, and schedules.  And I don't want to waste time. What I am guilty of is pressuring myself into doing more and not fully enjoying the thing I am doing NOW because I am bothering myself with NEXT.
I believe that The Best is Yet to Come. I just need to slow down and wait for it to get here rather than rush for it.

Love,
Kim