Happy 2006!

I did it! I finished hat #4 in time for it to qualify as an FO for 2005. That feels good. Now, to get them mailed out to the grandkids.

And, as resolved, I've started (again) to work on some of the projects already on the needles. When we moved into this house, I decided I needed to have some wraps available for those cool nights we were sure to encounter on the lake. Now, it's become even a more practical idea. This house is not one of the warmest I've lived in. With all the windows in the living room, it can get downright cold in there. A lot of heating dollars go straight out those windows. Sweaters and warm wraps are more and more important.

The project I've picked up to finish first is one of those wraps. I started it shortly after we moved in here and it got put to the side when the weather turned warmer. It's a simple triangular shawl, worked in Bernat's Soft Boucle, an inexpensive, but cozy yarn. It's a 5 oz ball, priced at about $6.00. I thought one ball would do the shawl, making it a REALLY inexpensive project, but now it looks like I'll need one more ball. It still won't be an expensive project. At this point, I'd estimate that the shawl is getting close to 48" along the top edge and about 24" in length at the deepest part of the point. That's not big enough to wrap around yourself for warmth and coziness. That's where I may have a small problem. It's a yarn that my boss brought in only to have some boucle yarn in the store. It's a yarn that hasn't sold very well, but well enough that we have none left in my colour of choice. I'll have to make the trip to Michael's or WalMart this week to see if I can find one more ball. I don't like shopping at either store. They're always way too crowded and I just don't like the way WalMart (and a lot of the major chains) do business. It's a matter of principle for me. I don't have to shop there, so I choose not to. In this case, however, I may have to.

I'm looking forward to putting quite a few finished objects in my sidebar this year, starting soon. Now, where did I put all those already-started projects?