From Now On

I think that I have not blogged to my full potential. Having read some truly excellent blogs lately, I've been coming up with tons of ideas, and I have decided to try going in a new direction. Instead of just trying to post about projects or the yarns and rovings I've dyed with occasional interjections of (gasp!) real life, I think I'll spend a bit more time discussing exactly how knitting relates to the things I, a 17-year-old "yarn tycoon" (thank you, Valin), do every day.

In the same vein, I present Molly 2009, as inspired by the Knitmore Girls.

But first: Molly 2008. Molly 2008 was generally pretty unhappy, disorganized in certain respects, and unusually forgetful (for me). Molly 2008 focused too much on the things that weren't working out for her and let her stresses get the best of her. In order to remedy the shortcomings of Molly 2008 and become a generally happier human being, Molly 2009 will do the following:

Enjoy my artwork.
I remember there being a point at which I would draw and paint because it was something I loved to do rather than something I knew I loved but wasn't enjoying. I have chosen my AP art concentration, and I will stick with it until pigs fly. That's right, no more caring when people tell me that certain pieces aren't good enough. What I get on the AP doesn't mean anything if I hate working on the pieces because it's hard to really like a piece that you didn't enjoy making.

Take more photos.
The last year has gone strangely undocumented, especially for someone who always used to carry around a camera. Yeah...think that about covers that one.

Spend more time with friends.
'Nuff said.

Read at least one book from "the stack" each month.
When you have a huge stack of books that you bought because you want to read them, it doesn't make much sense that you're too busy to do it because you have too much (school) reading to do. I think I'll start with The Other Boleyn Girl even though my copy has the movie cover, and I hate movie covers.

Find and catalogue every. single. skein. of. yarn.
Because it's a mess. Really, that's all. And my room looks like a yarn shop (not that that's a bad thing!).

Wear colors that make me happy.
Being a colorful sort of person (note the yarn that I dye), I find that wearing colors I like tends to generally brighten my day. More hot pink. More brown. More of the Knit Picks colorway Asparagus (in WoTA) even though they don't make it any more.

More orange juice!

More PJs!

Spend more quality time with my mom before I leave.
Because now that the adjacent room is clean, she likes me better.

Think more productively.
Because for someone who thinks all the time (all the time.), I don't tend to think of anything all that useful. Less thinking about bad stuff.

Lighten up.

Project 365
More about that tomorrow.

Aaaand that's all I've got for now. Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Edited to add!
Molly 2009 will learn more of the things she wants to learn and teach the things she knows to other people who want to know them. This year I will teach one of my friends basic photo skills (he asked), I will teach someone to knit (if it kills me), and I will tell everyone who asks everything they want to hear about all the "weird" stuff I do (because wool is a "weird" thing to like when you're 17). I will learn intarsia, how to spin on a wheel, and how to cook new and interesting things, especially ones that'll be easy to cook in college kitchens. I will take a class at Penn that's totally impractical but that I know I'll love, and if I can get my hands on a loom, I'll learn to weave. I might even try to learn to sew something that isn't made out of an old t-shirt or jeans. Who knows?

The Best Nondenominational Winter Celebration Gift EVER!

I got a wheel! Well, I ordered one, and it should arrive hopefully in not too long. With the help of my parents and my grandma, I was able to order a Schacht Ladybug from The Loopy Ewe partially as a holiday present and partially as a YAAAAY! COLLEGE! present. I still have to pay for some of it and figure out how it works, but YAYAYAYAYY!

More on this later.

I also saw Slumdog Millionaire with the boyfriend today. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. The ending is a little bit cheesy and easy to guess, but the end end after the story actually ends was totally unexpected and hilarious. The movie itself was absolutely fabulous, and the sets were, as is to be expected from a movie shot in India, absolutely beautiful. If anyone was looking for a movie to go see on Christmas while everyone else celebrates, this one is a great choice. I can't, however, help you with Chinese food.

And a short post just to say...

I GOT INTO COLLEGE!!!!!

(University of Pennsylvania, in case you were wondering :D )