Finding Happiness

I know that money does not buy happiness. I'm a saver. I didn't have an affluent childhood so I tend to over analyze purchases, and then not buy things. My needs are weighted heavily against wants. If I don't NEED something I tend not to buy it. There is nothing wrong with this, it helps me feel safe. 

But sometimes it is enough to want something, buying something is not a guarantee of happiness but it can make you happy. One of the tricks is to find balance. 

While staying home for the past four months, yes four months, remember I started staying home before staying home was cool. In those four months I have had plenty of time to spend with my stuff and find ways to admire it anew.

One of the first things that I looked at and thought I am still happy I bought, is this basket at last year's Black Sheep Gathering. Honestly I always thought the people buying baskets at Rhinebeck were a bit silly. Possibly because I was on the receiving end of a basket thwack too many times.

Turns out I had just not met my compatible shape and size baskets. Plus look at those gorgeous colors.

While we were in Czechia last fall I had the opportunity to visit a couple of book shops. I love book shops even when I cannot read the language. One in particular had a school supply/stationary section. And we all know I how much I love school supplies. On my last day there I decided I needed some nice graph paper notebooks for my knitting. Look at how lovely that book is. This brings me happiness too. It is a great help to me to rewrite some patterns. It helps me visualize and understand them better.

Happiness can be found in finding the right pattern for a yarn color that you never would have looked at when you first started knitting. I hated orange and yellow, now I don't. I appreciate color so much more now that I knit beautiful things with it.

And speaking of finding happiness, it helps when you have two fantastic felines to guide you to a comfy chair to look around and appreciate.  Oh look my basket is there to be appreciated too.

So take some time to gaze about you for something that brings you joy and say and extra thank you to someone.

Diving into the Stash

Like so many others I've taken the opportunity to take a walk down memory lane with my stash. My stash holds more than yarn, it holds memories. I used to be able to tell you where and when bought each skein. Now it is mostly remembering it was a Rhinebeck or that's vacation yarn. Since I bought most of my yarn at Rhinebeck it made it pretty easy. What can I say I like buying yarn at festivals.

While I was ankle deep in my stash, see what I did there? I found these two and thought they would make a great shawl. But which shawl? la-mer or Ilo or Tokerau? I don't know either...

Yesterday I was texting back and forth with my knitting buddy trying to figure out the opposite side of the dilemma for her. She had a pattern and was trying to figure out the yarn. Buying yarn online is so hard. Plus I think we share the trait of not mixing yarn brands in a project. Maybe she got over that but I have not. Guess that's why I've never made scrappy socks or anything else with my leftovers. And yet one pattern designed to use leftovers has called to me forever. Maybe it is time to buy that one too and start knitting.

Wait what about that other two color shawl you've been dreaming about for years, you ask? Well it turns out that simple knitting was all I could manage for a while after my accident. It is always nice to dream but I don't like beating up my yarn. So that one is still waiting for its moment. I do believe this could be its year though... I did manage to finish two year old socks, and I am pretty proud of that.

So yeah I've been knitting and dreaming about knitting quite a bit this year. Maybe next time I can show you something on the needles.

Keep calm and take some refuge in your stash if you want.