But today, I've got some cheer for you - a lovely basket of brightly colored Julia Yarn sitting in the sun in the studio to brighten up your computer screen.
But wait, there's more. I'm going to take away all that grey November gloom. It's time for the biggest giveaway yet this fall. Here's what I've got for you all. I'm so excited - I wish I could enter!
1. From my friend Gail Callahan (aka The Kangaroo Dyer) an assortment of different colors of her very own hand-dyed yarn.
2. Again, from Gail, an autographed copy of her fabulous book Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece.
3. From me, a copy of Mary Jane Butters' MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook - For the Farmgirl in All of Us
I love this book and I want to share it with one of you. You'll have a great time reading about Mary Jane's farm and how she lives her life in Idaho. It is jam-packed with so many great ideas.
4. From me, an autographed copy of my latest book Color by Kristin.
I love all my books but this one is probably my favorite so far. I was able to fit in pretty much everything I wanted to share with knitters. And the projects are so much fun.
5. From the fine folks at Nashua Handknits, 15 skeins of my soft and colorful JULIA Yarn. This will keep you busy all winter combined with my book Color by Kristin!
Here's what you have to do to enter.....Answer the following question in the comments section of the blog. Are you ready? I've been working on it for 2 weeks.....
Question: If you could do anything in the next year, absolutely anything, what would you dream about doing? Forget about your job, your familial obligations, your house, your friends, and just do it for yourself? What is that dream?
Contest ends next next Thursday, November 18th at midnight. I can't wait to see what you come up with! Remember to leave an easy way to get a hold of you. Thanks everyone!
389 comments:
1 – 200 of 389 Newer› Newest»I would hike the Grand Randonee no. 5 across France. And in the process, of course, I'd knit many socks and mittens. You can always find room for knitting in a backpack.
I have always wanted to travel to Australia and New Zealand. Both are known for their natural beauty, and for their cultural interests. But my biggest draw would be their needlework skills and their love of fiber animals. I would tour every craft museum and fiber factory possible. And bring home lots and lots and lots of yarn!
I would travel to Japan (because I've always wanted to go there), and spend six months there. Then I would come back here, fix up my house exactly the way I want it and write a book. The book would be just for me, myself, and I, because I think it would be fun to do, and I finally had the time to do it in. And of course, while waiting in airports, train stations, or for inspiration to strike, there would be a whole lot of knitting.
I would quit my job, open a knitting cafe, and in my spare time, write The Great American Novel. After that trip around the world, of course.
Some of us like gray weather. All the unrelenting sunshine we have had this year is oppressive!
I'd buy a cute little house and fix it up just the way I want to complete with a sewing studio. I'd also have an extra bedroom for foster children.
I'm with Abby ... I love the gray days.
I must be crazy, but I'd love to, just for one year, focus on my other major hobby - martial arts! I'd go to Japan, atleast for a few months, to experience both the "real" martial arts and the japanese culture.
Do you grant wishes also? :)
Travel to Ireland for a few months.
I would go to South America and visit Peru and Chile and Argentina and Ecuador (Quito and the Galapogos). And learn to weave. And while I was traveling I would knit - and try to compare techniques with the local people I met along the way. Lots of opportunities to buy wool and textiles.
Hey Kristin,
First I have to say I rather liked the late fall/early winter photos. In Florida that's not a site we see. In my year I would travel to as many knitting, weaving,and spinning classes, workshops and shows that I could manage. All over the world. My favorite thing in the world is to learn more about my obbsession and meet other like-minded folks. Face it, fibery folks are the best folks in the world.
Everyone is in a travel mode - I would like to travel for a year or so, stopping in each country for a month, apprentice with some local weavers and learn the tools, fibers, and methods they use.
I would find my unemployed son-in-law a full time job and learn to knit socks.
I would spend several months going to New Zealand & Australia , and the Fiji Islands and then Hawaii-
i would def. forget about work! but i would not forget about the house... Spend all day long at home. and play with my sheep and their wool... thanks for a chance to win!
I would take a week long retreat with my husband at the Omega Institute to study meditation, then finally commit to vegetarianism. *sigh*
If I could do anything, I would travel to remote places on a spiritual journey. I would sample local cuisine, explore local customs and spend a lot of time trying to figure out who I want to be taking bits and pieces of each place with me as I went. I would build myself into being the woman that I want to be.
I would travel non-stop, visiting Canada coast to coast, our Pacific Northwest, Ireland again, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Greece, and spend a month in each place to soak up as much as I could. Travel, travel, travel.
I'd knit the Great North American Afghan -- and it would take me at least a year! and I'd probably have to hire someone to teach me as I did the squares.
Then I could die happy!!!!
Since I'm from California and have been living with Montana winters for the last decade, I'd probably go to Hawaii for an entire year an live on a beach. But I'd need hy horse, Spirit, for companionship and transportation, some yarn to knit a towel an a bathing suit, and a man to hold my umbrella and my iced tea.
I'm giggling just thinking about it...
In my 73 yrs. I have managed to fulfill a lot of dreams - Shetland & Yorkshire for knitting & spinning classes (twice actually!); walking holiday in Devon & Cornwall; several trips to SE & wool festivals; monthly spinning dates with good friends; visiting my family in the UK bi-annually; just want more of the same please.
I would spend a year building The Painted Sheep into what it really could be, if the necessity to work a full time+ job weren't getting in the way. More wholesale, fiber clubs, more offerings. A year to spend with my hands in the dye pots as much as possible - bliss!
I just talked about this with my knitting friends at work! Buy our LYS that is for sale, buy a big barn, turn it into a fiber arts school and win the lottery so we could all work there and still take care of our families! I'd do it tomorrow!
I would spend the year in Europe, with my husband and my knitting and our bicycles and our cats. And I would finally knit the three or four sweaters that have been zooming around my brain, and write up the patterns to launch a design business!
I would go on a giant textile tour around the world--visit museums, take traditional knitting classes, attend wool festivals, knitting the entire way.
This is easy - I would finally stop worrying about money and start trying to get pregnant.
Italy - -it would be! I'd love to go there, be there, and live there for some time. Of course, I'd have to have my family right there with me!
Of course, go to Paris.
Of course, go to Paris.
Oh, that's a tough question!
I would have to say I would open my own business. I worked at an awesome independent store that sold local, hand made goods. I also sold my knitted items there. It closed after a year in business due to financial issues and health issues for the owner.
I'd want to open something similar again.
I would go visit all the art museums in Europe and go to art school in Paris.
Oh my, what a luxury that would be. I would travel to Donnegal Ireland and the Isle of Skye, Scotland and immerse myself in painting and fiber! Of course living in !a charming cottage is essential!
It would be wonderful to have the luxury of time to explore the colors and textures of the countries in paint and also fiber.
I confess I would miss my hubby, so he would have his bicycle. My son would visit us and I would arrange for him to learn how to play the bagpipes.
I would knit anything and everything I could while lounging on the lanai in Hawaii . . . with my family around me.
Just down the block from my home, there is the perfect place to open a yarn store. I would love to have a shop, based on a consignment model, that would sell fleece, fiber, handspun yarn, and handmade goods prepared by the many fiber fanatics in my area. Maybe someday I can make it happen!
What I have dreamed of for some time is taking an old farmhouse that is near near my house and making it into a light-filled place of inspiration for all the wonderful creative souls in my area. I'd love to feature knitting and spinning, quilting, stitching, jewelry making, creative journaling, other arts, gardening and herbs, cooking with local organic foods, and so forth as workshops. There would be drop-in times for different groups, and lot's of guest artist-teachers. If I really took this to the win-the-lottery level, I'd add yoga and pilates, along with meditation and massage in the barn which needs restoration too. And heck, why not add a tea-shop offering rose petal tea and home-made scones to this oasis? I know there are a lot of creative kindred souls in my area (central Pennsylvania) and I guess I dream of somehow touching base with them and sparking each other's creativity and imagination because there is something so nourishing to the soul in sharing creativity and the joy that accompanies it. I hope you have a joyful day reading our dreams! I certainly enjoy reading about your days. Claudia Horner
I'd plan a tour of our country. No schedule, just some basic planning before I hit the road, and depend on the local folks to provide info about what to eat and see. Lots of bed and breakfast nights, lots of walking New England, northern California, the Southwest. I get excited just thinking about it.
Nell
I would spend the year living in the country with all kinds of dogs and other animals. I grew up in rural western Canada, and I have a dream to return to that life now.
Once I got there I would hope I would STAY!! I would walk, exercise and eat as much local as I could (which I try hard to do now). It would provide me with peace and serenity and canine pals. Susanne
scheusie@shaw.ca
If I could do anything at all, I would travel around the world. For starters, I'd love to visit India, Iceland, New Zealand and Africa and return to Italy (and eat as much as possible!). But it's just a dream...
Farming runs in my veins, but life has put me in a college town for way too many years. If I could do anything next year it would be to find that perfect farm of my own - complete with an old farmhouse with good bones to renovate, a pond or two and plenty of land. I have no romantic illusions...I know just how hard it can be to live that lifestyle. I also know how freeing it can be, and how much peace can be found in it.
One of the things I'd would love to do is to be able spend the entire week at SOAR 2011. It will be in NE not far from me and I've never had the opportunity to go before. That an successfully knit a sweater that really fits me well.
It took me a few moments. And the answer surprised me. I would quit my job and finally get my little pack of dogs. I don't have the time they take and I miss having a dog sooo much...seems like a simple answer but truly, that would make me happy. I would also knit 24-7 :)
I would find a place near the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Maine and find my own rhythm for my days; waking, making, walking, thinking, resting. Get my groove back, so to speak.
I would travel the world and see some beautiful sites, of course my knitting would come along with me. I would also visit knit shops along the way as I tend to do that now when I travel. Thanks for the awesome giveaway.
I would work on forgiving myself for all the mistakes I've made in my life, and learn how to relax in the moment. I would spend the year loving the important people in my life--knitting all the while, of course!
I would love to take a cross-country road trip with my husband at a leisurely pace. We've done a cross-country trip once before, but with a hard deadline. This time I'd like to take our time and linger in some small towns I never would have the opportunity to explore otherwise. Included on the trip would be a visit to one of the alpaca farms I've been researching - several in Ohio and Vermont and other places.
Wow - now I'm motivated to find a way to make this happen!
Sara (sarabethd on ravelry)
I would travel all over the globe, visiting places and people introduced to me in beautiful blogs like yours. The next step would be relocating to another part of the world, finding a relaxed atmosphere in which to see old friends and meet new ones, paint, draw, knit, crochet, begin a garden, bake, read, write, see the stars in the night sky, ride a bike, get a dog ... and much much more
I would align myself with a neutral world leader and create and administer a program that required all secondary education students in all countrys to travel to an underserved country and live with a family and do community work for one semester before they could graduate from high school.
The only way to create equity and world peace is to walk in the others shoes and realize we are all the same and it is circumstances that are beyond our control that create differences...
My dream world is to spend EVERYDAY with my grandchildren not the twice a yr I have now. Have a home in a the country with a big yard for the kids & dogs to run & play. And if I had spare time, sit on a lovely deck with my knitting-to knit something lace or fair aisle :) Oh that would be the life :)
deni
I would love to be able to travel. First to Turkey, because I have always wanted to go to Istanbul. Then I would go and visit my friend in England and go back and see places I visited in Kazakhstan when I lived there several years ago.
I would explore Minnesota looking for the perfect piece of land to purchase for a family get-away and Women's spiritual retreat. I would also travel to Eastern Canada - just b/c I've always wanted to. I would go on lots of walks, swim lots of laps, go cross-country skiing with my kids, get a fabulous makeover, laugh more, take more pictures, create beautiful & tasty meals, knit more, and be nice as much as possible! Anne Paulson paulsons4@arvig.net
I would travel! Ireland, Scotland and Italy would be at the very top of my list. To visit the places that my family and my husbands family came from, to introduce our kids to different cultures and foods and historical places. That would be an absolute dream come true.
My dream is simple sort of- I'd like to let my husband retire and head to the Adirondacks, open a B & B, with a knit and book shop inside. I can hear the quiet music, see my spinning wheel with a cup of coffee beside it............
thanks-nice way to start my day
I would travel to Germany/Afghanistan to see my son that is serving in the Army. I can't begin to express how very much I miss him! lrpostlethwait@embarqmail.com
I would sign on for a round-the-world cruise and see if i could get mt children and their spouses to join is for as many segments as they could. See the world and only unpack ONCE!
Be creative to my hearts desire. I would definitely knit one of your sweater designs because the biggest reason I haven't knit one yet is finding enough time to concentrate on a large color-work project. I've knitted several in my pre-children days. But now a days I knit mostly things I can carry with me. I'm also a polymer clay artists (starting with making buttons for my knits) so I would play with clay and make beautiful jewelry.
My dream is to have my own yarn shop. I would start my business next year.
absoutely cheerful Give Away!!
Anything well well
This year was sooooo very rough
I would love to travel in Europe, stay in bed and breakfast. Do some hiking and spend lots of down time to knit and spin. Just mainly relax and explore!! Oh the dream
Travel! Though I'd hope to spend months in places rather than days, to really get to know what life is like there. I'd also like to spend some time helping in places of need (Haiti? Chile? Pakistan??) rather than tourist meccas. Think of all the knitting time in a whole year off work!
my husband and I live where the work is. But he misses Oregon so much! So if money and work were no object, we'd pack up and move Oregon, where we could have a big house with lots room for rescue animals and sled dogs and sheep and yarn and a studio for him so he could sculpt again....
But I'd also go spend a few months in Ireland, with or without him.
Greetings from Shell:
Wow Kristin !!!
I would purchase a lovely cottage on the ocean, perhaps near Belfast, Maine, and then invite all my friends to join me there for weeks at at time. I have wished to show my son the beauty of Maine for years, he's now 18. How wonderful to have this cottage-studio open for my friends,(and others interested) to enjoy and use as a drawing-writing-painting-knitting-fiber arts-music-gardening-theatre mecca. I would design it after Charleston House in England in many ways, with the beauty of Waldorf. The studio at the top of the building will resemble a lighthouse ! Artistic cultural opportunities will be created for children with arts, handworks,playwriting and caring for the sheep,goats,llamas, alpacas and chickens.In Summertime plays will be held in outdoor garden areas. Preservation of folktales and storytelling with marionettes will be part of The Cottage. Mini trips to India & Peru and all South American countries,my first choices of places to travel,along with Italy, England,Ireland,Scotland,Denmark and Sweden would enable us to visit with other like-minded people. With all the wonderus creativity going on, I'd like to be buying supplies from all the terific farmers & crafters in the U.S. helping to sustain them.
ta-da !
This would keep me very busy for a year, but with the amazing Maine ocean for inspiration, I could do it all ! :) The best part would be collecting my friends together with my son.
Kristin, thanks for reminding us to dream.
Shell,
YarnSoup@yahoo.com
This is an easy questin to answer. I have been thinking about this for sometime now. If I could forget all my obligations here and go somewhere for a year I would head to Durbin, South Africa. My cousin is a missionary there and I would love to spend that time using what the good Lord has blessed me with to minister to those people. The crime rate is high, aids runs rampid, and the poor have no skills to stay alive except for prositiution. I know its not glamerious or even safe but, I feel like I could really be of service there. Moms don't have money to raise children and they only make enough to feed them that day. There are no fathers around and God is unknown to these people. So I would pack up with my knitting and crocheting supplies and what clothes I could take and off I would go to serve on the mission field!
What a generious give-a-way and I so want to win! MAybe this time Maybe this time! (With fingers crossed!) It will be me! Lol!
Wow; what an amazing giveaway! I would pick 2 or 3 places to travel to, using each one as a home base for several months so that I have enough time to really see the place I'm visiting and get to know some people there. Places would be chosen based on how much opportunity they could offer for me to study some aspect of knitting, spinning, weaving and caring for fiber animals; a good dose of natural beauty would be nice too. The catch is that I would have to learn to travel as a much more outgoing person than I really am. I love the idea of collecting a bunch of new friends, but I'm too reserved to be very successful at it.
I'd spend a year revisiting my own life...when our children were little. There are so many things from those years that were lost because we were just too tired to remember. Living far from grandparents, we are not able to glean even their fond memories of those times. I just want one sweet year back. Thank you for asking.
I would have a custom bus and someone to drive me all over the USA (I don't like flying) so I can see the sights! I can knit while they drive me!! Stopping anywhere and everywhere!
Oh, Kristin, I've already been thinking about it. I would go to Rome for the year. I would continue my exercise/healthy eating program there and it would be so easy. Brush up on my Italian, walk everywhere, take day trips whenever possible. In a few years I may be able to - two teenagers in high school right now - except then I'll probably only be thinking about paying for college.
i'd love to buy a couple rv's and take my family (all my children are grown) and travel the USA for 6 months and then send the last six months at the beach in seaside florida - knitting, reading and rug hooking - thanks for giving me the chance to dream...
I would absolutely go with my husband to Mexico, learn to speak Spanish, eat amazing food and thoroughly soak up their vibrant culture!
I would buy a cabin in the woods with enough bedrooms for all the grandchildren and spend my days hiking, knitting, cooking and baking. Ah what a life that would be.
I would love to bring my family (husband, 4 boys) to a remote cabin in the mountains somewhere. I would spend most of my time knitting, spinning, and hiking. Somebody else would cook and clean for us! We could sit by the fire in the evenings and read to each other.
Laura
My dream would be to have all the time in the world to spin, knit, explore dying fiber and learn to weave...no other obligations, just time, time, time! This is really a wonderful giveaway Kristin and thanks for the dreaming :)
Connie - tcrpm@sonic.net
It must have something to do with turning 60 this year! I would love to trace the roots of my four grandparents, who all came to the US from Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. Maybe do a trip of about a month? I have never visited this part of the world, and it just would be amazing to walk where they had walked. This would also encourage me to knit some sweaters to wear (hard to use in Florida). Better brush up on my German as well!
I would take the 52 pair plunge and love every minute of it!
I would like to learn how to quilt...art quilts...get a new sewing machine...learn to knit and crochet better..learn to felt...and get better at rug hooking...getting ready for someday opening a quilt/fabric/wool/yarn/rug hooking massive fiber art store.. for all things fiber art!....This is the year(and possibly the next few years until the economy turns for the better) that I want to work on my "craft" of fine fiber artwork...so that when I open the store I can be knowledgeable about all fiber art.
I would like the luxury of time. My heart is called to learning so many new things and yet the time I can devote is so little. I would love to go to workshops and classes with wonderful teachers because I think the enthusiam of a great teacher/mentor is inpsiring and contagious. I would love to talk to these teachers in their own workshops - and create alongside them. I would love to share the things I learn in this journey with other women in my community because I have been blessed in my life by people who have shared things they have learned with me and it would be fun to have more time and means to give back. Of course, I would love to spend more time with my grandkids too! This has been a fun thing to think about this morning. Thanks for asking!
I would let it all go and take a 2 week long trip to UK, watching charming houses and WOOLSHOWS all the time. Sleeping in small Bed&Breakfast's, knitting in bed in the evenings, and pet all the spindles and wool I've been shopping at todays show...and drink loads of English Tea,of course. And NO, I wont leave my umbrella at home...
I would travel. Among my 'to see' places: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland,Norway, Switzerland, Alaska London. I would just keep going until I missed home too much.
I have two dreams, the first would be to take my two girls back to China where they were born, to really experience the country and see where they came from.
And for me? I'd immerse myself into the fiber world, take classes, attend retreats, try every different spinning wheel, fiber I can get my hands on. Go to all the fiber festivals I could find.
I would become a hermit for a year.
Somwhere by the sea in a little cabin (with electricity of course, for the sewing machine)
The cabin would be full of sunlight and magnificent views.My 2 dogs would be there to accompany me on many aimless walks.
I would rediscover the natural rhythms, simplify my life and nuture my soul.
I would knit and sew and just 'be'
Anna
Camera, laptop, private (eco-friendly) combination jet/car/snowmobile/yacht/Lunar ATV, knitting needles and unlimited yarn money. Unfortunately, it would also require world peace so there'd be no restrictions about moving safely from one country to another.
I would just relax and let all the stress of the Silicon Valley go. It's as if you can never work hard enough or long enough around here. I would just enjoy life at home: take some gourmet cooking lessons, travel locally and see the sights people come from all over to visit on their vacations (wine country, San Francisco, etc.), reconnect with my friends.
And knit, of course,when I feel like it and enjoy the process. Sometimes I forget knitting is a hobby. At the end of a long day I’m thinking I’ve “got” to get some knitting done like it’s another chore. I want to get back to I “want” to get some knitting done because I love it! A year may not be long enough. giddyvic@yahoo.com
I'd love to go live in Europe or Asia or maybe both!
This might sounds weird, but I think I'd keep doing what I'm doing now. I'm very content with my life.
I would travel to Scotland, England, Ireland, Shetland Island, France, Switzerland, all over Europe and then on to Australia and New Zealand. I love travelling and don't get to do it very much.
I would rent an RV and travel across the Yukon and Alaska. Thanks for the basket of color, really brightened up the screen.
mollyb5 at comcast dot net
I'd travel. A lot! And everywhere :) See the sights, craft along the way, and recharge my batteries...
I would like to study in England, Italy and Australia. I would really look into knitting, pottery, fabric making and designing. Doing a study of Liberty fabric.
Otherwise I am happy
I would paint trees! Trees are my daydream trigger always and I would love to spend a year with them, all over the globe, sketching and painting (which I do not "do" and want to improve). Rooted, reaching and cyclical, trees symbolize so much to me.
Thanks for the lovely mini-vacation that your blog always provides.
Yay for sharing dreams!
yosoyal at aol dot com
Wow. Free license to dream, eh? Let's see. I'd quit my job for good, buy a farm not too far away (we're surrounded with beautiful farm country), dig in the dirt, raise lots of animals, and finally become a mama. There would be lots of time for writing, playing guitar and mandolin, bicycling, walks through the trees, hot tea with cream and honey, warm scones and thick cut bacon for breakfast, and star-gazing. And I might have a little time left over to learn to knit.
I would travel with a notebook and pen, drawing designs for later use.
Kristin - We recently made some major changes in our lives and moved from Georgia to the Boston area. So we live where we want to live now and I am knitting each evening instead of focusing on work in the evening. My job is awesome and I have even started a Fiber Arts group at work. So I am pretty content, I guess the only dream would be to go and study tartan making in Scotland. My husband is first generation, so he still has immediate family in there. I love tartan, the play of color together. This is one of the reasons I found your book on Color so interesting. I would love to acheive knitting tartan designs. This would be my dream/goal for that year.
I am a novice knitter but have become very fascinated with the sheep and wool festivals held around the country. Maybe I would take off with my dogs and husband and travel from festival to festival. The only time constraint would be getting to the next festival.
nklazarre@msn.com
What I'm doing right now.
Reading a great blog, retired, and able to knit all day!
Easy! I would open a yarn shop. There's a shameful lack of LYS here.
I would have to decide between 2 things. I have always wanted to drive around all the great lakes taking my time and stopping and really seeing. And the other wish trip would be to drive along the Mississippi River and take in all the sites.
I would try to set up an area in my house and become a Cat foster home for kittens. We have some outside cats that I feed, one had kittens and I've got them in the house taming them so they can be adopted. Why people don't like cats is a big question but they are very loving and sweet, each with their own personality. All animals need a chance and it just pains me to see any mistreated.
I'm lucky enough to live in the country. It is so lovely here; I get such pleasure from looking out the window. Travel for more than a week or two just doesn't appeal to me. For my wishes, the money fairy would have to visit as well as the time fairy! :-) I would take the year off from work, hire a maid service and a lawn service to do the routine stuff at home. Then I would spend the year loving on the grandbabies, playing in my garden, "working" on sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery, stained glass, teaching sewing classes, and taking classes that interest me in any of the needle arts. I feel relaxed just jotting it down.
I would spend the year traveling the UK, Europe, and New Zealand. With my knitting, hopefully designing all sorts of wonderful things inspired by my travels.
Big fancy dream? Go on a long leisurly tour of the countryside in the UK. Taking tons of pictures along the way.
Other big fancy dream? Sell everything and take my whole family on a cross country caravan trip. Visiting small towns all over the USA, visiting every single state. Heaven!
My dream, quit teaching, I love it but I'm just exhausted and worn down by the constant inspections. I'd move in with my parents in their barn conversion and set up my own fibre based business.... not going to happen unfortunately.
Wow, I'd like to meet the man of my dreams who is rich with no emcumbrances and ride off intot he sunset with him and live happily ever after. Now THAT'S a fantasy!
I would like the time and discipline to get physically healthy - exercise every day and eat well always. If I were able to accomplish that, everything else will follow. The daily grind is too often the excuse for not doing what needs to be done.
This is not an exciting answer, but I think the key to a good older age is physical health.
I am a self taught knitter (about 4 years into the addiction) and have found my favorite knitting obsession is Socks. Love the process, the creativity, wearing the finished product and the quiet, problem solving, zen like, reflective knitting time. In knitting socks there is a pattern, and like life basic may be the calm, easier path but sometimes you've just got to shake it up! With this thought in mind I would like to attend Sock Summit this coming year to see how other knitters are shaking it up.
Thanks,
Lisa
vivianos3@aol.com
My dream year adventure would be to knitting travel adventures!!! I would go to Europe, Canada and New England to visit all the wonderful knitting spots I read about. I would purchase yarn at every location and knit something from every adventure.
I would love to live life for a year where time doesn't matter... where there are no deadlines and the hustle and bustle of everyday life that I am experiencing now would be gone. That would give me the chance to relax and enjoy everyday to its fullest...time to start a family. Of course some traveling with my husband and knitting is a given in this dream! Thanks for the giveaway! It was nice to daydream for awhile!
buckets19@hotmail.com
I'd travel like crazy for the first six months--Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Iceland, Nova Scotia and the Pacific Northwest, Europe. Then I'd come home and (with money no object!) start a little hobby farm closer to my family, with chickens and goats and a sleepy old horse. And I'd have a baby.
Although, we are planning to go to Japan, move home and start a farm, and have a baby within the next two years. So I guess my life is pretty good already!
I would not travel . I would stay at home but give myself permission to put my crafting ahead of outside obligations.I would not feel guilty for closing myself up in the craft room with a pot of tea, NPR and paints, yarn, threads and ideas. As I move up the decades I am more aware that my time to do this is growing shorter.
I would quit my job, hire a housekeeper, take a long trip, and then go to the Chicago Art Institute to get my Masters of Fine Art.
Kristen,
What a great idea. I would travel to Italy and France, England and Ireland. I would take my time and become part of the country. I would hunt down yarn stores and eat all the wonderful food. Not to mention drink some wine. I think it would be wonderful.
Have a wonderful day, you made mine just making me think about it.
Meredith
I would take lots of classes with knitting gurus I admire, a weekend in your new class room would make me very happy! I want to learn how to knit sweaters like a professional. I want to take classes to learn fair isle knitting. I would take classes cooking as well.
I would love to learn how to cook and bake more from scratch and use what I can buy from local farmers.
thanks for a great giveaway.
Kathie
Dear Kristin: Thanks for this great giveaway. I'm going to be one of those downer commenters. I just want prosperity to return to us downtrodden middle class. After a very tough financial year, I want to be able to pay my bills, get a decent paycheck, and get some medical insurance to get my knee looked at and fixed. That, and be able to finish a quilt this year. At least that I can control. Pattie in San Francisco (pdja@sbcglobal.net)
I would move to a lovely little cottage in the Lake District in England. I will travel all over England, Scotland and Wales and visit all the places that I have read about all my life. When the weather is blustery and cold I will light a fire and knit to my heart's content, probably tons and tons of socks and sweaters. In the spring and summer I will plant a fabulous garden with flowers, vegetables and herbs. In the kind evenings I would sit outside with my knitting and listen to the sounds of "nothing". I would bake bread, make wonderful meals and invite my new friends from the village over often. I would stay up late and sleep whenever I wanted. Total Bliss....do you think I've thought of this before??!!
I would move to a small house outside of New York City, use one room to live in, and the rest for various crafting/art. I would walk around and take pictures every day, sew and knit all my own clothes. It would be creativity central. Also, I would eat a lot of sweets.
I would focus solely on my knitting and design work ... maybe head to ALL the various fiber festivals in the area and knit and knit and knit ....
I'd love to travel, but know that I can't for now ... but knitting, I can do.
THANKS for the oppty on this giveaway! I'm posting it to FB too, so friends who may not follow you yet ... will!
If I could do anything for a year I would travel around England and Ireland and Scotland, seeing everything I could see, eating great pub food, staying at B&Bs, and, of course, knitting.
I'd spend the year devoting all my time to my creative work. Get up every day, go into my studio, and paint, draw, knit, design. No day job, just art, art, art.
Well, I'd want to come across to a 'Get Stitched' weekend at Leyden Glen Farm, obviously!
Only 1 year? My dream is to go to College (I'm 36) and be an an actual certified teacher, instead of just a paraeducator. I love working with children, I love the joy my job gives me, but I'd love to be an actual teacher. If I had a year, and could hold on to my job in the meantime, I'd take as many classes as I could at the local college to get started on my way.
I would love to go away for a long knitting weekend - 3 days. Yarn store hopping, great food, and knitting in front of a fireplace. :)
I would love to spend the next year selling our condo and purchasing a home with room for everyone. I'd love to have a studio/dye space, as well as a playroom for the kids, a game room for my husband, and a practice space for his music.
I would spend the year traveling with my knitting as my companion - visiting the fjords of Norway, Carl Larsson's homestead in Sweden, Beatrix Potter's place in the Lake District and the Bronte parsonage in York. I would walk the Camino de Santiago and tour Toscana, visit Southern France and spend time in Greece. Turkey, Kroatia and Slovenia would be on my list. And between all the travels I would spend time in my simple country home in Finland, absorbing all the new experiences I've had. Such a lovely dream...
I would take a cruise around the world and knit alot.
I want to learn to quilt and become good at it. In the down time, I would knit, spin and weave!
I would go to Europe with my sister. We have talked about this often and do plan going one day. The history and the architecture is inspiring. And they will probably have a great yarn shop there! ;o)
I would spend time selfishly working on the things I love. I would weave, spin, knit, quilt. Then I would work in the garden. I don't know, it seems like it would be great, but I would miss my family a great deal!
a long slow trip around the world with no deadlines and someone to get me a ticket and a place to stay when I decide where I am going from here. Countryside, cities, focus on local crafts and celebrations and food. Try, see, eat, photograph it all before the world gets too homogeneous and same-y. And, since I am dreaming here, the ability to invite a friend to meet me in every place, just drop whatever THEY are doing for a week in Rome, or Chiang Mai.... Might as well dream big if you are going to dream.
I would knit and knit and have a baby. I am 35 and have been waiting my whole life to have children. My husband and I are finally able to live together. We were apart due to job obligations and so now I'm just really excited to start a family! Oh and take a trip to Europe. I taught in Asia for two years but haven't been to Europe yet...
I would like to go up to either Stowe, VT or somewhere on the coast of ME and just relax and knit a Starmore sweater and some socks. I would also like to catch up on some reading that I have wanted to do.
I would love to go on a week or 2-week trip up and down the Pacific Coast visiting yarn stores, knitting on the beach and just chillin' out with my hubby. No cares - no worries - probably no money - just us. (We've been married 48 years and I still feel that way)!
Travel to New England. Never been there and would love to go in the fall. Just me and my hubby.
I would travel across the United States with my husband and any of my kids that wanted to come with us. mslabruyere(at)yahoo(dot)com.
If I had unlimited money and time I'd travel the world, visiting fiber artists to learn all I could about spinning, dyeing, knitting and quilting.I'd want to bring my husband and my teenage daughter(who's very artistic and has just gotten into sewing and crocheting).
i'd enroll in the mfa interdisciplinary program in studio arts offered at goddard college in vermont. and i'd take as many crafting seminars as i could fit in, all across the country.
chicorycottage at yahoo dot com
Oh to dream, to dream. I would spend my year learning to spin first, then travel to all the most wonderful sounding places like Ireland, Scotland, all over Europe, Canada, etc, etc. Too many to write down. Of course I would be taking knitting classes and knitting up a storm. Can't forget my quilting either.
I would spend the first day catching up on quantum physics, nanotechnology, molecular biology, and animal husbandry so I could create my own special sock yarn and design patterns for it. Then I'd sell the yarn and patterns over the internet, to unsuspecting knitters who'd never realize they were stitching away on Inter/Multi Dimensional Zen Harmonic Piezoelectric Mind Control Socks until it was too late, and they were already my knitzombie slaves. Within the year I'd be Ruler Of The Earth! Bwahahahahaha!!!! Laugh at me, will you, Mitzi O'Schlumpmooker? You'll be mu first customer. Bwahahahahaha!!!
Or maybe I'd just start reading something other than knitting books and sci-fi.
Fun giveaway, thanks! I'll save you a throne next to mine, but slightly lower.
I would live on a sailboat in the Caribbean, scuba diving and eating fish I caught myself and drinking rum and just generally enjoying the warm water and warm sun with absolutely no responsibility. I suppose my husband and kids could come too, but it would have to be a BIG boat and I'd need a full time nanny. The important part of the dream is the warm-all-the-time part.
I would travel throughout Europe and knit obsessively.
Oh yeah. Drink good coffee in the mornings, wine in the evenings... sit in awesome cafes in between museum and historical site visits.
Buy an RV and travel the USA. Hello to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, CA Wine Country, S. Dakota, Niagara Falls, Adirondacks....etc.
Then again maybe my map could follow LYS in each state!
i would watch my little ada grow from a near toddler into a seasoned toddler. all while knitting until my fingers bleed :)
I would love to go to Italy. Eat a lot of great Italian food and knit to my heart's content. I am wasntme187 on Rav. Thank you for this awesome contest!
I have always wanted to spend an entire year living in the far north, above the Arctic circle. To experience the change of seasons from non-stop sunlight in summer to the very little sunlight in the winter. Take my husband, and my knitting needles, and leave our responsibilities behind!
If I could do absolutely anything I would take an apartment in NYC and have friends join me for visits. Great food, great music, great yarn shops, Central Park, MOMA...whatever our hearts desired.
mesoinc@hotmail.com
I would absolutely quit my job, focus my attention on my kids, dog, husband, and even myself without the worries of getting paged. I would also take the time to figure out what would be a better way to spend my life than what I do now-could I find a fulfilling job that would leave me happier?
annarga on ravelry
Wow! What a question! Me? What would I want to do? I so enjoy my life right now, teaching writing and knitting and walking, it's hard to think. I think I'd love to travel to Germany, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland with just a backpack with my laptop, my camera and my knitting needles and travel all over those fascinating countries, knitting my way from town to town, photographing the places my ancestors came from, sitting in cafes and watching the people around me. Oh yes, I could do that for a year!
Willow at
willowknits at yahoo dot com
I would ask for one day where my husband didn't have Post traumatic stress disorder, and didn't have a brain injury and we would go to the park Where he wouldn't have to scan for snipers and we could push our girls in the swings and be relaxed. Then we could go back to our messy wonderful lives that I do love and do not regret. But I wonder how it could be sometimes.
Just one thing?? wow that is hard, but i would love to go to New Zealand, and just knit, and paint and relax. I would also love to spend fall in the east,and meet all of the wonderful people i have gotten to know on the internet. I love your blog, and am so excited about this awesome give away.
I would really and truly live in Maine for a year in a house near the ocean up on a cliff and spend every day hiking in Acadia and then cooking all day with local produce, local seafood etc. In the evenings, I would knit.Mary McMahon in Cincinnati
I'm a graduate student, so I spend a lot of time alone with just my books, my computer, and my thoughts. I would round up my friends and family, jet us out to a cabin somewhere on a lake, and just be: cooking, laughing, sitting around a fireplace. Oh, yes. And knitting.
My dream is to rescue a dog from the Humane Society, train it, and bring people joy and comfort through pet therapy visits.
I would visit every national park with my husband. We would drive so I had lots of knitting time. While we were driving we would listen to books on tape. We would also hike 5 miles every day. In between national parks I might also stop at a yarn store or two.
I would go on a knitting cruise and learn to knit socks.
I am currently living and working in South Korea and I can say that I would LOVE to be able to backpack anywhere I felt like for a year. Without having to work OR worry about money. Bliss!
Also, if this is the perfect year ever then I would also want my two little dogs with me for the journey (I miss them sooooooo much). I need someone to snuggle with!
I have "Lottery Lists" - Things I would DO and/or GET, depending on the Amount of Winnings, etc. The LIST at the Top of "The LISTS" has only one thing on it - EVERYTHING!
However, on the more "practical" side, AND if Money *wasn't* an issue... I think that I would finally like to GET [what I call] The-House-I'll-Never-Own and DECORATE it with ALL of the STUFF that I've been buying and making and saving for the last couple of decades!
BTW have I "mentioned" the Part about probably being a "Curator" in at least 2 previous Lives...?
And, once that's DONE, then to ENJOY IT! Perhaps, catch up on the hundreds of Books I have, CROCHET all the IDEAS I have in my head, get back to doing all of the OTHER Needlework stuff that I've wanted to do again...
Also, be able to Travel - anywhere - WITHOUT all the CRAP that comes with it these days! I've travelled extensively [done Europe, Hawaii, NZ...] over the years, but not lately... It's just too much of a hassle! I'd definitely NEED a Private Plane! - Cute, strapping, young PILOT, wouldn't hurt either!
However, if I had to choose just ONE place - I think ANTARCTICA. It's always "off-season"! - And, would be a great place to "field-test" all that lovely YARN that-I'll-likely-NOT-Win!
But, hey... One can dream... WHICH, I should BE doing right NOW, as it's 3am and I have to get my "Hook" to BED!!
Hey, Kristin, HOW *many* SHEEP do you have...?
I don't need to travel, I would love to just be at home, not have to work, and have time to explore different kinds of knitting, especially colorwork. What a treat to be able to just play, and make something really time-consuming! Maybe knit an Alice Starmore sweater, or one of your beautiful multicolor sweaters...while listening to some wonderful audiobooks perhaps...
heavenly.
In the meantime, in the real world, thanks for the great giveaway! If I win, you can reach me at perecmanatmindspringdotcom.
Thanks,
Carol Perecman
With nothing to hold me back I'd spend more time knitting, spinning and sewing, I'd also go to Lerwick in the Shetland Isles and also Germany to visit the Wollemeise store. I'd visit both places in the New Zealand winter so I had less freezing cold time!
Well, if I would win the lottery as well I would love to go around the world, seeing what is going on in the knitting world. But without the lottery money I would do all the craft things I am longing for and believe me the list is long :-)
I would live in a small cottage in France surrounded by vineyards with my husband and my standard poodle and my daughter (not necessarily in that order) whenever she would like to join us. I would love to write and go for walks on horseback through the vineyards.
I'd go to Tuscany and take cooking classes for 6 months followed by 6 months at a spa!
Every year we donate money to Heifer International to send sheep to a family on the other side of the world. My dream would be to hope on a ship with a few of my own sheep and hand deliver them to a needy family. kimgoodling@yahoo.com
i would love to travel to greece but most of all i would love the luxury of being able to kni anywhere anytime day or night
That's easy I would have lots of time to knit bake and sew! Then knit some more.
I would go to the France and visit Paris and the south and buy some beautiful fabric!
I would take as many kntting ,spinning,dyeing and even designing worksops that I could.I'd take that knowledge to share with kids and teens or elderly shut ins or nursing home patients who don't access or money to knit or crochet.I'm a visiting nurse and see people who say they used to do that ot or wish they could learn and its heart breaking because I can't afford to do it. But that would be my big dream. my email is jshapir4@nycap.rr.com.
Jackie
I would travel to Sicily to meet my real father and possibly meet a new family that I might have.
Barbara
I would like to step out of my terrifc, busy life. I'd stay home and garden, knit and craft, and play with my grandchildren. I'd sew for the fun of it, instead to make a deadline. And write. So I guess I'd exchange one busy life for another.
Grab the kids, husband and travel - head to the ocean and then the mountains. Read, write and relax.
I would move to NYC, room with Sally Lee and spend the year studying design.
If I could do anything in the world I would definitely move to Europe. Spend my days creating and writing. I would take art classes with all of the inspirational teachers. I would eat lots of cheese and bread....and never gain an ounce! :-)
Most of all I would be completely FREE to do exactly what I want.
DD
About six months renting a small house in the west of Ireland ... I have no idea why, but this appeals to a need for solitude near the company of accepting people. And just think what glory a basket of Julia yarn would bring to the windy coast of Ireland!
bookboxer1@gmail.com
I would completely immerse myself in fiber. I would learn how to care and shear sheep, alpaca, llama, etc. I would then take that fleece all the way to a sweater. I would spend months playing with natural dyes. Then I would travel to see how it's done in other parts of the world. I would totally spend the year creating.
I would spend 3-4 months in Europe backpacking with my husband,Rick Steve's books and several skeins of sock yarn. No particular agenda, just go with the flow, and experience the culture, people, and beautiful scenery.
Kristin,
I would like to take some time off and travel. I visit places like the Grand Canyon and travel to small out of the way places whether it's the mountains, the farmlands or the shore. I would take my time and soak up all the beauty of each destination, make a diary of each place visited and of course take plenty of pictures.
Sheeplyewenique@yahoo.com
I would travel around Europe, buying a skein (or two) of yarn in each country to remember the trip by. If I found a place I particularly loved, I would stay for a while.
It's interesting how many people said that they would travel, and a lot of them would choose Europe too.
My dream has been to buy a little farm, and have chickens, many dogs and maybe a pig. I actually found a farm on the water in Hyannis. It is big, and beautiful and run down, with an ocean view. It would be my bliss!
kristinfitzgerald (at) comcast (dot) net
Ballerina/dancer. I love the idea of spending everyday moving through the repetition of barre. Then feeling my body work through intricate and minute muscle movements that, when seen from the outside, look to the viewer as fluidity, beauty and just amazing. I get jolts of kinesthetic feelings whenever I see good dance. I would ideally want my body to do those movements too. I came close, but "don't have the legs" for professional dance. My favorite feeling is still the sense of soaring through air and space with just my body, concentrating on pointing or flexing toes, bends of joints, cocking my head... generally making constantly moving shapes with my body.
Good luck to all!!!!
twistedknits@gmail.com
I would do exactly what I'm already doing--live in a small town, teach yoga, write mystery novels, and grow my faith. I might add more time at the beach.
I'd buy a motorhome/camper and travel around the country. I'd visit places and friends, take workshops and learn and see new things. I'd stare out across pristine lakes and build a campfire in the desert and take a deep breath.
I would find a cure for breast cancer!!
OMG how can I follow a cure for Breast Cancer with anything else but the same! Bravo Ms. Knitsalot.And after that I would organize my stash
I would find and reside in a retreat of some sort, where I could practice yoga and get myself in shape physically as well as emotionally. It would, of course, have to allow cats and dogs (who would magically get along famously) since I cannot imagine not having a small creature to dote upon. When not exercising or meditating or working out all my issues, I could knit and read and maybe even learn to spin. There would be people there too, I'm not a hermit and I do like people, but they would not have issues for me to deal with. I'm so tired of dealing with the issues of others all the time....
I would take my husband and children and grandchildren to Scandanavia and travel to my great grandparents home. I would visit each yarn shop along the way.
Okay, here it is: Last year I walked the Cumbria Way with my husbaand in the Lake District of England and fell in LOVE -- fell in love with the A.W. Wainwright's guide of the region, fell in love with walking across farmland and all the sheep-grazed country, fell in love with the local sheep (all sorts of heritage varieties that Beatrix Potter nearly single-handedly saved), fell in love with the green, fell in love with the rain (yes really). So my big plan? (Yes, it is a dream.) To move to Grasmere, England with my husband for at least 9 months, and yes, to live there. Where my husband (who is an actor) will do a one-man show at Dove Cottage/Wordsworth museum, and I'll write a kid's book on A Wainwright (his dog, the sheep he encounters on his walks in the mountains). (I'm a kids book writer.) And if we stay, we open a knitting shop in Grasmere using wool from all that local sheep, and then get a knitting collective together of people who'll knit walking gear, climbing hats and mits from vintage patterns. Also, we'll serve really good coffee at the shop too. And it'll have a performance space too (enough for a one-man).
I love this dream. I desperately want to go back to England. I think I am made for walking those hill/mountains in the lake district. What a beautiful, beautiful place!
Thanks for asking!
Amy Timberlake
I would love to go on a retreat in the wilderness of Colorado with other fiber artists. The food would be organic and yoga would be practiced before breakfast. In the evening we would gather in a tepee and enjoy a fire and work on our knitting and spinning.
Oh, this has been a fun thing to think about! I would want to really expand my small business, and go to all the fiber shows I want (assuming I can also hire some "staff"!!), in the U.S. and also in England. I've always wanted to go to Rhinebeck, and Sock Summit, to name a few, and some of the Quilt Markets I read about. Really immerse myself in the colors and textures of the fiber world and meet all my fiber/cyber friends in person! Living in a rural area on limited means keeps me from some of these real life experiences!
Of course I'd also need some magical pockets of time to knit up and sew all the wonderful yarn fabric I will find!
Not as glamorous a wish as traveling to the South Seas, but a wish nonetheless.
Oh that's easy! I would love a year off from work just to do whatever I want and whenever I want. I would love to just be at home with my husband having the time to knit, sew, quilt, whatever. I would also love to travel - where? Anywhere at all would be lovely.
Hi Kristin: If I had a year to do anything I would transform the upstairs of my 3 car garage into the most colorful yarn studio anyone could imagine. From there I would offer weekend retreats and invite the best designers in the yarn industry to come and stay in my home while they taught a weekend class. We would share knitting stories, laugh, create and learn from one another as we knit the hours away!
I would love to buy a bigger house with enough space for a fiber studio,with enough land for my 3 yo to play in and that garden that I've been "growing" in my head for years and years. snohotina@gmail.com
I would get myself a little Bichon Frise (doggie) and move to a place where I would be able to have one.
I would get new glasses and dental work (how fantasies change as one gets older!)
If I could do anything, I'd bring my mom back to life. I'd safeguard her so that she would not fall and break her hip. It could mean another decade of life with her. I'd wrap her up and enjoy her sly wit, while looking her into her soft blue eyes. That's what I'd do.
In the last year I have become a big fan of all the indie knitwear designers out there - for me, their work is far more interesting than what I am seeing in the knitting magazines. The challenge is trying to keep up with all these designers and their patterns. I would like to spend my time setting up a knitting store that would focus on independent designers and their work and make them available to the knitting public who may not even know there is a whole other world out there in knitting patterns, beyond what is found in the standard knitting magazines.
I think the challenge for a LYS is to learn to incorporate the online knitting world successfully into their business and I would like to have the time,( with no financial restrictions!) to learn how to do this.
I would spend the year designing everything and anything for non-profits and surveying trees for FUF, our local urban forestry group. Oh and I would finally, seriously, learn to bake a decent piecrust.
If I could do absolutely anything!!!....I would travel to Australia (as I've always wanted to) and live on a sheep farm, one where the mistress was a knitter/spinner, and learn and spin and live there for at least 6 months.
And that is the most generous, wonderful prize!!
Having just been diagnosed for the second time, after a 6 year remission, with breast cancer. I would like to wake up in the new year thinking, "OMG, they found a cure!" Then I would knit away my 'stash" in the peace of my home. I wouldn't need to travel or spend any money. I would spend the year being so greatful..."For the Cure!"
My dream has been to travel the British Isles, beginning with finding the house where my grandmother grew up in Deal, Kent. Part of that dream would be to have a driver, someone who knows the roads and would be available to chauffeur me about at a whim. I would stay at quaint B&B's and hit every yarn store in the UK. Sigh.
My dream would be to move to England and just experience living in a new country. I would visit every yarn store I could find and then just walk the countryside and explore.
I'm not used to such fanciful thoughts, I'm afraid. But if I had the opportunity, I would like to go to the little village in northeastern Germany and see the house and farm that was my grandparents' home before they emigrated to America.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i would gather up my bf oh yes that is my daughter, and off we would go to italy the place we have always wanted to go. there we would travel the country, search out all fibery goodness, eat there wonderful food, sight see all of the beauty, drive up and down the seaside, and knit................... and only wen we had to we would return to share our memories with the rest of the boys in our bunch!
I would put together the biggest, longest road trip ever with good friends and my Mom and sisters. We would travel in a bus and stay at bed and breakfast across the country and through Canada. And every stop would include yarn stores, and sheep and wool festivals, and music festivals, and week long camp and class sessions (like yours!). And if the husband wanted to come along with a couple friends we could throw in a few white water stops for them as well.
I would love to travel, especially with my mother back to Wales for a few weeks and my husband the rest of the time. It would be great to be able to spend several weeks in each place.
Fabulous give away!
I would like to visit my beloved homeland, Finland,
all by myself for a month. Observe and get to know it again with out any demands and then spend another month visiting my relatives, getting to know them again in the same way.Of course I would visit every yarn shop and mill in the country.
Wow! What an exciting giveaway!
If I could do anything, I think I would take our family back to SCotland to visit -- we left there 5 years ago after a 4+ year stay.
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