Every good blog deserves an introductory post, right?

This very well may be an ill-fated endeavor, given the amount of time I've devoted to my LiveJournal and Twitter accounts lately. Nonetheless, I've found myself wanting to talk a little more about my projects of late, including ones that won't necessarily be documented in Ravelry, and wished I could share with folks who aren't on Ravelry. Therefore, a new blog!

So, let's start with the boring background stuff. After a childhood spent growing up in too many places to call any one single place 'home,' I've finally settled in with the love of my life, Rick, in Oakland, CA. This is the first place I've lived where I've really felt I could settle in for the long haul. When we moved here, we'd lived in our previous house for 6 years, which was twice as long as I'd ever lived at one address before, and that previous record was twice as long as I'd ever lived at one address before then. Now, unless we get an opportunity to move overseas, I see us staying here for a very long time. Our cats, Oscar and Felix, are quite happy with this idea, too.

Rick and I love to travel; it's in my bones from the way I grew up, and I get antsy if I go too long without traveling somewhere. I think that's starting to rub off a little on Rick, too. Since we've been married, we've traveled to Italy (twice), Paris, Canada, Puerto Rico, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic. (I think he's starting to get used to lugging all my photography gear around the world!) My goal is to hit all seven continents at some point, but that last one's a doozy, so it may take a while. In the meantime, our next trip is a small one, to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary next month.  Beyond that, we have our sights set on Côte d'Ivoire, New Zealand, and India over the next few years, though things can change if opportunities arise.

On to more blog-relevant topics! A few years ago, when my siblings started reproducing, I picked up my cross-stitch needle and patterns again and started working on Christmas stockings. I managed to finish two of them before a friend taught me how to knit shortly after we moved to Oakland. More than 3 years later, knitting has officially become an obsession, and I'm always dreaming up new projects. (You can find me on Ravelry under username Danea.) A great deal on a sewing machine at the Oakland Museum of California's annual White Elephant Sale inspired me to start thinking about sewing again, after doing none (the very plain window treatments in our living room don't count) since the dresses I made in college. I'm currently working on a dress for the Hawaii trip, which is going to take an awful lot of customization in the bust area, which has created a secondary (semi-successful, half-done) project of creating a duct tape dress form. I also have plans for knitting a little cropped cardigan to go over the dress; I'm nothing if not ambitious when it comes to my planned projects! I've also got two knitting projects in the works for June babies. One is nearly done, and the other will be started after I get back from Hawaii. Longer-term, I'm going to attempt my first full-sized adult sweater, for Rick, to wear this next winter. That should be an adventure! (I've already warned him he may be getting his own duct tape clone when I get started on that.)

Aside from the knitting and sewing that are currently occupying my time, I also have an old table loom that a friend gave me. It needs to be cleaned up a bit, and seems to be missing a few parts, but when I've done that I intend to pick up weaving. And while I continue to have no interest in learning to spin, I have to admit I find the idea of dyeing yarn really sparks my imagination.

As if that's not enough, though this blog will primarily be about the fiber arts, I reserve the right to occasionally throw a photography-related post at you, here & there, since that is my other obsession these days. I've been taking photos With Intent (ie, not just snapshots, but actively aiming for good photos) since '91,  have been published a few times, and have been recognized in photo competitions, as well. One of my goals this year is to get an official website up and start selling prints. As an added bonus, I'd like to get a gallery show somewhere, but we'll see how that goes.

So that about does it for me. I hope you stick around and enjoy the show!