Hello blog. Long time no see. It's a new year and I'm making a resolution to write on a daily basis. I'm not committing to it being a blog entry a day because I've still got a novel to finish and I'm sure there will be days when contributing to that is as much as I can manage. However I do want to make a point of documenting my life on a more regular basis and I'm sure there will be days when I have absolutely no desire to write a single thing on my novel and the blog can act as a substitute for my daily writing quota.

Today I spent most of the day researching looms as I try and make a decision about whether or not I should buy the 16" Kromski Harp or go for the 24" or totally jump ship and get the Ashford rigid heddle. It's a tough decision but I think I'm nearing a finality on the matter. I've been weaving a scarf on the 16" harp that I've rented from the LYS and I'm very pleased with how the loom feels. I'll probably end up purchasing it. My only regret is that to make a nice wide shawl or blanket I'll have to sew panels together. It's not ideal but I think it's a fair trade off considering that 90% of the time I'll be weaving scarves that fit just fine on the smaller loom. The 16" is comfortable in my lap and I don't need a stand for it. I'm not sure I'd be able to say the same about the 24". The main reason I considered going with the Ashford instead was because someone pointed out that the quality of the wood might be superior (New Zealand Silver Beech) to that of the Kromski (European Alder). The concern being that screws more easily strip the softer wood I guess. I haven't come across any posts of people with this problem though so I think I'm going to go ahead and not worry about it. I prefer the look of the Kromskis and the fact that they fold where the Ashford does not. My house is tiny and that folding is helpful.

Here's a look at my first work in progress-



So let's see.. We undecorated the tree in preparation for returning it to storage but I couldn't bring myself to take it down completely. It adds a nice amount of light to the living room and I need to replace a bulb in a lamp to compensate for the darkness that the tree had been keeping at bay. We get so little reprieve fromthe dark this time of year.

Well it's late and I just wanted to get something written before heading to bed. I was getting ready to brush my teeth when I realized I was about to fail on my resolution on the first day so here I am preventing that sad fate.

Oh and one last note of something important that happened today besides entering a new decade. There is now a new Doctor. I got to watch the final adventure of Ten and the ushering in of Eleven. It was exciting and sad at the same time. Ten will always be My Doctor and it was hard seeing his run end but this is also the first regeneration I've been witness to as a fan of the show and there was a great deal of anticipation and wonderment at what the future will bring. I think Eleven will be great in his own unique way and I'm eagerly awaiting the spring now. And not just because it means the sun will be returning to this frozen land.

Allons y!