Waking up from my slumber.

Well, hello there! After Christmas, I fell into a deep hybernation-like sleep, and considered staying there until the snow melts and the sun shines hot on my skin. Then the last couple of days I realized I was in danger of falling into a dangerous mid-winter slump, so I've been shaking myself awake.

On the days leading up to Christmas, I had a bit of a sweatshop going on in my dining room craft room. I made a bzillion pinafores - some for birthday presents and some for Christmas. I made a decent, but somewhat sorry, attempt at hot pads, whipped up another mail sorter, sewed a purse for my mom, and tackled a handful of knitting projects. Not to mention, I started to get my first substitute teaching calls, made many more trips down to the cities (2.5 hour drives, each way) than I intended, and hosted a raucous New Year's Eve party at our house.

So, when the new year actually began, I was finished. I needed a break from responsibility. I've still been substitute teaching, a little. I decided to - for the first time - knit something for myself. I'm now referring to that project as the Great Scarf Disaster of 2011. Soon I'll be ripping that thing out and starting over. :-) I read a book, watched some TV, and then I decided I was going to start relearning photo shop.

First project: An attempt at a Christmas collage, featuring some of our activities and some of the things I made in the month of December.

Once I got to it, I realized I wasn't very active with my camera. Oh well, here is my beginner's attempt. The background is the best tree ever. It's tall. It's skinny. It's very Charlie-brownish and I loved it. As a matter of fact, I thought this ornament was definitely for me when I saw it. Turns out, Kristie at obsessive crafting disorder seemed to [wrongly] think her tree was the best ever. I'm sure her tree was a close second, but hopefully she can find comfort in knowing she made the best ornament ever. I meant to make on myself, but there just wasn't time.

So there you have it, blogosphere. I've missed you and I'm looking forward to connecting with you again.