How I Spent New Year's Eve

I am not known for having epic New Year's celebrations. Sure I spent New Year's 2007 in Rome. And yes, New Year's 2008 I watched fireworks go off by Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. But oh, how quickly the glamor of it all fades away . . . .

However, I ushered in the new millennium snug in my sleeping bag on my grandmother's couch. Last New Year's Eve I drank half a glass of (bad) champagne and was in bed by 11. Some years I make it to midnight, more often than not I don't,and in general I find the way I herald the new year has little effect on the year as a whole.

But Mama Kat, who hosts a weekly writing workshop on Thursday, asked as one of her writing prompts today: If the way you spent your New Year's Eve is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, how would you say your future is looking right about now? 

Well, here's how I spent New Year's Eve 2011.

Yep, knitting.(I know, hold onto your hats, right?)

This New Year's Eve weekend marked the third crafting weekend: an assembly of eight college friends who share a love of crafting and knitting.We spend three days basically looking like this.

This is the same group that spent the last year creating a wedding afghan for newlywed Katie. We each knit 4-5 squares from the Great American Afghan Pattern and coordinated the afghan's assemble through Facebook, snail mail, and special deliveries. All of us live extremely different lives and crafting weekends are the single, rare moments when we're all in the same room at the same time. Creating this afghan over all the miles was not only a feat in and of itself, but also a great way to stay in touch. By the by, if you caught me knitting trees at the restaurant bar last winter while I was waiting to see if I'd need to waitress, this is where those trees ended up.

For the most part, crafting weekend involves a ton of knitting and scrapbooking, all while some Jane Austen or Will Ferrel flick plays in the background. Betsy's project for the weekend was creating a bonnet for her historical reenactments. The bonnet is all finished now and you can read about it over at Betsy's blog: In the Past Lane.

However, the crafting project everyone got the most fun out of this go-around were the vintage Christmas craft kits Ali brought with. The tri-bead tantalizer kits were an especial hit, mostly because the name of craft sounded slightly suggestive.

Ali was the first to finish her tantalizer and here she is proudly displaying her handiwork:

Let's zoom in for a closer look, shall we? 

As awful as you imagined? It's constructed from a Styrofoam ball and then speared several times over with beads pins. Hullo 1970 . . .

Oh the horror. The horror!

By the time midnight rolled around on New Year's Eve, we set the crafts aside for a round or two of bubbly. We ushered in the new year a group singing of Auld Lang Syne which somehow morphed into singing along with the entire Glee soundtrack . . .?

So if the way I spent New Year's Eve is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, how is the future looking?

Epic. In a really calm, nerdy  way.

How did you spend your New Year's Eve?